2024 Active Rosters: Gemini
For all the jokes I make about Aquarius being the weakest Fantasy Astrology Baseball sign, Gemini is actually the only sign that has not led the league in fantasy points over the course of a season (going back to the mid-1940s). They’ve had stretches of having great offenses – such as Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas, and Jeff Bagwell in the late 1990s – and stretches of having great pitching staffs – see below. But the Twins haven’t been able to put them both together to add up to a consistently good team.
Gemini’s pitching is so good, that it would make sense to start this recap with the rotation. But I can’t bring myself to change the format in the last entry of this series; plus it won’t take long to go through the Gemini offense. Bobby Witt Jr. is the only star-caliber player who has performed to star-caliber levels. Third baseman Royce Lewis is a great hitter, but hasn’t been able to stay healthy. (That’s also the case with another pair of GEM third basemen: Anthony Rnedon and Yoan Moncada.) Lewis’s real-life Twins (Minnesota) teammate Ryan Jeffers is part of a strong catching corps, that also includes defensive whiz Patrick Bailey and backup Ivan Herrera.
The Cincinnati Reds have a Gemini outfielder in both corners: Jake Fraley and Will Benson. Center field would be handled by some combination of Jake Meyers and Harrison Bader, with Cleveland utility batter Tyler Freeman also factoring in. (A’s rookie Max Schuemann is another utility type who can play multiple positions.) The best option at second base is Nick Gonzales of the Pirates, with prospect Connor Norby waiting in the wings. First base is quite weak, with just Dominic Smith and Tyler Nevin qualifying for the position.
Given that Gemini’s mascot is the Twins, it’s fitting that the two top-scoring Gemini pitchers played for the same team in real life. And it’s also fitting that Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola occupy opposite sides of the pitching spectrum: Wheeler pitches off his overpowering fastball, while Nola is a finesse guy who relies on his big breaking ball. However, the most electrifying Gemini starter last year had to be Paul Skenes, who won the NL Rookie of the Year award, and started the All-Star Game in July with just 11 MLB starts under his belt. It’s also worth mentioning Jacob deGrom, who is arguably the best pitcher in the league when healthy.
After that impressive top-end, Gemini also has pitching depth for days. Michael King broke out after being traded from the Yankees to the Padres and moving from the bullpen to the rotation. King’s former Yankees teammate Luis Gil also broke out, winning the AL’s version of the Rookie of the Year. Another pair of real life Gemini teammates were separated thanks to a trade, as Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi started the season in Toronto, with the latter going to Houston at the deadline. Freddy Peralta has emerged as the ace of the Brewers, with the trade of Corbin Burnes and the injury to Brandon Woodruff. And Joe Ryan pitched well for the real-life Twins, but didn’t even make it onto my projected active roster.
Another guy who didn’t make it onto my list is Garret Crochet, another bullpen-to-rotation success story. I want to mention him specifically, because many sources list his date of birth (June 21) as the start of Cancer season. However, the zodiac calculator I use places him just barely at the tail end of Gemini season. I don’t know what’s going on there – 1999 wasn’t even a leap year – but if he was born just a few minutes later, the Crabs would have a much stronger rotation… and Gemini wouldn’t even miss his production!
In fact, it might make sense to move Crochet (and any number of their strong starters) to the bullpen in a simulation setting, since GEM struggled in the relief pitching department. Apparently Baltimore really wanted a Gemini to handle their ninth inning duties: after the injury to Felix Bautista, they signed the legendary Craig Kimbrel to fill in this year. Hector Neris also spent most of his year as a closer, before he was traded from the Cubs to a less-closer-needy Houston team. Paul Sewald was supposed to closer for Arizona, but injury stymied his season as well. The Twins’ top scoring reliever was Tigers spot starter/opener Tyler Holton.