2020 Capricorn Goats
Reading what Dorothea Lasky of the Astro Poets has to write about Capricorn, you’d think it was the ideal sign for all professional athletes. “A Capricorn will endure, conquer, and overcome any obstacle in their path, and it is the one sign of the zodiac that no one will ever beat… No other sign has the grit to dig into existence the way a Capricorn does.” This is obviously a broad generalization, evidenced by the fact that the Goats don’t take home the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League title every single year. But if you look at the top Capricorn talents over the last several decades, you’ll start to see what Lasky is talking about. Steve Carlton, Bruce Sutter, Rickey Henderson, Ozzie Smith, Edgar Martinez, Albert Pujols: from starting pitching, to relief pitching, to baserunning, to defense, to hitting for average, to hitting for… everything, CAP has had a truly dominant player at pretty much every baseball category.
Of course, one dominant player does not a championship team make, and oftentimes when looking at players born between December 22nd and January 19th, the supporting cast lags behind the star leader. But with a young offensive core, a solid top-to-bottom pitching staff, and plenty of that famous Capricorn grit, it looks like this team could have some staying power in the FABL’s Negative League for years to come.
It might be too soon to add Fernando Tatis Jr. (1,068 points / 18.1 points per game) to the above list of Capricorn all-time greats… but then again, maybe not. I don’t want to jinx anything, but he’s shown such amazing talent already, and with such a natural poise that it’s hard for me to believe that his star won’t continue to rise. Another rising star is Astros corner outfielder Kyle Tucker (840 / 14.5), who finally broke out this year and showed why he has been a top prospect for so long. There’s a big dropoff after those two, although Kevin Pillar (670 / 12.4) has a reputation as an outstanding defender in center field, and Austin Nola (543 / 11.3) could develop into a legitimate power threat behind the plate, although he might also be a beneficiary of that Padres magic that seemed to affect everyone on their roster in 2020.
Remember how we’ve seen three previous signs get around a lackluster second base crop by installing a second star shortstop at the keystone? Well, Capricorn doubles down on that strategy with shortstops at both second AND third base. In addition to top scorer Tatis Jr., J.P. Crawford (553 / 10.4) and Jose Iglesias (498 / 12.8) both outscored their nearest competition at second and third base: Ozzie Albies (399 / 13.8) and Eduardo Escobar (404 / 7.5), respectively. Although if this were a simulation rather than a fantasy point-accumulating numbers game, I would strongly consider having Albies and Kris Bryant (277 / 8.1) man those other two infield spots. It’s also worth mentioning Edwin Encarnacion (350 / 8.0) because of his track record, even though he was basically a non-factor for the White Sox as the 2020 season came to a close.
While Trevor Bauer (1,055 / 95.9) had a tremendous Cy Young Award-winning season in 2020, I wouldn’t quite put him in the list of all-time Goat greats just yet. Pitching depth has been a strength of Capricorn for many years, particularly where lefties are concerned. In addition to former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel (741 / 67.4), Jon Lester (331/ 27.6) and Cole Hamels (-9 points in just one 2020 game) have been mainstays in the CAP rotation for the last decade, although the former is starting to fade at age 36, and the latter had his 2020 season ruined by injuries. It’s too early to tell, but Max Fried (755 / 68.6) could join this talented crop of CAP southpaws if he keeps up his production for a few more years. Moving back to righties, Kevin Gausman (607 / 50.6) is trending upward, even receiving a qualifying offer from the Giants to prevent him from leaving, and Dylan Cease (417 / 34.8) is another top prospect in the White Sox system.
Capricorn pitching depth extends beyond just the starting rotation, as the top three Goats relievers have all spent time as bona fide closers. Alex Colome (678 / 32.3) enters free agency without truly dominant strikeout-to-walk numbers, but a 0.81 ERA will still hold weight with some organizations. Raisel Iglesias (578 / 26.3) began his career as a starter, but he’s blossomed into a great closer for the Reds. He also gives Capricorn the only two current major leaguers with the last name Iglesias. Diego Castillo (440 / 20.4) was used as a high-leverage weapon by the Rays, although he did tie with Nick Anderson to appear in nearly 20% of the team’s save opportunities in 2020. And that’s not even counting sinkerballing lefty Zack Britton (438 / 21.9) to give the bullpen some balance.
Next time, we’ll head back over to the Positive League to look at a sign that is just exiting a period of utter dominance of the FABL, the Aries Rams.