Week 15: The Check Swing

Keston Hiura's full name is Keston Wee Hing Natsuo Hiura. It's a good thing they don't have to put all that on his jersey.

If you haven't been paying attention to FBLG action lately, shame on you. We've had plenty of movement in the rankings, and the division races are pretty exciting — especially in the Mariano Rivera Division, where three teams are 8-7 and another is 7-8. In the Edgar Martinez Division, three teams at 8-7 or 7-8 are battling to avoid the basement. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion with only three weeks remaining in the regular season!

This is a good example of how Max Muncy made
three errors in Week 15.

1. Yari's Autonomics (3081, 8-7, last week 1): Every team has a stinker now and then, and Adam's crew certainly did in Week 15. The Fightin' Larry Davids put up only 137.3 points and got thumped by the Misfits, who picked up only their second win of the season. Zack Greinke (14) pitched well in a no-decision, but Mike Soroka (3) and Dallas Keuchel (3.7) got knocked around in losses. Anthony Rendon (23) hit four doubles and drove in five runs, but he didn't get much help. The YA hitters combined for only three long balls, and only four of those hitters reached double digits in points. Josh Bell (4.5) really cooled off, and Jean Segura (8) and Jorge Alfaro (8.5) were barely noticeable —Alfaro's beefy frame notwithstanding.

2. Clemente's Bucs (3049.8, 8-7, last week 3): Sometimes in fantasy, the other team just goes berserk and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. That's what happened to Ray in a 280.7-179.8 loss to the Fish. In a strange statistical quirk, several CB hitters had homer totals that mirrored their error totals: Max Muncy (3 homers/errors, 17.5 points), Josh Donaldson (2, 16.5), Starling Marte (1, 12) and Carson Kelly (1, 11). Trea Turner (19) was the high man on offense despite not hitting any homers — or making any errors. Maybe there's a lesson here for all the Pedro Alvarez clones. Zach Eflin (2) allowed 10 runs in 10 innings in a pair of losses and appears to have turned into a pumpkin. Kenley Jansen (0.3) wasn't much better. Brandon Woodruff (19.7) did his typical thing where he allows a bunch of runs but strikes everyone out, and then he got hurt.

Eduardo Escobar laughs at all the FBLG owners
who passed on him in the draft. 

3. The Rookies (3046.5 points, 8-7, last week 2): They don't get much closer than Henry's win by 1.3 points over Tim's Arb Losers. Eduardo Escobar (27) was the star of the show, homering three times and driving in 10 runs. Did you know Escobar is seventh in FBLG scoring among hitters? Cody Bellinger (22) hit three homers but drove in only four runs because that's how the Dodgers roll. Nolan Arenado (12) had a down week by his standards, which just goes to show how dangerous the Rookies can be when they're running on all cylinders. On the pitching side, the staff went 4-0 without doing anything outstanding. Zach Davies allowed 1 run in 7 innings but didn't strike anyone out, which is almost impossible these days. Max Fried (15) was good but then got hurt, and Robbie Ray (14) handed out runs like they were Halloween candy.

4. Hassey's Girl (2956.2, 10-5, last week 5): The commissioners dropped the hammer on Ledee, putting up 230.3 points in an important victory. Most of the credit goes to Rich's carousel-style offense. Leading the charge (as usual) was Christian Yelich (35), who reclaimed the top spot in scoring by hitters. Free-agent pickup Alex Dickerson (32.5) racked up 12 hits for a Giants offense that's been the best in baseball lately. Hot-and-cold Kike Hernandez (24) was definitely hot in Week 15, which helped offset the four errors made by rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. (8). Meanwhile, Matt Carpenter (2) went on the injured list and won't be missed. Craig Kimbrel (19) appears to have shaken off the rust, and Anthony DeSclafani (19.7) paced the pitching staff despite going 0-1.

If you think this blog's favorite Dickerson is Alex, you'd
be wrong. It's not Corey, either. It's definitely Eric. 

5. When the Ledee Breaks (2935.8, 7-8, last week 4): Matt's pitching was good enough for the Zeppelins to compete with Hassey's Girl, but the pitching just wasn't there. Sure, Ledee pitchers went 2-0, but they allowed 18 earned runs in 21 innings. There also was a blown save thrown in for good measure — looking at you, Hector Neris (2.3). Oddly, Ledee's top pitcher was a guy who allowed five runs in 5 innings; that was Jose Quintana (12). Ronald Acuña Jr. (30.5) stole seven bases and was the top hitter; Trevor Story (28.5) wasn't far behind. Mike Moustakas (25) did a little bit of everything — except steal bases, of course.

6. Fresh Fish (2895, 9-6, last week 7): The numbers for Rick's team are staggering. The offense alone put up 173 points. The pitching added 107.7. Keston Hiura (41) collected 15 hits — including nine for extra bases — and is the clear-cut stud of the week. Not to be overshadowed, Anthony Rizzo (30.5) and Amed Rosario (29.5) combined for 21 hits, 12 runs and 12 RBIs. Clayton Kershaw (33) looked like his old self in a pair of starts, and Luis Castillo (27) got back on track. Chris Paddack (19.7) and Jacob deGrom (17) also were phenomenal, combining to allow only one run in 14.2 innings. Felipe "Vazquez" (11) earned only one save but didn't allow a run in his three innings of work. Stat of the week: Rosario and Austin Riley combined for zero errors!

It's future Dodgers closer Will Smith! 

7. Project Mayhem (2848.3, 8-7, last week 6): We all know Bill's lineup can mash, but his pitching did the damage in a win against Lumber Co. Getting seven starts sure helps, but the pitchers have to take advantage of them. Walker Buehler (34) fanned 18 hitters in 13 innings while allowing two runs. Miles Mikolas (21) and Kyle Hendricks (16) pitched well but went 1-2 in their four outings. Will Smith (18) struck out nine in five innings of work. In total, Bill's pitchers scored 100 points. On the hitting side, it was more of the same from Ketel Marte (32), who is sixth in scoring by FBLG hitters. Not bad for a former Mariner. Apparently, no one told Joc Pederson (21.5) that the home-run derby ended; Pederson hit three bombs in Week 15.

8. Arbitration Losers (2829.5, 8-7, last week 8): Despite getting some nice performances, Tim didn't quite have enough to knock off Henry's Rookies. Adam Eaton (22.5) paced the offense, with Buster Posey (18), Javier Baez (18) and Manny Machado (17) chipping in nicely. Eugenio Suarez (19) hit three homers but finished with only four RBIs and four runs. Jordan Yamamoto (12) earned AL's only victory but also got hammered in a loss. Madison Bumgarner (14) went what should have been the distance against the Mets but didn't get the win because of paltry run support. Kirby Yates (11) was in lockdown mode but didn't get many chances to pitch.

We honestly had no idea what Dario Agrazal looked
like before we searched for a photo of him.

9. Lumber Co Lumber (2804.3, 7-8, last week 9): John just didn't have the horses on the mound to get past Project Mayhem. Impressively, LCL pitchers didn't record a single decision in Week 15. Josh Hader (14.7) picked up a pair of saves, though. The top hurler was Dario Agrazal (15), who allowed only two runs in 12 innings. Tanner Roark (9), Jon Lester (8) and Kenta Maeda (8) were nothing special, though. Bryce Harper (29.5) cracked five doubles and led the offense while driving in eight runs. Freddie Freeman (24) also had a strong week and drove in seven. On the flip side, Kurt Suzuki (3.5) didn't do much and Dansby Swanson (9) must be suffering from gangrene or a cannonball wound or some other weird Civil War injury. 

10. The Misfits (2426.3, 2-13, last week 10): We've been waiting for Reid's team to put it all together, and it finally happened in a victory against our point leader. Go figure, right? The Misfits offense almost won this matchup by itself, scoring 132 points. A.J. Pollock (24), Ryan Braun and Justin Turner (22) each homered twice and managed to not get hurt for a whole week. Every Misfits hitter reached double digits, including the much-maligned Jose Peraza (11) and Austin Barnes (10.5). Michael Wacha (7.7) picked up the team's lone win despite pitching only 1.2 innings. Jack Flaherty (25.3) was outstanding in a pair of no-decisions, allowing 1 run and fanning 15 in 11.1 innings. Noah Syndergaard (14) was great in a no-decision of his own. Only Jon Gray (-0.7) had a rough week, which makes him no different than every other Colorado pitcher these days.

Batting leaders after Week 15

1. Christian Yelich (HG) 371
2. Cody Bellinger (R) 360.5
3. Freddie Freeman (LCL) 346.5
4. Josh Bell (YA) 336
5. Ronald Acuña Jr. (WLB) 328.5

Pitching leaders after Week 15

1. Max Scherzer (YA) 307.3
2. Stephen Strasburg (CB) 276.7
3t. Luis Castillo (FF) 260
3t. Hyun-Jin Ryu (HG) 260
5. Zack Greinke (YA) 252