We are slightly over a third of the way through the fantasy baseball season and here is the Fantasy Baseball UK round-up from May. Don’t forget that all the divisional and overall standings from the Yahoo leagues can be viewed in the Standings section of the website.
FBUK All-Star Team of the Month: May
Based on fantasy points accumulated during the month, here are the top performers at each position:
| Ps. | Player | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Daulton Varsho | ARI | 114 |
| 1B | Paul Goldschmidt | STL | 228 |
| 2B | Trevor Story | BOS | 192 |
| 3B | José Ramírez | CLE | 203 |
| SS | Francisco Lindor | NYM | 184 |
| OF | Mookie Betts | LAD | 238 |
| OF | Aaron Judge | NYY | 199 |
| OF | Bryce Harper | PHI | 163 |
| UT | Pete Alonso | NYM | 199 |
| SP | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | 160 |
| RP | Liam Hendriks | CWS | 105 |
Cleveland Guardians’ José Ramírez made back-to-back appearances in the FBUK All-Star Team of the Month in April and May. The third baseman’s output in May included six home runs, 23 RBI and seven stolen bases.
Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers) was the highest scoring player in May, combining a .342 batting average with 12 homers and 27 RBI. Not far behind was Paul Goldschmidt of the St Louis Cardinals with a league-leading 33 RBI during the month alongside a .404 average and 10 home runs.
After a frustratingly slow start to the season by Trevor Story, the Boston Red Sox infielder came alive in mid-May. All of Story’s nine home runs on the season so far arrived in May including a 4-for-4 night on 19 May versus the Seattle Mariners in which he hit three round-trippers. Along with seven RBI and a stolen base, he totalled a huge 52 fantasy points in one game. It was the start of a stretch of seven homers in seven games including a grand slam the following day.
Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks made the All-Star Team after notching 10 saves in 13 appearances during the month, but honourable mention should go to Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers. Hader – who starred in April’s All-Star Team – continued his 100% record in 2022, going 8-for-8 in save opportunities and still zero earned runs given up. In doing so, he set a new MLB record of 18 consecutive saves from the start of the season.
Heading into his most recent appearance – against Philadelphia on 7 June – Hader had not allowed a run since 28 July, 2021 and needed just one more scoreless outing to set another MLB record with 41 consecutive scoreless appearances. However, the Phillies hit two solo home runs off the closer in the ninth inning to take a 3-2 lead over the Brewers that they would hold on to for the win, ending Hader’s scoreless sequence in the process.
Notes: Monthly points and position eligibility is based on Fantrax, where the salary cap league is run. Although the Fantrax and Yahoo leagues use the same scoring system, position eligibility might vary slightly for some MLB players. The Utility spot is the highest-scoring hitter who didn’t top a position category.
Manager of the Month: May
Well done to Manager of the Month, Daniel Perrin, whose team Pain in Yoenis (insert joke here) amassed the most fantasy points between 1-31 May. Daniel was previously Manager of the Month in April 2018 and won the East division in 2020.
| Ps. | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pain in Yoenis (Daniel Perrin) | 2225 |
| 2 | Wake Field Padres (Robert Line) | 2196 |
| 3 | Hedley Verityesque (Brian Matthews) | 2147 |
| 4 | The Baseball Furies (Paul Laycock) | 2142 |
| 5 | Dorset Bombers (Richard Hayward) | 2114 |
Fantasy League Standings (top): 9 June
In all three formats, fantasy teams are grouped into roughly regional divisions but they are also combined to give overall standings. Here is a snapshot of the overall Top 10 in each league at the time of writing.
In the standard FBUK League Daniel Perrin (Pain in Yoenis) and Brian Matthews (Hedley Verityesque) are currently duelling it out at the top. Each has enjoyed Manager of the Month status in the first two months of the season. Daniel also leads FBUK LTD – the limited trade game – with his other team, YabbaDabBaddoo.
In FBUK Classic – the salary cap league – Wayne Mason’s Bleacher Creatures have been leading the pack fairly consistently in the overall standings over the first couple of months. René Becker’s Secret Agents are persistently following in second place. Both are also division rivals in the Metro Conference.
Among the regional divisions with the closest races at the moment, in the standard game the South is seeing the lead change quite regularly with first and fifth-placed teams separated by less than 150 points. In the South West, last year’s division winner, Cobra K, is wrapped in a tussle with Dorset Bombers — virtually neck and neck at the time of writing.
In the North division of the limited trade game, only 34 points separate the top four teams and last year’s division winner, Masters of Merriment, is right in the mix.
In the Channel Conference of FBUK Classic, MK Bombs has a small 19-point lead over Schmuccos at the time of writing.
FBUK League
| Ps. | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pain in Yoenis | 4298 |
| 2 | Hedley Verityesque | 4296 |
| 3 | Wake Field Padres | 4139 |
| 4 | Clash City Royals | 4135 |
| 5 | Hakuna Moncada | 4105 |
| 6 | All Betts Are Off | 4048 |
| 7 | Brechin Red Sox | 4048 |
| 8 | Airdrie Pinstripes | 4035 |
| 9 | Essex Giants | 4034 |
| 10 | AZ Doublebacks | 4005 |
FBUK LTD
| Ps. | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | YabbaDabBaddoo | 3409 |
| 2 | Candles Bat Breakers | 3235 |
| 3 | A Frican Elephant | 3185 |
| 4 | Masters of Merriment | 3182 |
| 5 | Atlantic Crossing | 3170 |
| 6 | No Trade Clause | 3151 |
| 7 | Hits and Giggles | 3125 |
| 8 | 2 Limited | 3049 |
| 9 | Welly BJ’s | 3044 |
| 10 | Henry’s Bears | 3016 |
FBUK Classic
| Ps. | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bleacher Creatures | 4137 |
| 2 | Secret Agents | 3960 |
| 3 | MK Bombs | 3875 |
| 4 | Schmuccos | 3859 |
| 5 | RBI or Rump? | 3752 |
| 6 | Highway 191 | 3741 |
| 7 | Hold Me Close Ohtani Dancer | 3687 |
| 8 | Disposable Heroes | 3683 |
| 9 | Year of the Cub | 3639 |
| 10 | Disposable Heroes | 3632 |
Touch base with FBUK
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Thanks for playing, and good luck for the season!
Fantasy Baseball UK