I have finally figured out how we all catch up to the Breakfast, winners of three of the last four World Series.
And on paper, it seems rather simple.
We have to figure out who he is targeting to draft with the last pick of the official draft in Round 16.
It's truly the secret to his success.
If only we had that foresight.
In 2023, with the 192nd pick — yes, once again — Breakfast selected James Outman, who is a rookie who just can't get out, man.
No apologies on the dad joke.
Outman is an early front-runner for the NL Rookie of the Year after batting .311 across his first 23 games of the season. He has 7 HRs, 3 triples, 19 RBIs, 11 walks, 2 stole bases and 14 runs scored. He's an absolute fantasy beast right now, and he and Randy Arozarena are the fuel to the Breakfast's fire in 2023.
Still, they weren't enough to take down the early JLB Doormat of the Year candidate, Big League Choo.
Choo clawed and scratched his way to a 10-9-5 win over the AL Division-leading Breakfast.
Outman and Arozarena combined for 22 hits in the matchup, but that was a third of the offensive output, and Choo outhit the Breakfast to go 8-2-2 in the bat-cats. (Why have I never called it that before? I love "Bat-Cats!")
Choo didn't really have one standout, although, he certainly has to be happy to see Alex Bregman wake up and hit .348 last week.
Overall, the slim win doesn't move the needle much for Choo who still sits 17 games back in last place, but it certainly helped tighten up the entire AL which was bracing for the worst — Breakfast serving up a huge double-digit win.
That was, for the most part, the theme of Week 3.
The Gamblers had the "biggest" win in the AL and it was only 13-10-1 over the Panthers. Crox and Topton both drew even at 11-11-2.
The National League saw similar results with Stantonians edging Nutz 11-10-3 and the Dude besting JV 12-10-2.
Only the Slammers put a dent in the standings with a 15-7-2 win over Double Eh in a matchup that was heading toward a similar slim margin until the Slammers' pitching moved ahead with a big Sunday.
Jack Flaherty's quality start and win was the difference.
Let that sentence sink in. The man who walked 13 in his first 10 innings of the season, has cut down on the free passes and tossed his first quality start of the season.
Flaherty is now 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA after his best outing of the year.
The Slammers now sit just 3 games out of first behind the Steaks with a big matchup against the Dude up for Week 4.
The 2022 season ended for the Slammers with a 13-9-2 NLCS loss to the Dude, and it was one of three losses last year.
In fact, the 17-7-0 drubbing in Week 19 nearly knocked the Slammers out of the playoffs. The Dude has won 10 of the last 12 meetings, so if the Slammers want to stay in second place and prove that's where they belong, a win this week is a must.
The rematch of last year's ALCS is also going on this week as Breakfast takes on Crox. It wasn't much of an ALCS last year as Crox fell 17-5-2, and like the Slammers, it's been tough sledding against his divisional counterpart.
Breakfast has won six straight matchups, including a pair of postseason meetings.
Will that change this week?
I guess we'll have to find out, man.
OTHER WEEK 4 MATCHUPS TO WATCH
The Asst. Commish battle is underway as the Gamblers take on the Choo for who gets the couch in the AL basement. Choo owns a 181-145-64 record over the Gamblers since 2017.
Topton and the Panthers go at it this week separated by just 3 games in the standings for third place. The margin is even slimmer in their series history with the Panthers owning a slight lead 114-112-32.
JV's favorite dance partners are squaring off as Double Eh and Nutz look to inch up the standings. Both sit 10 or more games under .500 after four matchups, so step one is picking up a decent margin of victory in Week 4. But that hasn't happened much lately. In fact, in 2022 they tied in EVERY matchup, 10-10-4, 11-11-2 and 11-11-2. Can the avoid a fourth straight this week?
The Stantonians' 2022 season was marred by a few big losses late, and the Steaks was one of the teams that dished out a huge setback, 18-4-2 in Week 18. Stantonians did win their first franchise matchup against the Steaks in Week 3 of 2022. A win this week would really shake up the NL standings, especially if the Slammers beat the Dude. In the Fantrax era (since 2017), the NL division leader after five matchups has only been the Dude or the Steaks. Seven years is a long time to only see two different teams sit atop that NL at the quarter-mark of the JLB season.
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