Astrology Camp Battles: Cancer

I'm always optimistic about my "home sign" team the Cancer Crabs - which shares its names with two human afflictions that range from downright undesirable to potentially fatal. Maybe it would be more positive to call them the Cancer Decapods - look it up! Either way, I think this year CAN might just have the firepower to pull off a deep playoff run. See for yourself:

SS_
SS
Cancer has one of the most interesting shortstop situations in the league, given that top 10 talent Manny Machado qualifies for both SS and 3B. Right now I have Machado at the hot corner so that White Sox prospect Tim Anderson (242) can head up the middle infield, but if we put Machado up the middle, either Yangervis Solarte (248) and Eugenio Suarez (249) are ready to take over at third. However, throwing Trea Turner (12) into that mix, who played CF and 2B last year, but should take over at short for the Nationals in 2017, will quickly put this debate to rest, while also opening up a corner outfield spot for superprospect Andrew Benintendi (116).

2B

This is a pretty cut and dry case as whoever loses the battle between fiery Tigers keystone Ian Kinsler (71) and NL Batting Champ DJ LeMahieu (78) will unquestionably serve as the DH. But I'm mentioning it here because it's rare to see two such talented players at skill positions, which highlights the versatility and flexibility that gives this team the edge. And also it's just fun that these two are so close in rank, 

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SP5
Wei-Yin Chen (249) currently leads the battle for the fifth starter spot between three lefties by 15 and 17 spots in the MLB.com rankings, respectively, and he will be pitching with a chip on his shoulder, following some harsh self-criticism of his 2016 performance. Speaking not of shoulders, but of elbows, Tyler Skaggs (266) will be back for his first full year since a Tommy John surgery, and could make an impact on the Angels. But Jaime Garcia (264) and I share the same birth day and date, so I will always be biased towards including him in my lineups. Add to this group Robert Gsellman (315), a potential SP6 for the expanded Mets rotation, and Michael Wacha (325), who is almost assured a spot in the Cardinals starting five after the unfortunate injury to prospect Alex Reyes (822, VIR), and you have some decent depth indeed.

RP2

As of last month, Jim Johnson (269) and Brandon Maurer (337) would have been locked in a battle to see who would join Seung Hwan Oh (62) in the Decapods bullpen this year. However, since then, the erstwhile Padres closer has dropped nearly 50 spots in the rankings from 291 due to the excitement surrounding the new and even more unorthodox delivery of Carter Capps (326, LEO). His rank hasn't yet been affected by the fact that his "double drag-hop" strategy has just been ruled illegal by MLB, in an effort to prevent people from pitching like Smee from the movie Hook (shout out to FanGraphs commenter whiptydojoe in the above-linked article for the comparison). Who knows whether this rule change will also cause the talented reliever's  effectiveness to drop as well, but if it does, Maurer (no relation to the twins of the same estate) will be there to pick up the pieces.