| POS | NAME | swp | swp/g | TEAM | ||
| SS | Jimmy Rollins | 2,117 | 13.7 | PHI | ||
| CF | Nate McLouth | 1,779 | 13.8 | PIT/ATL | ||
| RF | Justin Upton | 2,071 | 15.0 | ARI | ||
| 1B | Derrek Lee | 2,303 | 16.3 | CHC | ||
| LF | Carlos Lee | 1,982 | 12.4 | HOU | ||
| DH | Joey Votto | 1,983 | 15.1 | CIN | 1B | |
| 3B | David Wright | 1,909 | 13.3 | NYM | ||
| 2B | Dan Uggla | 1,883 | 11.9 | FLA | ||
| C | Miguel Montero | 1,348 | 10.5 | ARI | ||
| SP | Clayton Kershaw | 1,655 | 53.4 | LAD | ||
| Yovani Gallardo | 1,592 | 53.1 | MIL | |||
| Ryan Dempster | 1,566 | 50.5 | CHC | |||
| Bronson Arroyo | 1,561 | 47.3 | CIN | |||
| Jorge de la Rosa | 1,479 | 44.8 | COL | |||
| CL | Heath Bell | 2,062 | 30.3 | SD | ||
| RP | Luke Gregerson | 684 | 9.5 | SD | ||
| Jon Rauch | 667 | 8.9 | ARI/min | |||
| Brandon Medders | 649 | 10.6 | SF | |||
| Jeremy Affeldt | 630 | 8.5 | SF | |||
| Burke Badenhop | 621 | 17.7 | FLA | |||
| P | Tom Gorzelanny | 406 | 18.5 | PIT/CHC |
Leading off is Jimmy Rollins, who finished behind Florida's Hanley Ramirez for the NL East honors. In addition to hitting for plenty of power and stealing bases at a clip only slightly lower than his per season average, J-Roll won his third Gold Glove in a row this year. His only competition was Atlanta's Yunel Escobar, showing that the NL East has a firm grasp on shortstop mastery, even without a season by Jose Reyes.
Nate McLouth represented two different divisions, so it's nice to see him on the Wild Card team; that way there's no controversy. He didn't equal his breakout 2008 season, but he put up very solid numbers nonetheless, after a trade to Atlanta from Pittsburgh. Behind him is Florida's Cody Ross, who was supposed to have moved to left field to make room for prospect Cameron Maybin. But the youngster couldn't escape the minors, allowing the veteran to stay put and continue hitting for marginal power without any patience.
Justin Upton, the younger and possibly more talented brother of the Rays' B.J., plays in right field and bats third. The former first-round pick turned in a 20-20 season (home runs/stolen bases) for the last place D-Backs, despite missing some time late in the season. At the tender age of 21, it appears that Upton has nowhere to go but up. He finished ahead of Colorado's doubles-machine Brad Hawpe in swp.
Boy, let's talk about NL Central first basemen this year: the Central Divisional team has two (Pujols and Fielder) and the Wild Card team has two more - Derrek Lee and Joey Votto, the latter appearing as the team's DH. One of the more consistent players of the last decade (barring an injury-shortened 2006), Lee perfected his power swing, and cracked 30 home runs for the first time since blasting 46 in 2005. He also broke 100 RBI for the second time in his career. Votto, in just his third year in the majors, batted .322 and was on base more than 41.4% of the time (although he did play just 131 games), all while slugging 25 home runs. He outslugged the master of plate discipline Todd Helton, who walked 89 times to just 73 strikeouts, but who hit just 15 dingers, even at Coors Field.
Between the two first basemen bats left fielder Carlos Lee. (He would have done just as well batting sixth, but I couldn't resist putting the two Lees back to back in the order.) The quietly consistent C. Lee drove in over 100 runs for the fifth straight year (it would have been the seventh, but for a 99 RBI 2004 campaign), even while seemingly swinging at everything that moves towards the plate. He was followed in the rankings by Florida's Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, and Florida castoff Josh Willingham.
Despite his home run total being closer to zero than to his previous year's total, David Wright gets a spot on this Wild Card team. I know the outfield fences at Citi Field are further out than at Shea, but Wright's 2009 power drought was ridiculous. Not too close on his tail are Braves' stalwart Chipper Jones, who might be showing his age, as his average fell 100 points from last year to a still marginally respectable .264, and Dodgers' starter Casey Blake, who didn't show us anything spectacular.
Over the last three years, Dan Uggla's home run totals have stayed remarkably consistent (31, 32, 31) while his walks have increased (68, 77, 92). Although his doubles power is on the decline (49, 37, 27) and his defense leaves much to be desired, he's still a valuable commodity: a middle infielder with a legitimate power bat. His runner ups both come from the NL West: world-renowned gloveman Orlando Hudson and newly-capable at the dish Clint Barmes.
Behind the plate, Miguel Montero gains the recognition he should have had as the catcher for the NL West team (I supplanted him with Bengie Molina, who scored a measly 3 fewer swp). A young catcher with upside at the plate, but who threw out just 26% of would-be base-stealers, he earned his paycheck by slugging 16 home runs, third most among all NL backstops.
21-year-old phenom Clayton Kershaw leads the pack of Wild Card pitchers, with a 2.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts. He's still wild (91 walks in '09), but he has great raw ability and should improve considerably over the course of his career. After losing Randy Wolf to free agency, the Dodgers are banking on Kershaw to become their ace of the future... Today!
The next three dudes behind him all come from the NL Central: Brewers' young stud Yovani Gallardo, who struck out 204 (but also walked 94) in 2009 after missing all of last year with a freak first base collision injury; Cubs' veteran Ryan Dempster, who cracked 200 innings for the second year in a row since converting back to a starter after four years of relief work; and Reds' workhorse Bronson Arroyo, who somehow won 15 games despite a declining strikeout rate (5.2 per nine innings).
Jorge de la Rosa turned in the first respectable performance of his career, winning 16 well-deserved games for Colorado while flirting with 200 strikeouts. Just missing out on the party were Dodgers' erstwhile ace Chad Billingsley and Phillies' swp leader Joe Blanton.
San Diego's Heath Bell earns the honors as closer in just his first year on the job. Although the guy he replaced (future HOFer Trevor Hoffman) won the job for the NL Central team, Bell outperformed his mentor, leading the league in saves (42) and striking out over 10 batters per nine innings. Both of his closest competitors came from his division: San Francisco stopper Brian Wilson and Colorado's recent acquisition from the A's Huston Street. Ryan Franklin and his sub 2.00 ERA also earns an honorable mention.
Luke Gregerson is another guy who was unjustly supplanted from his spot on the NL West team: I opted to include veteran Juan Rincon as the final middle reliever instead of this relative unknown. But hopefully I've made it up to the K-happy first-year player, as he gets the role of primary setup man for the Wild Card team. Following him is giant-on-the-mound Jon Rauch, whose monstrous 6'11" frame earns him the job basically on the basis of intimidation alone. Above-mentioned Brian Wilson's two main setup men on the Giants, Brandon Medders and Jeremy Affeldt, provide a potent righty-lefty combination out of the pen. Marlins long-man Burke Badenhop rounds out the dedicated relief corps.
After an epic-fail of a season as a starter last year (including a devil's ERA of 6.66), Tom Gorzelanny was first demoted to the Pirates' bullpen, then shipped off to the Cubs, where he was allowed to start in over half his appearances. Since I felt that each club needed a swing-man/spot starter, Gorzelanny's as good a choice as any.
Next time, I'll begin our sojourn into the American League.
Nate McLouth represented two different divisions, so it's nice to see him on the Wild Card team; that way there's no controversy. He didn't equal his breakout 2008 season, but he put up very solid numbers nonetheless, after a trade to Atlanta from Pittsburgh. Behind him is Florida's Cody Ross, who was supposed to have moved to left field to make room for prospect Cameron Maybin. But the youngster couldn't escape the minors, allowing the veteran to stay put and continue hitting for marginal power without any patience.
Justin Upton, the younger and possibly more talented brother of the Rays' B.J., plays in right field and bats third. The former first-round pick turned in a 20-20 season (home runs/stolen bases) for the last place D-Backs, despite missing some time late in the season. At the tender age of 21, it appears that Upton has nowhere to go but up. He finished ahead of Colorado's doubles-machine Brad Hawpe in swp.
Boy, let's talk about NL Central first basemen this year: the Central Divisional team has two (Pujols and Fielder) and the Wild Card team has two more - Derrek Lee and Joey Votto, the latter appearing as the team's DH. One of the more consistent players of the last decade (barring an injury-shortened 2006), Lee perfected his power swing, and cracked 30 home runs for the first time since blasting 46 in 2005. He also broke 100 RBI for the second time in his career. Votto, in just his third year in the majors, batted .322 and was on base more than 41.4% of the time (although he did play just 131 games), all while slugging 25 home runs. He outslugged the master of plate discipline Todd Helton, who walked 89 times to just 73 strikeouts, but who hit just 15 dingers, even at Coors Field.
Between the two first basemen bats left fielder Carlos Lee. (He would have done just as well batting sixth, but I couldn't resist putting the two Lees back to back in the order.) The quietly consistent C. Lee drove in over 100 runs for the fifth straight year (it would have been the seventh, but for a 99 RBI 2004 campaign), even while seemingly swinging at everything that moves towards the plate. He was followed in the rankings by Florida's Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, and Florida castoff Josh Willingham.
Despite his home run total being closer to zero than to his previous year's total, David Wright gets a spot on this Wild Card team. I know the outfield fences at Citi Field are further out than at Shea, but Wright's 2009 power drought was ridiculous. Not too close on his tail are Braves' stalwart Chipper Jones, who might be showing his age, as his average fell 100 points from last year to a still marginally respectable .264, and Dodgers' starter Casey Blake, who didn't show us anything spectacular.
Over the last three years, Dan Uggla's home run totals have stayed remarkably consistent (31, 32, 31) while his walks have increased (68, 77, 92). Although his doubles power is on the decline (49, 37, 27) and his defense leaves much to be desired, he's still a valuable commodity: a middle infielder with a legitimate power bat. His runner ups both come from the NL West: world-renowned gloveman Orlando Hudson and newly-capable at the dish Clint Barmes.
Behind the plate, Miguel Montero gains the recognition he should have had as the catcher for the NL West team (I supplanted him with Bengie Molina, who scored a measly 3 fewer swp). A young catcher with upside at the plate, but who threw out just 26% of would-be base-stealers, he earned his paycheck by slugging 16 home runs, third most among all NL backstops.
21-year-old phenom Clayton Kershaw leads the pack of Wild Card pitchers, with a 2.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts. He's still wild (91 walks in '09), but he has great raw ability and should improve considerably over the course of his career. After losing Randy Wolf to free agency, the Dodgers are banking on Kershaw to become their ace of the future... Today!
The next three dudes behind him all come from the NL Central: Brewers' young stud Yovani Gallardo, who struck out 204 (but also walked 94) in 2009 after missing all of last year with a freak first base collision injury; Cubs' veteran Ryan Dempster, who cracked 200 innings for the second year in a row since converting back to a starter after four years of relief work; and Reds' workhorse Bronson Arroyo, who somehow won 15 games despite a declining strikeout rate (5.2 per nine innings).
Jorge de la Rosa turned in the first respectable performance of his career, winning 16 well-deserved games for Colorado while flirting with 200 strikeouts. Just missing out on the party were Dodgers' erstwhile ace Chad Billingsley and Phillies' swp leader Joe Blanton.
San Diego's Heath Bell earns the honors as closer in just his first year on the job. Although the guy he replaced (future HOFer Trevor Hoffman) won the job for the NL Central team, Bell outperformed his mentor, leading the league in saves (42) and striking out over 10 batters per nine innings. Both of his closest competitors came from his division: San Francisco stopper Brian Wilson and Colorado's recent acquisition from the A's Huston Street. Ryan Franklin and his sub 2.00 ERA also earns an honorable mention.
Luke Gregerson is another guy who was unjustly supplanted from his spot on the NL West team: I opted to include veteran Juan Rincon as the final middle reliever instead of this relative unknown. But hopefully I've made it up to the K-happy first-year player, as he gets the role of primary setup man for the Wild Card team. Following him is giant-on-the-mound Jon Rauch, whose monstrous 6'11" frame earns him the job basically on the basis of intimidation alone. Above-mentioned Brian Wilson's two main setup men on the Giants, Brandon Medders and Jeremy Affeldt, provide a potent righty-lefty combination out of the pen. Marlins long-man Burke Badenhop rounds out the dedicated relief corps.
After an epic-fail of a season as a starter last year (including a devil's ERA of 6.66), Tom Gorzelanny was first demoted to the Pirates' bullpen, then shipped off to the Cubs, where he was allowed to start in over half his appearances. Since I felt that each club needed a swing-man/spot starter, Gorzelanny's as good a choice as any.
Next time, I'll begin our sojourn into the American League.
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