FABL Lineups as of Gemini Season 21
Last Friday (or Thursday, or Saturday, depending on your sources and your accepted definition of “cusps”), the zodiac wheel turned to Gemini season. In honor of this milestone, I took a lineup snapshot of each Fantasy Astrology Baseball League team, to see how the signs line up just shy of a quarter of the way through the season.
According to the weekly matchups, Leo and Virgo are standing out as early playoff favorites. As a reminder, the FABL page on ESPN Fantasy should be publicly accessible, should you want to check on the standings yourself, or scrutinize my weekly lineup choices. But for now, here’s an in-depth look intot he lineups of the two leaders, as of the start of Gemini season.
In recent years, the presence of Mike Trout on Leo’s roster would be enough to explain a first-place finish, but partly thanks to a calf strain, Trout is only the fourth most productive Lions hitter so far in 2021. Tops on that list is J.D. Martinez, who was the top-scoring dedicated hitter going into Gemini season. (he trailed Shohei Ohtani in offensive points, but of course Ohtani also spends part of his time on the mound.) The Red Sox DH is well on his way to regaining outfield eligibility, which will help with the general versatility of this squad moving forward. Next on the Leo depth chart in terms of points-per-game is Jesse Winker, who along with his fellow Reds outfielders have been slugging at near unprecedented levels.
Second in overall points is the man who pushed Albert Pujols out of Anaheim in Jared Walsh. Although the Angels first baseman also qualifies in the outfield, it makes sense to keep him at his natural position, with David Peralta in the other corner spot opposite Winker, and Randal Grichuk filling in for the injured Trout. Speaking of injuries, both of Leo’s top-scoring middle infielders (Seattle utility player Dylan Moore and St. Louis shortstop Paul DeJong) are on the 10-day injured list, with no great replacements in sight (i.e. with at least 300 fantasy points on the year).
Luckily, the Leo starters had accumulated the most fantasy points of any starting staff as of Gemini season: 3,465 – more than 200 points ahead of their nearest competitors. The incredible trio of Max Scherzer, who’s climbing on the career strikeout list, new Padres ace Yu Darvish, and 2020 World Series closer Julio Urias lead the way, each averaging at least 80 points-per-game.
Urias’s Dodgers teammate Walker Buehler joins the group, with the resurgent Madison Bumgarner and the recent suspension completer Domingo German available to fill in for the injured Taijuan Walker. The Leo relievers aren’t necessarily household names, but Jake McGee and Yimi Garcia have emerged as the closers for the Giants and Marlins, respectively.
The leader in the Negative Polarity, Virgo’s offensive attack comes from the left side of their infield. Jose Ramirez slots in at third base, with Marcus Semien benefitting from holdover shortstop eligibility, allowing Max Muncy to take Semien’s primary 2021 position of second base. Looking ahead to next year, the Playaz* will still have Carlos Correa and Andrelton Simmons as shortstop options, or they could move Dodgers utility threat Chris Taylor in from center field. As usual, Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt form the 1B/DH rotation.
* I abandoned the “Virgo Ladybugs” experiment when creating custom uniforms for Virgo in MLB The Show 21. When scrolling through the pre-recorded names, I came across Playaz, which I thought was an ironic twist on the perceived virgin/maiden connotation of Virgo. Unless “Playa” was meant to refer to the Spanish word for beach, or the otherworldly alkali desert landscape of Burning Man – either way, I think it’s a cool image.
Back to the outfield, the points say that Adam Duvall and Robbie Grossman should flank Taylor in the corner outfield spots, but higher-profile names like George Springer and Mike Yastrzemski remain available. But the most conspicuous aspect of the Virgo lineup is a complete lack of viable catcher: the only Virgo who had any time behind the plate in 2020 was Angels fourth stringer Jose Briceno, with just two games. Catcher has been a virtual wash for Virgo in recent years, as they’ve had to rely on career backups or fringe starters like John Hicks and Nick Hundley.
Virgo has one of the most top-heavy rotations in the league: Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow each have at least 800 fantasy points, but no one else in the rotation has cracked 400. Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter might be skewing his overall numbers, Sandy Alcantara has been disappointingly mediocre, and Dustin May is lost for the year with Tommy John surgery. Virgo has other rotation options, such as Cardinals starters Adam Wainwright and Carlos Hernandez. But their best St. Louis pitcher is closer Alex Reyes. Most of the top Virgo relief depth, as measured by fantasy points, isn’t even on their current roster (as denoted by a yellow highlight in the position column).
Next time, we will have hit a milestone more important than Gemini season: the 20th full season in our reverse-chronological trip back through FABL history. That’s right, the year 2000, Y2K, the Willennium - and with it, a unique chance to reflect on the top players of the last two decades.