Anyway, on to the National League, going west to east, here are your Divisional All-Stars!
A pair of injuries made this team a lot worse than it might have been. If Paul Goldschmidt (1,693 / 15.5) and Troy Tulowitzki (1,455 / 16.0) had not missed the ends of their seasons (or if I put more stock in average PPG than overall fantasy points), the two of them would likely be holding down the first base and shortstop positions (as well as the 3 and 4 spots in the batting order), respectively. But as it stands, Adrian Gonzalez's penchant for driving in runs and Hanley Ramirez's last year before free agency stand front and center. Well, actually not too center for Hanley, whose own injury-shortened season was not bad, but neither was it spectacular enough to overshadow any of the four star outfielders who hit above him in my batting order. Other than one of those outfielders, this offense is made up entirely of Dodgers and Giants, which is not surprising considering one of those teams won the second-most games in the league and the other very well might be heading to its third world series in five years.
Speaking of the Dodgers and the Giants, this top three doesn't quite rival the AL Central team, but it comes close. Well, maybe less close if you take the playoff version of Clayton Kershaw as opposed to his regular season variety, but he's still undeniably the best pitcher in the sport right now. Meanwhile, Petco Park continues to revitalize the careers of marginal pitchers, both in the rotation and the bullpen. While it's not a requirement for me to have these teams feature a player from each club in their respective divisions (the AL Central was notably Twins-absent, but both Brian Dozier and Phil Hughes showed up in the AL Wild Card squad), the Diamondbacks do get a representative in Brad Ziegler, who just barely squeaked in over Tim Stauffer (616 / 14.0), who was cut to make room for the lefty Jeremy Affeldt.
This team is pretty self-explanatory, except that it might seem weird to have Josh Harrison, a guy who qualified at three different positions last year, listed as the DH. In fact, it might seem weird to have a DH listed at all on a National League team, but I always prefer getting a ninth batter in there so we can more easily compare the two leagues to each other. Notable exceptions include rookie base stealing phenom Billy Hamilton and reputation rebuilding slugger Ryan Braun, who haven't yet become / aren't anymore considered to be one of the elite central division players. Also, Cubs franchise shortstop Starlin Castro narrowly missed inclusion in favor of the formerly steroid-aided power of Jhonny Peralta, making him the second Divisional All-Star who was suspended in 2013 due to Biogenesis related issues.
Before looking at this post, I wondered who would have guessed that 2014's highest overall fantasy point scorer was Reds ace Johnny Cueto, but that was indeed the case. He didn't quite reach Kershaw's point per game totals, but remember the Dodgers' top pitcher also missed most of the first month of the season due to injury. Like Kershaw, Adam Wainwright is another guy whose regular season far outshines his playoff performance, plus it's pretty much thanks to him that the NL won't receive home field advantage in this year's World Series, but you can't get a much more solid number 2 starter. But do you know who actually (very slightly) outperformed Waino in PPG? The surprisingly successful Jake Arrieta, who might be a reason for Cubs fans to have some hope for the future - that and the roughly 1,000 promising offensive prospects they have moments away from the majors.
K-Rod is back, and just in time for him to hit free agency again! His last couple of go-rounds, he's signed with the Brewers at a discounted rate, but with Jim Henderson due back from shoulder surgery and Jonathan Broxton still under contract, the need might not be great in Milwaukee. Pat Neshek and Tony Watson present what might be the best righty/lefty combo in this little experiment (their main competition being Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller in the AL East).
This lineup is a little top-heavy, with Giancarlo Stanton's season-ending injury coming later enough than those of his fellow MVP candidates from the NL West that he still easily leads this club in points. Anthony Rendon did give him a run for his money, however, which is all the more impressive considering he did it while playing two different positions, and that he's still playing out the contract he signed out of the draft in 2011. (The questionable nature of the 5th year option in that deal is the reason for the question mark in his Free Agency status column.) With Denard Span's club option a virtual lock to be picked up following a season in which he set a Nationals franchise record in hits, this team has a staggering zero players slated to hit the open market next year.
Looking at Tanner Roark's numbers and the way they match up with the other powerhouse starters in this rotation, it's a crying shame that he wasn't utilized more in this year's postseason. Not that it there's a guarantee that it would have made a difference in the Nationals' chances, but he's too talented to be used as an occasional short reliever. Speaking of short relievers, the ones on this club leave a little to be desired. Carlos Torres pitched a ton of innings and Tyler Clippard is a former closer, but if I were Craig Kimbrel, arguably the best closer in the game, I would hope for a slightly better bridge from my starters. It might be a little unfair to have Alex Wood in the swingman slot here, since his point total would put him as the number 2 starter on the NL Wild Card team, but he did relieve in enough games to qualify, so in a way he justifies the lack of a true setup ace.
Unlike his middle infield partner in Philadelphia, Jimmy Rollins has showed some signs of slowing these last few years, but he brought just enough speed and pop to beat out Tulo's injury shortened season for the Wild Card shortstop honors. Ditto for both Lucas Duda and Adam LaRoche, except replace Tulo with Goldy and omit the part about the speed. Overall, this lineup is a little bit awkward looking, not only because it's overwhelmingly left-handed, but because it lacks a clear established middle of the order thumper. Devin Mesoraco's season was a revelation when healthy, but neither he nor Corey Dickerson have a track record to think that they won't seriously regress toward the mean. But the same thing happened to Matt Carpenter from last year and he still ended up on this team, so perhaps there is hope yet.
Speaking of regression, there is no way that fill-in starter Alfredo Simon comes close to the dominance that he showed in the first half of this season, but I can picture him morphing into a very valuable bullpen piece if he struggles as the innings pile up. Doug Fister on the other hand is only getting better, as he looks to have figured things out in his first year in the NL. Jonathan Papelbon doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the back end of the bullpen, but as it happens they have an insurance policy in Mets closer Jenrry Mejia, who started enough games to qualify for swingman status. Plus Philly's closer-in-waiting Ken Giles is also waiting in the wings.
So there you have it: four teams made up of the best of the NL organized by division and position, to go with the AL's four similar teams. Speaking of the AL, the answer to my above trivia question as to what mistake I made on Tuesday: Yankees reliever Adam Warren was mistakenly placed on the Wild Card team when he really should have been on the AL East squad, switching place with Blue Jays lefty Brett Cecil. Riveting stuff, I know. At least you know that someone is paying attention...
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