One week ago today, MLB Trade Rumors posted their list of the
top 50 free agents, complete with predictions of where they would end up for next season. Because I'm a compulsive list maker, I quickly organized a hypothetical roster out of the highest fantasy-scoring players on that list. That roster is presented below (along with MLBTR's rankings and predictions at the left), and after that, I present a look at some of the more high-profile names on this list through the lens of my unique baseball perspective, Fantasy Astrology!
Number 1 ranked MLB Trade Rumors free agent Gerrit Cole has also been the number 1 fantasy point scoring starting pitcher for Virgo over the past two seasons, both of which he spent with Houston. But he's been in the Maidens starting five for 4 of the past 5 years, dating back to his time with Pittsburgh. Speaking of the Pirates, Cole is actually their leading All-Decade starter, finishing ahead of his former Astros teammate Charlie Morton (a Scorpio) by just three games. VIR doesn't have another ranked FA until number 18, where Mike Moustakas puts his newly earned second base eligibility to use, as there are actually a couple of pretty decent third basemen ahead of him on the depth chart. Moose made the Virgo starting team at 3B 2 of the last 5 years, but was a regular feature at the hot corner with the Royals, with 885 all-decade games.
Will Harris, Cole's teammate and Astros
playoff goat (not the same as the
acronym G.O.A.T.), checks in next at 22. His first of three years making the Virgo bullpen (in which I keep track of up to 6 dedicated relief pitchers) was the same as Cole and Moustakas's, and he also leads Houston in all-decade appearances at 309. Ten spots later is center field-eligible Brett Gardner, who has the most fantasy astrology starting experience of Virgo free agents, with five seasons as a starter, although they came over a span of 10 years - the same span as my All-Decade project. Speaking of which, Gardy also has the most all-decade experience among VIR FA's, as he racked up 953 games in left field, plus another 422 in center, for the Yankees.
The most coveted position player on the free agent market should be world champion third baseman Anthony Rendon, a stalwart on the Gemini fantasy astrology team for 5 of the last 6 seasons. But who remembers that he actually broke into the league in 2013 as primarily a second baseman? Injuries and a position change across the diamond for franchise player (and Libra) Ryan Zimmerman cemented Rendon at the hot corner, where he has blossomed into one of the game's top players with the glove as well as the bat. But it's fascinating to imagine the prospect of him returning to his old defensive stomping ground to facilitate a signing with a team that already has an even better defensive third baseman. (Matt Chapman just won his second Platinum Glove in a row, I'm just sayin'...) The only other member of the astrology Twins on my list is sometime Cubs closer Steve Cishek, since I did the rankings by fantasy points rather than MLBTR rankings; which is also the reason why #4 ranked SP Zack Wheeler (1,635 points / 52.7 points-per-game) isn't up there, as he finished just behind Aries Jake Odorizzi in both categories.
The Cancer Crabs fantasy astrology team has been consistently pitching-poor since as far back as I've been able to measure (which is at this point the late 1990's), but for 7 of the past 8 years they've had a bona fide ace in Stephen Strasburg. I was frankly surprised that the Nationals' leading All-Decade starter (239 games) decided to opt out of the remaining $100 on his contract, given his low key nature and the unpredictable (almost collusively so) free agent market, but there's little doubt he'll beat his previous guarantee based on his absolutely incredible platform season. Teams will be wary of overpaying given his resume, but the adage that "past performance doesn't guarantee future results" cuts both ways with Stras, as it applies not only to his checkered injury history, but also to his World Series MVP-winning 2019 performance. The top relief pitcher on the market, lefty Will Smith, led the Cancer bullpen this year, and his role will be even more important given Blake Treinen's nosedive and Felipe Vazquez's criminal proclivities. Not listed is Strasburg's teammate and fellow playoff hero Howie Kendrick (he was ranked #30 with 1,398 points and 11.5 PPG), who I in all seriousness would like to see sign with the green and gold next year to replace Pisces Jurickson Profar at the keystone.
So far I've profiled signs from the Earth, Air, and Water elemental "divisions," and I'll close by looking at one player from each of the three Fire teams. NL ERA leader and first time All-Star Hyun-Jin Ryu led the Aries rotation after playing second (or more accurately sixth or seventh) fiddle behind Rams legends like Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, and Felix Hernandez since 2013. Speaking of second fiddle, Madison Bumgarner had been number 2 in the Leo rotation from 2013 thru 2016 (he led Lions starters in 2011 and '12, but settled in at number 4 in 2019, after a two-year gap), and each time he finished behind Max Scherzer. Although he's the DH in this lineup, Josh Donaldson is known almost as much for his glovework at third base as his potent bat, where he took over as the heir apparent of David Wright on the Sagittarius team - although he has twice been frozen out by other Archers such as Matt Carpenter and Justin Turner since he took the reins in 2013.
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