Leo Lions: In-Depth Analysis

With a week of regular fantasy season left until the four-team Astrology Division playoffs, the Leo Lions' pedestrian 9-9 record doesn't look like it'll get them a ticket to the postseason. But since we just finished their birthday month, it's time for their In-Depth Analysis feature. I don't know much about the Leo sign, as it has one of the least informative Wikipedia articles around (maybe the stars have aligned to make everyone born in late summer collectively inept at IT), but I do know that they have one of only four astrological signs whose Zodiac symbol corresponds to an actual major sports team. (Bonus points if you can name the other three - I'll give you a hint: they've all been covered by this feature.)

The biggest piece of recent news involving Leo was when their second-highest offensive scorer was suspended two weeks ago after testing positive for PEDs. I wish I could say that Melky Cabrera was the latest player to fall into the synthetic testosterone trap, but the problem is apparently more widespread than anyone but Victor Conte could have possibly imagined. The Melk Man ends his season with a respectable 1,755 points, and up until this weekend he was still leading the NL in hits (Andrew McCutchen just now overtook him by one). Luckily for the Leos, their highest offensive scorer is also the highest scorer in all of MLB - despite the fact that he spent most of the first month of the season hitting .402 for the AAA Salt Lake Bees. (Bees?) Yes, not only is Mike Trout (2,253) the only batter to maintain an average of 20 or more points per game (21.5), but he's also the youngest player ever to have a 20 HR, 40 SB season, plus he leads the AL in the latter category - along with runs scored, AVG, SLG, OPS and OPS+. (He trails Joe Mauer by .004 in the last of the triple slash triple crown categories.) A ROY/MVP season is not out of the question, even if the Angels (hopefully) remain out of the playoff hunt.

Even without Cabrera, the Leo team still has plenty of viable outfielders ready to contribute. The first, pushing Trout to LF (cuz he's eligible there too) is Adam Jones (1,684), a pillar of the Baltimore community who's working hard to justify his megadeal with the Orioles both on and off the field. Playing across the outfield from Trout, is fellow top prospect Jason Heyward (1,744), whose bounceback season couldn't have come at a better time for the surprise-contender Braves. The next two outfielders, and thus the best candidates for DH, are also both centerfielders, giving Leo four such players on their active roster. B.J. Upton (1,296) is a more complete hitter but Colby Rasmus (1,259) has slightly more power (while also playing a slightly better centerfield). While they do hit from opposite sides of the plate, both struggle against lefties, so a platoon doesn't seem all that viable.

While the outfield is deep, the Leo infield is not without its stars as well. Two former AL MVPs line up at 2B and 3B: Dustin Pedroia (1,431) won the award in 2008 and Alex Rodriguez (1,160) took it the year before. While waiting for A-Rod to recover from a fractured left hand (suffered at the hand of recently-perfect Felix Rodriguez a month ago), the Lions will have to rely on Pablo Sandoval (893), known as Kung Fu Panda, but I like to refer to him as Undeserving All-Star. They've also got some depth at SS, with reds rookie Zack Cozart (1,140) and the second Oriole on the team J.J. Hardy (1,184) vying for the positional lead in points. The team is in somewhat of a transitional state at 1B, where the injured Todd Helton's (715) star is falling. Mark Reynolds (869) has struggled at the position, but Anthony Rizzo (584) is quickly on his way towards taking that mantle.

On paper, before the start of 2012, the Leo starting rotation looked a lot less intimidating than it looks now. Madison Bumgarner (1,980) was the only starter ranked under 100 and was projecting as a No. 3 starter at best for the Giants, but he's already eclipsed his 2011 point total by over 100 points and is pitching like a No. 1 even on a pitching staff that includes Matt Cain. All-Star Matt Harrison (1,578) has blossomed into the Rangers' most consistent starter overtaking fellow Leos Yu Darvish (1,166, struggles transitioning to America) and Colby Lewis (979, injury). No one could have predicted that Chris Capuano (1,500) would post the best ERA of his career at age 33, and Max Scherzer (1,480) has really stepped up his game for the Tigers, as he's leading the AL in K/9IP rate. Rounding out the rotation is another Dodger Chad Billingsley (1,239), who has continued his trend of starting slow and ramping it up as the season goes on (he has a 1.80 ERA in 7 second-half starts, as opposed to a 4.30 ERA in his 18 tries before the break).

Leo's best closer on paper, Drew Storen (142), missed most of the season following surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow, and found his closer's role successfully taken over by Tyler Clippard upon his return. That puts Huston Street (1,240) as the team's top stopper, but he's been battling his own series of injuries this year, the latest being a strained calf that's kept him out of action since early August. Then their second backup option for saves was basically neutralized when Brett Myers (884) was traded from the Astros to the White Sox. Without a proven healthy closer, the team has limped into last place in the league in saves - but surprisingly their pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts. They're a middle of the road team in pretty much every other category.

Looking at the numbers, I think it's mathematically impossible for Leo to secure a post-season berth. Libra and Aries are 3 wins ahead in the Positive division, ditto for Capricorn in the Negative division, and it looks like Cancer will secure the 4th seed this week with a win over Scorpio - the two teams are currently tied with 10 wins apiece, and Cancer has a sizable lead in points... over everybody, strange as it seems. The astrology playoffs start the week after the first round of my actual fantasy playoffs end, so if I get eliminated, I'll spend more time tracking these rosters through the post-season. If I'm still in the hunt, though, expect these posts to be somewhat less frequent.