This weekend promises to be a great one in MLB, as we have a new playoff format in which four teams in each league will compete in the Wild Card round to move on to the LDS series. It’s a best-of-three format comprising of three “Wild Card” teams and the one division winner with the worst record in each league.
On the latest episode of the Circling the Bases Podcast, I was joined by Drew Silva, Christopher Crawford, and Colin Henderson to break down each of the four series. We gave our predictions as well as talked betting odds for each. However, we also made our picks for a fun fantasy baseball challenge for the duration of the postseason.
The set-up, as detailed below, involves each of us picking one player from each of the 12 playoff teams to fill out a fantasy roster. The league is not hosted at any particular fantasy service; we are creating the game and will be keeping score ourselves. Scoring is based on a points system from a variety of familiar fantasy categories. This isn’t like a typical fantasy draft because we were permitted to take the same players (you’ll see we all selected Aaron Judge), but rosters cannot match. It’s just a fun little challenge to give some extra juice to our postseason enjoyment. We hope you like it is as well.
You can listen to the latest Circling the Bases episode in full below, but make sure to stick around for the roster/scoring breakdown, as well as each of our picks. We’ll post standings updates throughout the postseason, so stay tuned.
Roster Positions:
C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, OF, UTIL, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP
Hitter Point Values:
Single: 1
Double: 2
Triples: 3
Home run: 4
RBI: 1
Walk: 1
Hit by pitch: 1
Run scored: 1
Stolen base: 2
Pitcher Point Values:
Win: 4
Loss: minus 1
Innings pitched: 1
Save converted: 4
Strikeout: 1
Per earned run allowed: minus 1
Roster Breakdown:
Note: Italics denotes player not selected by any other manager
D.J. Short (@djshort):
C - J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
1B - Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals
2B - Jose Altuve, Astros
SS - Bo Bichette, Blue Jays
3B - Manny Machado, Padres
OF - Aaron Judge, Yankees
UTIL - Randy Arozarena, Rays
SP - Julio Urías, Dodgers
SP - Max Fried, Braves
SP - Max Scherzer, Mets
SP - Luis Castillo, Mariners
RP - Emmanuel Clase, Guardians
Christopher Crawford (@Crawford_MiLB):
C - J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
1B - Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
2B - Jose Altuve, Astros
SS - Dansby Swanson, Braves
3B - Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
OF - Mookie Betts, Dodgers
UTIL - Aaron Judge, Yankees
SP - Max Scherzer, Mets
SP - Luis Castillo, Mariners
SP - Yu Darvish, Padres
SP - Shane Bieber, Guardians
RP - Pete Fairbanks, Rays
Drew Silva (@drewsilv):
C - J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
1B - Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
2B - Jose Altuve, Astros
SS - Wander Franco, Rays
3B - José Ramírez, Guardians
OF - Julio Rodriguez, Mariners
UTIL - Aaron Judge, Yankees
SP - Max Scherzer, Mets
SP - Alek Manoah, Blue Jays
SP - Yu Darvish, Padres
SP - Max Fried, Braves
RP - Ryan Helsley, Cardinals
Colin Henderson (@ColDontLie):
C - J.T. Realmuto, Phillies
1B – Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
2B - Jose Altuve, Astros
SS – Bo Bichette, Blue Jays
3B – Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
OF – Randy Arozarena, Rays
UTIL - Aaron Judge, Yankees
SP - Max Scherzer, Mets
SP – Max Fried, Braves
SP – Luis Castillo, Mariners
SP –Yu Darvish, Padres
RP – Emmanuel Clase, Guardians