This week’s edition of the Staff League review will take a look at the season up to this point as well as this week’s results. The Prodigy League, always a bit different, is past its halfway mark for the regular season, only set to play 18 weeks before the playoffs. The Legacy and Futures League are about to hit their regular season halfway mark, each set to play 21 weeks before their playoffs begin.
Before we get into this week’s best performances and closest matchups, feel free to take a closer look at our rosters, transactions, and matchups by following these links: Legacy League, Prodigy League, Futures League. Likewise, if you’d like to read the previous weeks’ reviews, follow this link.
Legacy League
Best Performance—Smoakin’ Zieg Zags (Max Posner)
Selecting a standout performance from any one team in the Legacy League was difficult this week, as most of the games were extremely close. After a fair amount of debate, I selected Max Posner as the best week of the league. Max’s team (6-3-1) faced off against Kyle Bishop (4-6) and managed a 6-4 victory. While Kyle held four of the hitting categories, Max managed to take steals to secure the win. Max’s pitching was the real star though, as he took all five categories behind standout performances from Trevor Bauer, Seth Lugo, and Blake Parker. Max will face Dave Cherman (4-2-4) in week 11, who is fresh off his fourth draw of the season.
Closest Matchup—Gray Market Price (Stephen Honovich) vs. Insane Masterminds (Andrew Todd-Smith)
The Legacy League had three ties in this week alone, which is honestly astonishing to me. In comparison, the Prodigy League has had a single tie during the entirety of the season. Of these three draws, the closest was that of Stephen Honovich (0-9-1) and Andrew Todd-Smith (4-4-2). the two had a classic hitting-pitching split, as Andrew took every hitting stat and Steve took every pitching stat. However, Andrew only won runs and RBI by 3, home runs by 2, and steals by 1. Stephen only won saves by 1 and won WHIP by a final score of 1.509 to 1.510! That’s actually ridiculous! I’ve said this before but never has it been truer, that a single ball falling differently would have changed the outcome of this matchup.
Prodigy League
Best Performance—It’s Klubering Time (Michael Grennell)
For the first time this year, Michael Grennell’s team (2-8) had the best week in the Prodigy League. Michael’s offense simply exploded this week, hitting 21 home runs en route to his 7-2-1 victory over Jake Bridges (4-6). Players like Eduardo Escobar and Justin Upton (both received in the Corey Kluber trade) stood out to help Michael take all hitting categories save for steals. His pitchers weren’t slouching either, as he won strikeouts, saves, and WHIP. Featuring a very different roster than the beginning of the season, Michael may now be poised for a second-half resurgence. He’ll have a tough road ahead though, as he faces Myles Nelson (8-2), the Prodigy League leader.
Closest Matchup—good Kris, M.A.A.d. Robbie (Jason Dunbar) vs. The Gregorius D.I.Di.
Featured in this section two weeks in a row, Jason Dunbar (5-5) has had a stressful past few weeks. He and Jeff Davis (7-3) came down to the wire, but Jason managed to pull out the 6-3-1 win. The to tied in wins and Jason won runs, homers, RBI, and steals by a just 1. All four, led by just one. On the flip side, Jeff won strikeouts by just two, saves by 1, and ERA by a score of 2.729 t0 2.798. This was obviously a ridiculously well-balanced matchup as the two put up almost identical numbers all week.
Futures League
Best Performance—The Hans Molemen (Ben Chang)
Ben Chang proved his team (7-2-1) was truly the best in the Futures league this past week. Ben, who has a commanding lead in the league, also pulled off a big 8-1-1 win over Dan Wist (4-5-1) this past week. Ben’s team took all five pitching categories behind fantastic two-start weeks from Max Scherzer and Ross Stripling. Ben’s offense was also solid this past week, hitting .307 with 14 home runs with help from Matt Kemp, Khris Davis, and Justin Upton. Ben will look to continue his winning ways next week when he faces Brennen Gorman (5-3-2).
Closest Matchup—Lindor Truffles (Rob Zaccheo) vs. Team Gorman (Brennen Gorman)
There were two more ties this week in the Futures League, the closest of which featured Rob Zaccheo (3-3-4) and the aforementioned Brennen Gorman. For Rob, this is his fourth week in a row that has ended in a draw. The two teams ended with a 4-4-2 score this week, tying in both RBI and wins. To make the matter even closer, Rob only won steals by 1 and strikeouts by 3, while Brennen won homers by 1. At the end of the week, however, neither team was able to overcome the other.
Final Thoughts: Top Teams
Legacy League—So far this year, there are three teams sitting atop the Legacy League. Alex Fast, Ian Post, and Rick Graham are tied at the top, each with a 6-2-2 record. The three have a mix of awe and confidence in their results thus far, with Fast stating, “I think I have the depth to go the distance this year,” while Graham simply said, “I have no idea how that team is at 6-2-2.” Based on the results from their stats this season, it seems that each of them seems to have earned this record, with Fast’s team possibly having an edge on the other two.
Prodigy League—The Prodigy League seems to have a top four: Myles Nelson, myself, Jeff Davis, and KV. Each of us has a record between 8-2 and 6-4. While Jeff and I are consistently in the top five of most individual categories, Myles has been carried by his pitching thus far, while KV has been an offensive force. With no clear standout among the four, it will definitely be interesting to see who has the best second half and takes the top two spots to move into the Legacy League next season.
Futures League—This one is a bit more cut and dry, as Ben Chang is the only team with more than five wins on his record. Ben’s team is consistently in the top five in most stats, especially on the pitching side, where he has excelled all season. We’ll have to keep an eye out to see which other teams will emerge to challenge Ben for the two spots to move into the Prodigy League next season.