FABL 2021 Playoff Preview: Positive
Each round of the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League playoffs lasts for two weeks, so as of this post, we’re just over halfway through the semifinal round. The Negative Polarity matchup, which I previewed last week, sees Pisces out to a fairly commanding lead over Taurus – maybe I shouldn’t have subbed out the then-slumping Jose Altuve in my pre-postseason lineup tinkering. Maybe Wander Franco’s injury will tilt the scales in the following week. I’ll talk a little about how the Positive Polarity matchup is going in the following paragraphs, but this post will mostly be a sort of retroactive preview of the matchup between Leo and Libra.
It’s a little staggering, not just how many great Leo starting pitchers are out there, but also how many of them pitch for the Dodgers. Walker Buehler led all dedicated pitchers in 2021 fantasy points, as of the start of the fantasy playoffs. Julio Urias leads the majors in wins (whatever you might think of that archaic statistic). And Max Scherzer, a front-runner for the National League Cy Young Award, was acquired by Los Angeles at the trade deadline. This is a rather new development for LA: the last notable Leo Dodgers starting pitcher was probably Chad Billingsley back in 2012.
Going by full season points, the rotation would be filled out with Yu Darvish (who just came off the IL) and Taijuan Walker (who has been very effective for the Mets this year). However, I decided to go with the hot hands for the postseason, slotting in Triston McKenzie (averaging more than 120 points-per-game for Cleveland over the last month) and Zac Gallen for Arizona. The Lions bullpen has been up and down over the last month, but Jake McGee has been a consistent save-getter for the Giants, and Giovanny Gallegos appears to have supplanted Alex Reyes (a Virgo) for the Cardinals’ ninth inning gig.
The highest-profile Leo batter has been out of action since mid-May, as Mike Trout will likely not return from his calf injury with enough time to make an impact in the FABL postseason. Luckily, Luis Robert is now back in action, and a fine fill-in at center field. Jesse Winker and J.D. Martinez would be a solid corner outfield under normal circumstances, but the former is on the injured list, and the latter hasn’t exactly lit it up recently. Maybe he’s being asked to play too much outfield, with Kyle Schwarber (Pisces) now the Red Sox’s primary DH. JDM is still in the lineup, because it didn’t feel right counting out one of the game’s most professional hitters, and he’ll play opposite Ian Happ, who has been on a tear for the Cubs recently.
Leo’s infield picture has been fairly weak all season long, outside of first base options Josh Bell, Jared Walsh, and Anthony Rizzo. But their full-season leaders as of the playoffs – Wilmer Flores, Yandy Diaz, and Kyle Farmer – don’t inspire much confidence. Looking at more recent performance though, Cleveland corner infielder Yu Chang has been tearing the cover off the ball, averaging 20 points-per-game in the month leading up to the FABL playoffs. He’ll slot in at third base, with former Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers at second, and recently-activated speedster Adalberto Mondesi at shortstop.
If the strength of Leo is their starting staff, then the corresponding area for Libra is their outfield. For the first week of the matchup, the Scales had Bryce Harper, Cedric Mullins, Starling Marte, and Teoscar Hernandez as the three starters and DH contingent. That has also been their top-scoring configuration all season, which leaves stars like Mookie Betts and Andrew McCutchen on the bench. Yet another outfielder, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., reached the requisite 10 games to qualify at first base for the remainder of the season; but unless he gets 10 more, that eligibility won’t carry over until next season.
One player who has both first base and second base eligibility is slumping Tigers veteran Jonathan Schoop. The recent return of now D-Backs center fielder Ketel Marte, and his holdover second base eligibility from last year, gives him starting status at the keystone. Despite the presence of legacy third baseman Evan Longoria with the Giants (another recent IL return), the hottest hitting Libra option at the hot corner is surprisingly Phillies utility player Brad Miller. Shortstop is normally occupied by All-Star Xander Bogaerts, but his bout with COVID leaves the position in the hands of Gio Urshela: another fleeting eligibility scenario, who is to shortstop as Gurriel Jr. is to first base this year.
While lacking the depth of the Lions starting staff, the Scales have a one-two punch of bona fide aces in their own right. Robbie Ray leads the American League in strikeouts, innings, and ERA, and he’s a big reason why the Blue Jays are now in possession of a wild card spot. The part played by Corbin Burnes in the Brewers historic combined no-hitter on Saturday helped rocket Libra into the weekly lead. Bogaerts wasn’t the only COVID casualty, as Astros veteran Zack Greinke was unavailable at the start of the fantasy postseason. Luckily his real-life teammate Lance McCullers Jr. is healthy and kicking.
The Libra rotation is finished out by two less recognizable names whoe have quietly had very strong seasons. Tyler Mahle has helped the Reds in their quest for the real-life postseason. Kyle Gibson went from Texas to Philadelphia for the playoff push, in a sort of reverse-Cole Hamels transactional path. The Libra bullpen behind the legendary Kenley Jansen has been a bit unsettled all year. The overall RP2 slot would go to Lou Trivino, due to his time as the A’s closer, but he is in the midst of a complete meltdown. A dark horse candidate is David Bednar, a relative unknown who came to Pittsburgh from San Diego in the Joe Musgrove trade.
Next time, I’ll round out the 1990’s in my reverse-chronological trip through FABL history. After that, I’ll leave off the weekly/yearly recaps for a while going forward, but there’s going to be plenty more playoff coverage, of both the FABL and real-life variety.