Mets Fantasy Baseball: A Cespedes for the Rest of Us wins it all

Fantasy baseball legends are born in September. In the first Rising Apple Fantasy League, New York Mets fan Allen Settle came away as the champion.

The regular season for the New York Mets has come to a close and the inaugural champion of the Rising Apple Fantasy League has been crowned. Please join everyone here at Rising Apple in congratulating Allen Settle, who ran the table during the year and emerged as the first-ever RAFL Champ!

Settle’s team, A Cespedes for the Rest of Us, started off the season a bit rocky. After beginning with a 3-3 record, Settle navigated the business end of his fantasy schedule and entered the league’s postseason with the top record in the league at 16-5.

He cruised through the two-week semifinals, winning his match-up by nearly 400 points, before emerging with the crown after a 144-point victory in the championship round. Looking back on the season, it was clear to Settle that he needed to work the waiver wire in hopes of striking gold.

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“In hindsight, my draft strategy was terrible and I invested heavily in hitters and speed. I realized fairly early that I had a lot of roster flaws and spent most of the season trying to add pitching and power,” Settle said.

That realization led to a flurry of moves over the course of the year – a whopping 187 – that ensured he had the right pieces in place to keep his position at the top of the standings. It is also worth noting that A Cespedes for the Rest of Us featured zero players from the New York Mets on the final roster.

“Free agency and trades were super useful in building a complete roster. I added Ketel Marte because of his upside and position eligibility and he hit the jackpot. I also got lucky by signing Mike Minor and trading Trea Turner and pieces for Luis Castillo and Jack Flaherty,” Settle added.

While roster flexibility and depth gave his team a fighting chance each week, Settle acknowledges that daily management is what put him over the edge. His strategy involved using the weekly allowance of roster moves to stream in pitchers, play different match-ups and generate as many useful innings as possible.

In the end, this formula delivered time and time again to the tune of seven consecutive victories and the league title. Congratulations again to Allen Settle, the 2019 Rising Apple Fantasy League Champion!

Final Standings

Winner’s Bracket

(1) A Cespedes for the Rest of Us
(2) Bartolo’s Belly
(3) Weird Flexen, But OK.
(4) The Van-Wagon

Consolation Ladder (Postseason Seeding)

(5) BringBack Big Sexy
(6) Jerry Seinfeld
(7) Chase for 28
(8) Meet deMets
(9) Treez in the Rainforest
(10) deGrom’s Barber
(11) Dr. Andrews’ Waiting Room
(12) Thor’s Hammer

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Settle hopes to hold a victory parade on Yoenis Cespedes’ ranch later this fall.