Let’s take a look at some of the breakout players from the 2011 season. I define breakout to mean it was the first year they have produced at a high level, whether it is their rookie season or tenth year in baseball. And this usually translates into juicy targets for your 2012 fantasy teams!
Some players had amazing seasons in 2011, but I didn’t consider them for this team since they have already had All-Star level production in previous years (Matt Kemp comes to mind as an example).
A team needs a player at each position! So let’s get to it:
C – Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers, 24 years old, 3rd season
2011 Season – 141 GP, 63 R, 19 HR, 82 RBI, .295 AVG, 3 SB
Alex Avila has probably vaulted himself into a top 5 catcher for next year. Avila made the All-Star game and showed amazing poise for a young catcher in charge of the Detroit pitching staff. Despite being forced to play basically everyday at one point, because of an injury to Victor Martinez, Avila stayed remarkably consistent flirting with .300 all season.
1B – Michael Morse, Washington Nationals, 29 years old, 7th season
2011 Season – 146 GP, 73 R, 31 HR, 95 RBI, .303 AVG, 2 SB
Michael Morse has always shown flashes of power in his previous years and in the minors. He even led all spring training players in homers in 2011 showing that he was ready. Finally, a team gave him over 500 at bats and the Nats were rewarded with a breakout season. Morse also provides position flexibility playing both first base and the corner outfield.
Honorable mention goes to Freddie Freeman.
2B – Jemile Weeks, Oakland A’s, 24 years old, 1st season
2011 season – 97 GP, 50 R, 2 HR, 36 RBI, .303 AVG, 22 SB
Easily the weakest position for the breakout stars team. I choose to go with the leadoff hitter who I think will improve. Jemile, in 406 AB’s, had 26 doubles, 8 triples and stole 22 bases. Not a bad start for a rookie 24 year old speedster. He was able to maintain his fast start and keep his average above .300. Jemile will have to work on his pitch selection and get on base more as his .340 on base percentage will need to improve to become a stud leadoff hitter.
Honorable mention goes to Danny Espinoza.
SS – Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians, 25 years old, 5th season
2011 Season – 151 GP, 87 R, 25 HR, 92 RBI, .273 AVG, 17 SB
While Asrubal did only hit .244 the second half, he did breakout in every other major stat. He had never hit more than 6 homers or 68 ribbies in his 4 previous seasons. Asdrubal’s power numbers will be a welcome source from the scarce shortstop position for us fantasy nerds.
Honorable mention goes to Starlin Castro.
3B – Brett Lawrie, Toronto Blue Jays, 21 years old, 1st season
2011 season – 43 GP, 26 R, 9 HR, 25 RBI, .293 AVG, 7 SB
Yes, Lawrie only played a quarter of a season, but third base was a little weak on the true breakout players this year. And Lawrie showed enough to make me believe in him! His OPS was off the charts at .953 and he bats in a great lineup and a great hitter's ballpark. Chances are good that he gets moved to second base at some point, the position he played mostly while in the minors.
A quick aside here, what happened to all the up and coming young third basemen? There was supposed to be this new wave of players at the hot corner that were going to make their presence felt in 2011. What happened Chris Johnson, Mike Moustakas, Danny Valencia, Brent Morel, Pedro Alvarez and even David Freese? Granted some injuries played a part, and David Freese did go nuts in the post-season! Which, of course, means Freese’s draft position will probably be higher than it should be.
LF – Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals, 27 years old, 5th season
2011 Season – 151 GP, 101 R, 23 HR, 87 RBI, .303 AVG, 17 SB
Alex Gordon has been trying to live up to his All-Star expectations since he was first brought up to the majors 5 years ago. Kansas City seems to have “the next George Brett” arrive every 4-5 years and Alex was hyped as the franchise’s savior. That’s a ton of pressure to throw on anyone! Alex had never previously hit above .260, never had more than 60 ribbies and never had scored more than 72 runs.
CF – Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox, 28 years old, 5th season
2011 Season – 158 GP, 119 R, 32 HR, 105 RBI, .322 AVG, 39 SB
To say Jacoby Ellsbury had a breakout season is like saying the NY Yankees have won a championship or two. Ellsbury has vaulted himself into the top 10, if not top 5, of any fantasy draft. Ellsbury never had more than 9 homers or 60 ribbies. How many could he have had this year if he was batted lower in the order I wonder?
Honorable mention goes to Melky Cabrera.
RF – Mike Stanton, Florida Marlins, 22 years old, 2nd season
2011 season – 150 GP, 79 R, 34 HR, 87 RBI, .262 AVG, 5 SB
Stanton started putting up power numbers that are incredible since he played half the season on one leg, has little protection in the lineup and is only 22 years old. He will have to cut back on strikeouts like most young sluggers, but with his raw strength and talent I can see a few 50 homer seasons in his future!
Utility – Emilio Bonifacio, Florida Marlins, 26 years old, 5th season
2011 Season – 152 GP, 78 R, 5 HR, 36 RBI, .296 AVG, 40 SB
Emilio Bonifacio’s season didn’t really start until Jack McKeon took over as manager on June 20th. McKeon made Emilio his everyday leadoff hitter and gave him the green light to run. And run he did! Emilio only had 4 stolen bases when McKeon took over, so in just over 3 months (half of a full season) Emilio stole 36 bases. Emilio hit .380 in July with 16 steals. He also hit .339 in September with 9 steals. Emilio really played all over the field last year, 5 games at second, 36 at third, 16 in CF, 32 in LF, 15 in RF and 67 at SS (filling in for the injured Hanley Ramirez).
SP # 1 – Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks, 26 years old, 5th season
2011 season – 33 GS, 222 IP, 198 K’s, 21-4 record, 1.09 WHIP, 2.88 ERA
When the NY Yankees traded Ian Kennedy to Arizona in 2010, he showed he belonged in the majors. But no one expected Kennedy to compete for the CY Young Award in 2011! He had never won more than 9 games and his previous best ERA was 3.80, almost a full run higher.
SP # 2 – Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks, 24 years old, 3rd season
2011 season – 33 GS, 222 IP, 169 K’s, 16-12 record, 1.20 WHIP, 3.49 ERA
It seems improbable that the first two breakout starting pitchers are from the same team!? But, Hudson did have his first full season and he produced! It’s always hard to understand what any organization wouldn’t like about a young nasty hurler. But when the Chicago White Sox traded Hudson to the Diamondbacks in the middle of last season, he immediately showed he was going to make a strong impact for years to come in the Diamondbacks rotation.
SP # 3 – Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants, 34 years old, 7th season
2011 season – 28 GS, 179.2 IP, 139 K’s, 13-7 record, 1.25 WHIP, 2.71 ERA
Vogelsong is really 34 years old? I guess it’s never too late to have your breakout season! Vogelsong actually had not pitched in the majors since 2006 with the Pirates. I can confidently say no one saw this season coming! He never previously had triple digit strikeouts and never won more than 6 games, though he once did lose 13, ouch!
Closer # 1 – Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves, 23 years old, 1st season
2011 season – 77 IP, 127 K’s, 4-3 record, 46 SV, 1.04 WHIP, 2.10 ERA
At the start of the season, Craig Kimbrel was supposed to split the closer duties with Jonny Venters. But instead, Kimbrel took over and did things a rookie closer has never done before, including surpassing the previous record for rookie saves in a season. Kimbrel also had the longest scoreless inning streak in the majors with 37.2 innings.
Closer # 2 – Drew Storen – Washington Nationals, 24 years old, 2nd season
2011 season – 75.1 IP, 74 K’s, 6-3 record, 43 SV, 1.02 WHIP, 2.75 ERA
Storen had a solid season in 2010 working his way up the bullpen ladder to become the setup man by the end of the season. He impressed the Nats to the point that they gave him the closers role to start 2011. Storen proved the Nats were smart with his outstanding 2011 season, finishing tied for 6th in the majors with his 43 saves. Weirdly, his season has almost gone unnoticed!
Set Up Man – David Robertson, NY Yankees, 26 years old, 4th season
2011 season – 66.2 IP, 100 K’s, 4-0 record, 34 Holds, 1.13 WHIP, 1.08 ERA
Robertson has improved a notch each year, but while working with Mariano Rivera, he had the epitome of a breakout year in 2011. How often do you see an ERA lower than the pitcher’s WHIP? Also, having 100 punch-outs in 66 and two-thirds innings pitched is just crazy! Oh, Robertson also happened to lead the league in holds, ho-hum. A crazy stat line of his is 14 K’s with the bases loaded this season. That is the most in the AL since a 1977 fireballer named Nolan Ryan.
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