Mound Musings: The 2023 Season Pitching Awards Issue

We are close to completing a full season of questionable pitching, no doubt influenced by workloads in both rotations and bullpens that have certainly had an impact on performance, and perhaps more importantly, have strained organizational depth. To put it bluntly, we've seen pitchers on MLB mounds who clearly should have remained in the minors. On the plus side, we have seen several new arms make a big splash. 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 is time to see who they are.

That said, let's get to my list of the 2023 award winners:

Newcomer Award – Kodai Senga: He's considered a newcomer even though he spent several seasons pitching in Japan. It's not quite MLB, but it is comparable to spending time in Double-A and/or Triple-A, which is valuable experience. Any talk of Senga starts with his almost untouchable forkball – a pitch that is extremely rare, and therefore not a pitch many hitters are accustomed to seeing. He paints corners with a nice four-seamer that sits mid 90s, then breaks out the forkball that travels low 80s toward the waist-high plate and ends up literally in the dirt. If hitters can layoff and wait for a fastball, he can face higher pitch counts and extra baserunners, but his location has improved steadily. I look for even better results next year. 

Biggest (Pleasant) Surprise – Justin Steele: The first few times I saw Steele, I wondered if hitters might eventually figure him out. He consistently hit his spots with quality pitches, and hitters were frequently off-balance. The lefty has good, but not great stuff, averaging about 92 mph on his fastball, but he has a nice repertoire, and he is comfortable throwing anything in any count. His motion is a bit deceptive, but since he has locked in a repeatable release point, hitters still seem to be challenged in picking up pitches. The surprise part is his discovery of that release point at an earlier time in his career – especially for a southpaw – but the surprise is over, and he's on his way.

Biggest Disappointment – Jameson Taillon: Okay, this sorrowful list is both long and distinguished with quite a few huge disappointments in 2023 including guys like Lucas Giolito, Brady Singer and Jack Flaherty, but for me it came down to Toronto's Alek Manoah and the Cubs Taillon. Taillon won in a photo finish, but perhaps I should have just given the award to a pitcher in each league. Taillon defines frustration. He has the raw stuff to be an elite fantasy pitcher, and he teases us every now and then with a very good outing. Then, inexplicably, he loses focus, loses command, and basic effectiveness deserts him in a big way. Will he ever step up and establish himself as a consistent star? I can't really say, but he's been around long enough now to make a 5.27 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP nothing but common ineffectiveness.

From the Ashes Award – Blake Snell: Snell is one of those "get him while he's hot" pitchers who can pile up ashes quickly and then build something pretty special from those ashes. On May 19 of this year, Snell owned a 1-6 record with an ugly 5.40 ERA and a discouraging 1.56 WHIP. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start since (and only twice at that), and his ERA continues to sparkle (now at 2.43). He has also included 217 strikeouts in just 167 innings. The chink in his armor is control as he has walked 93 in those innings. As long as he is throwing strikes, he's a true ace, but at 30 years old, one would hope he could be counted on to stay around the plate with that wicked curve, and it hasn't really happened. Or maybe it has? Has this latest stretch of extreme effectiveness signaled the arrival of a pitching ace? Only time will tell.

Kevin Gregg Award – David Robertson: This is my annual award for the least-closer-like relief pitcher who collected quite a few saves. This year, I feel like the manager of a lot of teams in MLB. Write the names of a huge list of relief pitchers on slips of paper and throw them into a hat. When the ninth inning rolls around, draw one out. Could I have a little drumroll please? And, the winner is … Mr. Robertson. He is actually a pretty decent set-up guy but he has served as a closer several times (175 career saves), and with the barren closer landscape, it is more than enough to get him the ball in the ninth inning. Teams tend to forget he has blown 51 saves until it becomes obvious he is miscast. He's pretty much out of the role in Miami (today), but he'll get another chance with somebody when they get desperate.

Closer of the Year – Alexis Diaz: Last year, this award went to the Mets' Edwin Diaz, and based on his 2022 performance, he was the favorite heading into this year. But wait. Unfortunately, a bad step celebrating a win in the World Baseball Classic resulted in a season-ending patellar tendon injury, and took him out before the season began. My favorite through most of the year has been Baltimore's Felix Bautista, but he got hurt in August, cracking the door to keep the award in the family, and I'm giving the award to Edwin's little brother Alexis. He's not quite to Edwin's level yet, but he's close, compiling a nice 2.51 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP while accumulating 37 saves in 40 chances. Both the Reds (and the Orioles for that matter) far outperformed expectations this year, and the emergence of their closers has been a big reason why.

Pitcher of the Year – Spencer Strider: This was again officially the hardest one to call for me. I decided on Strider, the MLB leader in strikeouts with 270 in just 176 innings, with an outstanding record of 18-5 as this year's winner despite a rather pedestrian ERA of 3.73 on the year. His WHIP is a solid 1.03, but he can be a bit unlucky, and he can give up a few too many longballs, but I can forgive those, as he is often pitching with a big lead in front of the dynamic (understatement) Atlanta offense. When your team is ahead and you fall behind in the count, throw a strike. More pitchers need to learn that lesson. I LOVE his ability to miss bats, so if he does get into trouble, he often escapes.

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

• These Ramblings might be seen as an honorable mention category. The Angels' amazing Shohei Ohtani is done for this season, and while he is expected to hit next year, he will have elbow surgery this offseason, which is expected to keep him off the mound for most if not all of 2024. What uniform will he wear?
• The Dodgers have compiled the best record in the NL West 10 times in the last 11 years and, as always, Clayton Kershaw is right in the middle of it. The 35-year-old graybeard is a little banged up so they have given him some extra rest between starts the last few weeks, but when the bell rings, he answers.
• Tampa Bay's Tyler Glasnow was also a worthy contender in the Pitcher of the Year category, at least on some days. When he's on, he can be as dominant as any pitcher in the game, but then he seems to lose command of the strike zone, and things can unravel as they did in his recent start against the Orioles.
• Another senior citizen could have been considered for the disappointment award, but given his career contribution – he collected win No. 200 this week – I couldn't bring myself to hang that on the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright. In fact, pretty much the entire St. Louis staff contributed to a lost season.
• I think the hardest guy to leave off the 2023 awards list was Baltimore's ace-in-waiting Grayson Rodriguez. He was knocked around pretty hard at the start of the year, but after a stint in Triple-A, he returned and has steadily improved. His overall numbers this year hide the extreme upside he holds for the future.

Endgame Odyssey:

The Cubs lost Adbert Alzolay to injury, and I looked at Julian Merryweather as the guy to own, possibly along with Michael Fulmer, but Fulmer is also hurt, clearing the way for Merryweather until Alzolay returns. On the other side of Chicago, the prospects are bleak. Gregory Santos has been unreliable and is now on the IL, and a series of other arms hasn't fared much better. Now for the good part. If he can get and stay healthy, I look for Garrett Crochet to step up for some ninth-inning work, both this year and next. One has to wonder if the Royals have had enough of Carlos Hernandez. He has been awful since stepping in as their closer, and Taylor Clarke has been far more effective. With 41 saves, Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase was in the hunt for Closer of the Year, but 11 blown saves (and nine losses) got him eliminated from consideration.

Next week, we wrap up an exciting (and hopefully productive) season of Mound Musings with the annual Kids on Parade edition. Don't miss it!