MLB Round 1 Preview
Final Regular Season Power Rankings
Tier 1
1- Win’s Up Doc (14-3) [-]
Tier 2
2- Sporty Strauss (10-7) [-]
3- Wait ‘ Til Next Year (11-6) [-]
4- $traight Cash Homie (10-7) [-]
5- Cooper Troopers (11-6) [-]
6- Ornery Otters (9-8) [-]
Tier 3
7- The Pullies (10-7) [-]
8- The BamO’s (7-10) [-]
9- Minnesota Moose Knuckles (6-11) [+1]
10- Las Cabras (7-10) [-1]
11- Shepherd Goods Choppers (5-12) [+1]
12- DTC Porkchop Express (3-14) [-1]
Playoff Matchups
BYES – Win’s Up Doc (1st) and Wait ‘Til Next Year (2nd)
$traight Cash Homie (3rd) -55 vs Ornery Otters (6th)
Cooper Troopers (4th) +40 vs Sporty Strauss (5th)
CONSOLATION BYES – The Pullies (7th) and The BamO’s (8th)
Las Cabras (9th) -15 vs DTC Porkchop Express (12th)
MN Moose Knuckles (10th) -30 vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (11th)
What a wild ride! You have all successfully made it through three (!!!) League of Leagues regular seasons. It’s an accomplishment everybody should oat themselves on the back for, but that oat should have varying degrees of firmness depending on how teams have done throughout the year (particularly for Oat himself).
And while all teams are patting themselves on the back, a few teams are breathing HUGE sighs of relief as they enter the MLB playoffs. Chief amongst them is Wait ‘Til Next Year (3) who was on the knife’s edge of, indeed, waiting until next year to get a League of Leagues BYE in the playoffs. At the end of the NBA season, Kyle’s BYE slipped from his grasp, and history was looking to repeat itself in MLB when Wait ‘Til Next Year needed to beat Las Cabras (easy) OR for the Cooper Troopers (5) to lose to the MN Moose Knuckles this past week, which should have been a layup. But Kyle’s team hit a hard rut in goat grass early in the week before Las Cabras’ team absolutely fell apart over the weekend.
As a result, Wait ‘Til Next Year obtains the 2-seed, but they aren’t a particularly inspiring 2-seed. If Kyle had lost last, he’d have been 50-50 towards making ANY money at all this season in the League of Leagues because Las Cabras would have secured a Consolation BYE in that case. Now, with a minimum of 9 MLB points in his back pocket, Wait ‘Til Next Year is hoping for 2nd place while he has 3rd or 4th all but locked up.
But in general, what happened this last week should be a lesson to ALL League of Leagues teams. This week saw 3 or 4 teams falter in dramatic ways, each of whom elected NOT to make win-now trades despite having at least something to play for. Wait ‘Til Next Year was one, but The Pullies (7) and Las Cabras (10) were two others. Those pitiful Pullies have overtaken Las Cabras as the ‘worst team to trade with’ in the League of Leagues, and it showed at the end of the season here. When it was all said and done, they made ZERO (!!!) baseball trades all season, hoping to just ride it out. But that only caught them in no-man’s land… where they simply just conjured a Consolation BYE. With a few moves, they could have won one more game, won the division, claimed the Fhima’s gift card and got the honor of playing the Ornery Otters’ terrible lineup pitching lineup this week. In fact, based on the matchups in the playoffs, they could have placed top-4 with a run into the Championship game.
Instead, they get nothing and are now playing to avoid last place. Still, this is probably a better long-term situation for The Pullies, because they need NFL help more than any other team and a higher Strauss pick gives them so much flexibility and trade power coming into and out of the Strauss Draft. The max they can score now is 16, which will almost undoubtably land them in the top-4 Strauss picks and probably NFL1.
Las Cabras’ situation is even worse. As mentioned before, if they had beaten Wait ‘Til Next Year this week and locked up a Consolation BYE whilst knocking Kyle to the opening round of the playoffs, they could have gotten 3rd place EASILY, especially if they were a win-now team versus all of these tanking Consolation teams. Trading players for measly little picks or Anthony Rendon-type keepers likely cost Las Cabras $500 total. They should have had 3rd place almost wrapped up by now.
And so, as a result of these decisions from teams to not chase a nice bit of money, the playoff field is set. The chess pieces are in their final squares, ready for a last dance of epic proportions in the League of Leagues’ first year. The main item of delightful anticipation to watch is whether Win’s Up Doc (1) and Sporty Strauss (2) play each other in Round 2. This would require wins from both Sporty Strauss (obviously) over the Cooper Troopers (5) and $traight Cash Homie (4) over the Ornery Otters (6).
Right now, 5 teams are competing for the top-4 cash outs in the league of Leagues:
Win’s Up Doc (1)
18 CURRENT points
MAX of 33 points
MIN of 27 points
Sporty Strauss (2)
22 CURRENT points
MAX of 37 points
MIN of 29 points
Wait ‘Til Next Year (3)
13 CURRENT points
MAX of 28 points
MIN of 22 points
Ornery Otters (6)
13 CURRENT points
MAX of 28 points
MIN of 20 points
Las Cabras (10)
18 CURRENT points
MAX of 24 points
MIN of 18 points
With the two lowest season-long seeds in the MLB Playoffs – the Cooper Troopers and $traight Cash Homie – the payouts will undoubtably come from four of these five teams, likely with the last of these two battling it out for 4th and a $500 payout.
Beyond that, there’s a lot of Strauss Draft implications towards end of season standings, so every game is important in some way shape or form. The absolutely pitiful Consolation teams will put on a show of horrific play that might never been seen again in the League of Leagues. The last 4 teams are rougher than the boys on their way back from Cooper’s bachelor party.
ROUND 1
$traight Cash Homie (3) vs Ornery Otters (6)
$traight Cash Homie: Projected… 505 points
Ornery Otters: Projected … 450 points
GAME LINE: $traight Cash Homie -55 vs Ornery Otters
$traight Cash Homie Lineup:
C – Keibert Ruiz (2.1ppg; 5 plays) – 10.5 proj. jpoints
1B – Vladimir Guerrero (3.3ppg; 6 plays) – 19.8 proj points
2B – Brendan Rodgers (2.8ppg; 6 plays) – 16.8 proj points
3B – Austin Riley (3.5ppg; 5 plays) – 17.5 proj points
SS – Andres Gimenez (2.6ppg; 6 plays) – 15.6 proj proj points
CF – Aaron Judge (4.6ppg; 6 plays) – 27.6 proj points
CO – Yordan Alvarez (4.1ppg; 6 plays) – 24.6 proj points
CO – Anthony Santander (2.9ppg; 7 plays) – 20.3 proj points
DH – Christian Walker (2.8ppg; 7 plays) – 19.6 proj points
UTIL – Christopher Morel (2.8pp; 6 plays) – 16.8 proj proj points
UTIL – Austin Hays (2.7ppg; 7 plays) – 18.9 proj points
UTIL – Oneil Cruz (2.7ppg; 7 plays) – 18.9 proj points
UTIL – Gleyber Torres (2.6ppg; 6 plays) – 15.6 proj points
UTIL – Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (2.5ppg; 0 plays) – 0 points
SP1 – Jose Urquidy (OAK) – 24.5 proj. points
SP2 – Zac Gallen (PIT) – 23.5 proj. points
SP3 – Martin Perez (@HOU) – 23.5proj. points
SP4 – Luis Castillo (@TEX) – 22.5 proj. points
SP5 – Andrew Heaney (@KC) – 23.5 proj. points
SP6 – Patrick Sandoval (@OAK) – 21.5 proj. points
SP7 – Jose Urquidy (TEX) – 20proj. points
SP8 – Sean Manaea (SF) – 19.5 proj. points
SP9 – Zac Gallen (@COL) – 19 proj. points
SP10 – Frankie Montas (@BOS) – 18 proj. points
RP1 – Daniel Bard (5.4ppg x2) – 10.8 proj. points
RP2 – Wil Crowe (4.3ppg x2) – 8.6 proj. points
RP3 – Anthony Bass (4.1ppg x2) – 8.2 proj. points
RP4 – Camilo Doval (3.9ppg x2) – 7.8 proj. points
RP5 – Ian Kennedy (3.6ppg x2) – 7.2 proj. points
RP6 – Aroldis Chapman (2.8ppg x2) – 5.6 proj. points
Ornery Otters Lineup:
C – Travis d’Arnaud (2.7ppg; 5 games) – 13.5 proj. points
1B – Paul Goldschmidt (4ppg; 6 games) – 24 proj. points
2B – Brandon Drury (3.3ppg; 6 games) – 19.8 proj. points
3B – Rafael Devers (3.8ppg; 6 games) – 22.8 proj. points
SS – Jose Iglesias (2.4ppg; 6 games) – 14.4 proj. points
CF – Luis Robert (3.4ppg; 7 games) – 23.8 proj. points
CO – Ronald Acuna Jr. (3.1ppg; 6 games) – 18.6 proj. points
CO – Ian Happ (2.6ppg; 6 games) – 15.6 proj. points
DH – Anthony Rizzo (3.6ppg; 6 games) – 21.6 proj. points
UTIL – DJ LeMahiau (3.2ppg; 6 games) – 19.2 proj. points
UTIL – Dylan Carlson (2.4ppg; 6 games) – 14.4 proj. points
UTIL – Carlos Santana (2.4ppg; 6 games)– 14.4 proj. points
UTIL – Jesse Winker (2.3ppg; 6 games) – 13.8 proj. points
UTIL – Didi Gregorius (1.6ppg; 2 games) – 3.2 proj. points
SP1 – Max Fried (@MIA) – 29 proj. points
SP2 – Marcus Stroman (WAS) – 20 proj. points
SP4 – Tyler Mahle(@LAA) – 17 proj. points
SP5 – Triston McKenzie (@TOR) – 15 proj. points
SP6 – Kyle Freeland (STL) – 15 proj. points
SP7 – Robbie Ray (NYY) – 14 proj. points
SP8 – Brady Singer (CHW) – 12 proj. points
SP8 – Brady Singer(LAD) – 12 proj. points
SP9 – Zack Greinke (CHW) – 12 proj. point
SP10 – Sonny Gray (@LAD) – 11 proj. points
RP1 – Jhoan Duran (5.3ppg x2) – 10.6 proj. points
RP2 – Taylor Rogers (4.6ppg x2) – 9.4 proj. points
RP3 – Keegan Akin (4.5pg x2) – 9 proj. points
RP4 – AJ Puk (4.5ppg x2) – 9 proj. points
RP5 – Giovanny Gallegos (4.4ppg x2) – 8.8 proj. points
RP6 – Corey Knebel (3.4ppg x2) – 6.8 proj. points
$traight Cash Homie: Advantage at 18/30 positions
Ornery Otters: Advantage at 12/30 positions
Notes: Ironically, FanTrax has this game with the opposite type of projection with the Ornery Otters smoking $traigh Cash Homie, but these projections are better. Outside of a Fried start versus Miami, a Stroman start against Washington and maybe a Ray start against the Texas, the Ornery Otters’ pitching is a disaster. It’s just bad matchups. Maybe Mahle moving to another team (Twins debut) will help him more than he’s being given credit for, but this is a very tough group of starters that the Otters elected not to improve at the deadline.
The stakes of this game are massive too. With a loss, $traight Cash Homie CLINCHES last place and a punishment to boot whilst a loss for the Ornery Otters likely lands him at 5th place season-long, the worst place to be in if you’re a League of Leagues team. With a win, the Ornery Otters have the potential for 3rd place if Wait ‘Til Next Year loses in the second round of the playoffs. And Jack could fight himself out of last place with a run.
This is a game to watch for certain.
Cooper Troopers (4) vs Sporty Strauss (5)
Cooper Troopers: Projected… 485 points
Sporty Strauss: Projected … 525 points
GAME LINE: Cooper Trooper +40 against Sporty Strauss
Lineups:
Cooper Troopers Lineup:
C – JT Realmuto (2.8ppg; 5 games) – 14 proj. points
1B – Rhys Hoskins (3ppg; 6 games) – 18 proj. points
2B – Josh Rojas (2.8ppg; 7 games) – 19.6 proj. points
3B – Jose Ramirez (4.1ppg; 6 games) – 24.6 proj. points
SS – Corey Seager (3.1ppg; 6 games) – 18.6 proj. points
CF – Julio Rodriguez (3.2ppg; 4 games) – 12.8 proj. points
CO – Josh Naylor (3ppg; 5 games) – 15 proj. points
CO – Adolis Garcia (3ppg; 6 games) – 18 proj. points
DH – Jurickson Profar (3ppg; 6 games) – 18 proj. points
UTIL – Brandon Lowe (2.8ppg; 5 games) – 14 proj. points
UTIL – Kolten Wong (2.7ppg; 5 games) – 13.5 proj. points
UTIL – Brian Reynolds (2.7ppg; 7 games) – 18.9 proj. points
UTIL – Alex Verdugo (2.4ppg; 6 games) – 14.4 proj. points
UTIL – Javier Baez (2.2ppg; 6 games) – 13.2 proj. points
SP1 – Zack Wheeler (MIA) – 29 proj. points
SP2 – Kyle Gibson (MIA) – 21.5 proj. points
SP3 – Graham Ashcraft (CHC) – 21.5 proj. points
SP4 – Nestor Cortes Jr. (@SEA) – 20.5 proj. points
SP5 – Drew Rasmussen (BAL) – 19.5 proj. points
SP6 – Zack Wheeler (@NYM) – 19 proj. points
SP7 – Jake Odorizzi (@MIA) – 19 proj. points
SP8 – Eric Lauer (@STL) – 18.5 proj. points
SP9 – Jesus Luzardo (ATL) – 13 proj. points
SP10 – Cal Quantrill (@TOR) – 12 proj. points
RP1 – Brock Burke (6.2ppg x2) – 12.4 proj. points
RP2 – Tanner Houck (6.1ppg x2) – 12.2 proj. points
RP3 – Clay Holmes (5.1ppg x2) – 10.2 proj. points
RP4 – Nick Martinez (5ppg x2) – 10 proj. points
RP5 – Felix Bautista (4.5ppg x2) – 9 proj. points
RP6 – Adam Cimber (3.8ppg x2) – 7.6 proj. points
Sporty Strauss Lineup:
C – Alejandro Kirk (2.7ppg; 5 games) – 13.5 proj. points
1B – Joey Votto (2.3ppg; 6 games) – 13.8 proj. points
2B – Matt Carpenter (3.6ppg; 6 games) – 21.6 proj. points
3B – Manny Machado (3.4ppg; 6 games) – 20.4 proj. points
SS – Tim Anderson (2.8ppg; 6 games) – 16.8 proj. points
CF – Mookie Betts (4ppg; 5 games) – 20 proj. points
CO – Charlie Blackmon (2.9ppg; 6 games) – 17.4 proj. points
CO – Taylor Ward (2.9 ppg; 6 games) – 17.4 proj. points
DH – Alex Bregman (2.9ppg; 6 games) – 17.4 proj. points
UTIL – Andrew McCutcheon (2.8ppg; 5 games) – 14 proj. points
UTIL – Amed Rosario (2.8ppg; 6 games) – 14 proj. points
UTIL – Isaac Paredes (2.6ppg; 5 games) – 13 proj. points
UTIL – Nick Castellanos (2.3ppg; 6 games) – 13.8 proj. points
UTIL – JP Crawford (2.3ppg; 6 games) – 13.8 proj. points
SP1 – Justin Verlander (TEX) – 28.5 proj. points
SP2 – Tony Gonsolin (@KC) – 27 proj. points
SP3 – Dylan Cease (@KC) – 27 proj. points
SP4 – Chris Bassitt (CIN) – 26 proj. points
SP5 – Johnny Cueto (@KC) – 26 proj. points
SP6 – Taijuan Walker (CIN) – 23.5 proj. points
SP7 – Chris Bassitt (PHI) – 21 proj. points
SP8 – Brandon Woodruff (TB) – 20 proj. points
SP9 – Adam Wainwright (MIL) – 19 proj. points
SP10 – Lance Lynn (DET) – 19 proj. points
RP1 – Ryan Helsley (7ppg x2) – 14 proj. points
RP2 – Kenley Jansen (6ppg x2) – 12 proj. points
RP3 – David Robertson (5.1ppg x2) – 10.2 proj. points
RP4 – Evan Phillips (4.7ppg x2) – 9.4 proj. points
RP5 – Craig Kimbrel (4.4ppg x2) – 8.8 proj. points
RP6 – Will Smith (3ppg x2) – 6 proj. points
Cooper Troopers: Advantage at 14/30 positions
Sporty Strauss: Advantage at 13/30 positions
Notes: Wild Card games are where Sporty Strauss loves to hang. As the only team to make the playoffs in all 3 sports, he never once secured a BYE. He never once got the opportunity to miss this game. He never even got higher than a 5-seed in the playoffs.
Now, he has the opportunity to correct his grievances in a game against a significantly inferior opponent – the Cooper Troopers. As was a discussion point all year, the Cooper Troopers weren’t even in the top half of scoring. However, that has picked up in recent weeks, including a high score last week.
The Cooper Troopers are getting hot at the right time, and Sporty Strauss has to feel little tingles of nervousness, especially because two of the Cooper Troopers’ starters and his best reliever were traded from Sporty Strauss’ own roster at the trade deadline. If Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi crush – and they do have great matchups – this trade could come to haunt Mr. Strauss more than any other bad trades he made – of which there is high competition for.
Sporty Strauss himself is dealing with some injuries on the offensive side of the ball, but his pitching looks OUTSTANDING this week. Contrary to the Ornery Otters’ predicament, his pitching should carry him through to a Round 1 victory.
But a 40-point line isn’t crazy, and any random delicious SP plays from the Cooper Troopers could draw this matchup closer. We know Win’s Up Doc will be watching this game with bated breath, but no matter what happens, the most entertaining outcome is an Oat-Strauss K.O. matchup in Round 2.
CONSOLATION TOURNAMENT
Las Cabras (9) vs DTC Porkchop Express (12)
Las Cabras: Projected … 330 points
DTC Porkchop Express: Projected… 315 points
GAME LINE: Las Cabras -15 over DTC Porkchop Express
Notes: These posts get long and the tanking teams haven’t necessarily put in the time to setting their lineups, so we won’t be detailed these matchups as much as the others.
Even still, there’s a lot at stake between these two pitiful teams. If Las Cabras loses, their chances of placing and making some $$ go down substantially. If they win, they get a chance to play for potentially 3rd place. For DTC Porkchop Express, he’s still hoping to lose as much as he possible can to get a better draft pick. But it might be too little, too late there. 16 points won’t get him higher than 4th place unless craziness happens.
With Las Cabras still having something to play for, it will be fascinating to see how this suckfest unfolds. With a game line of 15 points, this one is projected to be the closest of all matchups in the first round.
MN Moose Knuckles (10) vs Shepherd Goods Choppers (11)
MN Moose Knuckles: Projected… 400 points
Shepherd Goods Choppers: Projected… 370 points
GAME LINE: Choppers -100 over Cooper Troopers
Notes: Compared to the other Consolation matchup, both of these teams probably want to lose. However, the Choppers know very well that a loss could lead to a last place punishment, but Dye seems to be the man most willing to accept that. The MN Moose Knuckles just want to grab a better draft pick. They still clearly have the better team, but don’t be surprised if the Choppers have one of their random hot weeks which they are wont to do from time to time.
But we’re off the races! Three weeks left of setting some lineups and then everybody can move on towards football.