2022 Virgo 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! I’m starting with the Virgo Flowers, the top scoring sign by any method of measurement. 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.
The “x” column shows batting order positions, while the “y” column shows defensive positions.
Virgo basically has two options for the leadoff spot: center fielder George Springer and second baseman Marcus Semien. I’m inclined to go with Springer, who had a higher on-base percentage, and led off exclusively for the Blue Jays, while Semien also started a handful of games in the two-hole for Texas. But rather than drop Semien down one spot in the order, I propose batting him fifth, because of who we have coming up next.
The Flowers boasted both Paul Goldschmidt and Freddie Freeman – not just “two of the best” first basemen, but “THE two best” first basemen in the league. What’s more, they both split their seasons between the two and three spots in the batting order, with the lefty Freeman primarily hitting second for the Dodgers, and the righty Goldschmidt leading the Cardinals in appearances batting third. This situation complicates things for Jose Ramirez, the league’s top scoring third baseman who hit exclusively in the three hole for Cleveland. But dropping the switch hitter down to cleanup preserves a better lefty/righty balance in the lineup.
This balance continues with whichever of Springer of Semien bats fifth (they’re both right handers), and then further with the left-handed hitting Steven Kwan. The Guardians rookie left fielder actually had a higher OBP than both of the players I considered for the leadoff spot, but his contact-focused approach limits his fantasy point totals. If you consider sixth in the order as “second leadoff,” then it makes sense for shortstop Willy Adames to bat seventh, since he hit primarily second for the Brewers. This spot would likely have gone to Carlos Correa in a non-injury-shortened season, but either way, his spot on the roster showcases Virgo’s middle infield depth. Other honorable mentions are Astros clutch rookie Jeremy Pena, resurgent veteran Elvis Andrus, and Guardians All-Star second baseman Andres Gimenez.
On the contrary, Virgo really struggles with their outfield depth. After Springer and Kwan, you’re looking at a right field platoon of Mike Yastrzemski and Lane Thomas, neither of whom set the world on fire offensively. I considered cheating Cubs third basmean Patrick Wisdom into the right field slot, based on the 14 games he played in the outfield in 2022 (or even Max Muncy, even though he hasn’t played the outfield since 2018)… but Virgo easily won the league without any roster shenanigans so I decided to go with the more established option. Also it’s worth noting Adam Duvall’s early season-ending injury comes into play here. The Flowers have been struggling to find a solid catcher for years, but the triumphant return of Christian Bethancourt puts that issue to rest.
Virgo’s starting rotation is quite top-heavy, with two of the best in the league available to start games one and two of a series. Sandy Alcantara scored the most fantasy points among pitchers, and should be a lock for the real-life NL Cy Young Award, despite pitching for a non-contending Marlins team. Gerrit Cole led the MLB in strikeouts while pitching for the Yankees, and he’s also the highest paid player on the Flowers: his $36MM salary barely eclipses Correa’s $35.1MM opt-out laden deal. It’s always been curious to me how the St. Louis Cardinals gravitate towards Virgo pitchers: In addition to Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas, who you can see above, their roster also includes starter Dakota Hudson, and relievers Jordan Hicks and Alex Reyes (currently down with a shoulder injury), and don’t forget former ace Carlos Martinez!
Rays breakout lefty Jeffrey Springs did not manage enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, but his 2.46 mark over 135.1 frames finishes second to Alcantara’s 2.28 among Virgo primary starters. (Springs also had eight games in relief, to go with his 25 starts.) Filling out the two long relief slots would be two pitchers who ended their 2022 seasons with the Phillies: lefty Ranger Suarez and righty Noah Syndergaard, who was acquired midseason, after signing a make-good bounceback one-year-deal with the Angels. Believe it or not, those are the only seven starting pitchers to break 1,000 points on the season – not a lot of depth for the number one sign.
Another thing Virgo lacks is a bona fide closer – i.e. someone who racked up gaudy saves totals over the whole season. Screwball specialist Devin Williams certainly has the stuff to finish games, and he served in that role after Josh Hader (an Aries) was traded from the Brewers midseason. And both Kyle Finnegan and Jimmy Herget picked up a fair amount of saves for the Nationals and Angels, respectively… but neither of those teams had a lot of leads to protect. A.J. Minter of the Braves, the only lefty in the ‘pen, led all Virgos in relief innings. And rounding things out, Evan Phillips (1.14 ERA for the Dodgers) and Erik Swanson (1.68, Mariners) had breakout seasons for playoff-bound teams.