Week 15: The Check Swing

The regular season is winding down here at FBLG, and we're starting to see some separation in the standings. There's a four-way tie for the final two playoff spots at the moment, so keep an eye on those 6-9 teams in the next three weeks. This week, the blog takes a look at players that provided good value relative to their draft status. This doesn't include players who went undrafted, though. 

1. E-3 (2,683 points, 10-5, last week 1): A 35-point week from Andrew McCutchen and a 26-point outburst from Jimmy Rollins wasn't enough to help Adam's team hold off its closest challenger in the rankings. Is Allen Craig going to lose playing time now that Oscar Taveras is up with the Cardinals again? Draft value: Adam is getting great contributions from many of his late-round picks, but the champ here is 14th-rounder Dee Gordon.  

2. Danger Zaun (2,662 points, 6-9, last week 2): The Rich/Brian team is closing in on the leader but still isn't out of the woods in the playoff chase. Billy Hamilton and Aroldis Chapman combined for 65 points to lead DZ past E-3, no thanks to the efforts of Corey Dickerson (4 points) and Henderson Alvarez (-1). Draft value: It's easy to forget that Aroldis Chapman was injured to start the season after being hit in the head with a line drive. He's a steal in Round 12. 

3. Fresh Fish (2,591 points, 6-9, last week 3): A bad week pushed Rick's team into the cluster of teams at the bottom of the standings. Blame all those Marlins on the roster: Casey McGehee, Giancarlo Stanton, Tom Koehler and Steve Cishek combined to score 8 points. Scooter Gennett and Jhonny Peralta combined for 41, though. Draft value: Mike Morse was a heck of a selection in the 15th round. Who would have imagined he'd be healthy the entire first half? 

Mike Piazza was a 62nd-round draft pick.
Tommy Lasorda wasn't drafted at all.

4. Ryan's Rangers (2,587 points, 9-6, last week 4): It was another rough week in Billtown, where the pitchers struggled, Huston Street pitched only once and Brandon Crawford continued to show allegiance to his former team. The Giants shortstop is up to 4 points in 2.5 weeks since Bill stole him from the Arbitration Losers. Draft value: Bill took Devin Mesoraco in Round 14, but his success has come on other FBLG teams. Let's go with 10th-rounder Anthony Rendon. 

5. Pitch You Blockhead (2,524 points, 10-5, last week 5): Scott's Blockheads won again and moved into a first-place tie in the standings with E-3. It was an impressive win considering that Adam LaRoche, Hanley Ramirez, Jonathan Lucroy, Zack Greinke and Jeff Samardzija failed to reach double digits. Draft value: Neil Walker in the 12th round? You bet. 

6. Tanana in the Tailpipe (2,520 points, 7-8, last week 6): You had to figure it would be a good week for Matt's team with Adam Wainwright, Cole Hamels and Mike Minor getting two starts each. Sure enough, they scored 78 points in the win against the Rangers. If Matt's outfielders decide to chip in at some point, this team will be dangerous. Draft value: Christian Yelich was a nice pickup in Round 10.  

7. Arbitration Losers (2,507 points, 8-7, last week 7): Tim's team got 46 points from Jacob deGrom (yes, a Mets pitcher did that) in a win against the slumping Misfits. But the week was full of bad news for Team Tim: Yadier Molina got hurt, Marco Estrada got bumped to the bullpen and Jean Segura left the team because of a family tragedy. Draft value: Tim snagged Tim Hudson in Round 13, and the veteran has pitched his way onto the all-star team. 

8. Rocky Mountain High (2,487 points, 7-8, last week 8): Everything came together for Jon's team in a win against the Fish. Almost every position player was in double digits, with Anthony Rizzo's 20 leading the charge. Tim Lincecum is pitching like vintage Tim Lincecum, and Carlos Gonzalez is off the DL. Can this team make a charge? Draft value: Jon's best draft moves might have been his final two: Denard Span in Round 15 and Todd Frazier in Round 16. Unfortunately for Jon, they were stolen by other teams. 

9. Misfits (2,362 points, 6-9, last week 10): Reid's team posted 177 points, which would be enough for a victory in many weeks. But dud performances from Brandon Belt and Francisco Rodriguez hurt the team in another loss. On the bright side, Chris Johnson and Charlie Blackmon combined for 50 points. Draft value: The late rounds were not kind to Reid this year, so we'll slide up to Round 9. Daniel Murphy has been arguably Reid's best offensive player. 

10. Rookies (2,358 points, 6-9, last week 9): Henry's squad finally got major contributions from its all-Braves outfield, but this was the week the pitching collapsed. Jason Heyward and the Upton brothers combined for 60 points; unfortunately, Jordan Zimmermann, Kyle Lohse, Addison Reed and Ervin Santana totaled only 15. Draft value: Lohse isn't a headline-grabber in FBLG, but he's a solid rotation option in the 15th round.