Kyle Freeland broke out as a legitimate ace for the Rockies last year, and his performance was all the more impressive considering he was pitching at altitude, although the fact that he is Taurus's lone 2,000 point scorer doesn't bode well for the rest of this sign. Michael Brantley showed what he can do over a full healthy season in 2018, but his future employer will have to bank on him doing that again, or multiple times, depending on the length of his free agent contract. You wouldn't expect to see Scooter Gennett at the top of the second base depth chart in a talent pool that also includes Jose Altuve, Brian Dozier, and even Dee Gordon, but Cincinnati's home ballpark is a marvelous thing for lefty hitters. Speaking of Altuve, he'll have to serve as this team's DH, much like he did for much of the 2018 postseason due to a balky knee, which also sapped some of his regular season production.
In the meantime, Matt Chapman is blossoming into a full-fledged superstar, on both sides of the ball, and I hope that Billy Beane and the Athletics front office do all they can to keep him around for the foreseeable future. After spending some years bouncing around the diamond, Jose Peraza has found a home at shortstop, where his plus speed makes him a good addition to this lineup. Like Altuve above, injuries kept Aaron Judge from living up to the full potential he showed in his monster 2017 Rookie of the Year effort. Trevor Williams had a strong season for the Pirates, but he profiles more as a mid-rotation innings eater than a true Game 2 starter, at least at this phase in his career. Rounding out the top ten scorers are a pair of Brians who will be relegated to bench duty at best: Dozier will reprise the veteran leadership role he played for the Dodgers in last year's playoffs, while Anderson will provide some versatility with eligibility at both 3B and RF.
It's never ideal when just one of the next top five point scorers makes the active roster, but Mallex Smith provides a prototypical speed and defense-oriented center fielder. Joey Wendle broke out with the Rays playing multiple positions, and could be a solid utility threat off the bench, but the next three batters on the list are likely ticketed for Astrology Triple-A. Salvador Perez is one of MLB's most durable and powerful catchers, so it's almost a shame that fellow 2018 All-Star Willson Contreras will have to serve as backup. Zack Godley took a step back from his 2017 production, but... nah, there's no "but," he's just not a very exciting fantasy rotation option. The presence of plenty of second base and center field options above him on the depth chart means that Dee Gordon's only utility on this roster would be as a potential pinch running specialist.
Joakim Soria spent the first half of 2018 closing games for the White Sox, so he can be counted on as this squad's primary reliever, although he's perhaps best used in the setup capacity, which is how the Brewers deployed him after the trade that sent him to Milwaukee. Starting first baseman Brandon Belt has seen his left handed power sapped by injuries and by his home ballpark alike, but he's not short on potential. To fill out this starting rotation, we have two pitchers who were involved in midseason trades: Tyson Ross went from the Padres to the Cardinals, where he moved to the bullpen, while Lance Lynn went from the Twins to the Yankees, where he was narrowly saved from a move to the bullpen by Sonny Gray's ineffectiveness (see below). The second reliever slot comes down to Sam Dyson and David Hernandez, but since they're so close in point total, and considering Dyson's stats were inflated by saves, I'm giving the nod to Hernandez. But, as I've mentioned before, this distinction means very little in the simulation of a full active roster.
Looking below the top 30 point scorers, Mychal Givens has been a top-flight bullpen weapon in the past, while Wily Peralta is a recent member of the closer club. Miguel Sano has intriguing talent, but has been plagued with issues both on the field (injuries) and off (sexual misconduct allegations). Austin Meadows is a potential future star, while Adrian Gonzalez is a potential future retiree after holding down this sign's 1B slot for years. But the most interesting cases are far down towards the bottom of this talent pool: Marcus Stroman has shown ace level stuff for the Blue Jays, and he's this team's clear number one starter when healthy and at full strength. And former Rookie of the Year Corey Seager would be a shoo-in as starting shortstop had he not undergone Tommy John surgery in 2018.
Scorpio's dark red color scheme makes it one of the toughest signs to link to a major league franchise. Looking at the astrological divisional formation I've established, in conjunction with modern day uniforms, the Angels are the best option, but going back about 15 years, I would have picked the Rangers, given that the Anaheim team still had a distinct Disnified feel and it was before Texas adopted their primarily blue color palette. That's how things look in my 20-year astrology retrospective, simulated using All-Star Baseball 2000 for the Nintendo 64... but that's a project for another time.
In a veritable middle infield coup, Scorpio ended up with the two top scoring shortstops in the game in Francisco Lindor and Trevor Story. Not only are these two both legit middle of the order power threats and two of the most exciting players in the game, but they're also both capable defenders, which makes it somewhat unfortunate that one of them will be stuck being the starting DH. Luckily enough, primary DH Giancarlo Stanton has the same defensive profile as fellow AL East slugger J.D. Martinez, so he's eligible to take a corner outfield slot. Charlie Morton's 2019 outlook obviously depends on where (or whether) he signs out of free agency, but his prolonged late-career resurgence looks downright sustainable at this point. Going by total fantasy points, Nick Markakis is the clear choice to take the other corner outfield slot, but there's a certain NL Rookie of the Year runner-up who will surely have something to say about that.
Jameson Taillon has long been billed as one of the top prospects in the game, but he's now finally beginning to deliver on that promise - just as his team's owners decided to acquire other rotation assets to supplement him. Given the crowded outfield mix, Joey Gallo's best defensive fit on this team is at first base, although his light tower power plays anywhere on the diamond. James Paxton might see his numbers drop a bit after his recent trade from Seattle's spacious SafeCo Field to New York's cozy Yankee Stadium, but first he'll have to prove that he can stay healthy. Juan Soto's 3+ point-per-game advantage over fellow lefty corner outfielder Markakis all but assures him a starting spot, total points be damned. And Ender Inciarte's stellar defense in center field is just icing on the cake, considering he's also the top CF-qualifying offensive point scorer.
In yet another knock against Nick Markakis, Marcell Ozuna's right handed bat might be more useful to have on the bench, given that Soto, Gallo, and Inciarte are all lefties. Although Markakis could potentially serve as the DH if one of Story and/or Lindor thought they could handle second base - if not, that job is Asdrubal Cabrera's to lose. Not only did Joey Gallo have a superior offensive season to Eric Hosmer, but he's more versatile to boot. Rounding out the rotation is Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka and Greenfield, IN import Kyle Gibson, who had surprisingly similar overall production for the Yankees and Twins, respectively.
Behind the plate for Scorpio is arguably the open market's top catching option, Yasmani Grandal, whose playoff slump shouldn't impact his trip to free agency, judging by the fate of Yu Darvish last offseason. Skipping Amed Rosario, who's just superfluous shortstop depth, we've got Kyle Seager as yet another left-handed slugger starting at third base. Rounding out the top 20 is even more shortstop depth (although rumor has it that Freddy Galvis might sign somewhere to play a utility role next year) and even more outfield depth (although Ryan Braun has taken steps towards adding first base to his repertoire last year).
The only "starting" players remaining in the top 30 are members of the bullpen. Cody Allen has been a top-shelf closer in the past, but he fell off significantly in 2018. Shane Greene was the ninth inning specialist for the Tigers, but save opportunities were few and far between in Detroit. Looking further down, we have Arodys Vizcaino, who closed for the Braves when healthy, but the emergence of A.J. Minter might push him back into a setup role. Outside the top 30, Ryan Tepera picked up some saves for the Blue Jays, and Greg Holland is just two years removed from a solid bounceback effort, so there are short relief options aplenty.
Looking at starting pitching depth, Jon Gray is joined by Sonny Gray, which means we're only 48 shades away from having the whole 50. Steady veteran Mike Leake has been mentioned in trade rumors involving the always-active Mariners and their trade happy GM Jerry DiPoto (more like Jerry DEAL-poto, am I right?!). Dylan Bundy probably has more in the tank than his Orioles-tainted 2018 would suggest. And Francisco Liriano will still qualify as a starter next year, even if he signs to fill a lefty relief role. In terms of slugging first basemen, Greg Bird of the Yankees has potential if healthy and Tyler White has staked a claim on the Astros DH role in last year's playoffs.
So there you have all 12 Fantasy Astrology Baseball teams, all wrapped up in a neat little feature. Hopefully these musings will help keep you baseball fans warm until the proverbial stove starts getting hot and the transactions start flying.
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