The second half of the BaseballGB Fantasy League is under way. Which teams are well rested after the All-Star break, and which wish the first half hadn’t ended? There is also a big trade to report.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Mighty Slugs	61	26	58	10	.277	.949	3	5	96	2	3.57	1.21	10
The Bath Bombers	29	4	24	5	.238	.621	0	2	33	6	2.95	1.36	2

 

The Slugs were the big winners of the week, defeating the Bombers 10-2 thanks to an offensive sweep. Hanley hit five homers but was outdone by Turner (5 HR, 10 R, 14 RBI) and Story (6 HR, 13 R, 12 RBI). Five pitchers had double-digit strikeouts, led by MadBum with 15. Wilson had three holds for the Bombers while Syndergaard helped take ERA.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Cheddar Chasers	37	6	29	4	.256	.703	4	4	83	1	1.96	1.06*	3
Norwich No II	41	13	41	5	.239	.732	7	5	72	6	3.23	1.06*	9

Norwich halted the Chasers’ good run of form with a 9-3 win. Braun scored 12 times, Rizzo knocked in a dozen and Napoli homered four times. Carrasco and Duffy won twice while Estevez had four saves and Betances four holds. Bogaerts, Pedroia and Melky Cabrera helped the Chasers salvage average, while Kluber and McHugh each struck out 16 and helped take ERA

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	44	14	39	8	.246	.758	5	5	87	3	3.01	1.11	8
Becknam Lollygaggers	35	6	29	15	.259	.679	7	3	72	1	2.59	1.14	4

 

My Isotopes stay second after defeating the Lollygaggers 8-4. Frazier hit three homers while Lindor, Trumbo and Beltran each hit a pair. Leake struck out 15 while Britton had five saves and Reed three holds. Billy Hamilton hit .359 for Becknam, stealing ten bases. Kazmir and Hamels each won twice, striking out 11

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	23	6	34	4	.263	.717	2	5	44	3	2.80	1.23	4
Weston-Super-Sox	43	17	45	0	.269	.843	6	3	73	0	3.19	1.15	8

The cellar-dwelling Sox started the second half of the season by defeating Batteries Essential 8-4. Kemp slugged six homers and knocked in nine while CarGo led the team with seven runs. Barraclough had two wins out of the pen while Hellickson and Liriano each struck out 13 and helped take WHIP. Tanaka helped salvage ERA for Batteroese Essential, while Familia had four saves and Brach had three holds.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Cheshunt Maltsters	36	7	27	10	.279	.759	6	2	77	1	4.65	1.24	4
Iron Men	37	12	48	6	.257	.755	5	2	78	6	1.90	0.77	7

 

Iron Men just got the better of the Maltsters 7-4 in a matchup with a number of very close categories. Pujols led the club with six runs, four homers and 12 RBIs while Verlander struck out 19 and joined Sanchez, Scherzer and Iwakuma in taking ERA and WHIP. Feliz had four holds. The Maltsters had seven different players swipe a base, including Murphy (.455). Wright picked up two wins.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NorthEast Riverkings	42	12	47	3	.260	.802	2	0	70	8	2.09	1.05	6
Jesmond Dennings	39	14	36	12	.276	.846	2	6	34	0	2.55	1.13	5

The Riverkings did just enough to get past Jesmond 6-5. Yelich scored 10 runs and Bruce knocked in 10 while Darvish struck out 20, Gausman helped take ERA and WHIP and Watson had five holds. For Jesmond, Votto hit .517 and joined Dozier and Longoria in hitting three homers. Villar stole five base and Ramos had four saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Newcastle Knights	44	17	41	8	.262	.803	6	6	62	4	4.80	1.34	6
Richie’s RBI’s	37	9	29	3	.272	.751	7	7	67	1	3.11	1.08	6

 

Finally, the Knights and RBIs could not be separated, finishing in a 6-6 tie. Ortiz drove in nine while Kinsler scored nine times and hit four homers. Eight different players stole a base and Strop had three holds. The RBIs had the better of the pitching, as Tillman won twice, teaming with Arrieta and happ to take ERA and WHIP. Pineda struck out 14. Madson had four saves.

Trade blockbuster!

There is a trade to report as the Riverkings traded Kershaw for King Felix – a blockbuster. Kershaw is still injured but Batteries Essential are picking up an elite pitcher for the stretch run, while the Riverkings are sacrificing a top pitcher for another very good one who is healthy now. A risk for both teams, but I like it.

The week 16 matchups

Knights (1st) v Isotopes (2nd)

Norwich (3rd) v Maltsters (7th)

Iron Men (4th) v Bombers (13th)

Riverkings (5th) v Sox (14th)

Slugs (6th) v Lollygaggers (11th)

Chasers (8th) v Jesmond (10th)

Batteries Essential (9th) v RBIs (12th)

Some teams are heading into the All-Star Break with a spring in their step whilst others may be using this week to ponder some roster changes. Read on to find out who is in which camp.

 

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Batteries Essential	35	15	46	2	.300	.934	6	3	46	2	2.59	1.20	11
Jesmond Dennings	27	10	24	9	.260	.786	2	5	15	0	0.00	0.67	1

 

Batteries almost swept the board in their match-up with Jesmond, with only an impressive stolen base total thwarting a rout. Jesmond’s bag-stealers were led by Milwaukee’s Jonathan Villar who pilfered five. As for Batteries, they received nice weeks from Addison Russell and Nick Castellannos (3 homers apiece) and then benefited from Jesmond forfeiting the pitching categories due to failing to reach the innings pitched minimum.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Newcastle Knights	39	10	36	4	.304	.930	5	3	60	3	3.88	1.04	10
Weston-Super-Sox	25	4	24	1	.259	.685	2	3	33	2	2.48	1.16	1

 

After a rare blip against Jesmond in Week 13, the league-leading Knights got back to winning ways in Week 14 with a comprehensive 10-1 win over the Super Sox. The Knights’ week was powered by three Red Sox. The duo of Mookie Betts and David Ortiz were at the heart of an offensive sweep, whilst David Price amassed 20 K’s towards an impressive 60 overall for the team. The Super Sox were able to nab the ERA category, with Dallas Keuchel’s return to form helping out there, but losing Matt Harvey to injury will be a blow.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Orpington Isotopes	45	11	41	10	.304	.913	3	6	51	2	4.88	1.20	10
Mighty Slugs	36	13	34	5	.257	.853	2	2	69	0	4.98	1.33	2

 

Mark’s Isoptopes remain in second place thanks to an impressive 10-2 victory over the Slugs.

The Slugs lived up to their name – in one sense – with a slugging effort that took the HR category and their pitching staff lit up the K box with 69 on the week. Madison Bumgarner contributed 20 K’s to the cause, with John Lackey adding on another 13.

However, the Isotopes wouldn’t be denied as Mark Trumbo continued to wield some fearsome thump with four bombs on the week and Zach Britton and Santiago Casilla combined for 6 saves.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Becknam Lollygaggers	29	6	21	10	.245	.735	1	2	36	0	4.46	1.46	2
Richie’s RBI’s	28	7	27	0	.266	.761	4	5	52	2	4.01	1.32	10

 

Richie’s RBI’s also grabbed a 10-2 win, this one coming at the expense of the Lollygaggers. They swept the pitching categories as Chris Tillman picked up two wins and Mark Melancon and Ryan Madson combined for 5 saves, whilst the Lollygaggers’ ace Zack Greinke sat on the sidelines due to injury. The Lollygaggers’ batting lineup did most of their damage with their feet (10 SB’s) rather than with the lumber, allowing the RBI’s to take four of the six offensive categories.

eam	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
NorthEast Riverkings	27	4	27	1	.294	.759	4	0	37	6	5.31	1.41	3
Norwich No II	39	8	28	1	.289	.863	3	1	65	3	3.51	1.34	8

 

Norwich No II remain at number 3 in the standings thanks to an 8-3 win over the Riverkings. Kenta Maeda has repaid the faith Norwich (and probably more importantly the LA Dodgers) showed in him with an impressive first half-season in the States and he gave the team a win and 18 K’s last week, with Cleveland’s duo Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar chipping in 20 K’s combined too.

The Riverkings took the Hold category thanks to Watson, Giles and Neris, yet they couldn’t compete on the batting side with Maikel Franco leading No II’s charge with four long-balls.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
Cheshunt Maltsters	31	7	28	6	.282	.799	3	1	37	3	3.24	1.44	7
The Bath Bombers	39	11	21	1	.277	.858	0	1	25	3	7.15	1.72	3

 

The Maltsters were able to pick up a 7-3 win in large part due to a strong pitching showing. The batting side of things was an even contest with the Bombers living up to their name by fielding four players who had multiple homer weeks despite Jose Bautista being on the DL. Cheshunt countered with six stolen bases and Daniel Murphy having another strong week (3 HR, 10 RBI) as he continues to beat up on his former team, the New York Mets.

The pitching went south for the Bombers though, typified by Noah Syndergaard leaving his last start early due to “arm fatigue” and the Malsters took advantage with a good showing across the board despite no standout performers on the week.

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
The Cheddar Chasers	34	9	30	3	.307	.912	2	4	32	0	6.68	1.30	4
Iron Men	29	7	36	4	.261	.715	4	5	32	1	2.38	1.24	7

 

Finally, my Chasers lost out to the Iron Men predominantly due to a fairly disastrous week for my pitching staff. Andrew Cashner and Shelby Miller’s blow-ups were not too far out of line from what I’ve seen from them before, but adding another clunker of a start from Jon Lester really scuppered my chances and Iron Men took full advantage, not least through the always-impressive Max Scherzer.

The match-up was kept respectable as a result of my Chasers rescuing four of the six offensive categories. Josh Donaldson – surprise, surprise – led the way with 3 homers and 7 RBI, whilst Robinson Cano ended the first half strongly for Iron Men (and the Mariners).

Week 15 match-ups

The Week 15 match-ups cover the next two weeks, taking in the post-All Star Friday to Sunday contests and then all of the games the following week. Here are the match-ups for the extended clashes:

Knights (1st) v RBI’s (13th)
Isotopes (2nd) v Lollygaggers (10th)
Chasers (6th) v Norwich No II (3rd)
Maltsters (7th) v Iron Men (4th)
Riverkings (5th) v Jesmond (12th)
Batteries (8th) v Super-Sox (14th)
Slugs (9th) v Bombers (11th)

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 NorthEast Riverkings	34	9	41	2	.293	.863	3	1	47	3	5.00	1.31	3
 Iron Men	41	8	42	10	.326	.964	5	2	35	2	2.33	1.08	9

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 Orpington Isotopes	41	9	29	7	.290	.848	3	2	64	2	3.70	1.37	9
 The Bath Bombers	37	10	31	3	.284	.856	0	4	11	2	5.40	1.73	3

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 Batteries Essential	36	11	32	0	.315	.972	3	2	45	1	4.04	1.35	3
 Norwich No II	35	13	44	0	.292	.891	6	3	77	6	1.53	0.84	8

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 The Cheddar Chasers	34	8	33	4	.274	.812	2	5	52	0	6.09	1.41	7
 Cheshunt Maltsters	29	6	31	4	.260	.723	3	1	47	1	5.60	1.36	4

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 Newcastle Knights	42	11	33	3	.286	.910	2	3	44	2	4.14	1.34	5
 Jesmond Dennings	41	13	37	4	.303	.926	3	1	35	0	4.10	1.39	7

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 Mighty Slugs	29	8	34	6	.336	.928	2	2	57	3	3.40	1.31	7
 Richie’s RBI’s	37	9	37	3	.289	.825	4	3	56	1	5.17	1.47	5

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
 Becknam Lollygaggers	40	7	31	12	.285	.797	5	3	54	1	3.72	1.47	7
 Weston-Super-Sox	35	8	34	0	.275	.804	3	1	25	0	3.31	1.33	5

The week 14 matchups

Knights (1st) v Sox (13th)
Isotopes (2nd) v Slugs (7th)
Norwich (3rd) v Riverkings (5th)
Iron Men (4th) v Chasers (6th)
Maltsters (8th) v Bombers (12th)
Jesmond (9th) v Batteries Essential (11th)
Lollygaggers (10th) v RBIs (14th)