Quad Eh's fourth year saw the most wins in franchise history, yet somehow, it was his first losing season.
Some of that has to do with the return of 12x12 — it was 11x11 when he joined — and the shortened Covid year didn't help, but after three winning seasons, the man across the Northern border fell short of the playoffs in 2021.
But say what you want. Quad Eh isn't going to let the 2021 season bother him. Nothing gets to him.
Not even Choo's Bailey Ober puns.
"Choo’s jokes are oberrated," Erik said. "They Bailey register on my radar to be honest."
That's because he has the biggest reason to laugh at Choo, Juan Soto.
Soto, last season at age 22, batted .313 with 29 HRs and 95 RBIs and 111 runs scored. He also walked 145 times to post an OBP .465. Amazingly, that's only 144 on MLB's all-time single season marks.
But with a career .432 mark, that would place him 12th all-time in-between Ty Cobb and Jimmie Foxx. Quad Eh isn't using a hyperbole: We are talking generational talent.
I'm very excited to see where his career goes from here.
In any case, Soto's OBP is a nightmare for other fantasy owners.
In the famous Slammer S-Scale projections, only two teams were in the .390s for the 2022 season, with the Stantonians at .393. But even in second place, he was no where close to Quad Eh who is projected to score a .416.
Let's put that in perspective. Crox was No. 1 in OBP last year at .347. Quad Eh was No. 1 the year before with a .363. That's as far as the records go back for us because we only added OBP in 2020. That means we could be in for quite the record-setter this year.
And that's not just because of Soto.
Quad Eh has several patient players at the plate in Yasmani Grandal (99 walks projected), Freddie Freeman (89), Jonathan India (98), Brandon Nimmo (85) and Michael Conforto (84).
Now, that last one may not even walk into a ballpark this year, let alone a trot to first base, but even without him, Quad Eh is sitting pretty with OBP.
"With batting average being a sham of a stat anyways, trying to spike my OBP was a priority in my draft choices and hope the batting averages are better than projected with the elimination of shifts," Erik said. "I do believe it will be tough to beat me in any given week for OBP, and I think that will keep me competitive in runs as well."
Quad Eh can be competitive in other categories as well, but he's really counting on having some of his young stars take off. Some of them have had flashes of greatness, but they are in make-or-break seasons for sure.
Alec Bohm, Gavin Lux, Kyle Lewis. They are in danger of or have already lost starting jobs. Quad Eh needs at least one of these guys to get back to where everyone thought they'd be.
"Oh man, the young bucks," Erik said. "Well, I’m in a bind with them. Bohm hasn’t shown he can be consistent on either side of the ball, so I’m hoping that the Phillies show some confidence in him and keep him in one spot (plus DH I suppose) so he can get into a groove. Lewis starts the year the way he ended the last one — hurt. If it lingers and the Mariners are doing well, he’s at risk of being pushed out for Jarred, so that could potentially light a fire under his ass to make it a big year.
"Lux continues to be able to get consistent time in the lineup at all and I think the Dodgers. They need to play him or trade him. The skill is there, the opportunity isn’t, which can’t be good for his game or his psyche. #FreeLux
"Of the 3, I think Lewis is the best candidate for a big year if he can get and stay healthy. He’s got the clearest path to playing time and the trust of his club."
Then again, J-Rod is now in the big leagues, and Jesse Winker joined the roster via trade, a roster that already has Kelenic and Mitch Haniger. It's hard to see how he even finds a chance to play if he doesn't do something quick to make a statement. With his injury, Lewis will start in the minors and have to re-prove himself there.
The Quad Eh pitching staff is in a bit of disarray, too. Jacob deGrom and Shane Baz are both out for a little while dealing with injuries, while four other starters — Sixto Sanchez, Brailyn Marquez, AJ Alexy and Nate Pearson are all headed back to the minors.
He'll definitely be active on the waiver wire grabbing starters and relying on the bullpen that is loaded up on guys who can pile up the holds.
"Saves are tough to come by with the closer spot being so volatile across most teams," Erik said. "I figured holds were the safer approach when we count both stats equally. On top of that, the field is much greener to find holds, so I felt better drafting RP later with that mentality — I definitely missed some guys I wanted, but I’m not disappointed in my draft picks by any stretch and think they’ll keep me in the mix weekly."
He'll really need them to dominate and find some luck on the waiver wire in order to compete, otherwise, this season may be Ober before it starts.
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