Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani run away with 2024 fantasy baseball awards

Congratulations, you made it! 

The 162-game marathon is finally over (minus Monday’s Mets-Braves doubleheader), which means there are no more ageless veterans performing like they discovered the fountain of youth to add from the waiver wire. There are no more rookie fireballers on their way to the bigs to boost your rotation, no more draft-day afterthoughts outperforming their average draft position, and no more top-tier players falling way short of expectations. 

Monday, your league will crown its champion and figure out a punishment for the loser. (Maybe the grand loser should play a round of golf dressed like Guy Fieri or Grimace while using clubs made for a toddler — and if he or she shoots over 110, they have to do it all over again.) 

That means there’s no more advice to give. Just awards to hand out. Roto Rage Jarad Wilk doles out the honors (and dishonors) for the AL and Fantasy Alarm’s Howard Bender handles the NL awards: 

Most Valuable 

AL: Aaron Judge, Yankees — An argument could be made for Bobby Witt Jr., as he had more stolen bases, an ever-so-slightly better average, a few more runs scored and struck out less, but Judge is the MVP. He entered Friday leading the majors in homers, RBIs, walk rate, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and WAR. After a slow start, business picked up — and rarely slowed down (outside of a 16-game homer-less streak where he hit .207). Juan Soto was a close third. 

NL: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers — Is there really anything to say about Ohtani’s season that hasn’t already been said? Once he cleared 50/50, he easily established himself as not only the best player in reality, but in fantasy as well. 

Least Valuable 

AL: Randy Arozarena, Rays/Mariners — Drafted as a top-15 outfielder (top-50 overall), he came nowhere near performing like one. The move to Seattle didn’t help, and he will finish with career-low marks in average, OBP, slugging and OPS. 

NL: Matt Olson, Braves — Some might disagree with this after Olson popped 29 home runs, but after a 54-homer season and back-to-back 30-plus homer seasons prior to that, Olson was a major disappointment for where he was drafted this season. His .246 average and near 25 percent strikeout rate are indicative of his struggles, but what made it worse was that you couldn’t take him out of your lineup. 

Cy Young 

AL: Tarik Skubal, Tigers — Not only will he finish with the most wins and the best ERA in the bigs, he will be in the top five in opponents’ average, top three in walk rate, and second in WHIP and swinging-strike rate. He also struck out 30.3 percent of the batters he faced, the best mark in the AL. This wasn’t even close. 

NL: Chris Sale, Braves — What a resurgence for the 35-year-old southpaw. Sale notched 18 wins while posting an 11.40 K/9 and a 2.38 ERA. Maybe you would have expected that five years ago, but to get this kind of a season from Sale who threw the most innings he has thrown since 2017, is a huge boost in fantasy. 

Sigh Young 

AL: Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays — Though he has been better in the second half, he had his lowest strikeout rate since 2018, his highest ERA and walk rate since 2019, and his lowest swinging-strike rate since 2017. Other pitchers were worse than Gausman, but they weren’t drafted as a top five starter. 

NL: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers — The injury to end Yamamoto’s season was just the icing on this horrible-tasting cake. The Japanese right-hander came into the league with all sorts of pomp and circumstance, not to mention expectations of a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season. He was drafted to be an ace in fantasy, and he delivered numbers you could have gotten seven rounds later. 

Top Rookie 

AL: Luis Gil, Yankees — Gil was 9-1 with a 2.03 ERA, 96 strikeouts, .142 opponents’ average and 12 percent swinging-strike rate in 14 starts before Gerrit Cole debuted on June 19. He took the mound Saturday with 15 wins and a 3.27 ERA. Colton Cowser was valuable to the Orioles, but Gil won this in the first two months of the season (even with an unsightly 4.39 walks per nine). 

NL: Paul Skenes, Pirates — We knew he was going to be good, but 131 innings with a 1.99 ERA and 11.47 K/9 good? Those numbers are other-worldly when you think about him being just 22-years old and this being his first turn in the majors. He has heat, he has the repertoire and has the mustache. What else is there? 

Comeback Player 

AL: Jack Flaherty, Tigers — Before being traded to the Dodgers, Flaherty ranked sixth in strikeouts per nine, fourth in WHIP and 14th in ERA in 18 starts with Detroit. He also had the 15th-best opponents’ average, the seventh-lowest walk rate and the seventh-best swinging-strike rate. By far his best season since 2019 — and it started in the AL. 

NL: Chris Sale, Braves — You hate to repeat, but take everything you just read up above and add to it the fact that Sale suffered multiple, major injuries over the three years prior and threw a total of just 150 innings during that stretch. 

Bargain Bin Bat 

AL: Brent Rooker, Athletics — After smashing 30 homers in 2023, he was targeted as a late-round pick (260th overall) this year. He has proved he was worth more than a flier, entering Friday ranked fourth in the AL in homers and slugging percentage, third in RBIs, and sixth in OBP and OPS. 

NL: Jurickson Profar, Padres — If Profar was even drafted in your league, he was easily the strongest draft value. More than likely, he was an early-season waiver claim, which makes his .282 average with 24 home runs and 10 stolen bases even more of a fantasy dream come true. Most expected him to step aside when the younger Padres outfielders were ready, but his level of play kept him going all season long. 

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Bargain Bin Arm 

AL: Seth Lugo, Royals — Remember how the Mets always seemed to think he was more valuable out of the bullpen? He entered his start Saturday with the second-most wins in the majors, a top-six ERA and WHIP, and a top 10 opponents average. Not bad for the 86th-ranked starting pitcher (284th overall) entering the season. 

NL: Shota Imanaga, Cubs — With an ADP of 176, which is a 15th-round pick in a 12-team league, Imanaga was largely ignored by many. All the hype was on Yamamoto and the scouting on Imanaga was nowhere near as glowing. After 15 wins, a little more than a strikeout per inning and a sub-3.00 ERA, we know which bargain pitcher helped fantasy managers the most. 

Breakout Hitter 

AL: Brent Rooker, Athletics — Forgot to mention, he ranked 20th in the AL in stolen bases and sixth in average. 

NL: Jackson Merrill, Padres — Merrill wasn’t even supposed to open the season with the big club, but his spring performance earned him the honors and his spectacular play both in the field and at the plate kept him in the lineup every day. The 21-year-old hit .290 for his rookie campaign with 24 home runs and 16 stolen bases, and he is just developing. Imagine once he hits his physical prime in five years. 

Breakout Pitcher 

AL: Bowden Francis, Blue Jays — Over Francis’ last 11 games (10 starts), he led the majors in ERA (1.80), WHIP (0.60) and opponents’ average (.140), and had the second-lowest walk rate (1.1 per nine). Four of his final eight starts (all seven innings or more) were one-hitters. He twice took a no-no into the ninth in those outings. Bryce Miller and Mason Miller were also in consideration. 

NL: Michael King, Padres — Ask any Yankees fan and they will tell you they knew King was a potential breakout candidate. He had been brought along slowly by the organization but landed in San Diego after the Juan Soto trade. His 13 wins with a 2.95 ERA and 10.42 K/9 are likely just the tip of the iceberg for this 29-year-old right-hander. Slow and steady truly does win the race.