In my fantasy baseball week one recap I will go over all the matchups that took place in our Fantom Sports fantasy baseball league. The teams in this league include Raleigh Shoe ran by me, Machine Gunnar Henderson ran by Tyler Bednar, Kyle’s Top-Notch Team ran by Kyle Thibideau, If Ya Snelllllllll ran by Max Crider, Chief Rockstars ran by Dacota Haynes, Jaden’s Scary Team ran by Jaden Mendoza, Nic’s Nifty Team ran by Nic Cunningham, and Velvet Thunder ran by Jeremy Brown.

After a grueling five months, the wait is finally over! Baseball season is upon us. The smells of fresh-cut grass, hotdogs, popcorn, and beer are filling stadiums across the country as fans prepare for the warmer weather that comes with the long marathon that is the MLB season. Baseball season arrives, bringing with it hopes of fan bases everywhere that this might be the year their team raises the World Series trophy. It also gives fantasy baseball managers hope that this will be the year they will reign supreme over all of their friends as they all battle to call themselves the 2024 fantasy baseball champion.

Nic’s Nifty Team vs. Velvet Thunder

The first matchup in my Fantom Sports fantasy baseball league week one recap had Nic’s Nifty Team facing off against Velvet Thunder. After the first two games of the MLB season in Seoul, South Korea pitting the Dodgers against the Padres, Velvet Thunder was able to jump out to an early 11-point lead. This lead was in large part due to Padre’s pitcher Joe Musgrove putting up a negative nine points in his 2024 debut. Velvet Thunder managed to secure two points over the course of the first two games from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman.

Thursday, March 28

On MLB’s official opening day, Velvet Thunder managed to extend their lead to 33 points. A 23-point outing from Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal was a major driving force in Velvet Thunder extending their lead. Velvet Thunder also managed to get ten points from Freddie Freeman who had a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored Velvet Thunder did leave 13 points on the bench by not putting in Royals pitcher Cole Ragans. Meanwhile, Nic’s Nifty Team had a 12-point outing from Giants pitcher Logan Webb and a ten-point performance from Ray’s first baseman Yandy Diaz. After opening day, Nic’s Nifty Team found themselves trailing 67-34.

Friday, March 29

On Friday, Nic’s Nifty Team was able to fight back and cut the deficit by a considerable amount. 18 and 19-point days from Phillies pitcher Zach Wheeler and Astros pitcher Christian Javier respectively were the main reason behind the major comeback that started on Friday. With a score of 48 on Friday, Nic’s Nifty Team was drawing ever closer to Velvet Thunder, who managed only 20 points on Friday. Velvet Thunder’s highest scorer from Friday was Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson who had nine points.

Saturday, March 30

Saturday is when things got really interesting in this matchup. Going into the day, Velvet Thunder was leading the matchup 87-82. However, things fell apart for Velvet Thunder as four of their 11 players scored negative points. Of those four negative performers, none were worse than Red’s pitcher Alexis Diaz who scored negative ten after giving up two hits, walking two batters, and giving up three earned runs all in 0.1 innings pitched. The Saturday daily totals were Velvet Thunder eight and Nic’s Nifty Team 45.

Sunday, March 31

On Sunday, Nic’s Nifty Team had another strong day highlighted by a 12-point outing from Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale and a 17-point outing from Angels pitcher Reid Detmers. Velvet Thunder left 11 points on the bench on Sunday by not playing Kansas City Royals veteran Salvador Perez. In the long run, these 11 points would not have made much of a difference as dominant pitching gave Nic’s Nifty Team a 173-105 victory.

Chief Rockstars vs. Kyle’s Top-Notch Team

The next game to recap from week one of the Fantom Sports fantasy baseball league had Chief Rockstars taking on Kyle’s Top-Notch Team in the highest-scoring and most competitive matchup of week one. In the two games that took place ahead of opening day, Chief Rockstars was able to take an early lead after a nine-point performance from Yu Darvish on Saturday and a combined 12 points from Manny Machado on Saturday and Sunday. Chief Rockstars was out to a quick 21-point lead.

Thursday, March 28

Opening day was a great one for both of these squads as Chief Rockstars managed to score a total of 74 points. 26 of these 74 points came from Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber who had 11 strikeouts and only allowed four hits over six innings pitched. Another major factor in this massive day one was once again Yu Darvish who scored 14 points against the Giants. Although Chief Rockstars left 15 points on their bench, they still managed to outscore Kyle’s Top-Notch Team on opening day 74-58. Kyle’s Top-Notch Team’s top performers from opening day included a 12-point outing from Nathan Eovaldi and a nine-point game from the Orioles’ Anthony Santander.

Friday, March 29

Friday provided each team with another really good scoring day. Both team’s performances were highlighted by outstanding pitching performances. For Chief Rockstars these pitchers were Merrill Kelly who scored 25 points against the Rockies, and Spencer Strider who scored 14 against the Phillies. On the other side of the matchup, the driving forces behind Kyle’s Top-Notch Team on Sunday were Freddy Peralta who managed 24 points against the Mets, and Kyle Harrison of the Giants who scored 15 points against the Padres. Chief Rockstars finished Friday with a total of 154 points in the matchups. at the same time, Kyle’s Top-Notch Team had a total of 110.

Saturday, March 30

Heading into the weekend facing a 44-point deficit, Kyle’s Top-Notch Team had to put up a good score on Saturday in order to keep this matchup competitive. Thanks to three double-digit performances from Steven Kwan, Anthony Santander, and CJ Abrams. As well as a little help from the ten-points left on Chief Rockstars bench, Kyle’s Top-Notch Team was able to outscore Chief Rockstars on Saturday 62-28. This happened even though Kyle’s Top-Notch Team had a negative ten-point outing from Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola.

Sunday, March 31

After Saturday, Kyle’s Top-Notch Team was now trailing Chief Rockstars by just ten points heading into the last day of this fantasy baseball matchup. On Sunday, Kyle’s Top-Notch Team managed to do just enough as they outscored Chief Rockstars 30-12 and came away with a 202-194 victory. The biggest reason for the late score change was due to Kyle’s Top-Notch Team having four pitchers going on Sunday compared to Chief Rockstars zero. However, Chief Rockstars must be kicking themselves because they left 25 points on the bench on the final day of the matchup. Those 25 points came from Ha-Seong Kim, Michael King, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. These players in the lineup would have been enough to push them over the edge. But instead, Chief Rockstars falls to Kyle’s Top-Notch Team in my Fantom Sports fantasy baseball league week one recap.

If Ya Snellllllll vs. Jaden’s Scary Team

This matchup got started early with both teams having players appearing in the Korean series to kick off the MLB season. On Wednesday, Jaden’s Scary Team got started with an eight-point outing from Tyler Glasnow. Meanwhile, If Ya Snelllllll managed to score a total of three points from Will Smith, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. Thursday was a different story as Jaden’s Scary Team did not have any players going. However, If Ya Snellllllll managed to score 20 total points from the three aforementioned players appearing for his team in the Korea series.

Thursday, March 28

Opening day for this matchup was a day dominated by pitching for both teams. Jaden’s Scary Team had Tyler Glasnow pitching against the Cardinals, Jesus Luzardo pitching against the Pirates, And Luis Castillo, who struggled in his 2024 debut against the Red Sox. If Ya Snellllllll on the other hand had Pablo Lopez pitching against the Royals, Justin Steele facing the Rangers, and Jose Berrios pitching against the Rays. After dominating outings from all three of their pitchers, If YA Snellllllll managed to outscore Jaden’s Scary Team 72-49.

Friday, March 29

Heading into Friday, If Ya Snellllllll had scored a total of 95 points, while Jaden’s Scary Team was falling behind with just 57 total points. On Friday, Jaden’s Scary Team made a run to close the gap before heading into the weekend. A 26-point outing from the Mariners George Kirby helped Jaden’s Scary Team outscore If Ya Snellllllll on Friday by a score of 44-27. If Ya Snelllllll’s top performer on Friday was Fernando Tatis Jr. who managed 11-points with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored against the Giants.

Saturday, March 30

With just two days remaining in their week one matchup, If Ya Snellllllll was now leading by 21. However, Saturday provided If Ya Snellllllllllll with four pitchers taking the mound. While Jaden’s Scary Team would have to rely on just position players. This would prove to be a massive advantage for If Ya Snelllllllll as they managed to score 58 points between their four pitchers. If Ya Snellllllll would finish Saturday with a total of 88 points behind dominant pitching. Jaden’s Scary Team managed to score only 28 points. Jaden’s Scary Team would now need a massive Sunday in order to secure victory in the fantasy baseball week one recap.

Sunday, March 31

On Sunday, neither team had any pitchers appearing for them. It was a day of just position players. Not having any pitchers going on Sunday would prove detrimental to Jaden’s Scary Team as they had a big hole to climb out of if they wanted to make this matchup competitive. By the end of Sunday’s slate of games, If Ya Snellllllll had managed a convincing victory over Jaden’s Scary Team by a score of 240-150

Raleigh Shoe vs. Machine Gunnar Henderson

In the Korea series, Machine Gunnar Henderson managed to get out to an early lead with a four-point game from Mookie Betts. However, it could have been a larger lead had they not left Evan Phillips, who managed to score nine points, on their bench. On Thursday of the Korea series, Machine Gunnar Henderson got a massive 17-point performance from Mookie who had a homerun, six RBIs, and scored two runs. Sadly, most of those 17 points were negated by a rough MLB debut for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The 25-year-old Japanese phenom managed only one inning where he gave up four hits, one walk, and five earned runs. Yamamoto did manage two strikeouts in his one inning, but that didn’t do much for his fantasy production at that point. Yamamoto finished Thursday’s game with -12 points.

Thursday, March 28

Heading into opening day, Raleigh Shoe was already facing a nine-point deficit. Things got even worse on opening day for Raleigh Shoe as they were missing four players who were not replaceable in their lineup due to a rainstorm that postponed the Phillies and Braves game. Machine Gunnar Henderson took the opportunity to jump out to a huge lead behind a masterful pitching performance by Corbin Burnes who went six innings and gave up only one hit, and one run while striking out 11. This dominant performance from Burnes gave Machine Gunnar Henderson an impressive 28 points. They also got another 10 points from Mookie Betts. This gave Betts 31 points already through this point of the fantasy baseball week one recap. After a lackluster performance from what remained of Raleigh Shoe after the postponed game, Machine Gunnar Henderson found themselves up 58-7 after Thursday.

Friday, March 29

Friday’s portion of the fantasy baseball week one recap saw more masterful pitching from the side of Machine Gunnar Henderson. Behind a dominating 28-point outing from Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller, and a 12-point outing from Mariners closer Andres Munoz, Machine Gunnar Henderson put up another 47 points on Friday. Meanwhile, Friday was less than kind to Raleigh Shoe as they had another pathetic outing, managing only 15 points among nine active players.

Saturday, March 30

Going into the weekend, Raleigh Shoe found themselves down big and needed a big outing from all position players, as well as their one pitcher set to take the mound on Saturday, Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins. At the same time, Machine Gunnar Henderson was enjoying a comfortable lead and had the pleasure of having two starting pitchers set to go on Saturday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, now making his MLB debut on American soil, provided 18 points this time around as he looked much better than he did in his Korea series start against the Padres. Braves starter Max Fried struggled in his outing against the Phillies as he managed less than an inning, giving up three runs, two hits, and three walks. This resulted in a negative eight-point performance from Fried. However, Machine Gunnar Henderson would get help from position players as three of them scored 13 points or more. It was an impressive day for Machine Gunnar Henderson, who managed to score 66 points on Saturday. On the other hand, Raleigh Shoe got the performance they needed from Joe Ryan, who put up 15 points against the Royals. At this point, however, it was merely a drop in the bucket. With not much help from the position players, Raleigh Shoe managed only 35 points, and while this was the team’s highest-scoring day of the season thus far, things were already out of reach heading into Sunday.

Sunday, March 31

With Raleigh Shoe trailing big in this very uncompetitive matchup, one of the team’s position players finally had a game, be it too little too late. Bobby Witt Jr. went 3-5 with a home run, a triple, an RBI, and three runs scored, resulting in ten points for Raleigh Shoe. However, just to throw salt in the wound of an already beaten, battered, and broken-down team, Bailey Ober, a pitcher for the Twins, gave up eight runs on nine hits in just over an inning of work. Ending in -23 points for Raleigh Shoe who managed to score only seven points on the day as a result. Machine Gunnar Henderson only managed to score 12 points on the day, but it was more than enough as they took down Raleigh Shoe 183-64 in our biggest blowout of the 2024 Fantom Sports fantasy baseball league week one recap.

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