It was a crazy week in baseball. Trea Turner had an 8 RBI game, only to be trumped by teammate Mark Reynolds, who had a 10 RBI game a few days later. Avisail Garcia mashed 5 home runs in 7 games, and Andrew Heaney had back-to-back 10 strikeout games.
And then there was the All-Star roster announcement. The National League has two starting outfielders who came into the league in 2006, and one Washington National undeserving of a start based on merit, but understandably got one because the game is being held in D.C. The most notable part about the roster announcement, however, was not who made it, but who did not. Blake Snell, the AL leader in ERA, who since post-All-Star Break 2017 has struck out 200 batters and posted a 2.57 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP, is not an All-Star. This is the first time since Pedro Martinez in 2001 that the league leader in ERA is not an All-Star, and quite honestly, one of the worst snubs in recent memory.
Rather than go on a rant about why Snell’s snub is a reason to alter the weight of the fan vote, let’s get into this week’s best performances and closest matchups, feel free to take a closer look at our rosters, transactions, and matchups by following these links: Legacy League, Prodigy League, Futures League. Likewise, if you’d like to read the previous weeks’ reviews, follow this link.
Legacy League
Best Performance: Taijuana Brass (Ben Pernick)
Ben (3-9-2) dove into the free agent pool for three pitchers during this match up, and the judges scores were: 10, 9, 10. His streamers combined for a 1.63 ERA and one third of his innings, leading him to the #1 pitching performance of the week. Nathan Eovaldi earns weekly MVP, as his surprising 9 K performance against the Mets on Sunday afternoon won Ben the category and the matchup.
Closest Matchup: Insane Masterminds (Andrew Todd-Smith) vs. Choo that Snell (Rick Graham)
So when I went to go calculate whether Andrew Heaney throwing 7.1 as opposed to 7.0 would have given Rick the edge in ERA (he lost 3.975 to 3.945), the cumulative ERA is displayed at 3.84 for Rick, which would give him the win in that category and swing the matchup in his favor. Not nearly as nail-biting as an extra third of an inning in Sunday Night Baseball being the difference, but Rick did have the slightly better week in roto scoring anyway.
Prodigy League
Best Performance: Syndergaarden Cop (Jonathan Metzelaar)
In one week, Metz’s team matched the stolen base total the Oakland A’s have this season (17), and 0 of them came from Trea Turner. Maybe if Michael Grennell changes his team name to “Swiper no Swiping” this week, he’ll be able to hold Jose Ramirez and Starling Marte in check. This all-time great speed performance didn’t come at the expense of power either, as the Cops led the league in home runs this week as well.
Closest Matchup: DothRockies Horde (Austin Bristow II) vs. Max Bauer (Andrew Gould)
There’s only one starter on his roster that Andrew could not rely on to get 5 strikeouts to win the matchup: Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel pitched well in his game against the White Sox, but his 2 strikeouts leave much to be desired, especially for a team currently projected to miss the playoffs by one seed. Maybe the Killer B’s can sting the Horde with their first loss since week 10 in the coming matchup.
Futures League
Best Performance: The Hans Molemen (Ben Chang)
Ben may not have won this week, but his team performance was strong all-around. He placed third in Runs, Strikeouts, ERA and Wins; he had the second most Home Runs and and Saves, and the most RBIs in the Futures league. However, he was brought down by a league worst steals total and Justin Bour nabbing his first base of the season on Sunday.
Closest Matchup: Acuna Moncada (Austin Perodeau) vs. Team Gorman (Brennen Gorman)
Wil Myers was the savior of Team Gorman this weekend, hitting 4 homers and stealing two bases in the final days of this closely contended matchup. Despite having rates all but compromised prior to Friday, Team Gorman’s staff rallied for three wins compared to Acuna Moncada’s one in the final days, and his relievers matched Perodeau’s to save both games and Brennen’s small streak of wins. This week, we’ll see if the loss was a small blip for the streaking Perodeau, or if “no worries for the rest of your days” was only applicable to June.
