2022 Taurus 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. Taurus entered the history books as the sign of the new American League single season home run record holder, Aaron Judge, who broke Roger Maris’s mark of 61 from 1961… which was set 61 years ago! 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.
Towards the end of the season, Yankees manager Aaron Boone (a Pisces) moved Aaron Judge to the top of the lineup, in order to maximize his plate appearances in his quest for home run history. However, the most sensible Taurus lineup would see Judge at his customary #2 spot, with Astros second baseman Jose Altuve leading off. Judge and Altuve have been linked through controversy since 2017, when Altuve won the American League MVP award over Judge, in a season that was later revealed to have been enhanced by Houston’s infamous sign-stealing scandal. (Judge had to settle for the Rookie of the Year that season.) It's fascinating to think how these two Bulls would coexist on the same roster, let alone batting consecutively in the lineup.
For the three-spot, I’d like to take moment to grouse about the player rating system on MLB The Show 22. In terms of fantasy points, Corey Seager was the top Taurus primary shortstop in 2022, with Nico Hoerner of the Cubs his closest competitor. Seager hit 33 home runs to Hoerner’s 10, leading to a 36-point gap in slugging percentage. Hoerner did best Seager in batting average (by the same 36-point margin), and he also stole more bases (20 to Seager’s 3). Defensive metrics are split on their work: Seager has the lead in Ultimate Zone Rating (2.0 to 0.3), while Hoerner has the lead in Outs Above Average (13 to 3). However, MLB The Show consistently values Hoerner head and shoulders above Seager in its rating system, and the discrepancy only seemed to get larger with every roster update! How can I convince the game’s AI to put Taurus’s best-hitting shortstop in the lineup!?
A year after setting the single-season record for home runs hit by a catcher, Salvador Perez had a 2022 season marred by injures, allowing Willson Contreras of the Cubs to take over as the primary Taurus backstop. I see a world in which Perez gets in the lineup regularly as the DH, in which case it would behoove the Bulls to carry a third catcher for emergency purposes; Kyle Higashioka fits the bill. For the corner outfield spots opposite Judge (who played mostly center field in the 2022 regular season), we have two lefties with varying offensive profiles. Alex Verdugo is more contact oriented, while Joc Pederson tends to sell out for power. They would bat on either side of platinum glove third baseman Matt Chapman, in order to preserve left-right balance in the lineup.
Going back to my Seager/Hoerner debacle, one option is to move Hoerner to first base, based on my ground rule that any infielder can handle first base duties. Without this cheat, the best eligible option at first base is platoon lefty Ji-Man Choi. Tommy Edman also qualified at both middle infield positions, and he has plenty of career experience at third base and in the outfield, so he’ll get into the lineup regularly one way or another. Other veteran names to keep in mind are Michael Brantley, Austin Meadows, and Brandon Belt, who all had down 2022 seasons due to injuries and/or illness.
Between 2020 and 2021, Taurus added no fewer than nine rookies to their rotation mix. The pandemic-shortened season saw the emergence of Tony Gonsolin, Jose Urquidy, Josh Fleming, and Justus Sheffield, while the following year featured the graduations of Shane McClanahan, Logan Gilbert, Ian Anderson, and Casey Mize, with Michael Kopech limited to bullpen duty while recovering from an injury. It doesn’t take a prospect hound to see the incredible potential in this group: McClanahan started the 2022 All-Star Game for the American League, Gonsolin led the Major Leagues in winning percentage, and Gilbert was fantastic for the Mariners in the playoffs. Add to this bunch the steady veteran presences of Lance Lynn and Marcus Stroman, and you have the makings of a dominant pitching staff for years to come.
Although Taurus is not a sign known for a plethora of shutdown relievers, the Bulls bullpen was sneakily good in 2022. Taurus had seven players who broke the 800 fantasy point threshold, a total exceeded only by Sagittarius. While Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano was the only one of the bunch who logged extensive ninth inning work, Erasmo Ramirez pitched the most innings out of any dedicated reliever (fewer than five starts on the year). Bryan Abreu has been lights out for the Astros, and rookie Penn Murfee did a nice job during the Mariners’ postseason run. Dillon Tate and Cionel Perez emerged as a solid righty/lefty combo for the Orioles. As an A's fan, I hope that former first round draft pick A.J. Puk’s future eventually lies in the rotation, but for now he’s another lefty option out of the pen. And we’ve also got some veteran stability in former closers Mychal Givens and Emilio Pagan.