September 30, 2019

Congratulations to Stephen Craig, winner of the 2019 MLB Predictions Pool! Steve becomes our fourteenth new winner in his eleventh year as an entrant.

• Three of us made “unique" picks this year: Greg Glassman (Anthony Rendon - NL RBI), Jeff Gatland (Ronald Acuña Jr. - NL runs), and Amy Gill (Jacob deGrom - NL SO).
• Danton Boller wins the annual Hughie Jennings Memorial Award, leading the pool with 55 tiebreaker points.

Here are the season category leaders, with bold indicating players we actually chose:

AL BA: Tim Anderson

AL HR: Jorge Soler

AL RBI: José Abreu

AL R: Mookie Betts (12)

AL SB: Mallex Smith (5)

NL BA: Christian Yelich (6)

NL HR: Pete Alonso

NL RBI: Anthony Rendon (1)

NL R: Ronald Acuña Jr. (1)

NL SB: Ronald Acuña Jr.

AL IP: Justin Verlander (2)

AL W: Justin Verlander (2)

AL ERA: Gerrit Cole

AL SO: Gerrit Cole (3)

AL S: Roberto Osuna (5)

NL IP: Stephen Strasburg

NL W: Stephen Strasburg

NL ERA: Hyun-Jin Ryu

NL SO: Jacob deGrom (1)

NL S: Kirby Yates

AL HBP: Alex Gordon

NL HBP: Anthony Rizzo (10)

AL HB: Spencer Turnbull

NL HB: Julio Teherán

Thanks a lot to everyone for participating this year, and big ups to Brian for making the daily Twitter and blog updates possible. Enjoy the playoffs!

-Jud and Dan

September 29, 2019

September 28, 2019

Looks like another nail-biter pool finish this year... here’s what we know:

Roberto Osuna and Aroldis Chapman currently share the lead in the AL saves category. An outright lead for Chapman moves John Agnello into first; Stephen Craig stays on top if Osuna retains a share of the lead.

Houston’s Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole should each make starts against the Angels this weekend. If Verlander edges out Cole in the super-tight AL ERA race, Danton Boller gets his unique pick back but still falls short of the lead... If Cole gets a W and Verlander doesn’t, Steve’s lead becomes even stronger.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

9/25  Stephen Craig  (4 49)
9/26  Stephen Craig  (4 51)
9/27  Stephen Craig  (4 51)
9/28  Stephen Craig  (4 51)


Should be fun!

September 27, 2019

September 26, 2019

September 25, 2019

Roberto Osuna’s 37th save puts Stephen Craig on top for the first time this year with five days of regular season baseball left on the schedule. Osuna finished off a stellar performance by Gerrit Cole (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 14 K) that knocked teammate Justin Verlander out of the AL ERA lead, costing Danton Boller a precious point.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

9/22  John Agnello  (4 24)
9/23  John Agnello  (4 25)
9/24  John Agnello  (4 25)
9/25  Stephen Craig  (4 49)


Stay tuned!

September 24, 2019

September 23, 2019

Sorry so late!

September 22, 2019

John Agnello returns to the top spot with one week to go... John takes advantage of an odd development in the NL batting race: current leader Christian Yelich is ahead of runner-up Ketel Marte by about 0.0006, and both players are out for the season! Third-place Anthony Rendon is still active and possibly within range of Yelich for the title; Rendon is also a strong contender in the RBI category for Greg Glassman.

Update: Adalberto Mondesi has re-injured his shoulder in this afternoon’s game against the Twins.  He was within two steals of AL leader Mallex Smith when he left the game. 

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

9/20  Brian Wells  (3 47)
9/21  John Agnello  (4 23)
9/22  John Agnello  (4 24)


Stay tuned!

September 21, 2019

NL BA

C. Yelich .3292
K. Marte .3286

September 20, 2019

Madison Bumgarner took the loss last night at Fenway (9 H, 5 ER, 7 K), but his five innings were more than enough to put Brian Wells back in first place. Daltry/Lovejoy spent most of the week in the lead following Stephen Strasburg’s start (also five innings) on Monday night.

With relatively low scores and a tight field, we have more than enough categories up for grabs to make things interesting, so let’s just focus on AL batting for today... Mookie Betts looks pretty solid for the 12 entrants that picked him for AL runs, and we’ll assume batting average and RBI are out of play. It appeared that Adalberto Mondesi was likely to regain the AL steals title upon his return from the IL in early September, but the KC speedster still trails leader Mallex Smith by five bags. Mondesi leading (outright or tied) in steals would still put Danton Boller in first place.

Unfortunately, the AL HR category that has fueled Daltry-Lovejoy’s success since August 29th is about to run out of gas... Mike Trout is scheduled to undergo season-ending foot surgery today, which almost certainly ends Daltry-Lovejoy’s season as well. The inactive Trout is still tied with Jorge Soler at 45 homers—one long ball for Soler drops D/L to two points and not enough HBPs.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

9/16  Brian Wells  (3 46)
9/17  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 31)
9/18  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 31)
9/19  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 31)
9/20  Brian Wells  (3 47)


Be back soon!

September 19, 2019

September 18, 2019

September 17, 2019

September 16, 2019

Brian Wells moves into first with two weeks to go! Brian became the seventh different entrant to lead an email update when Madison Bumgarner took the NL IP title from Stephen Strasburg over the weekend. Strasburg (pitching tonight in St. Louis) reclaiming the category should put Daltry/Lovejoy back in business with just a few starts left.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

9/9  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 29)
9/10  Brian Wells  (3 44)
9/11  Brian Wells  (3 45)
9/12  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 29)
9/13  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 29)
9/14  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 30)
9/15  Brian Wells  (3 46)
9/16  Brian Wells  (3 46)


We’ll be sending email updates more frequently as we finish things up... Daily updates are always available on Twitter and the Predictions Pool homepage.

Stay tuned!

September 15, 2019

September 14, 2019

September 13, 2019

September 12, 2019

September 11, 2019

September 10, 2019

September 9, 2019

Daltry/Lovejoy seize control of the lead with just three weeks of regular season baseball remaining… Brian Wells had a day pass at the top on Thursday, which he’ll likely repeat after Madison Bumgarner makes his start against the Pirates tonight. But Daltry/Lovejoy will be darn tough to beat if Gerrit Cole stays red hot (65 Ks in his last five starts!). We’d be wise to keep an eye on Adalberto Mondesi in the AL steals category, who needs just three steals to put Danton Boller back in first place.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

9/2  John Agnello  (4 20)
9/3  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 26)
9/4  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 27)
9/5  Brian Wells  (3 43)
9/6  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 27)
9/7  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 27)
9/8  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 29)
9/9  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 29)


See you next Monday!

September 8, 2019

September 7, 2019

September 6, 2019

September 5, 2019

September 4, 2019

September 3, 2019

September 2, 2019

Justin Verlander’s third career no-hitter puts John Agnello back in first place, capping off a wild week for the Predictions Pool. Gerrit Cole’s 14K performance on Wednesday night gave Daltry-Lovejoy their first lead of the season, which was promptly handed over to Brian Wells via NL IP (Madison Bumgarner!). Daltry-Lovejoy got back on top over the weekend but soon found all four AL starting pitching categories consumed by Verlander’s masterpiece… Seven-year pool vet Mike Levine had a wild ride of his own: on Saturday he was in second place, but now finds himself second from the bottom in today’s update!

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

8/26  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/27  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/28  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/29  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 25)
8/30  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 25)
8/31  Brian Wells  (3 39)
9/1  Daltry/Lovejoy  (3 25)
9/2  John Agnello  (4 20)


Happy Labor Day, and see you next Monday!

September 1, 2019

August 31, 2019

August 30, 2019

August 29, 2019

August 28, 2019

August 27, 2019

August 26, 2019

John Agnello holds the lead in our last August email update. The AL strikeouts category demands our attention this week, with Gerrit Cole trailing fellow Astro Justin Verlander by just one K... Cole gaining the lead would move Daltry-Lovejoy into first by virtue of HBP tiebreaker. Verlander and Cole pitch at home Tuesday and Wednesday against the Rays.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

8/19  John Agnello  (5 19)
8/20  John Agnello  (5 19)
8/21  John Agnello  (5 20)
8/22  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/23  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/24  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/25  John Agnello  (4 20)
8/26  John Agnello  (4 20)


See you next Monday!

August 25, 2019

August 24, 2019

August 23, 2019

August 22, 2019

NL BA

J McNeil .33249
C Yelich .33179

August 21, 2019

August 20, 2019

August 19, 2019

Mallex Smith’s stolen base in the 3rd inning last Tuesday night not only led to the Mariners’ first run in Detroit, but also put John Agnello on top in the 2019 MLB Predictions Pool. Aroldis Chapman’s six-save lead over Brad Hand along with Adalberto Mondesi’s continued absence from the basepaths could make John’s lead difficult to challenge...

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

8/12  Danton Boller  (4 44)
8/13  Danton Boller  (5 44)
8/14  John Agnello  (4 19)
8/15  John Agnello  (4 19)
8/16  John Agnello  (4 19)
8/17  John Agnello  (5 19)
8/18  John Agnello  (5 19)
8/19  John Agnello  (5 19)


See you next Monday!

August 18, 2019

August 17, 2019

August 16, 2019

August 15, 2019

August 14, 2019

August 13, 2019

August 12, 2019

Danton Boller has dominated the pool for the entire month of August, but a few tight categories could make things interesting:

- Mallex Smith has already tied Adalberto Mondesi (IL, shoulder) in AL steals; an outright lead for Smith puts John Agnello in first.
- Jacob deGrom has matched the injured Max Scherzer in NL strikeouts (giving Amy Gill a unique pick point!); Scherzer losing the lead would move Daltry/Lovejoy up a notch in the standings.
- teammates Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are one-two in nearly every AL pitching category, so lots of possibilities down the stretch here...
- Christian Yelich, Jeff McNeil and Bryan Reynolds are splitting hairs vying for the NL batting title (today Reynolds edges Yelich .33538 to .33501), with Danton and John both benefitting from a Yelich lead.
- Brad Hand is two saves behind AL leader Aroldis Chapman; a Hand lead puts Jud and Michael back in contention, but still behind Danton in HBPs.

Our daily leaders since the last email update:

8/5  Danton Boller  (4 40)
8/6  Danton Boller  (4 41)
8/7  Danton Boller  (4 41)
8/8  Danton Boller  (4 42)
8/9  Danton Boller  (4 42)
8/10  Danton Boller  (4 43)
8/11  Danton Boller  (4 44)
8/12  Danton Boller  (4 44)


See you next Monday!