After an extended matchup following the All Star Game, it’s time to see which teams have started the second half of the BaseballGB Fantasy League in good form.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Jesmond Dennings | 25 | 4 | 22 | 1 | .260 | .692 | 2 | 4 | 35 | 1 | 4.33 | 1.39 | 0 |
| Richie’s RBI’s | 49 | 18 | 63 | 9 | .269 | .849 | 6 | 6 | 72 | 2 | 3.35 | 1.26 | 12 |
We start with the biggest winners of the week, as the RBIs completed a clean sweep of Jesmond. Harper led the team with a .441 average, 14 runs and five homers, while Lamb knocked in 12. Segura and Villar had three steals each.
Jacob Barnes led the staff with two wins and two holds while Rivero and Chapman had three saves each. Tanaka struck out 15 while Severino helped take ERA and WHIP. Jesmond were hampered by a number of injured players not on the DL and not using their bench pitchers.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Cheshunt Maltsters | 36 | 7 | 30 | 8 | .298 | .791 | 5 | 4 | 92 | 4 | 3.05 | 1.26 | 8 |
| The Cheddar Chasers | 34 | 9 | 42 | 7 | .265 | .794 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 4.50 | 1.18 | 4 |
The Maltsters stay top – although with their lead cut – after defeating the Chasers 8-4. The pitching staff took five out of six as Kluber and Sale each had a win, more than 20 strikeouts and helped take ERA. Osuna had two saves while Nicasio and new Mariner Phelps had two holds each.
Altuve hit .450 and joined McCutchen in stealing three bases while Gregorius scored seven runs. Kyle Seager hit three homers for the Chasers while Upton knocked in seven. Dozier helped take OPS while Quintana and Cole made the difference in WHIP.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Mighty Slugs | 40 | 14 | 37 | 5 | .286 | .841 | 4 | 3 | 90 | 1 | 3.39 | 1.17 | 8 |
| Norwich No II | 44 | 13 | 42 | 4 | .259 | .741 | 3 | 7 | 80 | 6 | 3.65 | 1.29 | 4 |
The Slugs got the better of Norwich 8-4 in a well-fought matchup. Both teams had plenty of pop, but the Slugs had the edge as Souza Jr and Trout each hit three homers. Trout stole two bases and Taylor hit .500 and helped take OPS. Paxton (two wins) and Archer (20 strikeouts) helped take ERA and WHIP.
Trumbo scored eight runs for Norwich and was one of four players with six RBIs, while Hand, Devenski and Edwards Jr each had two holds and Diaz saved five games.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Newcastle Knights | 55 | 20 | 59 | 3 | .242 | .836 | 4 | 2 | 76 | 1 | 3.67 | 1.28 | 7 |
| Durham Riverkings | 47 | 10 | 40 | 3 | .297 | .801 | 5 | 3 | 64 | 5 | 6.03 | 1.61 | 4 |
The Knights started he second half with a 7-4 win against the Riverkings. LeMahieu scored 12 runs while Smoak (one of three players with eight RBIs) and Stanton hit four homers each. Verlander racked up 13 strikeouts while Peacock and Salazar helped win ERA and WHIP. Baez hit .407 for the Riverkings, while Arrieta was one of five pitchers with a win. Jansen had three saves and Betances picked up four holds.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Batteries Essential | 64 | 17 | 49 | 8 | .319 | .968 | 5 | 4 | 69 | 1 | 3.99 | 1.30 | 7 |
| Weston-Super-Sox | 53 | 14 | 47 | 11 | .273 | .776 | 9 | 1 | 84 | 3 | 3.30 | 1.33 | 5 |
Batteries Essential’s offense carried them to a 7-5 win against the Sox. Blackmon was the star, leading the team with 15 runs, four homers, eight RBIs and a .447 average as the team hit a very impressive .319 overall. Norris and Neris had two saves each while Fiers made the difference in WHIP.
The Sox ran wild, with Gordon swiping three bases. Hill won twice, striking out 17 while helping to take ERA. Madson had two holds. Incredibly for the Sox, all eight pitchers who took to the mound picked up at least one win, which I’m not sure has ever happened before in our league.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Orpington Isotopes | 41 | 23 | 57 | 1 | .280 | .867 | 5 | 3 | 75 | 1 | 6.35 | 1.76 | 5 |
| Beckenham A&E Dept | 43 | 12 | 48 | 5 | .267 | .753 | 5 | 6 | 77 | 0 | 3.95 | 1.33 | 6 |
Beckenham picked up a 6-5 win against the Isotopes thanks to the pitching staff. Lester won twice and helped take ERA and WHIP while Scherzer led the staff with 19 strikeouts. Davis had four saves while Garcia stole two bases and Schoop scored 10 runs.
For the Isotopes, Arenado hit .444 with five homers and 16 RBIs while Watson had the lone hold. The less said about the ERA and WHIP, the better as the whole staff was roughed up.
| Team | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS | W | SV | K | HLD | ERA | WHIP | Score |
| Iron Men | 32 | 10 | 37 | 1 | .237 | .732 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 3.48 | 1.34 | 5 |
| The Bath Bombers | 30 | 6 | 32 | 1 | .242 | .714 | 4 | 1 | 93 | 5 | 3.07 | 1.07 | 6 |
Finally, the Bombers squeezed past Iron Men 6-5. The pitching staff took five categories as Wacha picked up a win without allowing an earned run, Darvish struck out 18 and Pedro Baez had three holds. Phillips hit .439. Sano scored seven runs for Iron Men while Rendon hit four homers and knocked in 12. Jim Johnson had three saves. Each manager will be waiting to find out the extent of injuries to Kershaw and Strasburg.
Trading deadline reminder
While our league trading deadline is not until August 13, the MLB deadline will be next Monday. This could impact your teams in a number of ways. Will your closer on a bad team now be a set-up man on a good team? Will a starting pitcher have to face tougher teams if he is traded to a new league or division? Will a trade open up a place for a top prospect who is available in the free agent pool? Keep an eye on the transactions as they could really help you make your own splash at the deadline.
Week 16 matchups
Maltsters (1st) v Isotopes (4th)
RBIs (2nd) v Slugs (6th)
Norwich (3rd) v Knights (11th)
Bombers (5th) v Jesmond (14th)
A&E Dept (7th) v Batteries Essential (9th)
Chasers (8th) v Iron Men (12th)
Riverkings (10th) v Sox (13th)
