Week six of the BaseballGB Fantasy League saw some big wins and a change at the top of the standings.

We begin with the biggest winners of the week as Matt’s Chasers thumped Jesmond Dennings 10-1. Miguel Cabrera homered three times and drove in 10, Teixeira went deep twice and Pence scored eight runs. Scherzer won both of his starts, Hunter had three saves and Ross and Hudson helped take ERA and WHIP. With rare cold weeks for Trout and Pujols, Nolan Arenado was the pick of Jesmond’s hitters, even though his hitting streak was snapped at 28 games. Perkins had three saves, Bailey struck out 11 and Teheran and Harrison both pitched well.

Beck ‘Nams are back on top after their 9-2 win against the Sox, falling a steal shy of an offensive sweep in the process. Reyes had a big week, homering, scoring nine ruins and swiping four bases, while Hosmer hit .452 and drove in eight. Darvish was the pitching star, as his near no-hitter helped take ERA and WHIP, along with great efforts from Kuroda and Kennedy.  Bumgraner, Greinke and Cole each picked up wins for the Sox, Street had the lone save and there were multi-steal weeks for Jackson, Fowler and Altuve.

Batteries Essential are on a charge, defeating the RBIs 9-2. Brantley had two homers and drove in seven, joining Stanton, Walker and Cespedes in a big week for the offense. Casilla had a win and a hold, while Odorizzi struck out 11 in a scoreless outing. Posey, Lind and Aviles helped the RBIs win average by two points, while Roark, CJ Wilson and Tanaka made the difference in WHIP.

Norwich overtook the Knights in the standing with this 8-4 score. The pitching staff had a sweep, with Santana picking up a win and helping taker ERA and WHIP, while Eovaldi struck out 13 and the returning Chapman picked up the only save on the final day of the matchup. Watson had a win and two holds. The Knights thumped an incredible 15 homers, with V-Mart going deep four times, three for Gyorko and a pair for Gomes, Goldschmidt and Dickerson.

The Bananas are proving hard to beat, as they picked up a 7-4 win against Bits & Bytes. Tulo was the star hitter, homering four times, scoring seven and driving in eight, while Reed had three saves and Hamels struck out 16. Cishek had a pair of wins and a save for Bits & Bytes, Ziegler had four holds and Hughes helped take ERA.

The Butchers pickled up a hard-fought 7-5 win against the Riverkings. Encarnacion slugged four of the team’s dozen homers and drove in 10, while Blackmon had three round-trippers. It was a big week for the bullpen, as Melancon, Kimbrel and Holland combined for seven saves and Clippard had three holds. Wright, Byrd and Castellanos helped the Riverkings take average while Buerhle and Weaver each had a win and helped take ERA and WHIP.

The Angels squeezed past the Slugs 6-5 in a close matchup. Springer and Daniel Murphy both homered twice, while CarGo and Aramis Ramirez helped take average and OPS. Wainwright, Dickey and Kazmir all picked up wins, taking ERA and WHIP along the way. Niese struck out 12. Victorino gave the Slugs the edge in RBIs, while Gordon swiped five bases. Ventura struck out 13, Uehara had a pair of saves and carpenter picked up a win, a save and a hold.

Finally, Iron Men and my Isotopes finished 5-5. Rodney had four saves for Iron Men, while Samardzija struck out 14, combining with Wheeler and Strasburg to take ERA and WHIP. Asdrubal Cabrera was the difference in runs, while Adam Jones homered three times and helped to win average. Hanley and Puig each hit a pair of homers for my team, with Rios swiping a pair of bases. Four different pitchers claimed wins, including Harang and Doolittle, who struck out nine and eight respectively. That’s three ties in six weeks for my team, and while it’s good to be tough to beat, the Isotopes could really use a win.

This Week

The week seven matchups are as follows:

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Bananas (4th)

Butchers (2nd) v Slugs (12th)

Chasers (3rd) v RBIs (14th)

Norwich (5th) v Iron Men (8th)

Knights (6th) v Batteries Essential (7th)

Angels (9th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

Isotopes (10th) v Riverkings (15th)

Jesmond Dennings (11th) v Sox (13th)

We have a new leader in the Baseball GB Fantasy League. Read on to find out who has taken over at the top.

Jesmond Dennings caused an upset by beating Beck ‘Nams 8-2, knocking them off the top of the standings in the process. Nolan Arenado, Phillips and Pierzynski all had productive weeks with the bat as Jesmond won all offensive categories bar steals. On the mound, Hawkins had a win and two saves, while Teheran, Bailey and Simon helped take ERA and WHIP. Beck ‘Nams had five steals from Dozier while Kluber racked up 18 strikeouts and Darvish added 13.

The Slugs also caused an upset, dealing the Bananas an 8-4 loss. In a pitching staff which won five categories, Justin Masterson struck out 11, while stingy starts from Ventura and Buchholz helped the staff also take ERA and WHIP. Gordon swiped six bases, Gomez homered twice and Hunter drove in seven. For the Bananas,  Tulo was the offensive star, batting over .600 for the week, scoring nine times, homering twice and knocking in eight. The outfield of Marte, Ellsbury and Werth all had great  weeks with the bat too. K-Rod had three saves, while Reed had a pair and a win.

The Sox picked up a 7-3 win against Bits & Bytes with an impressive week for the pitching staff. MadBum, Cueto and Greinke all pitched excellently, taking wins, strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. Offensively, Morneau scored five runs and drove in six, while Alvarez and Rollins helped take OPS. Bits & Bytes had speed from Kendrick who swiped four bases and teamed up with Loney, Molina and salty to take average. Ziegler had two holds.

Batteries Essential were also among the winners, just getting the better of the Chasers 7-5. Stanton, Jenninghs, Hamilton and Walker keyed an offensive sweep, while Cecil and Casilla ensured victory by winning holds. The Chasers had plenty of excellent pitching, as the staff posted a 1.7ERA and a sub-0.9 WHIP thanks to Scherzer, Lester and Hudson and a bullpen which did not allow an earned run.

Another 7-5 score saw Norwich squeeze past the RBIs. Six different pitchers picked up wins, with strikeouts spread pretty evenly across the rotation. The Dodger duo of Jansen and Withrow had a pair of saves and holds respectively. Ozuna homered twice and McCutchen, Justin Upton and Seager stole bases. Posey homered twice for the RBIs, Cano drove in seven and Granderson, Granderson and LaRoche helped take average. Wilson and Tanaka helped the staff post a sub-1 WHIP.

Another matchup, another 7-5. This time it was the Angels who came out winners against the Riverkings. Mauer and carGo were the pick of the Angels’ hitters, while Murphy scored five runs and swiped a base. Rondon had two saves and Lee and Niese helped take styrikeouts and WHIP by the narrowest of margins. Sanatna hit three homers for the Riverkings, Lincecum helped win ERA and Allen had the lone hold of the matchup.

The Butchers did just enough to beat Iron Men, and it was enough to go top of the standings. It was hardly a vintage week offensively or on the mound, but Blackmon, Encarnacion and Yelich took runs and RBIs, while Clippard had a win and a hold and Price took WHIP. Iron Men took steals, Caverage and OPS thanks to Choo, Lawrie, Kinsler and Morse, while Rodney had two saves and Strasburg helped take ERA.

Finally, my Isotopes and the Knights could not be separated in a 5-5 tie. The Knights had the better of the offense, with Goldschmidt, Bautista and Myers homering twice, including an inside-the-parker for Wil. Sonny Gray was by far the best Knight on the mound. Verlander, Ubaldo and Zimmermann all picked up wins for the Isotopes,while  Romo and Soriano took care of saves. Puig, Uribe and Rios helped take RBIs.

Week Six matchups:

Butchers (1st) v Riverkings (15th)

Beck ‘Nams (2nd) v Sox (13th)

Knights (3rd) v Norwich (8th)

Bananas (4th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

Jesmond Denninghs (5th) v Chasers (6th)

Iron Men (7th) v Isotopes (9th)

Slugs (10th) v Angels (11th)

Batteries Essential (12th) v RBIs (14th)

We have completed four weeks of the 2014 fantasy baseball season. Who is on their way up the standings and can anyone stop Beck ‘Nams?

We begin with another win for JJ, as  Beck ‘Nams thumped Bits & Bytes 9-2 to stay top of the standings. Navarro, Escobar and Dozier were the offensive stars as the batters took five out of six categories, while four different starters picked up wins, with Wood striking out 12. Kendrick, Mlina and Bogaerts hit well for Bits & Bytes, but the lineup, missing the injured Cuddyer, failed to hit a single homer. Cishek and Ziegler took care of saves and holds.

The Bananas are right on JJ’s tail, beating the Riverkings 8-4. The pitching staff won every category aside from holds, with Lohse and Lynn the pick of the starters. K-Rod and Reed combined for seven saves while Tulo hit three homers and Infante’s monster Sunday saw him drive in eight runs for the week. Byrd, Hill and Castellanos helped the Riverkings salvage RBIs, average and OPS, while Allen had two holds.

My Isotopes are in a funk, losing 8-4 to the RBIs. Tanaka (18n strikeouts), Burnett (13) and Roark all pitched excellently and the staff took five categories, while Gardner stole four bases and scored five times. Cruz had a big week with the bat, belting four homers and driving in 13 runs, bbut it was a nightmare week for my pitching staff, which posted a 6.66 ERA. They had a devil of a time.

Jesmond Dennings are back at .500 after a 7-4 win against Batteries Essential which included an offensive sweep thanks to Pujols, Trout, Pierzynski and Arenado. Perkins, Broxton and Hawkins combined for seven saves. Castro and Gattis were the pick of the Batteries hitters, while Jose Fernandez and Garza helped the pitchers salvage four categories.

The Chasers got the better of Norwich 6-4, hitting their way to victory. The offense took five categories thanks to Miguel Cabrera, Melky Cabrera, Kipnis, Martin and Pence. Tommy Hunter ahd two saves. Norwich belted 12 homers, including three from Seager and McCutchen and a pair for Napoli and Justin Upton. Salazar and Peralta racked up the strikeouts, while Eovaldi helped win ERA and WHIP.

The Sox are starting to move up the standings after defeating the Slugs 6-4. It was a very stingy week for the pitchers, as Greinke, Cueto, MadBum and Cole all put up great numbers and Street had three saves. Ruiz, Morneau and Jackson helped take average and OPS. Donaldson belted three homers for the slugs, with Gomez and Dee Gordon swiping three bases each. Five pitchers picked up wins, with Ventura the pick of the bunch and Siegrist had two holds.

The Butchers just got the better of the Knights 6-5 in a very tight matchup. Both teams pitched extremely well, but Enfield managed to win five of the six categories, as Price, Straily and Richards racked up the strikeouts and Perez helped take wins, ERA and WHIP. Blackmon had a three-homer week and swiped a pair of bases. The Knights had the better of the offense thanks to Bautista, Zobrist and Pedroia while Shields won twice and Soria had three saves.

Finally, the Angels squeezed past Iron Men 6-5 in another matchup with plenty of good pitching. Wainwright (two wins), Dickey, Lee and Kazmir all had great weeks for the Angels, who took five pitching categories. Papelbon had three saves and Murphy stole three bases in an otherwise quiet week for the offense. Iron men slugged 15 homers, with Jose Abreu going deep five times and driving in an incredible 14 runs. A-Go, Lawrie and Morse had three homers each. Wheeler, Strasburg and Colon all pitched well, while Rodney had a win and two saves.

Week Five matchups:

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Jesmond (7th)

Bananas (2nd) v Slugs (13th)

Butchers (3rd) v Iron Men (6th)

Knights (4th) v Isotopes (9th)

Chasers (5th) v Batteries Essential (12th)

Norwich (8th) v RBIs (10th)

Angels (11th) v Riverkings (15th)

Sox (14th) v Bits & Bytes (16th)

JJ’s Beck ‘Nams took top spot in the Baseball GB fantasy league last week. Are they still leading the way after Week Three?

We begin with the biggest winners of the week, as the Knights thumped the Angels 10-2. The hitters and pitchers each took five categories, with Myers hitting two homers, Goldschmidt, Pedroia and Bautista each scoring six runs. Shields and Alex Wood both pitched well, but Aaron Harang (who knew?!) did even better for the Knights with seven no-hit innings. Soria had two saves. Daniel Murphy was the pick of the Angels’ batters, hitting .345 and being one of five players to steal a base. Cliff Lee pitched excellently in an otherwise tough week for the staff, with Henderson collecting the lone hold of the matchup.

Beck ‘Nams do remain top after their 8-3 win against the Slugs. Aoki, Kemp and Dozier each stole two bases, while Callaspo drove in five runs for Beck ‘Nams. An excellent week for Shelby Miller made the difference in wins and strikeouts, while he teamed with Sabathia to take ERA and WHIP. Chris Perez had two holds. The Slugs had great weeks from Fielder (two homers) and Donaldson, who each scored six runs, while Uehara and Carpenter combined for three saves.

The Butchers are in third after another 8-3 win, defeating the RBIs. Yelich and Votto (two homers) each batted well over .400 for the week and helped take runs comfortably. It was a monster week for the bullpen, as Melancon, Clippard, Phelps and Ogando combined for EIGHT holds, while Holland had three saves. Hart and Hardy were the pick of the hitters ina  poor offensive week for the RBIs, although Jim Johnson vultured two wins and Tanaka and Burnett helped take ERA and WHIP.

Batteries Essential surged up the standings with their 7-4 win against Norwich. Cespedes, Brantley and Stanton each hit two homers, but were outdone by Gattis (three) and Walker (four) in a huge power display. Billy Hamilton added four steals. Fernandez, Wacha and Chen all pitched excellently, helping to take ERA and WHIP, while Cecil had three holds. Norwich had the edge in runs and RBIs thanks to Ozuna, Frazier and Rosario, while Ervin Santana racked up 18 strikeouts and Jansen had three saves.

The Bananas got the better of Iron Men in a very close matchup. Lance Lynn’s two wins and 16 strikeouts helped the Bananas win the matchup on the mound, with Lohse and Cain helping take ERA and WHIP. K-Rod and Gregerson took care of saves. The middle infielders were productive with the bat, as Infante drove in seven and Tulo hit .500 and scored eight runs. Marte swiped four bases. Iron Men took RBIs, average and OPS thanks to Lawrie, Kinsler and Mesoraco. Strasburg struck out 14 and Thornton had two holds.

Matt took the spoils in this BaseballGB matchup, as his Chasers defeated my Isotopes 6-4. McCann scored five runs, Pence stole three bases and Melky Cabrera and Leonys Martin helped take average. Scherzer, Lester, Ross and Ryu all pitched brilliantly, taking ERA comfortably and posting a sub-1.00 WHIP. I made a  move in a bid to boost my offense, and Uribe responded with two homers, while Cruz drove in six. On the mound, six different pitchers, including Zimmermann (13 strikeouts) and Soriano (two saves), picked up wins.

In a very tight matchup, Jesmond Dennings got the better of Bits & Bytes 5-4. The Angel duo of Trout and Pujols were the pick of the hitters, combining for four homers 10 runs and 13 RBIs. Andrus ran wild, stealing five bases. Hwakins, Broxton and O’Day combined for six saves, while Bailey and the now-injured Kelly helped take ERA. Kendrick homered twice, drove in seven and hit .370 for the week, with Soriano and Chris Johnson also in good form. King Felix, Pineda, Santiago and Cashner all pitched well to take ERA, but the very short pitching staff will get shorter with the injury to Nova. If Bits & Bytes don’t make additions soon, they run the risk of forfeiting all pitching categories by not hitting the 20-inning minimum limit.

Finally, the Riverkings and Sox could not be separated. Morneau’s three homers and 12 RBIs, added to Braun’s three-homer week, gave the Sox the edge offensively while Street had three saves. Cueto racked up 12 strikeouts on his way to a win. Wright gave the Riverkings the edge in RBIs, and the pitchers took five categories. Lincecum struck out 12 and picked up a win, Gio Gonzalez also won and helped take ERA and WHIP while Allen had two holds.

It’s still early

Just 11.5 games separate the top and bottom teams in the league, so ground can easily be made up if you are off to a slow start (or lost if you’re doing well!) Those teams who act quickly to replace injured players can really reap the benefits, so be sure to keep an eye on your rosters to make sure you keep up-to-date with who’s starting when and who needs to be put on the DL.

Week Four matchups

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Bits & Bytes (11th)

Knights (2nd) v Butchers (3rd)

Bananas (4th) v Riverkings (14th)

Chasers (5th) v Norwich (8th)

Iron Men (6th) v Angels (13th)

Isotopes (7th) v RBIs (15th)

Batteries Essential (9th) v Jesmond Dennings (10th)

Slugs (12th) v Sox (16th)

It’s time to check in on the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Are last week’s the fast starters still setting the pace or is it all change at the top?

We begin with the new league leaders… Beck ‘Nams. JJ’s side surged to the top of the standings after an impressive 10-2 win against the Riverkings. Despite an injury to Adrian Beltre, the offense took five categories. Beltran and Dozier each hit three homers, Escobar helped win average and combined with Navarro to collect a steal. On the mound, Kluber had a win and 14 strikeouts, Kuroda won both his starts and Chris Perez had two holds. Byrd (seven) and Desmond (six) helped Riverkings salvage RBIs, while Harper and Montero had hot weeks with the bat. Kelley, Balfour and Valverde combined for four saves.

Norwich were the next biggest winners, defeating Jesmond 9-1. Both teams put up very good offensive numbers, but Freeman (six runs, two homers, eight RBIs) and Justin Upton (eight runs, four homers, eight RBIs) gave Norwich the edge. Avisail Garcia was having a good week until his season-ending injury. Five different pitchers picked up wins, including Ervin Santana in his Braves’ debut and Salazar struck out 10 in 3.2 innings. For Jesmond, Pujols had a three-homer week, Trout went deep twice and Pierzynski and Phillips put up great averages. Perkins and Hawkins each had a save.

The Bananas avoided slipping up against the Knights, running out 9-3 winners. The pitching staff took five categories, with Lohse (two wins) in impressive form. Gregerson had two holds and a save, while K-Rod had two saves. Werth (six runs, two homers, seven RBIs) was the top Banana with the bat, while Marte and Ellsbury each swiped three bases. Zobrist (three homers) carried the Knights’ offense, while the pitching staff performed well and will feel unlucky to have fallen just short in many categories. Gray, Haren and Alex Wood each picked up a win and at least eight strikeouts.

Iron Men made it back-to-back wins with a 8-4 score against the Sox. In a matchup full of power, Adrian Gonzalez’s four homers and 11 RBIs made him the top hitter for Iron Men, outdoing Abreu, who also hit four homers. The pitching staff won five categories, with Strasburg striking out 12 and combining with Peavy to take ERA and WHIP. Grilli and Rodney had two saves each. Adam Eaton (10 runs) and Braun (seven runs, three homers, 10 RBIs) were the top Sox hitters, while Greinke, Cole and Bumgarner each won a start. Too bad MadBum’s grandslam didn’t count towards the hitting stats!

The Slugs also picked up an 8-4 win, defeating Bits & Bytes. The two teams were very close in most of the offensive categories, but Josh Donaldson (three homers), Carlos Gomez (two) and Bonifacio (three steals) helped claim five of the six. Cingrani racked up 11 strikeouts, Uehara had a save before his injury and McGee made the difference in holds. Soriano belted three homers for Bits & Bytes, Ibanez went deep twice and drove in eight while Molina plated six. Hernandez, Pineda and Cashner all pitched well, but Bits & Bytes’ pitching staff is below the required six pitchers and in danger of forfeiting future weeks of pitching categories if the 20 inning minimum is not met.

Another close matchup saw the Angels get the better of the RBIs 7-3, taking five offensive categories thanks to Mauer, Alexei Ramirez, CarGo and Everth Cabrera. Four different pitchers collected wins, with Kazmir (14 strikeouts) the pick of the bunch. CJ Wilson helped the RBIs take ERA and WHIP, while Kelly Johnson belted three homers.

The Chasers and Butchers could not be separated in their matchup, which ended 6-6. The sides even split the hitting and pitching categories. Melky Cabrera and Kipnis were the top Chasers at the plate, while Scherzer racked up 18 strikeouts and Nolasco and Ryu helped take ERA and WHIP. Aramis Ramirez, Yelich and Votto were the pick of the Butcher batters, while Martin Perez had two wins, Kimbrel had a pair of saves and three other relievers each picked up a hold.

Finally, my Isotopes drew 5-5 with Batteries Essential. Seven different batters went deep for Batteries Essential including multi-homer weeks from Stanton (almost expected) and Starlin Castro (not so expected). Wacha was the best pitcher by far, winning twice, striking out 11 and helping win ERA and WHIP. Utley hit .563 for the Isotopes, Hanley scored six runs and Rios stole three bases. Romo had a win and a save, while Doolittle had a save after two holds.

Week three matchups:

Beck ‘Nams (1st) v Slugs (10th)

Bananas (2nd) v Iron Men (3rd)

Butchers (4th) v RBIs (11th)

Norwich No II (5th) v Batteries Essential (14th)

Isotopes (6th) v Chasers (8th)

Angels (7th) v Knights (9th)

Bits & Bytes (12th) v Jesmond Dennings (13th)

Riverkings (15th) v Super-Sox (16th)

It’s that time again. 16 teams entered the live online draft for the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Here’s what happened round-by-round in the draft last Friday night, alongside a review of the resulting rosters.

Arriving about half an hour before the draft started, I found my Orpington Isotopes were picking 9th out of 16. Could have been better, but could have been worse. After consulting my mock drafts (I did three, picking early, middle and late) I began jotting down a few notes for the opening rounds. I was hoping Hanley Ramirez would make it to me. If he didn’t, I’d go for the next best hitter available. I was grateful Hanley made it to me as I was able to fill the tricky SS position straight away.

The only minor surprise in round one was Kershaw going fourth overall to Bits & Bytes, ahead of McCutchen. As a Dodger fan, it would have been tough to pass up on Kershaw had I been picking earlier, but I always try to get a bat first. Still, if you are going to take a pitcher, you take the best.

The Mighty Slugs and London Bananas end up with nice combos, with Gomez and Fielder a speed and power mix for the Slugs while London fills two tough positions in SS and CF with Tulo and Ellsbury. Darvish is the second SP to go, followed by Strasburg and, surprisingly, Tanaka. If the new Yankee turns into the next Darvish, this pick will look very good, but personally I wouldn’t want Tanaka as my ace if more established pitchers (Wainwright, Verlander, Price, King Felix) are available, but if he has a great rookie season, fair enough.

I think about taking Wainwright with my second pick, but looking further down the list, I’m confident there will still be an ace available in round three, so I happily grab Puig here to fill CF. I have taken two boom or bust type players early, but the thought of those two in my lineup is hard for this Dodger fan to resist. I had considered Longoria here as 3B is a bit of a problem position after the top names go.

The brilliantly named Jesmond Dennings kick off round three with a punt on Pujols, while there is a run on starters. Matt nabs Scherzer, while Lee, Jose Fernandez and MadBum all go in succession. That leaves me with a choice of Verlander, Price and Sale, so I opt for the Tiger.  The RBIs cause a surprise with the pick of Granderson. If he’s healthy, he provides pop at CF, but with Marte and Choo still available, I’d have gone for them and kept Grandy up my sleeve for later on in the draft.

I really like the Marte pick here by the Bananas. He put up great numbers last year, but still doesn’t seem to get the credit he deserves, what with being a Pirates and playing alongside the excellent McCutchen. More shortstops fly off the board, as Segura, Reyes and Desmond go, while Kimbrel is the first closer selected, being drafted by Enfield. I’ll worry about saves later, as I’m thinking about my next hitter.

I’d highlighted Zimmerman, Holliday, Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez for this round, hoping one of them would make it to me. Much to my surprise, Alex Rios was still available when it was my turn, so I happily nabbed his power/speed combination. My mouse did hover over Greinke for a bit, but Rios was too good to pass up.

I was hoping to get a second starter this round, and my hopes were raised when Gerrit Cole was still around, only to see the Super Sox beat me to him. It would have been great to get Cole, but Jordan Zimmermann is not a bad alternative. We start to see a couple more closers go, while there is a mini-run on CFs with Heyward, Hamilton and Gardner. It’s hard to know what to expect from Billy, as he has lightning speed, but will he hit enough to be able to swipe bases? The Gardner pick is a surprise too. as good a player as he is, he is a bit one-dimensional, and would probably have been available much later in the draft. If I’d needed a CF at this point, I’d have gambled on Kemp or Josh Hamilton.

The problem position of 3B one I need to fill sooner rather than later and I wonder if Carlos Santana, switching positions to 3B, will make it to me. The Riverkings step in, so it leaves me with a choice of three: Machado, Alvarez and Sandoval. Alvarez has the best pop by far, but the low average is off-putting. I opt for Machado and hope he can fully recover from his injury last year. Alvarez goes with the very next pick. Beck ‘Nams and Iron Men gamble of healthier and more productive seasons from Kemp and Hamilton, while six of the 16 picks in this round were SPs.

Pitching dominates the start of round seven, with six hurlers taken at the start of the round – nine in a row overall – and I start to think about getting a closer. Romo is the best available, so I grab the Giant. Had I not already filled two outfield spots, I’d have been very tempted to go with Werth here, so tip of the hat to the Bananas. I like the picks of Fister and Beltran here – Carlos should enjoy the short porch at Yankee Stadium.

First base is a bit of a hole in my team. With it being a deep position, I was prepared to wait to get one but feel I really need one this round, especially with Butler and Abreu going. Belt, Rizzo and Adams are all available, as is Victor Martinez. I’m really tempted to grab Wacha, but stop myself and do what I hope is the sensible thing, hoping Belt can build on a strong finish to 2013. Rosario and Gyorko, two other hitters I had on my wish list for the next round, are snapped up by Norwich and Northfleet while Batteries Essential takes Wacha. The gamble on Hart by the RBIs could lead to big power numbers, but considering Hart missed all of 2013, I wouldn’t have taken him quite this early.

My wish list shrinks even more this round as I see Phillips, McCann and Soriano all taken. I consider going for a second closer but it seems a bit early and there are still plenty of options left which I’d accept as a second reliever. The best hitters available are both outfielders, so I weigh up Cruz and Brown and hope Nelson enjoys hitting at Camden Yards. Northfleet make a nice pick with Gray, while it’s interesting to see a set-up reliever in Clippard drafted ahead of closers. The RBIs get a nice power boost at SS with Hardy, while another JJ groans after drafting Medlen, only to learn afterwards of his injury problems.

I’m surprised Rafael Soriano is still available when it’s my turn in round 10 and, although I didn’t plan on getting two closers this early, it seems too good an opportunity to pass up even though I had been very tempted with Cueto. Enfield goes early for holds again, adding Melancon, while Norwich cause a surprise with Brad Miller. Desmond Jenning is drafted, but not by Jesmond Dennings.

Johnny Cueto’s name had been hanging around at the top of the rankings for a while, and just when I think he’ll make it to me the Super Sox nab him. I switch to filling the gap at 2B with Utley. His 30HR days may be behind him, but if he can hit 18HR again this year, I’ll happily take that from a 2B. Northfleet take the 30HR power of Moss, while more middle infielders are taken: Castro, Cabrera, Lowrie and Johnny Peralta. I start planning ahead for a third starter, but Weaver and Kuroda go…

… as do Masterson, Lynn, Sabathia and Burnett. Fortunately my target of Archer is available, so I waste little him in adding him to my rotation. Garza, Dickey and Santana go soon after in a pitching heavy round. Will Victor Martinez make it to me in the next round to fill my UT spot?

Northfleet nab V-Mart, which gives me a headache in this round. I had planned on waiting for a catcher until late on, but decide on going for Wieters’ power here, even if the average makes me wince a bit. Maybe Jason Castro would have been the better choice, but he is grabbed by the Mighty Slugs. Corbin is drafted by Jesmond, although since the draft he has been ruled out with injury. We see some gambles taken on older players (Teixeira and Howard) while the Riverkings go for Castellanos, who will add 3B eligibility and hit somewhere in the middle of the Detroit lineup.

I still have a gap at UT to fill, but no-one really stands out at this point in the draft. I know from doing my mocks there are later-round options which I can live with, so rather than reaching down the list of hitters now, I decide to add to my rotation. I’ve no idea which Ubaldo I’ll get this year, but I like him as my fourth starter. Three more catchers (Ramos, Gattis and Gomes) are drafted, Norwich takes a flier of Houston rookie Springer and Enfield adds Alex Guerrero, who has 2B and SS eligibility, but will likely start the season in the minors. The fielding may need work, but he can hit.

Seven relievers are drafted this round, but I decide to add to my rotation again, taking AJ Griffin… only to find out he’s picked up an injury, news which only broke a short time before the draft started and which passed me by. Hopefully it will not be a long-term injury, but he will not be ready to start the season. Still, at least it’s only a 15th round pick for a fifth starter. Pierzynski’s a nice value pick here for Jesmond. The Bananas take Beachy, who is also hurt, while Batteries Essential nab a 2B I really like in Walker. Another Walker, Seattle prospect Taijuan, is added by the Slugs.

The Slugs then add another promising young arm in Yordano Ventura. I can’t ignore the UT hole any more, so opt for Nava here. This leaves me needing a bench hitter, a starter and two set-up relievers with my remaining picks. Northfleet and Jesmond get good value picks with Gallardo and Tillman.

It’s no surprise to see plenty of pitching in round 17 as teams fill out their rotations and grab set-up relievers. Hawkins, who will start the year as Coloradio’s closer, is nabbed by Jesmond, proving you can wait for saves until the very late rounds. I go for Brian Wilson, who will be Jansen’s set-up man. Hopefully this will mean plenty of holds and the odd save should Jansen need a day off.

I think about adding my final starter here, particularly Hudson, but there are a number of SPs on my list I would happily take, so I decide to wait and grab the next reliever I’d targeted in Doolittle. Iron Men grab Colon, who should enjoy life in the Mets’ spacious stadium against NL lineups, while Roark could be an inspired pick by Enfield if he clings on to his spot in the Washington rotation. Eaton and Rasmus are nice late-round CF options.

Ibanez had been on my list for my bench hitter, but is grabbed by Bits & Bytes. I decide to go for Carter’s power, although his low average is a concern. Hopefully between him and Nava I can have a workable platoon at UT. The Angels grab the Cards’ top prospect in Taveras, Matt should enjoy seeing Davis run wild in Detroit and Norwich take Avisail Garcia, an intriguing hitter. I’d like to see what he can do over a full season.

In the final round I get my sixth start in Leake, who I think is underrated in the Yahoo rankings. There’s a mix of veterans (Morneau, Byrd, Quentin, Pagan) and rookies (Paxton, Baez and Wong).

On the Orpington Isotopes

Overall, I’m pretty happy with my team. I don’t have the big power hitters you would expect at the infield corners, but there’s extra pop in the middle infield. I really like my outfield and the top of the rotation. The rest of the rotation could go either way, especially Ubaldo, and then there’s the Griffin injury to deal with. But the bullpen looks solid.

On the rest of the field

Here are my thoughts on the other teams:

Jesmond Dennings: Picking first can be a blessing and a curse, but a very strong batting lineup with nice blend of youth, experience, speed and power. Pitching staff may be lacking a true ace and could use a set-up reliever or two, but a very good effort.

Cheddar Chasers: Very strong infield and the outfield’s pretty good too. If Tex is back to his old self, they’re in business. Strong overall pitching staff, could get stronger if Hunter claims the Baltimore closer role.

Northfleet Knights: Very solid across the board offensively. Pitching staff needs wins from Shields and saves from Soria. If they get them, look out.

Bits & Bytes: Two top aces and two closers make the pitching staff high in quality if not quantity. Lineup may be lacking power, as only one player hit 30+ HR last year.

Norwich No II: Plenty of pop with seven 20+ HR players and strong outfield. Not sure about Miller at SS. Two top closers in Chapman and Jansen, but roation lacking a true ace.

Angels Of Ash Vale: Strong pitching staff led by two aces. Lack of power may be an issue but there is good speed.

Batteries Essential: Going for young arms at the top of the rotation. Will need to add rotation depth. Lineup of mashers and a couple of speedsters. Average may suffer.

Weston Super Sox: Pretty solid across the board. Average may be a problem, but decent power and speed. Strong roation and closers, but more pitching depth and set-up relievers needed. Plenty of batting trade bait in the bench.

Richie’s RBIs: A lot of gambles here. Need Hart, Josh Johnson and Granderson to be healthy and Tanaka to be worth early pick. 3B needs an upgrade and rotation depth may be an issue.

Iron Men: Pretty steady across the board. Like the outfield. Will hope for more power from Josh Hamilton and Abreu. Decent pitching depth.

NE Riverkings: Strong rotation, power spread amongst lineup but maybe lacking 30HR bat.

Beck ‘Nams: Really good rotation depth despite Medlen injury. Bullpen needs some work, but can use SP surplus as trade bait. Lineup fairly steady. Could be really boosted by a healthy Kemp.

Enfield Butchers: Lineup should compete for good average. Need a 2B or SS until Guerrero arrives. Bullpen strong, but may regret taking two closers and two set-up men early in draft.

London Bananas: Really solid lineup could look even better if Howard rebounds. Speed to burn with Ellsbury/Marte combo in strong outfield. Injury to Parker to contend with, but rotation and bullpen still strong. Very good effort from 15th in draft order.

Mighty Slugs: Power impressively spread throughout lineup and should be strong contenders in average too. Pitching staff maybe lacking top-tier ace but decent enough depth. Just the one closer.

The final of the 2013 BaseballGB Fantasy League brought together the top two teams from the regular season. Would the first-placed SWAT complete a perfect season by taking the title, or would second-placed Norwich No II make a late charge and take the honours? Read on to find out.

Championship Finals

It was No II that finished up as the Number One team in 2013 with a 9-3 victory. A three-homer week by Oakland’s Brandon Moss was added to with multi-homer weeks by Jayson Werth and Chris Davis as Norwich’s offence grabbed all of the offensive categories aside from stolen bases, which went the way of SWAT through a stolen base apiece by four different players.

SWAT managed to rack up a hugely impressive 97 strike-outs as the team added a host of available pitchers through the week; however their combined efforts could only add Saves to the strike-out category victory. Norwich No II’s pitching staff was led by a pair of Cleveland Indians as Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir combined for 31 K’s and two wins, whilst Tommy Hunter’s solitary Hold was enough to add one more category to No II’s collection.

SWAT produced an incredible regular season and comprehensively won the league competition, but the playoffs are all down to what happens in the week at hand.  Norwich No II had a very strong season of their own and were able to win the match-up when it mattered the most to take the title.

Iron Men completed the medal table by winning the third-placed final against Weston-Super-Sox.

Iron Men’s offence was helped by players who were key to securing playoff spots for their Major League teams.  Nick Swisher, Evan Longoria and Matt Holliday all hit two homers on the week, with Longoria amassing nine RBI. The Super-Sox’s efforts meanwhile were hindered by the unavoidable problem of playoff-bound players being given some rest in the final week. Both Miguel Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez had been key contributors over the season for the Super-Sox were didn’t add much to the cause in this match-up.

The six pitching categories were split evenly between the two teams. Drew Smyly and Robbie Ross combined for five holds and seven strike-outs for the Super-Sox and wins for Kris Medlen, Clay Buchholz and Ian Kennedy proved useful too. For Iron Men, Max Scherzer led the way with a win and 10 K’s, whilst Trevor Rosenthal and Jim Henderson combined for five saves.

Consolation round

There were match-up victories for the Orpington Isotopes and Beck’Nams in the Consolation round.

BaseballGB’s Mark George finished the season in style as his Isotopes took a 10-1 win over Batteries Essential to claim a fifth-placed finish. Orpington’s offence swept the board despite the continued absence of Jose Bautista and Wilin Rosario not providing any contribution from the catching position. Five separate players – Matt Adams, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Beltran, Yasiel Puig and Todd Frazier – hit home runs and all will be heading on to the MLB playoffs. Jason Kipnis will also suit up in October for Cleveland and he added two stolen bases and six runs to the cause.

Batteries Essential’s pitching staff was able to combine to take the ERA category to avoid a shutout, with Hyun-Jin Ryu adding a win and 10 strikeouts to the team’s total. However, the Isotopes took four pitching categories to complete a comprehensive victory. Adam Wainwright added two wins and 10 strike-outs as he guided the St. Louis Cardinals to the NL’s best record, whilst Sergio Romo and Steve Cishek added two saves each to the Isotopes’ tally.

Finally, Beck’Nams and the Wright Stuff played out a competitve match-up for the seventh-place game, with Beck’Nams coming out on top by a score of 7-4.

The two teams shared out the six offensive categories.  Jedd Gyorko’s three homers and 10 RBI went a long way towards Beck’Nams taking those categories, whilst Jonathan Lucroy’s three stolen bases proved decisive in the stealing stakes. Wright Stuff’s biggest run scorer on the week was Texas’ Ian Kinsler with nine, whilst he, David Ortiz, Pedro Alvarez, Wil Myers and Justin Upton all helped batting average and OPS go the Wright Stuff’s way.

It was to be the pitching staffs that separated the teams and Beck’Nams got the advantage there, four categories to one. Wright Stuff did secure a category win with two Wins combined by rookies Sonny Gray and Gerrit Cole, but three saves by Greg Holland and 22 K’s by Justin Verlander set Beck’Nams up to win enough categories to take the match-up.

Another great year

It was another great fantasy league season, even if my team finished bottom of the pile (the only way is up, I guess!). Thanks to Mark George for organizing it all, thanks to everyone for playing and here’s to doing it again in 2014.

Last week four teams battled for two spots in the BaseballGB Fantasy League Final. Read on to find out who prevailed.

Championship Series

Regular season league winners SWAT booked their place in the Final with a convincing 9-2 victory over Iron Men. The Iron Men couldn’t have asked for much more from Rick Porcello and C.J. Wilson, who combined for two wins and 34 strike-outs, and three saves combined by Luis Avilan and Trevor Rosenthal took care of one category, but SWAT simply proved to be too strong, taking three of the pitching categories and sweeping the board on the offensive side.

Paul Goldschmidt and Coco Crisp both launched three home runs on the week for SWAT, whilst Alfonso Soriano added another pair and Brian Dozier added a couple of stolen bases as a useful fill-in.

SWAT will be joined in the Final by the team that finished second as Norwich No II won a hard-fought battle against Weston-Super-Sox. The Sox won four of the offensive categories in a true team effort with the likes of Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera and Dustin Pedroia all chipping in but with none producing an exceptional individual performances (Cabrerea in particular has had a habit of taking match-ups away from opponents this season).

Norwich No II fought back by claiming two offensive categories – their five stolen bases came from five different players – and then allowed the pitching to take over. Alex Cobb won the AL Player of the Week award for his two stunning performances last week for the Rays and they added two wins and 22 strike-outs to the cause for Norwich. It was then back to the familiar group of closers to mop up the saves with Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman each picking up two apiece. Norwich No II will be hoping that the Braves and Dodgers keep finding their closers work despite having playoff places in the bag in this final week of the MLB regular season.

The results mean that – fittingly – the Final will be contested by the two best teams from the regular season competition. SWAT and Norwich No II will battle it out for the fifth BaseballGB title, with SWAT looking to reclaim the prize they won in the first year of the competition back in 2009. Iron Men and Weston-Super-Sox will face each other in a third placed play-off.

Consolation Series

The teams that fell in the first round of the playoffs are competing in their own Consolation Series and the semi-finals produced two close contests.

Batteries Essential narrowly edged their way past Beck’Nams in a match-up of two halves.

Batteries took five of the offensive categories with Jay Bruce collecting 14 RBI, Torii Hunter adding another seven and Jimmy Rollins stealing two bases. Beck’Nams’ strong suit was on the mound, led by the Phillies’ Cliff Lee who contributed a win and 22 strike-outs. Felix Hernandez added another 10 K’s and Ernesto Frieri and Greg Holland combined for three saves. However, Batteries were able to grab the Wins column with three and that proved to be decisive.

In the other match-up, Orpington Isotopes prevailed over the Wright Stuff by a score of 6-4.

The two teams split the offensive categories. The Isotopes received multi-homer weeks from Matt Adams, Elvis Andrus and Yasiel Puig, whilst Ian Kinsler, Pedro Alvarez and Ian Desmond combined contributed a combined four stolen bases for the Stuff. The pitching proved to be the difference though. Ryan Cook’s solitary Hold was enough to win that category for the Wright Stuff and they were able to draw in two others, but the Isotopes won three categories to give them the edge. Leading the way was R.A. Dickey whose knuckleball led to 19 strike-outs on the week.

The Isotopes will now play against Batteries Essential in the fifth-place playoff, whilst Beck’Nams and Wright Stuff round out the week with the seventh-place game.

Week 23 brought the quarter-finals in the BaseballGB Fantasy League. Which teams headed through to the semis? Read on to find out.

SWAT won the regular season competition by 16.5 games but they were almost brought crashing down in the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-placed Beck’Nams.  SWAT captured five of the six offensive categories with a batting lineup powered by Wilson Ramos’s four home runs. Beck’Nams also received a quartet of longballs from a slightly unlikely source – shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera – but the only category they could best SWAT in was stolen bases, largely thanks to Will Venable stealing three on the week.

Beck’Nams needed a strong performance form their pitching staff and received a decent return, not least three saves apiece from Greg Holland and Ernesto Frieri. However, SWAT matched those six saves and then narrowly edged strikeouts by one to take a very close match-up.