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 3
I made the following roster moves in Week 3, with my eye on Week 4:
1.) Claimed Daniel Murphy off waivers. I had an empty IL spot, making this a no-brainer stash.
2.) Added Tim Anderson and dropped Ryan McMahon. I needed help at SS with Willy Adames plummeting.
3.) Added Edwin Encarnacion and dropped Anderson. Edwin is swinging a hot bat on a surprisingly great Seattle team and I did not trust Anderson to continue on the trajectory he is on. But, the joke may be on me. He won’t keep the batting average up, but his lure as a power/speed threat at SS is undeniable and I should have kept him.
4.) Added Trevor Richards and dropped Garrett Hampson. This was for added SP depth, which is something I spoke on trying to do in my last article. I find it important to prioritize pitching depth over batting depth on the bench in the event that you can take advantage of matchups and two-start weeks.
5.) Added Mike Soroka and dropped Richards. I like what I have seen from Richards this year, but he wasn’t long for my team. I had been monitoring Soroka and realized he was going to be getting the call soon after killing it in AAA so I had to jump on the opportunity to add him to my squad. I sent him to a mL spot to retain a bench spot and went on with my next roster move which was….
6.) Added Jose Quintana who was fresh off of an 11-strikeout game. He has looked great over his last three starts with 25K in 21 IP while only walking three and allowing two ER, both to the Dodgers. If he can keep piling up the strikeouts and limiting the walks, I may have been the lucky recipient of an early, ill-fated move of one of my league mates.
7.) Added Josh Phegley and dropped Wellington Castillo. Castillo was being completely unproductive for me so I added a hot C bat in Josh Phegley who sadly decided to forget how to hit in Week 4, as you will see.
Week 3 treated Angels in the TROUTfield very well. I carried the following roster into my matchup:
C – Wellington Castillo
1B – Matt Carpenter
2B – Ozzie Albies
3B – Anthony Rendon
SS – Tim Anderson
OF – Mike Trout
OF – Aaron Judge
OF – Andrew Benintendi
OF – Tommy Pham
U – Michael Conforto
U – Khris Davis
B – Miguel Cabrera
B – Willy Adames
B – Garrett Hampson
IL – Daniel Murphy
SP – Gerrit Cole
SP – Luis Castillo
SP – German Marquez
SP – Tyler Glasnow
SP – Ross Stripling
RP – Edwin Diaz
RP – Felipe Vazquez
B – Nick Pivetta
B – Matt Strahm
Top performers: (Disclaimer: This paragraph will be one giant brag) Anthony Rendon (9-25, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, BB), Aaron Judge (6-19, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB), Tommy Pham (6-21, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 2 SB, 6 BB), Michael Conforto (6-21, 4 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, SB, 7 BB), Khris Davis (9-27, 2B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R), Gerrit Cole (13 IP, 8 HA, 3 BBI, 17 K, 5 ER, W, 2 QS), German Marquez (14 IP, 8 HA, 11 K, 5 ER, W, L, CG, QS, SO), Tyler Glasnow (6 IP, 2 HA, BBI, 11 K, W, QS), Felipe Vazquez (4.2 IP, 5 HA, 2 BBI, 7 K, W, 2 S, RW)
Side Note: Mike Trout only got four ABs in Week 3 due to injury, but as you can tell, my other batters more than made up for this loss in production.
Worst performers: Wellington Castillo (0-12, 2 BB, 4 KO). I don’t count on a lot of production from C but that is just pathetic.
Outcome: Win (819.5-548)
Record: 2-1
This was an excellent week for me and I surpassed all other team scores by a considerable amount. If my team continues to put up these kinds of numbers I will be a force to be reckoned with all season long.
Week 4
I made the following roster moves in Week 4, with my eye on Week 5:
1.) Added Brad Peacock for a two-start week and dropped Matt Strahm. I was ecstatic about Strahm after his fantastic spring but I was unable to keep him on my roster as he was becoming a player who I felt I would be unwilling to start in any situation. That’s when you know it’s time to let go. I am keeping an eye on him, as he put together back to back respectable starts against Arizona and Cincinnati, but the lack of strikeouts is concerning and will limit his upside drastically if it continues.
2.) Added J.A. Happ who was recently dropped and I dropped Ross Stripling in a corresponding move. I had to add Happ based on upside alone but if he doesn’t show me something over the next few weeks I will be forced to cut ties. Happ’s K/9 rate has dwindled and he is giving up way too many home runs, but I will let it ride a little while to see if he can regain his form. Happ’s SwStr% in 2019 has mirrored his 2018 SwStr%, so I am hoping he will rebound and start ringing up some more batters. Don’t even get me started on Stripling being sent to the bullpen after starting the year with a 2.92 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. I will be the first to put him back on my team following an inevitable Dodgers rotation injury.
3.) Added Jerad Eickhoff, who was set to join Philadelphia rotation, as there are a lot of reasons to be excited about him. 2018 was stolen from him due to injury, but he has the stuff to stick in that Phillies rotation and I was excited to get him on my team. His 14 Ks so far in 10 IP has really piqued my interest and I hope he can continue that success in the rotation. Don’t let the four ER in his last start fool you, he handled Coors field quite well. It was good to see him get some strikeouts and not allow any home runs in that ballpark.
4.) Dropped Miguel Cabrera. With Mike Soroka joining the Braves rotation for more than just a spot start, I had to make room on my roster and was forced to drop Cabrera after he got off to a very slow start (.267 BA, 0 HR, 6 RBIs, and 23 K). He is still hitting the ball hard (56.6% hard-hit rate) but just on the ground too much (52.8% ground-ball rate). I was expecting a lower HR output than we were accustomed to getting from Miggy, but 0 through 75 ABs was not what I drafted him for.
5.) Added Mitch Garver and dropped Phegley. I am grasping at straws to get some production from the Catcher position.
6.) Added Jonathan Schoop and dropped Adames. I couldn’t hold on any longer with limited production from SS and grabbed Schoop to act as a stop-gap until I can figure out what to do. Dansby Swanson has recently been dropped and I have a waiver claim out for him but I am not confident that I will be able to grab him since I have No. 7 waiver wire priority.
Week 4 was not as kind to me. Here is the lineup I rolled with:
C – Josh Phegley
1B – Matt Carpenter
2B – Ozzie Albies
3B – Anthony Rendon
SS – Willy Adames
OF – Mike Trout
OF – Aaron Judge
OF – Michael Conforto
OF – Tommy Pham
U – Edwin Encarnacion
U – Khris Davis
B – Miguel Cabrera
B – Andrew Benintendi
IL – Daniel Murphy
SP – Gerrit Cole
SP – Luis Castillo
SP – German Marquez
SP – Jose Quintana
SP – Tyler Glasnow
RP – Edwin Diaz
RP – Felipe Vazquez
B – Matt Strahm
B – Ross Stripling
B – Nick Pivetta
Top performers: Michael Conforto (5-22, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 5 R, SB, 5 BB), Mike Trout (6-25, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 6 R, 7 BB), Luis Castillo (11 IP, 8 HA, 6 BBI, 16 K, 3 ER, W, QS), Tyler Glasnow (12.1 IP, 10 HA, 3 BBI, 8 K, 4 ER, W, PKO, QS), Jose Quintana (7 IP, 6 HA, 7 K, W, QS), Edwin Diaz RP (2 IP, HA, BBI, 4 K, 2 S), Felipe Vazquez (2 IP, HA, 4 K, 2 S)
Side Note: It was nice to have Trout back, but Andrew Benintendi had an injury that forced me to bench him and add Encarnacion to my active roster.
Worst performers: Josh Phegley (0-9, 3 KO), Willy Adames (3-17, 2B, R, BB, 4 KO), Gerrit Cole (4.1 INN, 9 HA, 3 BBI, 8 K, 8 ER, L)
Outcome: Loss (507.5-639)
Record: 2-2
Plans for Angels in the TROUTfield
My goal over the next couple of weeks is to flip some of my OF depth for SS reinforcements. SS has been a weak spot for me in the early-goings of 2019 and I believe it is time to rectify the situation. I will be ecstatic if I can add Swanson to my team in the form of a waiver claim but I am not going to hold my breath. I have had trade conversations revolving around OF for SS, but have been reluctant to pull the trigger on the negotiations that have taken place.
I have been very happy with my SP thus far. I thought it was going to be the weak link on my squad this year, so I am very pleased with the way my staff has shaped up. With Cole, Castillo, Marquez, and Glasnow all living up to (and in some cases, exceeding) expectations, I think I am in good shape. With Quintana seemingly regaining his former stature and with Soroka and Eickhoff waiting in the wings, I am excited to see how my staff will continue to perform. Nevertheless, I am always keeping my eye out for a SP enhancements, whether that be in trade or free agency and I will not hesitate to jump on a good opportunity.
I have not gotten off to the start I was hoping for, but it is still early and I can’t be too upset about being .500 heading into Week 5. I think my roster is starting to shape up, outside of SS, and I will continue to work on solidifying my SS position and pitching staff. I have began to trim the fat on my roster and I have built a team that I am confident in rolling out week after week, and with some timely roster moves as appropriate, I will look to get on a winning streak. It is a long season and I can see my team competing with the top teams in the league all season long.
(Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire)