2022 Head-to-Head Finals
In a surprise to no one, Virgo has defeated Scorpio in the first round of the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League postseason. Over the course of the two-week matchup, the Flowers scored the most points out of any sign in that span, leaning on strong performances from shortstop Willy Adames, first baseman Freddie Freeman, and newly-minted Brewers co-closer Devin Williams. Meanwhile, Scorpio ace Framber Valdez and rookie sensation Spencer Strider enjoyed a strong two-week stretch, but it wasn’t enough for the Water Division representatives.
I say that this outcome came as no surprise because, in addition to nailing down the league’s best weekly head-to-head record (14-6), the Virgo lineup has also scored the most aggregate fantasy points of any other sign up to this point. As of this Saturday, when I last calculated, Virgo’s 27,114 points were more than 1,200 ahead of the runner-up Taurus, another sign in the Earth Division. Meanwhile, Scorpio finished just two spots from the bottom with 22,839 points, and they even had the same head-to-head record as Pisces… but I guess the Stingers got hot at the right time, and the ESPN tiebreaker gods smiled upon them.
In the Positive Polarity, we had a much less predictable finish. Libra winning the Air Division has always been a foregone conclusion: the only two signs that Scorpio outscored in 2022 were Aquarius and Gemini, the other two Air signs. But Sagittarius, like Scorpio, had the lowest aggregate point total in the Fire Division – albeit with a gap of less than 750 points behind Aries and Leo – but still made the playoffs by a one game margin. Again, once the real-life playoffs start, and all the stats are in the books, we’ll determine which signs truly performed the best over the course of the full season.
For the Positive semifinals, it was a story of Sagittarius infielders against Libra pitchers. Justin Turner, Gleyber Torres, and Javier Baez turned it up for the Archers over the last two weeks, while the Scales relied upon strikeout artist Corbin Burnes and Lance McCullers Jr., just off the IL. As far as my pick for the upcoming matchup between Virgo and Sag, I will obviously put my money on the sign who had the better overall season, but let’s let the numbers speak for themselves.
It’s no question that Virgo has the edge in the infield, except at the catching position, where the Flowers have been notoriously weak for the last several years. And this chart doesn’t even include Carlos Correa and Andres Gimenez on the Flowers side.
Their points margin in the infield (and at DH, which includes backup infielders for both teams) could possibly carry Virgo through a weak outfield. But the balance could shift when you consider injury-shortened seasons for Buxton, Acuña Jr., and the not-pictured Eloy Jimenez.
Virgo has two of the top starters in the game, but the gap shrinks considerably as we get to the mid-rotation types. And then when you consider that the Archers have a huge advantage in the bullpen, with three bona fide closers, we actually have a pretty even matchup in the pitching department.
Overall, Virgo has the clear advantage in terms of overall fantasy points. But anything can happen over the course of a two-week matchup, and who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Stay tuned to the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League home page for real-time updates!