2020 Taurus Bulls
We’ve finally reached the tippity bottom of the 2020 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League standings, which this year is occupied by the Taurus Bulls. The Astro Poets book has a quote that is especially relevant to this sign being in this position: “If you are ever feeling sad, like nothing in the world matters, all you need to do to feel better is watch a Taurus speak about their hopes and dreams. Listening to a Taurus’s words reminds us that if we, too, view life as a slow and deliberate process, we can get back on track toward a goal.” The goal of MLB players born between April 20th (i.e. FOUR TWENTY) and May 21st should be to play well enough to help get their real-life MLB teams to a World Series championship. And thus if this quote is accurate, it could be a slow process before the FABL Taurus Bulls make it back to the top of their imaginary league.
Last season’s Bulls offense was led by Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (892 points / 17.2 points-per-game), who turned it on in the playoffs like you wouldn’t believe, winning both NLCS MVP and World Series MVP. Right behind him in terms of points-per-game average is longtime Royals catcher Salvador Perez (628 / 17.0), who looks like he hasn’t missed a step despite missing all of 2019 due to injury. Interestingly enough, the guy who filled in for Salvy during his lost season, fellow Venezuelan Willson Contreras (560 / 9.8), sticks around in this year’s starting lineup as the DH. Like so many signs on this list, I broke some positional eligibility rules by putting Alex Verdugo (642 / 12.1) in center field, despite the fact that the main return for the Red Sox in the Mookie Betts trade only qualifyed for corner spots. However, if I were willing to sacrifice about 50 fantasy points, I would have Verdugo playing his primary position of right field, with defensive whiz Kevin Kiermaier (425 / 8.7) in center, pushing Tommy Edman (497 / 9.0) to the bench as a super utility option.
Elsewhere in the offense, first baseman Brandon Belt (666 / 13.1) had a solid, if Satanic, bounceback season and leftfielder Michael Brantley (559 / 12.2) is one of the most professional hitters in the game. But injuries kept three of the biggest Taurus stars out of the 2020 lineup. The literal biggest of these stars (at least in terms of height and weight) is Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (423 / 15.1), who twice found himself on the injured list due to a calf strain. On the other end of the spectrum (again, in terms of height and weight), Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (447 / 9.3) fell victim to a knee sprain, but he didn’t perform that well on the field even when healthy. But at least these two were able to make an impact in the 2020 postseason: not the case for A’s Platinum Glove third baseman Matt Chapman (476 / 12.9), who went down for the season due to hip surgery. Needless to say, this could be a very strong group of hitters if healthy.
The top Bulls pitcher is recent Rangers righty Lance Lynn (907 / 69.8), who pitched like the ace he was in his heyday with the Cardinals, but now finds himself one of the newest members of the White Sox. It’s interesting that the rest of the rotation behind Lynn consists of four rookies. Tony Gonsolin (553 / 61.4) and Josh Fleming (435 / 62.1) faced off against each other in the 2020 World Series, and both struggled. Ian Anderson (423 / 70.5) was another good playoff performer for the Braves, but he has just six starts on his major league resume. Perhaps the biggest prospect pedigree of the bunch belongs to Justus Sheffield (469 / 46.9), who had already gained journeyman status at age 24, having been traded from the Indians to the Yankees to the Mariners before his rookie eligibility expired.
Since the shortened nature of the 2020 season makes for some sample size issues, it’s important to mention starting depth here, which has some promising options in Griffin Canning (393 / 35.7), John Means (346 / 34.6), and Jose Urquidy (271 / 54.2), with former number one overall pick Casey Mize waiting in the wings. The Taurus bullpen is a bit of a mess, however, with relative unknown setup man Lucas Sims (387 / 19.4) the highest-scoring traditional reliever of the bunch. Taylor Clarke (370 / 30.8) had a handful of starts, so it’s a little dicey to include him here, and Daniel Norris (314 / 22.4) was used as a long-reliever/ follow-pitcher. First alternate Joakim Soria (287 / 13.0) has a closer pedigree, but it’s been a long time since he was truly dominant for the Royals.
With recaps done for all 12 FABL teams, next time I’ll look at what a projected playoff bracket might look like to determine the 2020 Fantasy Astrology Baseball Champion!