DFSR Midseason MLB Awards - Biggest Bust

Welcome to the Major League All-Star Break, where your only baseball fix over the next few days will be a rather meaningless exhibition game and a batting practice contest. So we thought we'd take the time to weigh in on our mid-season awards (both superlative and not so much).

Here we bring you the Biggest "Bust" of the season. Bust can mean a lot of things (in baseball terms and otherwise). Some guys went bust based on preseason expectations. Others just went dudes who, flat out, suck.

Also be sure to check out our MVP, Cy Young and Biggest Surprise picks for the first half.

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James Davis - DFSR CoFounder and CEO, drops knowledge on the DFSR MLB Podcast
Anthony Rizzo - CHC
.246 / .341 / .407 -  0.7 WAR
12 HR / 38 Runs / 61 RBI
This guy has almost been the inverse of Jose Ramirez this season. He's gone from a guy who tops a .900 OPS consistently to one who is trying to keep his head over .700. In an age 28 season that should still be well in the middle of his prime, he's posting career lows in AVG and SLG while being .010 points off his career low OBP. So what's going on here? Well, BABIP certainly tells some of the tale. Rizzo has never been great at turning balls in play into base hits, but this year's .236 BABIP is low even for him. He's walking less than he did any season besides his rookie year, and while he's striking out less as well, this less patient approach overall has seriously hurt him. His .157 ISO is a career low too. Throw in his typically bad defense and you have a guy who currently sits at .4 WAR, meaning he's basically been as good as players you can pull off the scrap heap, or out of the minors. Thankfully the Cubs are good enough that they are still 1 game back in the central, but will Rizzo turn it around in time to be the impact player we've come to expect? Only time will tell.

Doug Norrie - DFSR CoFounder, Editor-in-Chief, and Statistical Director
Chris Davis - BAL
.158 / .232 / .274 (-2.4 WAR)
9 HR / 17 Runs / 28 RBIs
It's a real testament to how off the rails the Orioles' season has gone up until this point that they've allowed Chris Davis 312 plate appearances with these numbers. Most players would have been relegated back to furthest recesses of the farm system but the O's, in general, have been a colossal train wreck (They have four of the bottom 20 WARs in this season) that Crush might as well just play out the contract. And oh man, the contract. Baltimore still has roughly four years and $92 million left of this guy before the nightmare is over. It's going to be a fun. What started so promising with Crush leading off on Opening Day has devolved into a historically bad season the likes of which we might not see for some time. He's dead last in WAR (-2.4) and considering that's a cumulative stat, it could get worse. Going back to 2009, only Yuniesky Betancourt has a lower WAR (-2.5 in 2009). Davis has something to strive for now!

Chris Durell - DFSR MLB Content Manager and Lead Contributor
Jose Abreu - CWS
.253 / .311 / .441 (0.0 WAR)
13 HR / 44 Runs / 52 RBIs

Here we have a player that has been showing up in optimal lineups on almost a daily basis and judging by the comments in chat, I am on the right track with my bust pick. Since coming over from Cuba and signing a deal with the White Sox back in 2013, Abreu has been one of the most consistent hitters in the game as he entered this season with four straight seasons hitting over .290, with 25+ home runs and 100+ RBI.  His 2018 season has been a bust to this point as he is hitting just .253 with a .311 on-base percentage and his lowest HR/Game(.14) total of his career. Looking at the fantasy numbers, he ranks 170th in average FanDuel points per game(9.6) and 176th in average DraftKings points per game(7.3). The good we can take form all of this is that his price has come down and there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel as he is currently running a career-low .282 BABIP and 12.7% HR/FB rate. One thing is for sure. You will continue to see him in optimal lineups. Send complaints to Doug Norrie.

Ryan Sheppard - DFSR MLB Contributor
Giancarlo Stanton - NYY
.307 / .375 / .641 -  3.1 WAR
24 HR / 48 Runs / 68 RBIs
In a massive offseason move, the New York Yankees brought in the reigning Home Run King. His 2017 numbers were as follows: 59 home runs, 123 runs, 132 RBI, 12.3 percent walk-rate, 23.6 percent strikeout rate, .350 ISO, .410 wOBA and a 156 wRC+ with a season-ending 7.1 WAR. Those numbers are elite for a hitter and while there were a bunch of career-bests in there, nobody has expected this drop-off that we have seen. In 2018, he is on pace for just 38 home runs, 98 runs, 92 RBI, while sporting an 8.7 percent walk-rate, 31.2 percent strikeout rate, .240 ISO, .365 wOBA, 132 wRC+ and is on pace for a 4.8 WAR. The Yankees were certainly expecting something closer to his 2017 numbers and not his 2018 numbers.

Now, let’s be honest. Those numbers for Stanton this year are actually pretty damn good. However, when you’re coming off the season he came off of there were much higher expectations. His 2018 season is closer to his career averages in the most general sense, so this type of regression should not have come as that big of a surprise. However, he still has an entire second half to get things going and see how high he can pull up his numbers.

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