Snake Pit Fantasy Gauntlet Week 4

Welcome back to the Gauntlet.

This week, we start to see a few teams pull away from the rest of the pack, as they begin to assert their dominance and attempt to run away with their leagues. Here’s the table, so you can see for yourself!

The Premiership is the closest, with a tie for 1st and the next 2 places within 4 games. League 1-A has the top 2 within a game and a half, but 3rd place is a full 5 games behind. League 1-B has the only team with more than 30 wins, with Going Going Gonzo a full 7 games ahead of 2nd place. I think we know who the man to beat in that league is!

This week saw one of the top pitchers in the game and a late 1st/early 2nd round pick go down in Noah “Thor” Syndergaard. He’s out 2-3 months with a Lat tear. There’s really no way to replace that production, so if you need Ks, there really isn’t a whole lot you can do, except look for guys on the waiver wire and stream matchups against bad teams like Kansas City or Toronto, and avoid Coors. Unfortunately, a starting pitcher who strikes out a lot of guys every time he takes the mound is going to be nigh on impossible to find. Unless you want to start wheeling and dealing with other managers who are falling out of contention and try to get guys like Chris Sale, Jacob DeGrom, a Cleveland pitcher not named Kluber (more on him in a minute), or any of the Diamondbacks pitchers; streaming based on matchups is the only real way to go. Keep an eye on Petco Park pitchers out at sea level as well. Just beware of your moves, the default is usually 6 adds a week maximum.

Some other injuries to hit are Corey Kluber, who just hit the DL, about 3 or 4 decent catchers on the waiver wire all got hurt, along with Wellington Castillo. So the already thin position of catcher just got even thinner. Luckily for 3 managers, Gary Sanchez is supposed to be returning in the next 3-7 days. Didi Gregorius has already returned to help shore up a somewhat thin SS position depth as well. Greg Bird has been dealing with an ankle issue since the end of Spring Training and has bounced on and off the DL, just going back on in the last couple of days. Hes hitting 100, and is a real disappointment for those like me who drafted him.

I’m changing things up and I’m only going to name 1 MVP, and that’s Aaron Judge. The giant Yankee is demolishing the ball, hitting 11 home runs in his teams first 25 games. 2nd only to A-Rod, and tied with Babe Ruth for the Yankees record. That man can hit.

There is no reason for Sandy Leon to be owned in more that 5% of leagues, he’s only catching 2 of the 5 starters in Boston, has Swihart almost ready to come up to the bigs again, and he is hitting a paltry .196. There are better catchers there that play more often if you need it.