Mets Fantasy Baseball: Checking in with the Rising Apple League
At the start of the MLB season, twelve New York Mets fans came together to determine who was the best fantasy baseball player. Six weeks later, the men and women are separating themselves from the boys and girls.
Six head-to-head match-ups have come and gone in the Rising Apple Fantasy League, which means it’s time to check in and see how the teams and New York Mets players are performing early on. Get a refresher on the makeup of the RAFL, then continue reading to find out if your favorite contributor-managed squad is taking command of its division.
As I wrote about following the fantasy draft, there is a healthy scattering of Mets players throughout the league. The result is early parity, with every team winning at least one weekly match-up through the first month and a half.
With a flurry of acquisitions and one team name change (so long Team Confortnite, we hardly knew ye), managers are starting to solidify their roster for the dog days of summer.
Without further ado, here is how the RAFL stacks up through six weeks:
East Division
T1. Chase for 28 (4-2)
T1. Meet deMets (4-2)
T3. A Cespedes for the Rest of Us (3-3)
T3. Weird Flexen, But OK. (3-3)
T5. Jerry Seinfeld, neé Confortnite (2-4)
T5. Treez in the Rainforest (2-4)
West Division
1. The Van-Wagon (5-1)
2. BringBack BigSexy (4-2)
T3. Bartolo’s Belly (3-3)
T3. deGrom’s Barber (3-3)
5. Dr. Andrews’ Waiting Room (2-4)
6. Thor’s Hammer (1-5)
The highest scoring week so far belongs to BringBack BigSexy in a Week 6 (May 6-12) win over Chase for 28, which also stands as the largest margin of victory (459-124). It’s important to note that the first match-up of the season was not taken into account for this stat because it lasted from March 20 – April 7, thanks to the Japan Series games between Oakland and Seattle.
BigSexy cruised to victory on the arms of excellent pitching, getting high-scoring starts from Max Scherzer (19 and 22), Kyle Hendricks (26), Wade Miley (22), Justin Verlander (31) and Jake Odorizzi (30).
There is still a lot of baseball to be played this summer, and we’ll see if Pete Alonso’s early impact (averaging 3.2 fantasy points per day, leading Mets hitters) continues to propel Meet deMets to the top of the division. Will Jacob deGrom (14.3 points per outing, leading Mets pitchers) pitch deGrom’s Barber into the Winner’s Bracket at season’s end?
And will The Van-Wagon’s decision to field zero Mets players eventually drag the team down while opening the door for Treez in the Rainforest, who has five on the roster?
Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!
Check back in at the All-Star Break as the Rising Apple Fantasy League pushes towards the postseason!