The highest scoring relief pitcher in all of baseball, Edwin Jackson anchors not just the Aries bullpen, but their entire pitching staff as well. Close on his heels points-wise is the actual most valuable pitcher on the team, two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, who could almost unthinkably be on the trading block for the Indians this offseason. Only an injury to Carlos Correa in 2018 kept the top two Aries batters from falling victim to positional redundancy, as Alex Bregman's time filling in at shortstop for the Astros allows him to leave third base for Nolan Arenado. If not for a couple of unfortunate injuries, it's possible that Red Sox ace Chris Sale could have outscored Kluber, given his slightly higher points-per-game average, but it's impossible to predict how those missed starts would have gone.
Kluber's teammate Carlos Carrasco had the production to be a fantasy ace in 2018, but given the level of talent on both his real life and astrology teams, he's relegated to SP3 in both circumstances. Jed Lowrie had a strong platform season heading into free agency, but I personally hope that he returns to the Athletics on a long-term deal. According to fantasy points, the next two batters will occupy the first base and DH slots in that order, although when you compare Matt Olson's 0.8 d(efensive)WAR to Carlos Santana's rating of -0.9, it's clear the lefty swinging A's first baseman should get the majority of reps in the field. Despite the fact that Brewers slugger Travis Shaw gained eligibility at second base, he still isn't guaranteed a place in the lineup, although his versatility should put him in line for a bench spot.
Shaw's Brewers teammate Lorenzo Cain, on the other hand, is not only this team's best center field option, but he's also the highest scoring Aries outfielder overall. In a fantasy format, where each roster has only two RP slots, Brad Hand and Josh Hader would be engaged in a season-long battle for which lights-out lefty would play second fiddle to Edwin Diaz. However, in a simulated season, both relievers will make the roster in very different roles: Hand as the more traditional lefty setup option and Hader as the high-leverage, multi-inning threat. Brandon Nimmo broke out with the Mets last year and already has the top OPS all time among MLB players born in Wyoming with at least 2 career plate appearances (pitcher Jeremy Horst is 1-for-1 in his career). While Starlin Castro is third in line in the 2B pecking order, his ability to hit right-handed might put him in contention for a spot on the bench.
As the fourth lefty-capable first baseman on the depth chart, and with no positional versatility, Yonder Alonso is ticketed for the Aries "Triple-A" lineup. His Indians teammate Jason Kipnis, however, could make the active roster due to his ability to line up in the outfield, at least on a part-time basis. Obviously his small advantage in total fantasy points is not going to displace Jackie Bradley Jr. and his stellar defense. Bradley's Red Sox teammate Eduardo Rodriguez will line up as this sign's SP4 (when healthy), meaning that the top four Aries pitchers play for the same two MLB teams. Keone Kela's 2018 fantasy point total was inflated by the saves he racked up with Texas before his trade to Pittsburgh, but he's got good enough stuff that he would make the team in any relief capacity.
Kirby Yates had a similar fantasy point situation to Kela in 2018, except his save opportunities came in the second half of the year, after incumbent Padres closer Brad Hand was traded to Cleveland, although I might choose to leave him as the Triple-A closer in favor of someone with a more proven track record, such as David Robertson. The next two point scorers in the Aries player pool each announced their retirement after the season ended, and while neither Adrian Beltre nor Joe Mauer would have competed for a roster spot, they are both class acts who played the game the right way and whose energy will be sorely missed from the MLB landscape. While Kenta Maeda technically has the point total to act as this sign's fifth starter, the fact that he ended the 2018 season in the Dodgers bullpen makes me inclined to put him in a long relief slot on this roster.
While Jake Odorizzi also technically has the fantasy point total to fill the SP5 position, a look at the points-per-game average of the pitcher behind him leaves no doubt as to who was the more capable pitcher in 2018, even though it's extremely unlikely that Hyun-Jin Ryu will perform at a 70+ PPG clip over a full season with the Dodgers (to whom he'll return in 2019, after accepting their qualifying offer). In fact, going down a couple of spots, I don't even know if Odorizzi will make the team as the second long reliever, as Zach Eflin had a stronger season with the Phillies, but it's a bit of a toss-up. As you can see, I added an extra spot at the bottom of this list to include starting catcher Buster Posey, who will for sure make this hypothetical simulated roster, despite the fact that he ended 2018 on the 60-Day Disabled List. If the former NL MVP is unable to go, this team wouldn't be completely left in the lurch, as both Mike Zunino and Chris Iannetta are waiting in the wings.
Continuing down outside the top 31 point scorers, we have a couple of free agent bounceback candidates who happen to both be former Mets: second baseman Daniel Murphy and starting pitcher Matt Harvey. While first base is quite crowded already, it's interesting to note that World Series MVP Steve Pearce is technically an option for this team. David Dahl might force himself into the outfield picture sooner rather than later if he can stay healthy for a full season. And then of course there are former legends Miguel Cabrera and Felix Hernandez, who can never be fully counted out.
If you don't know that Libra is the winningest fantasy astrology baseball team since I've been doing this feature, then you haven't been paying attention to this feature. Things did not break right for the "Scales" in 2018, however, as they finished with a sub-.500 record in the regular season - the same record as the eventual league champions, by the way, but ESPN's points for/points against tiebreaker system came down in favor of Gemini. That's not to say that Libra doesn't have a very talented team, led by an all-world outfield, and a good-enough everything else:
You can't complain when your top two players are the AL MVP and a guy who's all but guaranteed to sign one of the two richest free agent contracts in MLB history. Ironically, Mookie Betts is probably better suited to play center field, despite Bryce Harper's eligibility there in 2018, but luckily neither player will have to stray from the corner spots to which they are accustomed. Longtime Libra ace Zack Greinke was joined at the top of the pitching heap by a new face this year, as Mike Foltynewicz emerged as a clear number one starter for the Braves this year. Xander Bogaerts is relatively new to the starting shortstop position for this sign, as longtime Rockies stalwart Troy Tulowitzki had held down that spot for years.
J.A. Happ won't approach the size or length of Harper's deal in free agency, but his late career resurgence has made him one of the most coveted pitchers on this winter's market. On paper, Starling Marte and Aaron Hicks will serve as CF and DH, but more than likely, all the outfielders on the roster will rotate in and out of the DH slot, including Eddie Rosario, who's all but assured of a spot on the bench. Despite Kenley Jansen's down season, due in part to a scary heart condition that required offseason surgery, he still qualifies as Libra's top reliever, which is well-deserved based on his great stuff and sterling track record.
Before marveling at this sign's outfield depth, let's check out some more players who will actually make the active roster. Ketel Marte wasn't projected to be the LIB starting second baseman, but he filled in admirably given the suspension of Robinson Cano. The lone rookie in the starting rotation, Jack Flaherty represents yet another solid rotation piece that came out of the vaunted Cardinals system. Sean Doolittle was as shutdown a reliever as you could hope for when healthy, but like Kenley Jansen, he suffered through some injury troubles last year. While Derek Holland had more fantasy points than Lance McCullers Jr. last year, I'm putting the latter in the rotation and the former in the bullpen as a long reliever due to the discrepancy in their points-per-game averages. But even given that McCullers will miss the entire 2019 season because of Tommy John surgery, there are still better options than Holland to round out this rotation, who we'll see in the next segment.
Wow, just look at all this outfield depth! Andrew McCutchen had a decent season once he was traded from the Giants and away from the spacious confines of AT&T Park. Matt Kemp had a surprising All-Star season in 2018 and was a notable snub for NL Comeback Player of the Year award. Carlos Gonzalez turned in a nice season as well, but didn't come close to approximating the long run of excellence he had with the Rockies. And Teoscar Hernandez is a burgeoning young power threat for the Blue Jays. The fact that some of these viable MLB starters will be consigned to bench roles in the astrology minor leagues is a testament to what the strength of this Libra sign is.
This segment starts with - you guessed it - even more outfield depth! But it's a lot more interesting to skip around and look at those rotation options I mentioned above. Neither Robbie Ray nor Chris Archer pitched up to their usual standards in 2018, but I could see them both steamrolling their way onto the 2019 starting staff. Ray missed some time due to injuries (as evidenced by his low points/high PPG combination) and Archer very well might benefit from a full year pitching in Pittsburgh (although his splits before and after his acquisition weren't that encouraging). For some reason, I don't have the same level of confidence in Tanner Roark to bounce back; was I imagining things, or was there talk of him potentially moving into the Nationals bullpen full time?
To finish up the infield, Evan Longoria didn't have a great season in 2018 by any stretch, but he did outscore an injured Jake Lamb, who would actually serve as a great platoon partner over a full season simulation. There are two Libra starters not in the top 30 point scorers: catcher Kurt Suzuki, who chekced in at 34 with 1,015 points and 9.7 points per game, and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (948 / 11.2), who will actually be teammates in Washington next season. Other notable players outside the top 30 (who I haven't mentioned above) are former star slugger Jose Bautista, former ace pitcher Alex Cobb, former Cuban Serie Nacional star Yoenis Cespedes, former unretired Major League closer Brad Ziegler, and current speedster on the bases Rajai Davis.
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