To begin this weekly roundup, I have a few apologies to make. Last week I wrote that “I will NEVER consider Ketel Marte a big name.” Ketel Marte must be an avid Gauntlet Blog reader; last week Marte went 13/29 with 5 HR and an 11 Runs. Ketel Marte I apologize, you ARE a big name.
In addition badmouthing Marte, I practically wrote Jake’s obituary, only to see him come back from the dead against Evan this week. And that’s where this Weekly Roundup will begin.
Matchup Recap
With all the noise surrounding trading Bryce Harper back to Evan, and just how terrible of a deal the original trade was for Jake, Jake made it count where it mattered most: upsetting the Lobos 7-4-1. With this being the only matchup between Evan and Jake, unless they meet in the consolation bracket, Jake can hold this over Evan until next season. After trading Harper and Yates in the week, Jake got off to a pretty slow start, and by the weekend it looked like Evan would win pretty handily. But with some help from Wade “Add him to my best adds list” Davis , and some clutch hitting from Jesse Winker, The Bounceback Braves managed to turn the weekend. After trading for Harper April 12th, Jake only won 1/9 matchups. Evan has lost the only two matchups with Harper on his team. I’m not saying there’s an MLB The Show Cover Curse, but I’m also definitely not saying that there isn’t. Even with the loss to Jake, the Lobos managed to sneak their way back into the playoffs because…..
The 2019-2020 Gauntlet Champion sent Christian Mingle straight to the pits of hell with a 10-1-1 scooping. Another solid hitting week and a lights out pitching week from Adam crushed Ronak. With Ramon Laureano heating up, Adam looks incredibly saving for holding onto him. If Trevor Bauer finally figured it out, and Ryu remains unhittable, a rotation of Kershaw, Cole, Bauer, Ryu gives Adam 4 top 15-20 pitchers. For Ronak its a difficult its a frustrating matchup at a poor time; he would have crushed just about anyone else.
Sean’s hitting went absolutely berserk in route to a 10-2 beatdown of Sam. After Mondeseez Nuts led early in the week, they couldn’t hold off Charlie Blackmon at Coors Field. Mondeseez Nuts still have promising players to sell, but this matchup dropped him into last place. For Sean, it solidified his playoff position ahead of Evan/Ronak.
Emmett squeaked out a win against Hunter 6-5-1. Like these two Gauntlet Players recently, I just don’t have much to say about this matchup.
Taylor’s offense continues to be a problem as he dropped the matchup 5-7 to Cameron. Even with a red hot Freddie Freeman, Team Chippy simply doesn’t have the firepower to compete in most hitting categories. A banged up TLM should be relatively happy with this outcome, with a 15 game lead ahead of Ronak in 5th, let’s see if TLM can weather the storm.
Finally, the Xan Pham couldn’t stop raking against me winning 8-2-2. What looked like a close matchup on Wednesday became a blowout by Friday as Jacob’s team continued to hit. His pitching staff tried to keep me right in it, but my entire pitching staff choked the weekend away. Jacob may sit in 9th right now, but is only 9.5 games back of 4th. Let’s see if he can maintain it.
Trade Talk
Besides the Harper trade that was mentioned last week, only one trade went down last week: Kirby Yates to Ronak for $5 and Ken Giles. While Jake likely got the best stretch of Kirby Yates’s season, it feels like he sold a little low here. Maybe Giles can bounce back and get him a few extra dollars.
Looking Forward
I face the most important part of my schedule with 3 out of the next 4 weeks coming against Ronak, Adam, and Evan. If I’m not within striking distance, I’ll begrudgingly sell. At least Clev is back and I stashed Gennett and Luzardo for some value.
Jacob has a similarly difficult schedule with 3/4 coming against Evan, Cameron, and Sean. He’s recently gotten back Upton, and should get back Stanton this week just in time for the most important stretch of his schedule.
Next weeks matchup between Ronak and Evan will be one to watch, especially if both manage to drop this week. Other than that, let’s see if the hot stove heats back up again.
The Fantasy Gauntlet 