Dynasty League Review: Weeks 13-14

Here at Pitcher List, we thought it would be fun to give the readers a look into the dynasty leagues of Pitcher List staff members. I will be providing reviews throughout the season of my dynasty team in my home league, which originated in 2009.

The league is a 10-team, weekly, head-to-head points league and I am playing the 2019 season under the team name of Angels in the TROUTfield.

 

Week 13 

 

It is getting to that point in the season where my team construction is coming into focus and I am making less and less weekly moves. I did not have roster moves in Week 13, but I am always on the lookout for upgrades.

Week 13 did not exactly go as planned. I was on a two-week win streak and was looking to take three wins in a row for the first time all season. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. The loss doesn’t fall on the shoulders of my hitters—it was my pitching that blew it for me. Below is the lineup that I deployed in Week 13:

C – James McCann
1B – Edwin Encarnacion
2B – Ozzie Albies
3B – Anthony Rendon
SS – Dansby Swanson
OF – Yordan Alvarez
OF – Michael Conforto
OF – Mike Trout
OF – Tommy Pham
U – Andrew Benintendi
U – Khris Davis
B – Didi Gregorius
B – Matt Carpenter
IL – Aaron Judge

SP – Gerrit Cole
SP – Luis Castillo
SP – Andrew Heaney
SP – Nick Pivetta
SP – Jose Quintana
SP – Mike Soroka
RP – Edwin Diaz
B – German Marquez
B – Felipe Vazquez
B – Tyler Glasnow

mL – Nick Senzel
mL – Zac Gallen
mL – Carter Kieboom
mL – Alex Reyes
mL – Andrew Vaughn

Top performers: Yordan Alvarez (8-27, 2 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB), Mike Trout (14-29, 2 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 7 R, SB, 4 BB), Andrew Benintendi (10-28, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, SB, 3 BB), Ozzie Albies (7-24, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, SB, BB), Michael Conforto (6-25, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB), Luis Castillo (9.2 IP, 7 HA, 11 BBI, 13 K, 6 ER, W, L, QS), Gerrit Cole (6 IP, 6 HA, 3 BBI, 8 K, ER, QS)

Worst performers: Mitch Garver (1-10, 2B, R, 2 BB, KO), Andrew Heaney (3.2 IP, 4 HA, 4 BBI, 2 K, 5 ER), Nick Pivetta (5.1 IP, 7 HA, 3 BBI, 2 K, 6 ER, L), Jose Quintana (4.1 IP, 9 HA, 2 BBI, 2 K, 8 ER, L)

Heaney, Pivetta, and Quintana scored me -23 points combined by allowing a combined 19 earned runs in just over 13 innings pitched. I have been pleased with my pitching production so far this season, but if I continue to have weeks like this, my team will not go as far as anticipated. This league is all about pitching, pitching, and more pitching.

I decided to bench Matt Carpenter, something I have been mulling over for a few weeks. With Encarnacion having a good year and with the multitude of slugging stars I have on my roster, it was a decision that had to be made. It has proven to be the best decision, as he was placed on the IL with back issues yesterday. Carpenter owners are hoping that this time on the IL will help his straighten out his prolonged slump, as he has been seemingly unstartable so far this year. This is a far-cry from what fantasy owners were expecting from the usually quite reliable Carpenter and we are hoping that we can get his 2018 second-half breakout once he returns from the IL.

Outcome: Loss (707.25 – 556)

Record: 7-6

 

Week 14

 

I made the following roster move in Week 14:

1.) Dropped Jose Quintana and activated Zac Gallen from mL roster. The Quintana shine has worn off since his solid stretch in April. He has stopped striking guys out and his 8-ER blowup against the Mets was the final straw for my team. I have been impressed with what Gallen has shown in his first two MLB starts, allowing four runs in eight innings with 14 strikeouts, although a couple of those runs were given up by the bullpen. That will play in all leagues and I am looking forward to seeing if he can continue to pile up strikeouts and limit the earned runs. It would be nice to see him pitch a little deeper into games so he can get some quality starts under his belt but that efficiency will come with experience.

The last thing I wanted to do this week was drop back to back match ups, but that is exactly what I did. Here is the lineup I rolled out:

C – Mitch Garver
1B – Edwin Encarnacion
2B – Ozzie Albies
3B – Anthony Rendon
SS – Dansby Swanson
OF – Yordan Alvarez
OF – Michael Conforto
OF – Tommy Pham
OF – Mike Trout
U – Khris Davis
U – Aaron Judge
B – Andrew Benintendi
B – Matt Carpenter
B – Didi Gregorius

SP – Gerrit Cole
SP – Luis Castillo
SP – Zac Gallen
SP – Andrew Heaney
SP – German Marquez
RP – Felipe Vazquez
RP – Edwin Diaz
B – Mike Soroka
B – Nick Pivetta

mL – Nick Senzel
mL – Andrew Vaughn
mL – Carter Kieboom
mL – Luis Urias
mL – Alex Reyes

Top performers: Anthony Rendon (8-25, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, 3 KO), Dansby Swanson (10-26, 4 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, SB, BB), Aaron Judge (8-14, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 5 BB), Gerrit Cole (13 IP, 12 HA, 3 BBI, 13 K, 2 ER, 2 W, 2 QS), Andrew Heaney (11.1 IP, 11 HA, 5 BBI, 12 K, 6 ER, W, L, HB, PKO)

Worst performers: Mike Trout (4-22, RBI, R, 2 BB, 6 KO), Khris Davis (2-7, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 KO), Edwin Diaz (2.1 IP, 3 HA, 2 BBI, 5 K, 5 ER, L, S, BS), Mike Soroka (5 IP, 10 HA, BBI, 3 K, 5 ER)

Judge is back! It was so nice to be able to slot him back into my lineup. Since his return, he has batted over .300 with six runs, six RBIs, two home runs, and almost as many walks as strikeouts. I am looking forward to deploying him through the rest of the season. Khris Davis can’t seem to stay on the field, with his latest injury being due to a HBP. I, along with the many other Davis owners, are waiting on another inevitable Khrush Davis home run outbreak. His strikeout rate is identical to last year and he is actually hitting the ball a little harder than 2018. It is just a matter of time before a healthy Davis gets hot again. He could benefit from hitting less ground balls, as he is sitting at a 39.7% GB%, 4.4 points higher than 2018 and his FB% is down over 10 points from 2018. I don’t see a whole lot of cause for concern with Davis and I will be sticking with him with the hopes of him getting hot soon.

Outcome: Loss (550.25 – 654.25)

Record: 7-7

 

Trade Market

 

I have been in discussions with a couple of teams in regards to possible trades but nothing has come to fruition yet. I am looking to bolster my rotation and add some controllable assets. I am in need of pitching (I know that I am not alone in that regard). I have many trustworthy options but I don’t know that I feel comfortable starting everyone week to week outside of Gerrit Cole, Luis Castillo, and Mike Soroka. German Marquez has been hit or miss but I feel comfortable starting him more times than not. The loss of Tyler Glasnow and his continued absence has haunted my rotation, but I am holding out hope that I can get some production from him toward the latter part of the season. I just hope it is the same front of the rotation Glasnow we saw early on. There are some intriguing options out there on the trade market and I am actively looking to improve my team for this year and next. This year feels different than last year in terms of how I feel about my team moving forward, so I am not keen on mortgaging my future two years in a row (like trading away Fernando Tatis Jr. and Taylor Trammell last season, for example) but if there is a trade out there that I can improve my championship chances this season while not completely depleting my controllable assets then I will give it serious consideration. My goal is to trade from my OF depth to plug some holes that are becoming apparent, but I will not make a deal for the sake of making a deal—it needs to make sense for my team’s future.

 

League Standings

 

All it will take for me is a few solid weeks and some good fortune in my schedule (I am still leading the league in points scored) and I’m right back in the thick of things. I am currently sitting with a .500 record and two games out of first place. The tides can swing in a 10-team league very quickly and that’s what I have my fingers crossed for. I will be evaluating my position in the standings leading up to the trade deadline to see what my plans will be. As I am sitting today, I am in clear buy mode and I do not anticipate that changing direction whatsoever.

(Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire)