Four more teams have confirmed their places in the BaseballGB Fantasy League playoffs. With one week left, three places are still up for grabs.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
Newcastle Knights | 33 | 10 | 47 | 1 | .314 | .958 | 4 | 4 | 56 | 3 | 3.52 | 1.30 | 9 |
Iron Men | 19 | 6 | 24 | 2 | .264 | .717 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 3.41 | 1.04 | 3 |
The Knights sealed their playoff place in style, defeating the first team to qualify, Iron Men, 9-3 to go top of the standings. CarGo was the star hitter, batting .310 with five homers and 14 RBIs. Donaldson had a rare homerless week but drove in eight, while d’Arnaud and Betts helped take OPS. Gio Gonzalez was one of four pitchers with a win, while Kennedy struck out 12, Jepsen had two saves and Colome picked up two holds. Jungmann helped Iron Men salvage ERA and WHIP, while Marte swiped a base.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
Mighty Slugs | 23 | 3 | 23 | 3 | .269 | .708 | 6 | 2 | 63 | 2 | 3.79 | 1.15 | 3 |
Weston-Super-Sox | 40 | 11 | 27 | 8 | .332 | .924 | 3 | 3 | 34 | 3 | 2.38 | 1.27 | 9 |
The Sox defeated the Slugs 9-3 in a result which saw both teams confirm their playoff places. Cespedes (9 R, 4 HR, 6 RBI, .370), Braun (4 SB, .421) and Cain (7 R, 6 RBI) led an offensive sweep, while Smyly helped take ERA. Robertson had two saves and Betances picked up a pair of holds. For the Slugs, Price had a win, struck out 17 and teamed with Leake, Peavy and Ross to take WHIP.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
Jesmond Dennings | 42 | 16 | 46 | 3 | .322 | 1.024 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 5.28 | 1.40 | 8 |
The Cheddar Chasers | 28 | 4 | 29 | 0 | .297 | .796 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 0 | 5.83 | 1.60 | 2 |
Jesmond have advanced to the playoffs after defeating the Chasers 8-2. An offensive sweep was led by Arenado (9 R, 6 HR, 12 RBI, .441) and Davis (6 R, 5 HR, 8 RBI, .368) while Lind scored seven and knocked in seven. It wasn’t a vintage week for pitching, but Archer and Chapman helped take ERA ad WHIP. The Chasers had three saves from K-Rod and Cashner struck out nine. Rendon scored nine runs.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
Norwich No II | 33 | 9 | 31 | 2 | .305 | .956 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 0 | 2.31 | 1.00 | 8 |
Batteries Essential | 30 | 6 | 26 | 5 | .279 | .754 | 4 | 1 | 51 | 2 | 3.59 | 1.39 | 3 |
Norwich are a step closer to the playoffs – but not there just yet – after defeating Batteries Essential 8-3. The Norwich batters took five categories, with Harper (11 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .529) and Bryant (2 HR, 7 RBI, .381) were the key hitters. Rondon and Jansen had two saves each and Wood helped take ERA and WHIP. Batteries Essential had three steals from Andrus and Zimmerman knocked in an incredible 14. MadBum struck out 11 and Romo and Tazawa had a hold each.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
Orpington Isotopes | 25 | 6 | 27 | 3 | .266 | .743 | 3 | 4 | 44 | 0 | 3.88 | 1.22 | 5 |
Cheshunt Maltsters | 40 | 9 | 25 | 1 | .304 | .874 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 3.19 | 1.33 | 7 |
The Maltsters put a dent in my slim playoff chances with a 7-5 win. Longoria hit four homers, Trumbo went deep three times and Bradley Jr scored nine runs and helped take average and OPS. Ramos’s win on Sunday proved to be crucial, while Garcia and Greinke helped take ERA. Ortiz and Altuve took RBIs and steals for my Isotopes, while Sale struck out 10, Holland helped take WHIP and Wilhelmsen had four saves.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
Becknam Lollygaggers | 23 | 5 | 26 | 0 | .266 | .735 | 2 | 2 | 56 | 0 | 3.74 | 1.32 | 6 |
Richie’s RBI’s | 36 | 9 | 23 | 1 | .258 | .793 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 5.11 | 1.46 | 6 |
The Lollygaggers and RBIs are both just outside the final playoff place after their 6-6 tie. Eaton batted .542 and drove in eight for Becknams, while Kershaw struck out 15 and joined Arrieta in taking ERA and WHIP. Benoit and Axford had a save each. Votto scored nine runs for the RBIs and was one of four players to have a multi-homer week. Three Yankees (Pineda, Nova and Severino) picked up wins and Ziegler had a hold.
Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
NE Riverkings | 28 | 6 | 31 | 4 | .269 | .783 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 1 | 5.66 | 1.50 | 4 |
Bits & Bytes | 28 | 6 | 24 | 2 | .290 | .835 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 1.23 | 1.14 | 4 |
Finally, the Riverkings occupy a playoff place – but aren’t through yet – going into the final week aftera  4-4 tie with Bits & Bytes. Bogaerts knocked in eight for the Riverkings while Khris Davis swiped two bases. King Felix and Harvey struck out 9 each, while Rosenthal and Familia had one save apiece. Reyes, Kemp and Gordon helped Bits & Bytes take average and OPS, while McHugh and Ventura helped take ERA and WHIP on a skeleton pitching staff.
ONE WEEK LEFT BEFORE PLAYOFFS BEGIN
The Knights, Jesmond, Iron Men, Slugs and Sox are through to the playoffs but will be fighting to finish as high seeds for the first round. Norwich, Riverkings and Batteries Essential are in possession of the final three places, but need to fend off a bunch of other teams. Incredibly, after all of the matchups this season, the team in 12th now, the Chasers, could still make the playoffs if they win big and other results go their way. So let’s play hard in the final week and see what happens!
Week 22 matchups
Knights (1st) v Sox (5th)
Jesmond (2nd) v Batteries Essential (8th)
Iron Men (3rd) v Chasers (12th)
Slugs (4th) v Isotopes (11th)
Norwich (6th) v Bits & Bytes (14th)
Riverkings (7th) v RBIs (10th)
Lollygaggers (9th) v Maltsters (13th)