This article is part of our Mound Musings series.
It has been a wild year, but at least we had baseball. I will have to say that 2020 gave us even more surprises than usual, and maybe a few more cases of heartburn as well. COVID-19 and injuries, many related directly or indirectly to the pandemic, opened so many doors that otherwise would not have materialized so soon. 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.
That said, let's get to my list of the 2020 award winners:
Newcomer Award – Sixto Sanchez: I still don't think the Marlins are all that good, but someone forgot to tell them, and Sanchez arrived just in time to catch the wave. He hasn't pitched above Double-A, but he certainly looks right at home in the majors. I saw an interview with him where he mentioned his hero growing up was Pedro Martinez. That's interesting, because I was thinking, he kind of reminds me of Martinez. He has a little more arm, but Martinez stood out because he always seemed to be a few pitches ahead of the hitters, and he was able to execute the exact pitch he needed in a specific situation. That's called "mound presence" and most pitchers don't fully develop that until they have been in the league awhile. Sanchez appears to be the
