2022 Leo In-Depth Look
With the 2022 World Series now complete, let’s continue our in-depth look at all 12 signs in the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League. Those of you following my reverse-chronological trip through FABL history - where I’ve reached the Leo-dominated 1960s - might be surprised to see the Lions mired in the middle of the pack this year. And while I’ll continue to use fantasy points to evaluate players, this year, I’ll frame my offensive analysis through the lens of a projected batting order.
Rays third baseman Yandy Diaz was the only Leo batter who had more than 10 games started in their team’s leadoff spot in 2022 – he started 87 games at the top of the Rays batting order. Diaz was only 10 fantasy points ahead of Alec Bohm of the Phillies, but those two are not good candidates for a platoon, since they’re both right handed hitters. Batting second, the Lions have future Hall of Famer Mike Trout, who bounced back from an injury-shortened 2021 season to hit 40 homers (but with only 80 RBI) for the disappointing Angels. Batting third would be Anthony Rizzo, who stuck around with the Yankees after being acquired from the Cubs at last season’s trade deadline. Although technically, Josh Bell should be at first base, since he eclipsed Rizzo in fantasy points, but Ultimate Zone Rating pegs Rizzo as the better fielder.
Like Bell, cleanup hitter Brandon Drury was acquired by the Padres during the 2022 season for their playoff push in the midst of a breakout season offensively. Drury played third base, first base, and second base for Cincinnati and San Diego, the same defensive profile as Giants infielder Wilmer Flores, who would likely be relegated to the Leo bench. After Josh Bell, who I stuck in the fifth position, we have a defensive liability in J.D. Martinez. Based on the Red Sox slugger’s track record and holdover eligibility, I placed him in a corner outfield spot, despite the fact that he was exclusively a DH in 2022. If we’re following positional eligibility rules, right field would go to Randal Grichuk, who would slide down behind Ian Happ in the batting order, who has stepped up his production since taking over as the Cubs regular left fielder.
Sticking with the positional eligibility theme, Brendan Rodgers, a teammate of Grichuk on the Rockies, has holdover eligibility at shortstop from 2021, but has played primarily second base throughout his career, and exclusively so in 2022. Former catcher Kyle Farmer is the top player who actually qualified at shortstop last year, although if Adalberto Mondesi returns healthy next year, that spot is likely his to lose… provided he can push Bobby Witt Jr. to third base. Injuries to Tyler Stephenson, catcher on the Reds and a teammate of Farmer, allowed Christian Vazquez to sneak in as the top-scoring Leo backstop, even in a season where he lost his starting job upon being traded from the Red Sox to the Astos at the deadline.
Starting pitching is the true strength of the Leo roster, even though their top starter from 2021 (Walker Buehler) was lost to Tommy John surgery early in the season. As it stands, their two top starters in 2022 had the exact same fantasy point totals: Yu Darvish pitched 10 more innings than Zac Gallen, but appeared in one less game, which is why Gallen’s points-per-game average is slightly higher. Unlike Darvish, whose manager on the Padres allowed him to pitch late into playoff games, Julio Urias was on a strict five-inning limit in the postseason for some reason, leading to unecessary fatigue of the Dodgers bullpen when it counted most. I would normally blame the stars for this discrepancy – Bob Melvin is a Scorpio, while Dave Roberts is a Gemini – but I know that Roberts is just following orders from the front office.
The parade of Leo starters who were eliminated early from the postseason continues with Max Scherzer, whose 83.7 PPG led the team, despite the fact that injuries kept him from reaching the 2,000-point threshold. Mad Max would likely push Triston McKenzie out of the playoff top-four pitchers, even though the Guardians hurler did reach 2,000 points (2,066 to be exact) in his triumphant sophomore season. Drew Rasmussen of the Rays and Scherzer’s Mets teammate Taijuan Walker also pitched in the 2022 postseason, leaving Royals former prospect Brady Singer as one of only two Leo starters with more than 1,000 fantasy points on the year who missed the year end tournament.
I mentioned the 1960s above, due to Leo’s dominance in that time, but that decade is also relevant because of the current Lions pitching staff. Back then, pitching staffs were a lot more fluid, with primary starters frequently logging 10+ games in relief, and primary relievers commonly starting 10+ games. In contrast, pitching staffs nowadays are mostly strictly divided between dedicated starters and dedicated relievers, with only a handful of “utility pitchers” in the league. One of them was the top-scoring reliever in Leo’s bullpen, as Nick Martinez started 10 out of his 47 appearances, after returning to the states following a four-year run in Japan.
Due to the makeup of most pitching staffs these days, Leo has no trouble filling a bullpen with relievers who started fewer than five games in 2022. Tops among them in terms of fantasy points (and just 5 points behind Martinez) is Rays co-closer Jason Adam (he shared Tampa Bay’s save opportunities with Capricorn Colin Poche). The next two Leo relievers are separated by just a single fantasy point: Giovanny Gallegos, who lost the closer’s role in St. Louis when Ryan Helsley broke out for the Cancer Crabs, was just one point behind Rangers breakout rookie lefty Brock Burke.