2022 Pisces In-Depth Look
With the 2022 regular season freshly in the books, what better time to take an in-depth look at all 12 signs in the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League! Going by fantasy points accrued by each sign’s “starting roster,” Pisces was the number two sign, and tops in the Water Division. 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.
Right off the bat, it’s clear that Pisces has a platoon problem: leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber is the only left handed bat in the lineup. But he hits first for the real-life Phillies and led the National League in home runs, so I see no reason to mess with success. For the number two spot, we have two choices: Rhys Hoskins batted second behind Schwarber in Philadelphia, while shortstop Bo Bichette batted second in front of fellow Pisces Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in Toronto. I’m inclined to go with Bichette, because of his fantasy point advantage, but it’s interesting to note that with Schwarber, Hoskins, and catcher J.T. Realmuto, we could re-create the top third of Philadelphia’s real-life playoff batting order on this Pisces squad.
Batting cleanup is center fielder Adolis Garcia, even though he spent the majority of his playing time in right field for the Rangers this year. This might continue to be the trend, as Virgo Leody Taveras takes over as the center fielder in Texas, but if/when Garcia loses center field eligibility, Pisces has emerging star Michael Harris II ready to take his place. After Realmuto (who bats fifth), we have the other corner outfielder Randy Arozarena, who continues to dazzle after a historic postseason performance in the pandemic-expanded 2020 format. Batting seventh, we go back to our old friend Rhys Hoskins, who was pushed to DH by Vlad Jr., and who might be best served platooning with lefty-swinging Rowdy Tellez of the Brewers.
For second and third base, the Fish have a bit of a predicament. Going by positional eligibility and 2022 fantasy point totals, these two spots would be handled by Thairo Estrada of the Giants and Luis Rengifo of the Angels, respectively. However, Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar has played all over the diamond in his career, including a lot of second base. And while Ryan Mountcastle has settled in as a first baseman for the Orioles in the majors, his minor league resume includes more than 100 games at third base. Of course, these machinations might well have been unnecessary if Jean Segura and Wander Franco played full and healthy seasons.
The return of 39-year-old Justin Verlander from Tommy John surgery victim to Cy Young Award candidate might have been an inspiring story, if he pitched for any team but the hated, trash-can-banging Astros. While Clayton Kershaw has never had a catastrophic season-destroying injury, he has been plagued by smaller scale stuff, such that he has failed to crack 180 innings in any of the last six full seasons. Luis Severino is another injury-plagued Pisces hurler, but at least he got healthy at the right time for the Yankees. Across town, Chris Bassitt has been a great complimentary piece for the Mets, oftentimes serving as staff ace when their big aces (Scherzer and deGrom) were down with their own health woes.
Those four would probably take the ball regularly in a playoff series, but for a fifth starter, you could do a lot worse than Pablo Lopez, an above-average hurler for the Marlins. As far as depth, German Marquez ate up a lot of innings for the Rockies. Lefty Rich Hill continues to pitch effectively at age 42. Keegan Thompson has emerged as a solid rotation option for the Cubs. And looking towards the future, MacKenzie Gore – acquired by Washington from San Diego in the Juan Soto blockbuster – has future ace potential.
In the bullpen, Emmanuel Clase has officially taken the mantle of Pisces closer from Aroldis Chapman, especially since the latter was left off the Yankees postseason roster after missing a mandatory workout. As good as Clase was in 2022, it’s concerning that the Fish don’t have many established bullpen arms behind him. John Schreiber was fabulous for the Red Sox, but he doesn’t have much of a track record. The same is (necessarily) true of rookies Domingo Acevedo (who pitched in many high leverage situations for the A’s), Robert Suarez (who is showing his stuff in the playoffs), and Clarke Schmidt (a multi-inning option for the Yankees). Joe Mantiply made the All-Star team for Arizona, but he’s not even the best lefty in the bullpen – that honor goes to veteran Brad Hand of the Phillies.