Vic Division Sweeps BCL Showdown

  Through an extensive, and equally impressive, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet-ing (yes, that is a verb) effort from the HumBabe Dynasty Commissioner – the HDL has utilized a custom head-to-head match-up template schedule creator since 2020.  The product includes weeks wherein inner-division rivalries occur every four weeks and on occasion, showdowns between two different divisions take place.  Week Six in 2024 was host to one of those inter-divisional showdowns, and in the Basket Catch League – the Vic Division claimed their dominance with a sweep of BCL Mays.

  The Eastside Bombers leaned on strong performances from Zac Gallen and Anthony Volpe as they handed Jackal Attack their second consecutive loss.  Aaron Judge finally seems to be getting hot for Pablo and the Secret Weapons, who as a team smoked the Hard Ball Lords of Destruction by a final spread close to 120 FPTs.  Wally Mash tallied their third 2024 victory while tacking on another fourteen team home runs, continuing their trend atop that statistical leaderboard across HumBabe, while their opponent from Perth Australia only managed five team home runs in a losing effort.  And in the fourth match-up, Brent Rooker did it again.  The new-life London Bag Club took down the Nashville Stars under the limelight of HumBabe’s Weekly Pick-Em, claiming victory by 16 FPts at the end of the week.

  The Basket Catch League Vic Division currently ranks second of four in combined fantasy points scored (total points scored by all four teams within a division).  The Orlando Splitters are carrying the Shot Call League Charlie Division to first place in the metric, while BCL Mays sits in third and SCL Ruth falls to fourth.  Eastside leads Vic with a 4-2 record, while the other three Vic teams all sit at 3-3 (a feat that no other division can match).  Week Nine will feature the next round of inner-Division rivalry match-ups and the standings may have to wait until then before separation between these teams starts to work itself out.

King Spin

  Seth Lugo’s BaseballSavant webpage may catch you by surprise if you haven’t seen it before.  Red is a beautiful thing on BaseballSavant, indicating a high percentile ranking against the rest of Major League Baseball, and Lugo’s page is covered with it.  

  A metric called “Run Value,” made famous by Savant, has been used as a metric for determining a player’s ability to favorably influence the outcome of a game during each and every pitch thrown.  A complicated formula that accounts for the pitcher’s arsenal, how many runners are on base, what count the hitter is in, and other factors, equates to a grading scale that MLB franchises and HumBabe General Managers can use to make player decisions.  Seth Lugo currently ranks in the 100th percentile for Pitching Run Value.

  Lugo has never been a light-up-the-radar-gun type of pitcher, but he’s always had elite spin rate.  Over his nine year career, his curveball has never been below the 98th percentile in terms of spin rate and in 2024, it sits in the 100th percentile for it’s sixth season.  Add the fact that this elite curveball is just one of eight different pitches in Lugo’s repertoire and we’ve got ourselves the makings of a magician on the mound.  Statcast has recorded a 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Curveball, Slider, Slurve, Cutter, Changeup, and Sweeper this season (in order of most-thrown to least-thrown).

  This pitch mix earned #HumKid of the Week honors for Wally Mash while matched-up against the Perth Platypi; 52.58 FPts in total.  Lugo’s first start of the week was good for 16.08 FPts against the Brewers, and his second start produced another 36.5 FPts at the Los Angeles Angels.  While facing the Brewers, Lugo was lined up for the win after exiting with two outs in the sixth inning, but the Royals bullpen allowed three runs in the top of the ninth, costing the game and another five fantasy points.  Eight innings and twelve strikeouts in the second outing capped off a 148 FPt victory for Wally Mash.

  Newly accessible information (found via Fantrax’s “Trans (Fnsty)” tab of a Player Profile) shows that Seth Lugo has been rostered by seven different HumBabe Dynasty teams to date.  Wally Mash added by way of Free Agency in March 2023 – an interesting transaction to look back at, given Wally dropped Cole Ragans (before his breakout) in order to make the Lugo addition.

Crochet, Ward to Smash Stros

  Another week, another blockbuster.  Garrett Crochet joins the Super Smash Stros along with Taylor Ward, as Mitch Keller and a 3rd Round Draft Pick go to the Orlando Splitters.

  Crochet, a reliever prior to being named the Chicago White Sox Opening Day Starter in 2024, has been a valuable investment for Orlando so far this season.  Drafted in the 5th Round of the Free Agent Rookie (FAR) Draft, Crochet is averaging 17.3 FPTs per game through his first nine starts and 47 innings.  Before getting on his plane ticket out of Orlando however, he notched his best performance of the season – 34 FPts, W, QS, 6 IP, 11 K’s – his Splitters swan song.

  Taylor Ward is also having a great 2024 campaign to this point.  Averaging 4 FPts per game since going undrafted and landing in Orlando via Free Agency.  

  Orlando parts with two solid contributors as means of preparing for a postseason run.  Crochet has never thrown more than 54 innings in a season (a career high that he will eclipse within his next two starts) leading Orlando’s GM to believe that the White Sox may shut him down at some point in 2024.  Taylor Ward was part of a crowded Orlando outfield and turned out to be the piece that gave way as Andy Pages and Ceddane Rafaela show promising upside for the Splitters.  In their stead, Orlando adds another Clydesdale to their stable in Mitch Keller.  A 2023 All-Star that threw close to 200 IP and will be asked to regain that form in the latter half of this Splitter’s season while they make a run at the Championship banner.

  Super Smash will also part with a 2025 3rd Round FAR Draft Pick as part of the trade, but they have landed the better half of this deal in terms of immediate impact and potential upside – a job well done to both organizations.