The fifth week of Yahoo’s Fantasy Baseball covered games between Monday, April 29 to Sunday, May 5, 2019. Thanks to a victory that halted a two-week losing streak, Ondskans Imperium find themselves back near the top. After browsing through other teams and realizing that we were in the middle of the pack in terms of the numbers of hitters and pitchers, we dropped a handful of hitters and bulked up on pitchers.
Transactions
The pitching bulk up started right off on Monday 29th. There was a roster space open, so we added free agent Julio Teheran (SP – Atlanta). Despite having a higher ERA than most starters, he does average seven strikeouts a game, so after losing numerous strikeout categories lately, we aimed to collect a boatload moving forward.
Next up was undefeated Andrew Cashner (SP – Baltimore), who as 4 -0, and scheduled to start this past Tuesday. Unfortunately, that game was postponed, and on an extra day’s rest, he got rocked, despite striking out eight in four innings. We acquired Cashner for Josh Phegley (C – Oakland) who spent way too much on our bench.
On Monday, we also updated our trade market availability board. We are offering Tim Beckham (INF – Seattle), Nick Markakis (OF – Atlanta), Nicholas Castellanos (OF – Detroit), and Clint Frazier (OF – NYY). As a team, we are looking for a trade partner who will help us with wins and saves, or be willing to part with a starting or relief pitcher. So far, no offers out there.
Upon doing some research in regards to injuries on May 3, we learnt that reigning rookie of the year Shohei Ohtani (DH – Los Angeles) will return as a batter sometime during the upcoming week. After having Tommy John surgery, Ohtani will be able to bat but not pitch this season. If you saw his numbers at the plate last season, then you can see why I was willing to part with Billy Hamilton (OF – Kansas City) in hopes of another spectacular season from the import.
Matchup and Scores
Ondskans Imperium took on Los Gigantes in week five and never trailed the entire week. The matchup was so much closer than the numbers show. For three days, we were tied in several categories. Any category leads were minimal and could have gone any way any day. A great weekend by a handful of our players really gave us the win.
Standings and Team Stats
Despite some weak team stats across the board, we are more than thrilled to be in second place, only a handful of games out of first. We haven’t made the most moves, but we like to think our calculated ones have paid off in the standings.
If you look at the numbers, you would have never guessed we are the second-place team in the league. The fact we are there is a miracle. Our pitchers can’t win or save games, and our batters never ever hit home runs. Much like major league teams, timely hits and lights out pitching have kept us afloat.
Where the Matchup is Won and Loss: The Bench Players
Thanks to a 7-2-1 victory, the bench players really didn’t factor into the box score. Even with the one run we left on the bench wasn’t enough to win that category, so nothing gained and nothing lost.
Right now Scooter Gennett and David Robertson are on the Injured List, while Clint Frazier and Shohei Ohtani spent the entire week out of action. There’s only room for one guy on the bench with so many injured guys on the roster.
Players: Best and Worse
Best Hitter: Alex Gordon (OF – Kansas City) somehow had the best week of all the hitters by scoring 11 points for the team. He collected 4 R / 1 HR / 6 RBI / 0 SB, but batted a miserable 0.182.
Worse Hitter: Trey Mancini (INF – Baltimore) scored one point while being in the line up for five out of seven days. He collected one run and batted a team-low 0.167
Best Pitcher: Gerrit Cole (SP – Houston) was our best pitcher this past week. He managed a win and struck out 11, and shut out the Minnesota Twins 11-0. His ERA was 0.00, and his WHIP was 0.57. Noah Syndergaard collected 10 strikeouts in his shut out win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Worse Pitcher: Marcus Stroman (SP – Toronto) is still winless on the season. In his only start of the week against the Los Angeles Angels, he only lasted 3.1 innings, while collecting three strikeouts, but pitched to a 10.80 ERA and 2.40 WHIP.
Stay tuned for next’s week recap of the Ondskan Imperium 2019 Fantasy Baseball season.
Keeping the Stats 