There are no more rookies to scout, two-start pitchers to consider or red-hot veteran pitchers to try to unload on one of your foes. It’s over!

A champion will be crowned by day’s end and a loser will be punished (Here’s an idea: a tattoo of Don Knotts feeding grapes to Crispin Glover as he sits on the Iron Throne). But, before we call it a season, it’s time to award the players who helped you achieve fantasy glory, as well as those who make the thought of a root canal seem pleasant.

Roto Rage Jarad Wilk will hand out the NL awards, and Fantasy Alarm’s Howard Bender will handle the honors (and dishonors) for the AL:

MVP



NL: Anthony Rendon, Nationals — Rendon had a great first half (.304, 20 HR, 62 RBI, 65 R, .997 OPS), but was better in the second half (.340, 14 HR, 62 RBI, 51 R, 1.028 OPS) when fantasy owners needed him most. Not only did he rank third in the NL in runs, batting average and slugging percentage, he ranked second in on-base percentage and first in RBIs. He also had the 12th-lowest strikeout percentage (13.2) in the majors among qualified hitters. That is an MVP-worthy season.



AL: Mike Trout, Angels — It may sound like a boring pick, but he remains head and shoulders above the rest of the talent in the AL even after being shut down with a foot injury. He smacked 45 home runs with 104 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in just 134 games and led all of baseball with a .438 OBP. There really is no one more valuable.

LVP

NL: Joey Votto, Reds — Drafted as a top-40 player, he had his lowest average, homer, RBI and walk totals since his injury-shortened 2014 season. His OBP, slugging percentage and OPS were all career-low marks. Saying the 36-year-old is on the decline is being kind.

AL: Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox — Is there a youngster who had a more disappointing season after so much continued preseason hype? He played in just 138 games and hit .266 with 13 home runs and 10 stolen bases. Considering where he was drafted, this is a huge disappointment.

Cy Young

NL: Jacob deGrom, Mets — Had the second-best ERA (2.43) and seventh-lowest opponent average (.207) in the majors. He also had the second-most strikeouts (255), the lowest WHIP (0.97) and the highest WAR (7.0) in the NL. Stephen Strasburg had more wins and innings pitched, but ERA wins out.



AL: Gerrit Cole, Astros — He just barely edges out teammate Justin Verlander thanks to the edge in overall strikeouts (316) and K/9 (13.72). He racked up 19 wins and posted an impressive 2.52 ERA with a 0.89 WHIP in a year where everyone was talking about the juiced ball.

Sigh Young

NL: Trevor Bauer, Reds — Despite a fantastic strikeout rate and the fact he pitched just 10 games in the NL before Sunday, he was awful. After allowing 22 homers in the AL in 24 starts, he allowed another 12 in his first 10 starts with the Reds to go along with a 6.39 ERA and 1.349 WHIP. He also had the 10th-highest walk rate among qualified pitchers. This also could have gone to Noah Syndergaard and his ugly 4.30 ERA.



AL: Yusei Kikuchi, Mariners — There was plenty of hype surrounding the Japanese lefty coming into the season and he looked good to open the year. But he pitched to a ridiculous amount of contact in the wrong year, his strikeouts were below average at best and his 5.52 ERA over 161 ²/₃ innings weren’t helping anyone who stuck with him.

Rookie of the Year

NL: Pete Alonso, Mets — No contest! Not only did he set about every franchise record imaginable (and led all rookies in about every statistical category), but he led the majors in homers and ranked third in RBIs.

AL: Yordan Alvarez, Astros — The Astros rookie slashed .325/.421/.679 and smacked 27 home runs with 78 RBIs over just 356 plate appearances. When the Astros needed depth in the outfield due to injuries, he did not disappoint.

Comeback Player

NL: Josh Donaldson, Braves — After playing just 52 games in 2018, Donaldson returned to his All-Star form (minus the batting average) as he ranked in the top 20 in runs, home runs, RBIs, walks, on-base and slugging percentage, and OPS.

Top Waiver Pickup

After three injury-riddled seasons, Minor returned to the form we glimpsed back in 2013 and he turned out to be one of the better AL pitchers this season. He racked up 200 strikeouts in just over 200 innings and managed to keep his ERA at 3.59 despite a juiced ball and pitching half his games at hitter-friendly Arlington.

NL: Mike Soroka, Braves — Soroka’s 7.2 K/9 is not all that exciting, but picking up a 21-year-old pitcher who finished with a top three ERA, a top 10 WHIP and double-digit wins is found money.

AL: Liam Hendricks, Athletics — With Blake Treinen slotted to close for the A’s at the start of the season, no one was looking at Hendricks. Not even those who liked to draft high-leverage middle relievers were interested. But then Treinen failed and Hendricks and not only did Hendricks pick up the pieces, but he dominated with 25 saves, a 1.40 ERA and a 13.28 K/9 over 83 ¹/₃ innings.

Bargain Bin (Hitter)

NL: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks — To say Marte broke out would be an understatement. A .263 hitter from 2015-18, he hit .329 with career-high marks in homers (32), RBIs (92), hits (187), runs (97), OPS (.981) while also stealing 10 bases. He was the 250th ranked player, according to FantasyPros. That is a great return on your investment.

AL: Marcus Semien, Athletics — Without fail, Semien gets little to no respect in fantasy drafts every year, and he doesn’t come off the board until the middle to late rounds of most drafts. In some 10-team leagues, he doesn’t even make the cut. But with a .284/.369/.518 slash line, 32 homers, 91 RBIs, 122 runs scored and 10 stolen bases, his raw numbers were spectacular and he had the fifth-highest WAR in all of baseball.

Bargain Bin (Pitcher)

NL: Sonny Gray, Reds — Roto Rage’s most underrated pitcher before the season had a career-high 205 strikeouts (10.5 K/9), a career-best 2.87 ERA (fifth-best in the NL) and the fourth-lowest opponent average (.196) in the majors. Hyun-Jin Ryu had a better ERA and WHIP, but Gray’s strikeouts (and lower ADP) put him over the top.

AL: Lucas Giolito, White Sox — After three years of hype and Giolito struggling to establish himself, most fantasy owners refused to even draft the young right-hander. His ADP hovered in the 360-range and he was nothing more than a late-round flier. But with 14 wins, a 3.41 ERA and an 11.94 K/9, Giolito has turned all the doubters around and should be on everyone’s radar next season.

Biggest In-Season Turnaround

NL: Eugenio Suarez, Reds — There was nothing wrong with Suarez’s first half (.248 with 20 HR, 54 RBI, .810 OPS), but he turned it on in the second half, hitting .305 with 29 homers, 49 RBIs and a 1.093 OPS heading into Friday.

AL: Matt Olson, Athletics — He opened the season with the A’s facing the Mariners in Japan and not only went just 1-for-5, but then broke the hamate bone in his hand and was lost for the entire month of April. Few people believed the power would return quickly enough for him and those without an IL to stash him actually let him go. He returned in early May and still finishes the year in the top 10 in power for the AL with 35 home runs. He added 90 RBI and an impressive .351 OBP as well.

Biggest In-Season Flop

NL: Josh Bell, Pirates — One of fantasy baseball’s biggest bargains came out of nowhere to have a first half to remember (.302, 27 HR, 84 RBIs, 1.024 OPS), but fell off the face of the earth in an injury-plagued second half (.233, 10 HR, 32 RBI, .780 OPS).

AL: Domingo Santana, Mariners — When Santana was dealt to the Mariners in the offseason, fantasy owners were ecstatic as the now 27-year old who hit 30 home runs and stole 15 bases for the Brewers in 2017 was going to have full-time at-bats once again. Expectations ran even higher when he hit six home runs with 30 RBIs and four stolen bases through April, and his value was through the roof. He has contributed just 15 home runs and four stolen bases over the past five months, all while hitting .254.

Adam Dunn Award

NL: Kyle Schwarber, Cubs — Kyle Schwarber hit .248 with 37 homers, 152 strikeouts and a .337 on-base percentage. Hunter Renfroe was in the running, but his OBP (.291) didn’t cut it.

AL: Dan Vogelbach, Mariners — When you think of Adam Dunn, you think big power, big strikeouts, low average and a high OBP. Vogelbach checks every box with 30 homers, a 26.4-percent strikeout rate, a .208 average and a .342 OBP.

All NL Fantasy Team

C: J.T. Realmuto, Phillies

1B: Freddie Freeman, Braves

2B: Ozzie Albies, Braves

3B: Anthony Rendon, Nationals

SS: Trevor Story, Rockies

CI: Pete Alonso, Mets

MI: Ketel Marte, D’backs

OF: Cody Bellinger, Dodgers

OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves

OF: Juan Soto, Nationals



UTIL: Eugenio Suarez, RedsSP: Sonny Gray, RedsSP: Jacob deGrom, MetsSP: Hyun-Jin Ryu, DodgersSP: Luis Castillo, RedsSP: Stephen Strasburg, NationalsRP: Kirby Yates, Padres

All AL Fantasy Team

C: Mitch Garver, Twins

1B: Carlos Santana, Indians

2B: DJ LeMahieu, Yankees

3B: Rafael Devers, Red Sox

SS: Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox

CI: Alex Bregman, Astros

MI: Gleyber Torres, Yankees

OF: Mike Trout, Angels

OF: Jorge Soler, Royals

OF: Trey Mancini, Orioles

UTIL: Marcus Semien, Athletics

SP: Gerrit Cole, Astros

SP: Justin Verlander, Astros

SP: Shane Bieber, Indians

SP: Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox

SP: Lucas Giolito, White Sox

RP: Liam Hendriks, Athletics

Team names of the years

Best BBQ joint NYC: Blue Smoak

Perfect citrus for a chutney: Kiermaier Lemons

Worst tongue twister: How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Grichuk?

Best mockumentary: This is Spinal Happ

Band well past its prime: Jethro Tulowitzki

Best line for “Jerry Maguire”: Show Maeda Money

Worst show on TV: Dancing with the Starlings

Best George Clooney movie: From Dusk Till Braun

Best Led Zeppelin song: Whole Votto Love

Best show going off the air: Modern Phamily

Worst video game system: Super Benintendi 64

Best idea for a romantic date: Candelario Lit Dinner

Best tool for winter: Sano plow

Best spinning kick: Roundhouse Kikuchi

Most unoriginal gift for wife: Bouquet of Flores

Best Martin Short movie: Three A-Puigos

Current president of the U.S.: Donaldson Trump

Best George Thorogood & The Destroyers song: Vlad to the Bone