It’s not been officially confirmed as yet, but all signs point to this being a done deal, with the rumours saying that the contract is worth $14m-15m. That’s about what you’d expect to pay for an average starter on the free agent market so, as with the Joakim Soria contract, it feels like the A’s have set realistic targets and been able to get some good business done.
Fiers is no superstar and even the Coliseum can’t take away too much from his homer-prone nature. He gave up 32 longballs in 2018, the same as Bartolo Colon and Jakob Junis, with only James Shields (34) and Dylan Bundy (41!) giving up more in the Majors. However, even with the homers he was able to provide solid innings for the Tigers and A’s last year, as he had for the Brewers and Astros previously.
I mentioned yesterday that the impact of the A’s rotation in 2018 wasn’t one of a great strength, but doing enough to hold up its end whilst the bullpen, batting line-up and fielding did the rest. That’s likely to to be the plan for 2019 too and Fiers fits well into that.
My statement yesterday that the team needed 2 or 3 starting pitchers can come down to 1 or 2. I neglected to mention top prospect Jesus Lazardo solely because this time last year our hopes were high for A.J. Puk only for his elbow to go ping. Health depending, the Opening Day rotation group will be joined at some point by Lazardo and he could make a real impact in the second half of the season.
Another addition to a comment I made yesterday concerns our catcher options. Jon Heyman’s latest MLB notes column contained the following:
The A’s offered catcher Jonathan Lucroy a one-year deal for about $4M, but Lucroy has been hoping not to take a pay cut from the $6.5M he made last year. He did a nice job working with the A’s young pitchers last year, which is why they want him back
I had questioned whether the signing of Chris Hermann meant that the A’s were set at catcher. Whilst we may have moved on, there were so many positive comments by the A’s Front Office, Bob Melvin and Lucroy about the relationship as the season came to a close that it’s possible the lines of communication have been kept open. If Lucroy doesn’t receive a more lucrative contract offer by early February then a compromise might be reached and he may be back. One to keep an eye on, at least.
2018 was a wonderful year for fans of the Oakland A’s and we were given an early Christmas present on Friday to sign the year off on a good note. The team confirmed the rumoured signing of relief pitcher Joakim Soria and announced the more surprising capture of Jurickson Profar in a three-team trade involving the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays.
This season’s success was such a jump forward from the past three campaigns that there will be understandable questions as to whether it was a one-off. Only time will tell, but filling some of the holes that have appeared on the roster is a good way to start to address them.
The bullpen was a significant part of the A’s good season so it made sense to ensure that remains a strength. Although some seem surprised that the A’s picked up their $4.25m 2019 option on Fernando Rodney, he did well for us and keeping him in the fold – rather than creating another hole to fill – made sense.
Soria can be seen as the replacement for mid-season recruit Jeurys Familia, now back with the Mets on a three-year, $30m free agent contract. He’s a proven good relief pitcher and the two-year, $15m contract is what you’d expect to pay for such a player on this free agent market, so no complaints with that deal.
The addition of Profar will naturally be seen alongside the loss of Jed Lowrie. Jed was tremendous for us this season, and good under-the-radar in 2017 too, and unfortunately his timing ahead of hitting the free agency market made it likely he would price his way out of a return. I can’t wish anything but the best for him though and Profar is an intriguing replacement. His story as a former number one prospect bedevilled by injuries is well known and 2018 was the year in which he finally got to play regularly (146 games) and showed some of the talent that made him so highly regarded.
A’s general manager David Forst is quoted in the MLB.com article stating: “We feel like this is a guy who’s just getting to what he’s capable of … we feel like he’s really ready to break out as one of the stars of the American League”.
Sounds good to me.
What about other holes? Jonathan Lucroy is another player who did well enough in 2018 to raise his free agency contract expectations beyond the A’s comfort zone. Chris Herrmann has been signed as a free agent, although it’s not clear if the intention is for him to be the main catcher alongside Josh Phegley or if another player may join too. That may well depend on the A’s plans for prospect Sean Murphy who has earned plenty of positive reviews. My guess at the moment is that Murphy may be called-up before the All-Star break, if not even making the Opening Day roster, and the A’s may go with what they’ve got until then.
However, we all know where the gaping holes are on the roster.
The primary reason for pre-2018 scepticism was the starting rotation, a rag-bag bunch of maybes and probably-won’ts behind Sean Manaea. The additions of veteran pitchers Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, followed by Edwin Jackson and Mike Fiers during the season, made a difference not in making the rotation a strength compared to American League rivals, but in preventing it from being a damaging weakness.
None of those veterans are around now, Cahill signing a one-year deal with the Angels this week and the others still out on the market, and Manaea is unlikely to pitch in 2019 whilst recovering from shoulder surgery.
Much as I hope for the best for all players in the A’s system, all that looking at the A’s current starting pitching options (RosterResource.com has the top five currently as Daniel Mengden, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt, Aaron Brooks and Paul Blackburn) tells you is that the A’s will be adding at least two, if not three pitchers to the group over the next few months. That’s not going to be easy though with the A’s ever-present budget restrictions meaning the Front Office is going to need to get creative.
It’s nothing new for David Forst, Billy Beane and company so we’ll see what tricks they can pull ahead of the A’s early MLB regular start in Tokyo, Japan in March.
The BBF’s Annual General Meeting takes place in London this Saturday (15 December).
The AGM pack is available on the BBF website, revealing that alongside the usual AGM points of order there will be discussions on the format of competitions (such as the national championships) and 2019 operations more generally, including preparations for the 2019 MLB London Series.
As stated on Monday, the London Series offers a unique opportunity for British clubs to benefit from some rare baseball publicity in the mainstream media, so pooling ideas and resources on how to capitalise on this is a good idea.
The rules proposal from Guildford Baseball Club within the AGM pack isn’t directly tied to this, but it could be.
It’s the perennial question for British baseball: what’s the best playing format to attract and retain newcomers in a landscape with a relatively small number of clubs (affecting how easily you can play regularly without significant travel commitments) and where the core skills learnt as kids Stateside can’t be taken for granted from young – and not so young – adults?
Guildford’s proposal is based on their belief that the current format (essentially standard rules baseball) isn’t proving to be conducive to growing the game and that whilst it would be preferable to stay as true to the MLB version of the game as possible, compromises to this are worth making if it makes for a more enjoyable experience for those new to the sport.
The proposal is not so much a definitive new structure and rule book but a group of well-considered ideas to prompt debate. Plenty of clubs across Britain put great effort into attracting new players with taster sessions and they are precisely the sort of thing that might get a small boost from the London Series. However, having opportunities for those newcomers to build on their initial interest is vital.
That makes it a good time to think carefully about the way in which Single-A baseball works in Britain, so it will be interesting to see how the conversation develops following Guildford’s proposal.
As we head towards the Christmas period and the end of the year, it’s always a time to reflect on what’s happened over the past twelve months and what the new year may bring. Various bits of news last week made it a good time to do just that for baseball in Britain.
MLB London Series
Tickets went on sale last week, and quickly sold out, for the MLB London Series taking place at the London Stadium on 29-30 June 2019. Relatively high prices, frustrating online sales process and exploitation by re-sellers and touts were all sadly to be expected and left plenty of dedicated baseball fans ticket-less and disappointed.
The unfortunate truth is that the prices are precisely why MLB is coming to London ahead of other European cities. Although MLB will say the right things about growing the game, in truth if the primary focus was on the wider benefits of developing baseball through International Series events then their first foray into Europe may have been staged in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, a temporary venue in Rome, Italy, or in Regensburg, Germany instead.
They are coming to London, using a multi-purpose stadium with all the compromises that brings for playing field dimensions and viewing points, because that’s where the money is and where they’ll get the most publicity. That’s the compromise we have to accept for MLB deciding to bring games here. It’s a slightly cynical point of view, and no comfort to those who hoped to attend and found themselves priced-out, but is probably the reality.
That isn’t to take away from the potential benefits there will be for British baseball, just that this isn’t MLB’s goal and shouldn’t be expected to be. If the 2019 London Series, and the proposed follow-up in 2020, is to help grow the game on these shores then it’s up to us in the British baseball community to make that happen. How can we use the publicity of the Yankees and Red Sox coming to London to make more people aware of the baseball that’s already here?
It will need their support, of course, and primarily in respect of what they can achieve with media coverage. We’ve seen positive reports of BBC’s interest in broadcasting the two London games and that BT Sport are working to extend their TV deal. What we ideally need is some wider free-to-air coverage of MLB games for the 2019 season more generally, be that on TV or radio, and that’s a difficult problem to solve as we all know. We’ve not had any such coverage since the end of the BBC 5 Live Sports Extra show several years ago. The London Series at least gives broadcasters a reason to think about adding MLB rights to capitalise on some new-found wider interest.
Great Britain Baseball misses out on funding
The standing of baseball on these shores was shown by the announcement on Thursday that the Great Britain set-up was unsuccessful in their bid to receive money from the UK Sport Aspiration Fund.
The GB Women’s Fastpitch Team programme did receive an award of £62,500 at least, but the hope that baseball’s Olympic return for the 2020 Tokyo Games might at last end the long-running situation of our national programme receiving no such direct funding were dashed.
In the BSUK press release, GB Head Coach Liam Carroll was typically pragmatic about the development (“This is, however, a story with which we’re familiar”). Focus will shift to the London Series and any publicity and fund raising the GB set-up can achieve alongside MLB’s event. Even the ability to sell some GB merchandise around the stadium would be a benefit, so we’ll see how co-operative the MLB Office will be.
Next year will be an important one for the the senior national team as they are heading to Germany in September for the 2019 European Championships. GB finished ninth in the 2016 event, so we all know making the top five to qualify for the Africa/European Olympic qualifier will be a big challenge.
That was highlighted by the new Super 6 tournament staged for the first time by the Confederation of European Baseball this past September. Featuring the widely-recognised current leading nations – tournament winners the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Czech Republic – it produced some very well-played baseball from what I saw via the online broadcasts. Co-operation between different national federations in Europe has long been a delicate process, yet staging events like the Super 6 is surely in the interests of all, pooling the best European teams for the highest standard of competition to further player development and to provide a great showcase for the sport.
The Great Britain baseball programme is working to get into that top group in future and the Under 23’s bronze-medal finish in the 2018 European Championship Qualifier shows what could be possible.
British teams in Europe
Easily overlooked alongside the London Series ticket launch was the BBF announcement on Monday that the 2018 National Baseball Championship finalists, the London Mets and Herts Falcons, had both accepted the CEB invitation to participate in the 2019 Federations Cup qualifiers. These are currently scheduled to take place in Moscow, Russia, in June just a couple of weeks before the MLB London Series.
It will be a debut European tour for the Herts Baseball Club, whilst the London Mets have been earning frequent flyer points representing British baseball in recent years. The Mets put up a good showing in Bulgaria in June, finishing third in their group with a 2-2 record, whilst the Southampton Mustangs went 1-3 in their group in Poland.
The State of the British Leagues?
Ahead of the publicity that baseball will receive in Britain in 2019, how would we sum up the state of the British leagues?
As an onlooker rather than a direct participant, things seem as frustratingly disjointed as they have been for a number of years. Nothing summed that up better (not really the word to use) than the situation at the start of the season when a dispute between the British Baseball Federation (BBF) and Baseball Softball UK resulted in the BBF launching a new website at www.britishbaseballfederation.com.
Unsurprisingly that became a work in progress and core details such as fixtures, results and league tables were much harder to come by. We can see that the Long Eaton Storm (Single-A), East London Latin Boys (Double-A), Richmond Knights (Triple-A) and London Mets (NBL) all won their respective levels, but decent details about the seasons in each league are not so easy to find.
The biggest shame from a personal point of view is that the London Mets achieved a historic feat of capturing a record fifth top-tier title (the first team to do so in the modern era) during what is currently going to go down in the annals of British baseball history as a lost season. 2018 marked the first time in many years that even basic statistical details of the top-tier in British baseball have not been available to the national hub for baseball records at Project COBB (something that I of course declare a strong vested interest in).
Whilst developments such as the live streaming of national championship games on YouTube are greatly welcome, it’s incredibly disappointing that fixtures, results, league tables and stats are absent from the national federation’s website.
The BBF is still joined by several independent leagues in the British Baseball League, the South West Baseball League and Baseball Scotland that, from the outside at least, all seem to be fairing well. Having independent leagues is not necessarily a bad thing in an amateur sport relying on volunteers – if the independence gives an area better scope to tailor competitions that help the clubs grow and get more people playing regularly then so be it – but ideally in the context of constructive working relations between all where possible.
Today @BritishBaseball president and Kevin M from the BBL @huuscorpions meeting up to discuss baseball in the UK. Talks between BBF and @Scots_Baseball went well. Next we look forward to speaking to @swbleague Let's all get along and just play BASEBALL!
— British Baseball Federation (@BritishBaseball) November 1, 2018
What’s clear is that 2019 is going to provide opportunities for British baseball to promote our sport and encourage more people to join the community, beyond taking a cursory interest in a couple of MLB games. Hopefully it will prove to be a positive year for us all that have an interest in British baseball.
Marcelino and Marshall join the British Baseball Hall of Fame
The 2018 elections to the British Baseball Hall of Fame have introduced two new inductees, increasing the class to 34.
Brad Marcelino was inducted from the modern ballot, with Ron Marshall being elected by the historical vetting panel that was introduced in 2016.
The elections of Marcelino and Marshall have produced two family pairings in the British Hall of Fame. Brad Marcelino’s father, Oscar, was elected in 2016 and Ron Marshall’s grandson, Gavin, was elected in 2010.
Hall of Fame Chair Matt Smith commented:
“It’s always exciting to see the ballots coming in and the stories that unfold when any of the candidates reach the majority threshold to be elected.
This year’s elections highlight something that we all know is true: baseball is truly a great family sport. Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters all enjoy this sport and from Little League competitions to GB Junior teams the support and encouragement of actual families mirrors the wider relationships forged in the overall baseball family that we are all part of.
The Marcelino and Marshall families have left an indelible mark on British baseball and continue to do so to this day. Seeing Brad and Ron join Oscar and Gavin in the Hall is a great story.
As we announce our 2018 elections, I can’t help but look ahead to 2019 and the excitement and interest that will be generated by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees playing regular season MLB games in London. Whilst the initial narrative understandably will focus on American teams bringing their game across the pond, it will be a great opportunity for all areas of British baseball to promote and celebrate our own past, present and future.
With that in mind, we’re keen for anyone interested to get involved in looking at the game’s history, from helping with research to becoming a regional expert or a role as an elector. Further details can be found on the Hall of Fame websiteâ€.
Brad Marcelino
When Brad Marcelino hung up his cleats as a national team member in 2012, no British player had appeared in more top-tier European Championships (7) than the left-handed hitting outfielder. Marcelino, who made his GB debut as a 17-year-old in 1999, also represented Great Britain in a World Cup and a World Baseball Classic qualifier. Not only that, but Marcelino did so with distinction, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team at the 2001 Euros thanks to his stellar performance at the plate where he posted a .346 batting average with 6 runs in 7 games played.
Other impressive showings included batting .333 at the 1999 Euros, .389 at the 2010 Euros and .462 at the 2011 European Championship Qualifiers. Marcelino’s British baseball roots run deep. He was born in Essex and is the son of British Baseball Hall of Famer, Oscar Marcelino. He played as a junior in Britain until he was 11 before moving to the United States. He would go on to play college baseball at Occidental and California Lutheran and work as a top-tier collegiate coach at the University of San Diego, also serving on the Great Britain national team coaching staff.
Ron Marshall
Ron Marshall’s considerable British baseball legacy comes from a combination of accomplishments. He was a long-time GB manager, whose seven-year tenure from 1980 to 1986 represents one of the most extensive runs as head of the national team. He would helm Humberside teams in the 1970s before taking the reins of the national team in 1980. In both 1984 and 1986, he led GB to third-place performances at the European B-Pool Championship. He also skippered Great Britain to a victory over Belgium in a 1980 friendly.
Before joining the coaching ranks, he was also a top-notch pitcher in the Hull area. In 1950, a young Marshall was describe as an “[a]ce right-hander†by the British publication Baseball and Basket Ball Monthly. Marshall proved the title was deserving that year. By late August, he’d pitched 63 innings and struck out 109 batters. (His best single-game performance that year: an impressive 19 punch-outs.) He remained a stalwart performer on the mound throughout the decade as evidenced by being chosen as the starting pitcher in numerous representative games, including ones against the US Navy in 1958 and an American Air Force squad in 1959.
Finally, Marshall probably proved his great coaching acumen within his family. His sons Keith and Barry were both stand-out players, representing GB on numerous occasions between them, including in European competition. Barry was also a coach for GB, while Keith had a spell as manager of the dominant Hull Mets. In addition, Marshall’s grandson, Gavin, is a British Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, who was the first born-and-bred British player to earn a professional contract in the United States.
Congratulations to Norwich as they claimed the 2018 BaseballGB Fantasy League title with a tight 6-5 win against the Knights. Story led the Norwich hitters with three homers and six runs, while Rendon drove in nine. Flaherty and Lucchesi struck out eight while Ottavino and Hader picked up a hold.Pollock swiped two bases for the Knights while Grandal hit .450 for the week. Jeffress had three saves as the bullpen helped take ERA and Quintana had a WHIP of 0.80.
It’s funny that neither team in the final could find a win. Well done to Norwich for following up their first-place finish in the regular season with the crown, which is not easy to do. And a tip of the cap to the Knights, who have been a high-quality team all year long.
In the fight for third place, the Isotopes came from behind to pip the Slugs 6-5. Yelich was the hitting star with four homers and 10 runs. Strasburg had a win and led the staff with 12 strikeouts while the Seattle duo of Gonzales and Elias did not allow any earned runs. Maeda had three holds. Stanton drove in seven and hit .417 for the Slugs while Mondesi ran wild with six steals. Teheran and Hamels posted sub-1.00 WHIPs.
In the consolation bracket, the Maltsters ended the year on a high with an 8-4 win against the Riverkings. Pham scored eight runs and JD Martinez homered twice while batting .375, joining Devers in knocking in six. Pressly had a save and two holds while Chacin helped take WHIP on a tie-break. Merrifield stole seven bases for the Riverkings while Kluber had a win and struck out 17. Snell helped make the difference in ERA.
Beckenham end the year in seventh after beating the Chasers 7-4. The hitters did most of the heavy lifting, taking five categories. McCutchen hit .381 and scored six runs while Arenado launched three homers and drove in six. Marquez struck out 11 and Bradley had the lone hold. Taillon (12 strikeouts) and Scherzer, who helped take ERA and WHIP had a win each for the Chasers, while Treinen and Greene picked up a save apiece. Cain and Goldschmidt had a save each.
That’s your lot
Thanks to everyone for taking part this year – particularly Matt for posting my roundups online each week. I hope that we can have another competitive league next year. It would be nice to add some more teams if we can, so let me know if you think of anyone who would be a good addition to the league. Or if you are reading this on the BaseballGB site and are interested in playing next year, please get in touch. Now we can enjoy the playoffs without worrying about what is happening to our ERAs.
After 24 weeks, the teams fighting for the BaseballGB Fantasy League title have been whittled down to two. Read on to find out who will be in our equivalent of the World Series.
The Knights strolled into the final with a convincing 8-2 win against the Isotopes. A monster offensive weekend helped power a sweep as five players had multi-homer weeks, including Piscotty, who scored and drove in nine runs while Trea Turner led the team with a .429 average and three steals. Yates and Martinez had a save each while Trevor Williams made the difference in ERA. The Isotopes had two wins, 13 strikeouts and a 0.49 WHIP from Hendricks and another monster week from Yelich (.545) but it was not enough to halt the Knights.
The Knights will be facing Norwich in the final after they squeezed past the Slugs 5-4 in a nail-biting matchup. Castellanos (.500) helped take average and OPS for Norwich, who had two-homer, eight RBI weeks from Rendon (.435) and Freeman (.462). Khris Davis scored seven runs while Lucchesi led the pitchers with 14 strikeouts and Smith had two saves. Mondesi hit three homers and stole a base for the Slugs, with Acuna Jr touching home plate six times. Ryu won twice without allowing any earned runs, teaming with Hill to take WHIP. It was a tough way for the Slugs to bow out of the Championship bracket but hats off for a strong fight. They will face the Isotopes in the third place playoff.
The Maltsters rebounded from the disappointment of their championship playoff exit by reaching the consolation final with a 9-3 win against the A&E Dept. An offensive sweep was led by Pham and Gurriel, who each hit three homers and scored eight runs. Tommy hit .481 with a steal while Yuli knocked in 10 while batting .462. Castillo and Gonzalez did not allow any earned runs while Jansen and Pressly took care of saves and holds respectively. Mikolas won twice and led the Beckenham staff with 14 strikeouts, joining Fiers, Wheeler, Carrasco and Marquez in posting sub-1.00 WHIPs but the offense ran out of steam.
The Maltsters will play the Riverkings in the consolation final after squeezing past the Chasers 6-5. Betts hit .523 for the week with five runs and six RBIs while Merrifield stole two bases. Snell picked up his 20th and 21st wins of the season and Iglesias collected two saves. Baez had a three-homer week for the Chasers, teaming with Haniger and Gomes to also take OPS. Nola struck out 15 and Taillon made the difference in ERA and WHIP. The Chasers will face the A&E Dept in the seventh place playoff.
Championship matches
Final: Norwich No II vs Newcastle Knights
Third Place: Mighty Slugs vs Orpington Isotopes
Consolation matches
Fifth Place: Durham Riverkings vs Cheshunt Maltsters
Seventh Place: Cheddar Chasers vs Beckenham A&E Dept
Week 23 of the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw the top eight teams do battle in the first round of the playoffs. Only four could survive to reach the semi-final stage.
The Slugs, seeded fifth, knocked out the fourth-placed Riverkings with a convincing 9-2 score. Juan Soto was the star of the show, scoring and driving in eight while launching four homers and hitting .393 for the week as the hitters took five out of six categories. Lester picked up a win and struck out 16 as he teamed with Derek Rodriguez to take ERA. Doolittle and Leclerc had two saves apiece.
The Slugs had a big week from Merrifield (10 runs, five steals) but he was the only batter to homer. Snell made the difference in WHIP.
Norwich, the top seed, avoided a first-round exit by defeating the Chasers 8-4. The pitchers did most of the work, winning five categories. Buehler (0.50 WHIP) and Hader (two holds) led the staff with nine strikeouts, with Walker and Tanaka not allowing any earned runs. Osuna and Vazquez had three saves each.
Offensively, Rendon and Springer scored seven runs each while Khris Davis knocked in seven and joined Story and Harper in homering twice. For the Chasers, Cain stole two bases while hitting .407 and Haniger hit .400 for the week. Taillon was one of four pitchers with a win but it wasn’t enough as they move into the consolation playoffs.
In the battle of two former Croydon Pirates it was the Knights who came out on top 7-3. Newcastle took five offensive categories as Pollock scored six runs and Machado and Encarnacion each hit two homers and knocked in five. Jose Ramirez and Trea Turner stole two bases each.
Jeffress and Yates had two saves each and Trevor Williams did not allow any earned runs in what was a very well-pitched matchup. Beckenham had the edge in average thanks to McCutchen (.350) while Marquez struck out 15 and Wheeler, Mikolas and Porcello each had sub-1.00 WHIPs.
The Isotopes came back from 9-2 down before Saturday’s games to defeat the Maltsters 7-5. Every Isotopes batter homered, while Puig’s monster Saturday (three homers, seven RBIs) certainly helped. Altuve led the team with five runs while Yelich homered twice and stole two bases. Strasburg struck out nine while Rondon, Hand and Colome had a hold each. It was tough on the Maltsters, who took average thanks to Votto (.421) and Profar (.381). Luis Castillo won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Kimbrel collected three saves.
After 22 weeks, we now know which teams will be competing in the BaseballGB Fantasy League playoffs. Read on to find out which teams made it over the line and who will have to wait until next year for another chance.
Norwich warmed up for the playoffs with a 10-1 win against the Riverkings. Story led an offensive sweep with five homers and three steals, Schoop knocked in 10 and Harper batted .438. Flaherty struck out 11, Tanaka struck out 10 did not allow any earned runs and helped take WHIP and Osuna had three saves. Alvarado had two holds for the Riverkings, who also have a playoff tie to look forward to.
The Isotopes defeated the Sox 8-3 to confirm second place. Lindor homered five times, scoring and driving in seven while Hoskins enjoyed a three-homer week. Arrietta had a win and led the staff with 11 strikeouts, while Maeda and Hand had a save each and Colome collected two holds. The Sox took average thanks to Polanco (.467) while the pitching staff just got over the 20 inning minimum limit by one out, allowing them to take ERA and WHIP thanks to deGrom.
The Chasers defeated Batteries Essential 8-4 to secure eighth place and playoff fantasy baseball. Batteries Essential did not meet the 20-inning minimum limit, handing the Chasers all six pitching categories but they would have won five of them anyway. Greene won twice out of the pen, Scherzer struck out 22, Taillon helped take ERA and Nola posted a 0.57 WHIP. Treinen had two saves. Offensively, Cain scored seven runs and stole two bases. Batteries Essential had a four-homer week from Beltre, who hit .409 and knocked in seven, while Blackmon launched three dingers. Benintendi batted .417 for the week.
The Slugs ended the regular season on a high with a 7-2 win against the Knights. Acuna Jr scored seven runs and joined DeJong in homering twice. Hill struck out 15, Derek Rodriguez helped take ERA and WHIP while Betances and LeClerc had a save each and Robertson and Doolittle took care of holds. The Knights salvaged average as Machado and Pollock each hit .333 while Jeffress and Carlos Martinez had two saves each.
In a crucial final-week matchup, with both teams fighting for a playoff place, it was the Maltsters who came out on top, defeating the RBIs 7-4. Cheshunt scored 31 runs, including seven from Hosmer, who joined Camargo in homering three times. Pham swiped a base. Four pitchers had a win, including Gio Gonzalez, who did not allow any earned runs. McHugh had two holds. The RBIs had six RBIs apiece from Mazara and Asdrubal Cabrera, while Chris Taylor hit .500 for the week. Clevinger struck out 19 and teamed with Price and Berrios to take WHIP on a tiebreaker.
Finally, the A&E Dept are safely through to play for the title after edging past the Bombers 6-5. Wheeler was one of four pitchers with a win, striking out nine and posting a sub-1.00 WHIP. Carrasco led the staff with 14 punchouts. Diaz had three more saves while Allen added a save and two holds. Smoak and Carpenter scored four runs each. Foltynewicz helped the Bombers take ERA while Santana hit three homers. Bogaerts drove in seven while batting .500 for the week, but was outdone by Trout, who hit .563.
The final regular season standings look like this:
With just one week of the regular season remaining, two more teams have reached the playoffs, which means there are four teams fighting for three places. Read on to find out how week 21 affected race for the playoffs in the BaseballGB Fantasy League.
The Isotopes kept their hopes of finishing top of the standings alive with a 9-3 win against the Chasers. An offensive sweep was powered by Yelich, who hit .444 with seven runs, four homers and 14 RBIs. Lindor stole three bases. Wood was one of four pitchers with a win and did not allow an earned run. Rondon had the lone hold. The Chasers had 19 strikeouts from Nola, while Scherzer and Taillon posted sub-1.00 WHIPs. Treinen had three saves.
Norwich are still in line to finish as the top seed with their 8-3 win against the Maltsters, who face an anxious final week in the race for the playoffs. Rendon led Norwich with six runs, two homers and four RBIs while Story stole three bases. Corbin struck out 16 and combined with Flaherty to take ERA and WHIP. Vazquez had two saves. Profar (.471) and Pham (.409) helped the Maltsters take average and OPS while Castillo was one of five pitchers with a win.
The Riverkings secured their playoff place by defeating the Knights 8-4. Four Durham batters hit .429 or better for the week: Torres (.478) knocked in 10 runs and joined Bregman (.444) in homering three times. Alex, Merrifield and Betts (.429 for the latter two) all scored six runs. Kluber and Glasnow helped make the difference to take WHIP by 0.01 while Boxberger and Alvarado each had two saves and a hold. The Knights had two steals from Trea Turner while Rodon and Jeffress had a win each and Buchholz struck out seven and helped take ERA in a well-pitched matchup.
The Slugs can look forward to playoff fantasy baseball after they despatched the Sox 7-3. Seven Slugs batter homered, including two from Rizzo and Acuna Jr while Soto and DeJong knocked in six runs apiece. Hamels and Ryu helped take ERA and WHIP respectively while Lester struck out 10 and Betances, Robertson and Leclerc had a save each. Adam Jones hit .476 for the Sox while Polanco stole two bases. Cole had two wins.
The Bombers got the better of Batteries Essential, falling a steal shy of an offensive sweep. Le Mahieu homered twice while Moustakas scored four runs and drove in five. Albies hit .368 for the week. Syndergaard had a win and struck out 17. Batteries Essential had two saves from Davis while Godley and Duffy helped take ERA and WHIP. The staff just managed to go over the 20-inning minimum limit.
Finally, the A&E Dept and the RBIs must wait another week to find out if they have reached the playoffs. Beckenham won this matchup 6-5, as Billy Hamilton and a four-homer week from Smoak helped the A&E Dept edge runs, homers and take OPS. Carrasco struck out 20, while MadBum, Wheeler and Marquez helped take ERA. Allen had two holds. Mazara knocked in eight for the RBIs while Gennett hit .500 for the week and stole a base as three offensive categories were won by one. Freeland won both of his starts while Clevinger posted a 0.75 WHIP.
The teams in 6th to 9th can all still reach the playoffs, with the Maltsters and RBIs going head-to-head in the final week of the regular season. The others are either jockeying for the best seeding they can get or playing for pride.
