Polarity Leaders: Leo vs. Pisces
With just a week to go until the MLB Trade Deadline, usually I’d be analyzing the signs of the players who have changed teams leading up to the big day. However, as luck would have it, I’ll be on vacation for the first two weeks of August, so I won’t be able to devote very much time and attention to real-life player movement. Plus, there’s no trade deadline in Fantasy Astrology Baseball anyway: each player’s sign is set at birth, and that’s the end of the story… much to the chagrin of Fantasy Astrology general managers.
So since the deadline season hasn’t started to pick up steam yet – with the exception of Cancer DH Nelson Cruz, Sagittarius 2B/OF Adam Frazier, and Gemini lefty specialist Andrew Chafin – I’m going to use this post to continue on the trend of “If the Season Ended Today” (or rather, for fantasy points purposes, at the All-Star break) and analyze the rosters of the two signs that are most likely to win their Polarities. If you were following along from last Friday, you’d know those teams are Leo and Pisces.
Starting with the projected Positive Polarity winner (with a 98% playoff probability), Leo has found success despite the prolonged injury to their best player, superstar outfielder Mike Trout (552 points / 15.3 points-per-game). As it stands now, the best hitter on their active roster (as of the All-Star break) is Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez (1,308 / 15.6), who just recently got enough games in left field to qualify for an outfield spot. Fellow All-Stars Jesse Winker (1,233 / 15.0) and Jared Walsh (1,221 / 14.0) round out the thousand point-scoring batters, and Randal Grichuk (931 / 11.0) is doing a fine enough job filling in for Trout in center field.
But it’s the pitching staff where the Lions have really shined. All five pitchers in the rotation had eclipsed 1,000 points by the midsummer classic - never mind the fact that SP4 Yu Darvish (1,230 / 68.3) missed the All-Star Game due to a hip injury. Their ace has been Walker Buehler (1,487 / 82.6), with his Dodgers teammate Julio Urias (1,237 / 68.7) also in the mix, behind Nationals ace Max Scherzer (1,302 / 76.6). The depth falls off a bit after Taijuan Walker (1,067 / 66.7), as their next starting option has just 590 points on the year (it’s Domingo German, on Walker’s real-life team’s crosstown rival Yankees). But Leo also has a thousand-point closer – Jake McGee (1,028 / 27.1) – locking down the ninth inning.
The story of Pisces in 2021 has been All-Star Game MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1,639 / 18.8), who led all batters in fantasy points at the All-Star break. His Blue Jays teammate Bo Bichette (1,362 / 15.7) was next in line, shortly followed by the now-injured Nick Castellanos (1,358 / 16.2). He joins Kyle Schwarber (1,042 / 14.5) among injured Fish players, but corner outfield options abound, with not just Trey Mancini (1,031 / 12.0) and his holdover eligibility from 2020, but also Randy Arozarena (945 / 11.5), Tommy Pham (913 / 10.3), and Ryan Mountcastle (865 / 10.4) on the bench. Rounding out the thousand point-scorers on the offense are AL Rookie of the Year favorite Adolis Garcia (1,124 / 14.1) and Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins (1,093 / 12.6), who shares a sign with his real-life teammates J.T. Realmuto (753 / 10.8) and Jean Segura (747 / 12.2).
Pisces pitching doesn’t have the star power of Leo, especially considering number two starter Clayton Kershaw (1,221 / 67.8) is on the injured list with the dreaded forearm tightness, and Pablo Lopez (1,033 / 54.4) joined him there since the second half started. But Chris Bassitt (1,344 / 70.7) has been a revelation for the A’s (even adopting a Pisces-appropriate trident as part of their “Ride the Wave” mantra this year), and German Marquez (1,117 / 58.8) has succeeded despite Coors Field. Their SP5 Rich Hill (856 / 47.6) is now on the Mets, so we’ll see if that affects his production for the remainder of the season. Cuspy closer Brad Hand (1,033 / 29.5) has struggled a bit recently, but there are plenty of late-inning options behind him, including fellow lefty Aroldis Chapman (816 / 24.7), trade bait Richard Rodriguez (857 / 25.2), and future Guardians fireballer Emmanuel Clase (728 / 19.2).
It’s difficult to predict who would win in a clash between these two teams. Leo has the edge in pitching, even not accounting for all the Pisces injuries, but the Fish have the Lions beat in terms of power bats, probably even with a healthy Mike Trout and Luis Robert in the mix. If I had to make a prediction, I’d hand it to Pisces, just because I think they have a more dynamic and interesting team. But I’m not entirely convinced either way.
My next post will be the last before my brief hiatus, and it will explore the 1996 season, the start of a 23-season streak of full MLB seasons.