Mound Musings: The 2021 Season Pitching Awards Column

It has been a wild year, but at least we had a full season of baseball. I will have to say that 2021 provided even more surprises than usual, primarily because of injuries and fatigue based on heavier workloads. COVID-19 and these injuries, many related directly or indirectly to the pandemic, opened so many doors that otherwise would not have materialized so soon. Fantasy baseball in general, and the pitching aspects of the game continue to rapidly evolve – or digress, depending on your perspective. And, for fantasy owners, roster management became more and more of a challenge. Still, there are always standouts, and it's time to see who they are.

That said, let's get to my list of the 2021 award winners:

Newcomer Award – Logan Webb: He actually debuted for the Giants in 2019, and tossed a total of 94, mostly lackluster, innings over 2019-20. He displayed some upside but lacked command, and didn't show much confidence in his somewhat promising stuff. This season started out much the same, but there appeared to be a refreshing approach to his mound work. Despite mediocre numbers, he caught my eye in late April and early May – enough so that I commented he had "the best stuff of any Giants pitcher not named Kevin Gausman," and I recommended pursuing him despite him having a 1-3 record with an ERA over 5.00 at the time. With every start, you could see it coming together. He suffered a minor injury that cost him the month of June, but he came back better than ever and hasn't looked back. I actually think the best may be yet to come.

Biggest (Pleasant) Surprise – Adam Wainwright: It's pretty unusual for someone to surprise the fantasy community at age 40, but Wainwright did just that. For years he has been a very reliable starting pitcher, consistently providing respectable fantasy numbers. For 10 seasons (2007 to 2016) he logged at or near 200 innings, with solid ratios, and he even chipped in 200-plus strikeouts a few times. In recent years, his production slipped a bit – nothing horrible, just presumably the effects of advancing age. On draft day 2021, he was considered a back-of-the-rotation option in deeper leagues. After his first May start, he sported a 4.72 ERA with an equally unimpressive 1.34 WHIP. Since then, Wainwright has allowed two or fewer runs in 15 of 22 starts, compiling a 16-7 overall record with a 2.89 ERA. In his last start, he surpassed 200 innings. Not bad for an old guy.

Biggest Disappointment – Patrick Corbin: Horrible peripherals have become pretty commonplace in baseball these days. Much of it is poor pitching mechanics, sometimes coupled with higher injury rates. Whatever the reasons, there is no shortage of bad pitching. The key to this "award" is not just pitching poorly but doing so when there were much higher expectations. The strength of the Nationals was supposed to be their top three starting pitchers – Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Corbin. But, it all went wrong. Scherzer was solid (even though a bad bullpen did him no favors), but Strasburg made just five starts in another injury-plagued season, and Corbin never came close to reaching his projections. He occasionally tossed a decent start, but the bottom line is a 8-15 record with a 1.47 WHIP and an ugly 6.11 ERA, which is nothing like owners anticipated. Can he bounce back in 2022? We'll see. It can't get much worse.

From the Ashes Award – Shohei Ohtani: I remember when Ohtani first came to the United States in 2018. There was considerable fanfare and more than a little curiosity. Could a player both hit and pitch in the major leagues? Most teams weren't so sure, but the Angels agreed to let him do both, so that's where he signed. I guess it's not too surprising they didn't exactly know how to handle him. They spaced out his pitching assignments, and he generally didn't hit the days before and/or after he took the mound. He never really got into a rhythm and then he blew out his elbow after just 58 innings pitched. He wasn't able to pitch in 2019, and he briefly tried it in the shortened 2020 season but he clearly wasn't ready, so back to hitting only. He hit fairly well, but the chatter calmed somewhat. Then, this year, manager Joe Madden decided it was time to take the gloves off. Ohtani has DH'd almost every game, taking the mound every fifth or sixth day (they did monitor his pitch counts, especially early in the year). We all know how that has turned out. He has tailed off some the last few weeks. Is he tired? Probably. But, now with a full season of mound work under his belt, I expect him to be even better in 2022. That splitter is rude beyond belief.

Kevin Gregg Award – Daniel Bard: This award is the ultimate smoke and mirrors honor. Named after one of the most famous (infamous?) mock closers in the history of the game, every year some guy zigs and zags through the season, somehow collecting a few saves. Funny, it seems like the deeper I get into the 2021 awards, the harder it is to choose a winner. Pitchers pretending to be closers abound these days. And, Bard wins with 20 saves (plus seven wins). He's a great story – out of the game from 2013 to 2020, he brought back his 98 mph fastball and eventually started pitching the ninth inning at age 36. Pretty amazing, really, but he's too hittable and too wild, leading to a 1.71 WHIP. That's not good anywhere, but it's especially bad in Coors Field. I like the guy and love his story, but a 5.28 ERA I can live without. He's in a more appropriate set-up role now.

Closer of the Year – Josh Hader: Last year, for the first time, I gave an award to the same pitcher in consecutive years. There are always several closers who log a similar number of saves, rarely blowing one, posting a respectable ERA, and basically getting it done in the ninth inning. I bestowed the award on Liam Hendriks based on an intangible I'll call faith – faith in him getting the save with little or no drama. I'm getting too old for ninth-inning drama. He was under consideration again, but I had to switch up and go to Hader as my "change the channel" guy. I watch a lot of baseball games, and he is the one guy – almost the only one, really – who gets a "this game's over" as soon as he leaves the bullpen. He has 33 saves, with just one blown save (it was back on July 7, for the record), and a 1.34 ERA with an 0.88 WHIP, and 92 strikeouts in 53 innings. With today's extreme scarcity of locked-in closers, I anticipate higher price tags on guys like Hader next spring.

Pitcher of the Year – Robbie Ray: This was officially the hardest one to call for me. Had the season ended in early July instead of early October, it would have been easy. Jacob deGrom would have won it for fun with a ridiculous 1.08 ERA and an even more amazing 0.55 WHIP, but his season was marred by injury, opening the door for others. An interesting note, was there a full moon on July 7? Hader's last blown save was against the Mets, in the game that would be deGrom's last 2021 start. Carrying on, had Scherzer pitched for the Dodgers all year, he might have been the guy. He certainly wasn't bad in Washington, but in Los Angeles, he's just one of four aces. Hmmm. That's a pretty good hand. Gerrit Cole (Yankees) and Zack Wheeler (Phillies) have really tried to carry their teams into the playoffs. That certainly gets you into the consideration set. I eventually got down to Ray, and Milwaukee's Corbin Burnes. I decided on Ray (among the MLB leaders in strikeouts – 238 in just 182 innings – with an outstanding ERA and WHIP) based on this being a "fantasy" baseball award. Ray's numbers were easily equivalent to the other contenders, but he gets the nod based on his draft-day price tag. He was clearly the value buy among the leaders.

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

• I want to recognize a couple more guys who took a significant step forward this year. I'll start with the White Sox Dylan Cease who has put it all together and might be poised to slot in as their No. 1 in 2022. Strikeouts are his game, and he really does it well. Move him up a notch on your list for next spring.
• Miami's Trevor Rogers really stood out this year on a staff that has more than its share of bright spots, but my nod for the top Marlins breakout season goes to Sandy Alcantara. Like the others mentioned here, he has developed more consistent command, and his career is taking off. He gets a large bump in value.
• I have always liked Oakland's Frankie Montas, even while he struggled to find consistency. He has locked in his release point the past couple months, and that has helped him post a sparkling 2.43 ERA since the All-Star break. His 9.9/9 K rate is very good, but I actually think there is still room for it to improve.
• The Giants have generated a well-earned reputation for finding the secret to unlocking a pitcher's capabilities, and Anthony DeSclafani is just one example. I'm not quite as sold on him as I am the others listed here, but he has clearly taken his game up a notch. Just be careful not to overpay on draft day.
• I would be remiss not to mention the much-anticipated debut of Tampa Bay top prospect Shane Baz. He faced the potent Blue Jays lineup, so it was no picnic. That said, Baz was impressive, allowing just a couple runs over five innings. He was around the strike zone all night, tossing 51 strikes in 65 pitches.
• The Dodgers Julio Urias doesn't get a lot of Cy Young attention even though at 18-3 with a snappy 3.10 ERA, he's probably the only pitcher with a shot at 20 wins in 2021. He should have two more starts before the end of the regular season. The Dodgers simply have the best starting rotation in baseball.

Endgame Odyssey:

It's unusual to see 100-year-old records broken, but the Padres Austin Adams did it, and the details are almost beyond belief. He has unquestionably filthy stuff, but he often has no idea where each pitch is going. Last week, he hit his 24th batter of the season. The previous record (23) was set by Detroit's Howard Ehmke in 1922. It took Ehmke 280 innings to accomplish the feat. Adams needed only 50 innings to surpass it. The Rays have the best record in the American League, and I had to look to see who was leading the team in saves. Andrew Kittredge with seven saves leads. Seven. And, he collected four of those in a span of 10 days in late August/early September. He also has nine wins, boosting his overall value, but this team defies fantasy valuation. 'Here's an interesting scenario to watch. Kyle Finnegan is probably not the long-term answer as the closer in Washington, but Tanner Rainey could be. Rainey has closer stuff with shaky (that's being generous) command. We'll see if he can throw some strikes. The Mariners Andres Munoz is on a rehab assignment following 2019 Tommy John surgery. He probably won't see Seattle this year, but he has closer stuff, and could be a ninth-inning candidate in 2022. Keep an eye on him.