FABL 2021 Finals Pitching Preview

I don’t know why I thought I could jam analysis of all nine starting position players, five starting pitchers, and two relievers into one single post, but I guess my eyes were bigger than my word count. Either way, I covered the offenses of the two championship-contending signs on Sunday, so now it’s time for the pitching staffs. (Pitching staves?) Since Sunday, Taurus has scored more points than Libra, but it hasn’t been enough for the Bulls to overtake the Scales’ lead of about 140 points.

I talked a lot about how Libra’s strength is their outfield, but the Scales also have two ace pitchers to rival any sign’s top hurlers. Robbie Ray could be a contender for the real-life American League Cy Young Award winner, leading the league in ERA, innings pitched, and strikeouts. [CHECK THIS BEFORE POST TIME] He’s a big reason why the Blue Jays have been able to keep a hold on an AL Wild Card spot, despite a very competitive AL East environment. The Taurus ace pitches for a team whose playoff status is more cemented: Lance Lynn has been excellent in his first year with the White Sox, but he doesn’t have that same 2021 resume.

SP1 ADVANTAGE: Libra

Like Lynn, the second Libra ace also headlines a playoff bound team in a central division: Corbin Burnes sits atop a Brewers rotation that leads the NL Central, despite the hard charging Cardinals. While he doesn’t have the back of the baseball card type stats of Ray, Burnes does lead the NL in FIP, K/9, and K/BB ratio. Marcus Stroman is a helluva competitor, and he gives hope to all us 5’7” baseball fans everywhere, but the Taurus number two starter just doesn’t have the same caliber stats as his Libra counterpart.

SP2 ADVANTAGE: Libra

Tyler Mahle isn’t exactly a household name, but he has quietly helped fuel a Reds club that was in contention for a lot of the year. And he’s been just as quietly good for Libra, averaging more than 60 points per game in the 30 days leading up to the postseason. John Means has the third-most points among Taurus starting pitchers, despite missing a big chunk of June and July, but he’s pitched well since coming back.

SP3 ADVANTAGE: None?

Upon closer inspection, this Libra pitching staff is deeper than I thought at first. Lance McCullers Jr. slots in as the fourth starter, and he’s got a 60+ PPG average over the season, which improves to 70+ in the 30 days leading up to the final matchup. Based on full season points, Tigers graduating prospect Casey Mize would be the fourth starter, but based on his recent performance, I gave that honor to recent injury returnee Jose Urquidy.

SP4 ADVANTAGE: Libra

Libra’s fifth starter based on full season points would be Kyle Gibson, although it’s his former Texas teammate Jordan Lyles who’s been on a tear lately. I gave Lyles the nod over Gibson and veterans Zack Greinke and J.A. Happ based on his hot streak, but I might consider swapping him out for week 2. Shane McClanahan’s injury (from which he has since recovered) ensured that he didn’t get a spot in the Taurus rotation for week 1 of the finals. I gave his spot to another recently activated pitcher Tony Gonsolin, although based on their week 1 numbers, the Bulls would have been better off with Ian Anderson.

SP5 ADVANTAGE: Taurus

As you’ll soon see in my “All-Time Since the 90’s” series, Kenley Jansen is right up there in the mix of top Libra relievers in that time frame (although of course finishing behind such legends as Dennis Eckersley and Trevor Hoffman in career fantasy points). His hold on the Dodgers’ closer job has looked tenuous at times, but he’s been on fire lately, averaging more than 30 points per game in the 30 days leading up to the finals. Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano has a similar PPG average in that same time frame, but the top Taurus reliever’s lack of a track record led me to the following conclusion:

RP1 ADVANTAGE: Libra

Both of these signs have struggled to field a consistent second reliever throughout the season. Libra looked to have it sewn up when Lou Trivino was acting as the A’s closer, but he’s had a complete meltdown in the second half, leading to FAR too many save opportunities for over-the-hill Pisces Sergio Romo. David Bednar had stepped up as the main ninth inning option for the Pirates, but he’s now on the injured list. As it stands, the Scales have to rely on a hodgepodge of middle relievers, such as Trevor May, Hunter Strickland, and Zack Littell.

The runner-up to Romano in Taurus relief fantasy points actually goes to the well-traveled Trevor Richards. He’s played for three teams in 2021 (the Rays, the Brewers, and the Blue Jays) and has roughly ten more innings than games played, despite not having picked up a start on the year. However, I gave the RP2 job to Mychal Givens, who has been tasked with most of Cincinnati’s save opportunities over the last two months, since coming over in a trade with Colorado.

RP2 ADVANTAGE: Taurus

If you add up all of my super-scientific positional “advantages,” you get a tally of Libra – 10, Taurus – 5, and two spots that were too close to call. So naturally, Taurus has a commanding lead in fantasy points as we enter into week 2 of this matchup. There’s still a lot of fantasy baseball left to play, and anything can happen in this crazy game we love, but as of now, the underdog fans should be salivating with anticipation.

Next time, right in the fever pitch of the FABL finals, I will return to my All-Time-Since-1990 database and look at the new additions to Fire Sign teams in the last decade of the last century.