2024 Active Rosters: Taurus
The top Taurus batter was second to… one (Shohei Ohtani), as Aaron Judge won the real-life AL MVP award in two of the last three seasons. In addition to taking home the 2024 trophy, Judge even added fantasy value by playing center field regularly, ensuring his eligibility for next year. He’s joined by former AL MVP Jose Altuve and TWO-time World Series MVP Corey Seager, making for a well-celebrated top end of the Taurus offense.
Add to this group one of the best power hitting catchers in the league (Salvador Perez) and arguably the top defensive player in the league (Matt Chapman), and the Bulls have a tremendous infield. The one weak spot is first base: if we were going by the eligibility numbers, Salvy would actually take first, with Willson Contreras and Connor Wong handling catching duties. But full-time DH Joc Pederson has some past experience at first, while any middle infielder (i.e. Nico Hoerner, Anthony Volpe, or Luis Garcia Jr.) could adeptly handle the defensive responsibilities there.
While Aaron Judge’s center field eligibility will be useful for 2025 fantasy managers, it doesn’t quite come into play for Taurus. That’s because Rockies centerfielder Brenton Doyle had a breakout year at the plate, to supplement his back to back Gold Glove awards. However, if Doyle follows the same trajectory as 2023 breakout Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones, he might not even make the starting lineup next year. As of now, left field is handled by a combination of Judge’s (and Volpe’s) real-life Yankees teammate Alex Verdugo and Twins super-utility threat Willi Castro.
A weak Taurus pitching staff was the real reason why the Bulls had no realistic shot of overtaking Virgo for the Earth Division lead. Logan Gilbert was a legitimate ace, even though he is obscured on a real-life Mariners team that has no fewer than two other legitimate aces. Behind him, Brayan Bello still has a chance to blossom for the Red Sox. Bowden Francis put up good numbers from Toronto’s rotation, but he technically had more relief appearances than starts. Lance Lynn can still eat up some innings, and Trevor Williams was putting up ace-like numbers for Washington, before his season ended early due to injury.
The bullpen didn’t even have the stabilizing presence that Gilbert provides the rotation, as incumbent closer Jordan Romano (another Blue Jay) missed basically the entire season. Thankfully, Cleveland rookie Cade Smith emerged as the most effective Taurus reliever, and he likely would have seen more work in the ninth inning, if the Guardians bullpen did not also include Emmanuel Clase. The other top two Taurus relievers were traded midseason: Michael Kopech went from the White Sox closer to a setup role with the Dodgers, while Lucas Erceg became Kansas City’s top saves option, after being traded away from Mason Miller’s overpowering presence on the Athletics.