2024 Scorpio Preview
Going back roughly eight decades into Fantasy Astrology Baseball history, Scorpio has been the most successful sign, according to number of seasons where they scored the most points in the league. The fact that in 2024, the Stingers are projected for a last place finish in their division, shows how cyclical baseball is, mirroring the karmic wheel. Here’s my position-by-position preview of Scorpio heading into the 2024 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League season.
Rankings from MLB.com’s top 300, as of Valentine’s Day.
Graduating Mets prospect Francisco Alvarez (147) has earned first dibs on the starting catcher job, with But it’s a trend that the weakest offensive teams are deep at catcher. 2023 All-Star Elias Diaz (299), 2022 All-Star Alejandro Kirk, A’s franchise building block Shea Langeliers, and legacy option Yasmani Grandal make out the rest of the depth chart. First base, by contrast, is probably Scorpio’s worst position. Alex Kirilloff should get most of the reps for the Twins, if healthy, and Joey Gallo signed on with the Nationals.
Owen Miller is an option at first or second base, but the Stingers will be filling out he keystone with shortstop depth. At third base, Rafael Devers (19) is one vertex of the triangle that stabilizes the Scorpio offense. To his left, Francisco Lindor (25) makes another. Trevor Story (204) will move over to second base, with historical precedent, to go with my fantasy league’s lax eligibility rules.
The last part of the triangle, perhaps even with a right angle’s worth of influence on this lineup, is Juan Soto (12), whose offense could get better (a scary thought) with his move from San Diego to New York’s comfy stadium. The rest of the Scorpio outfield is in the hands of rookies. Wyatt Langford (186) is knocking on the door in Texas, while Parker Meadows (unranked as of Valentine’s Day, but who snuck in at exactly 300 by Daylight Saving’s) is the top choice in center field. Options with more experience include JJ Bleday, Dylan Carlson, and Trent Grisham, in order of projected playing time.
Marcell Ozuna (129) is limited to DH duties (and eligibility), and he figures to get the lion’s share of at bats, hitting in the middle of a strong Braves lineup. The competition in the rankings isn’t even fairly close, even with Giancarlo Stanton (266) and Brent Rooker (286) holding outfield eligibility. Those two are the next line of defense in the corner outfield, should Langford need more time in the minor leagues.
Rankings from Lindy’s magazine, by position.
While I gushed about the sheer depth of the Gemini pitching staff, no rotation is higher ranked, one-thru-five, than Scorpio. And it starts with Braves ace Spencer Strider (10), whose lead over Gerrit Cole for top pitcher in fantasy widened exponentially with the news that the Virgo ace will be out for approx two months. The next three Scorpio starters are all ranked within six (6!) spots of each other, and would be aces on most other fantasy staffs. Tarik Skubal (52) will try to build on the breakout he established after coming back from injury. Logan Webb (56) is the unquestioned ace of the Giants. Framber Valdez (58) will be the questioned ace of the Astros, with Justin Verlander out to start the year… although he has the stuff to remove those questions.
Until recently it looked as though there would be somewhat of a battle for the fifth starter spot, but Grayson Rodriguez (75) will run away with the job, given the injury situation of new Cardinals veteran Sonny Gray (115). More ranked depth options include the always-soon-to-be-retiring Charlie Morton (225), Dodgers graduating rookie Emmet Sheehan (288), and Royals signee Seth Lugo (293). And it doesn’t stop there, with James Paxton, Jon Gray, Wade Miley, and Jameson Taillon (If healthy) are expected to see significant time in MLB rotations.
Scorpio’s big trouble spot is the bullpen. In fact, until the Padres signed Yuki Matsui (294) from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the Stingers wouldn’t have anyone who would remotely sniff the ninth inning regularly. Matt Strahm puts up some fantasy points with the innings he gets from spot starting. And Jonathan Loasiga has electrifying stuff, when he can stay healthy. But we’re scraping the bottom of the barrell for who’s going to relieve after the tremendous starters are done with their work.