BGB Fantasy League 2015: Week Thirteen

We have a new leader at the top of the BaseballGB Fantasy League standings. But which team is it?

Team	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS	W	SV	K	HLD	ERA	WHIP	Score
  NE Riverkings	27	8	27	1	.239	.737	0	3	21	2	2.30	1.35	1
 Iron Men	32	11	33	6	.313	.896	2	1	47	2	1.99	0.90	10

Iron Men are the new league leaders after defeating the Riverkings 10-1. J.D. Martinez belted four homers, scored six times and knocked in 10 to go with his .458 average while Span batted .500 and Tulo .409. Kendrick and Harrison stole two bases each in an offensive sweep. On the mound, Kluber struck out 14 and Buchholz, Keuchel and Wacha helped the staff post a sub-2.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP. Riverkings had the edge in saves thanks to Rosenthal, Familia and Britton and will feel hard done by not to have won ERA and WHIP after posting impressive stats.

My Isotopes finally showed some signs of life as a rare offensive sweep saw them defeat the Chasers 9-3. Moreland hit four homers and knocked in seven, Ortiz and Cruz had multi-homer weeks and Altuve scored seven times, drove in five and swiped three bases. Five different starters, including Brett Anderson and the fit-again Jose Fernandez, picked up wins while Rodney had the lone hold. The Chasers, missing the injured Stanton and Rendon, had a three-homer week from Posey and Lucroy scored nine times. Uehara and K-Rod had three saves each, while Zimmermann won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP.

I’m afraid we have had another pitching forfeit as Bit & Bytes failed to meet the 20 inning minimum limit, leaving the RBIs to capitalise 9-3. With half of Bits & Bytes pitchers either on the DL or not active, I fear there will be more forfeits unless action is taken. Solarte was the star hitter for the RBIs, joining Crawford in hitting two homers, while Melancon and Tolleson combined for five saves.

Norwich picked up a 7-3 win against Newcastle. Bryant hit .353, homered twice, drove in six and stole two bases, while Tomas also had two homers and drove in eight. Harper led the team with five runs and a .450 average. Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 12 and teamed with Fiers to take ERA. Newcastle saw Correa, Blackmon and Pujols each hit two homers while Donaldson drove in eight. Street, Storen and Allen each had a pair of saves, while McCullers had a win and helped the staff post an excellent WHIP of 0.93.

An offensive sweep saw the Sox defeat the Lollygaggers 7-4. Braun led the team with six runs and six RBIs and joined Dee Gordon in swiping three bases. Pedro Alvarez hit two homers. Perkins, Robertson and Betances combined for seven saves. For the Lollygaggers, Hamels struck out 13 and teamed with Kazmir and Arrieta to take ERA and WHIP.

A strong week for the Maltsters pitching staff saw them take five categories on the way to a 7-4 win against Batteries Essential. In fact, they fell one strikeout shy of a pitching sweep. Six different pitchers collected wins, including the rejuvenated Taijuan Walker, Greinke and Santiago, who did not allow any earned runs. Ramos had three saves and Pomeranz two holds. Offensively, Kole Calhoun homered twice and drove in 11. For Batteries Essential, Kipnis scored seven runs and Billy Hamilton swiped five bases while Machado homered twice. Nelson and CJ Wilson won both their starts.

Finally, the Slugs and Jesmond, who now sit second and third in the standings, could not be separated, finishing 6-6. The Slugs had the better of the offense as Hanley Ramirez homered three times and joined Betts in scoring six times. Betts and Bautista tied for the team lead with seven RBIs. Price and han picked up wins, but Jesmond’s pitching was so strong then Slugs only took this category. Jesmond saw Shelby Miller rack up 18 strikeouts while Archer, Samardzija and Richards helped the staff post excellent ERA and WHIP stats. Offensively, Pollock had three steals.