RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 4, 2026

Four weeks in, and the closer carousel is spinning over time.  I feel like this happens every single season, and every single offseason, I forget about it entirely.  Next thing I know, I’m drafting Ryan Walker in the sixth round of ECFBL because “I’ve got to get a closer”, forgetting that there will be ten available in the first month on waivers.  The trick is remembering this AND being fast enough to the waiver to scoop the player the manager decides to give the next save to.  Ben Brown or Caleb Thielbar? Stick with Romano, Junis, Erceg, and Hoffman, or switch to Pomeranz, Winn, Strahm, and Varland?  It’s incredibly frustrating to nail this.  This year, it seems like we all should have drafted Mason Miller in the third and let the rest ride.  If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the newest Razzball tool, the AutoPEN, is alive and ready to assist all subscribers with their save-chasing needs.  Check it out!  Now, back to what else besides blow-ups, injuries, implosions, and meltdowns happened in week four of the Razzball Commenter Leagues.

‘PERTY ‘PERTS

Each week we’ll peek in at our resident ‘perts to see who is laying claim to best “expert” RCLer in the land.  We’ll take notes, check the standings and generally stalk them.  The heading is also hyperlink, so feel free to follow along as we go.

Coolwhip shot to the top of the charts this week, with 17 points gained and a three spot jump.  How did he pull that off, you ask?  A clean sweep of the pitching categories helped, including 67.1 IP of a 2.00 ERA and sub-1 WHIP.  That also came with a whopping eight wins and six saves.  He co-led in stolen bases for good measure.  One big week, and you’re making huge gains still.  Not making big gains this week was The Itch, who dropped 13 points and slipped down to second place.  Grey cracked 40!

RAZZSLAM STANDINGS UPDATE

Each week we’ll also take a look at the top ten overall standings in our other Razzball sponsored league, the RazzSlam.  This is our NFBC Best Ball league with managers from all across the industry, from content providers to fans and readers just like you.

TopherV held onto the top spot this week, but Mike C and Roto-Wan are hot on his heels, leaping over Andy Behrens.  Derek fell out of the top ten and this week I expanded to the top 15 for no reason at all.  Team Razzball is looking strong in the early going.

TOP TEAMS

We expanded the list of 100+ points teams to six this week.  Three holdovers from last week are joined by three newcomers to the top team list.

TRADES

All the trades that have gone down in the past week.  Public ridicule is not only allowed, but encouraged.

Four trades this week, including some highway robbery in RCL 9.  Ryan O’Hearn for Springer and Naylor is absurd, but good on Blue Sky for pulling that off.  Knoche and I made a deal.  Cade Smith was someone I targeted, but only got in a couple spots.  I thought he’d be high K/9 and a good source of saves, instead, he’s been dookie.  Knoche traded me PCA last year for a closer and I’m hoping for similar McGonigle magic this year. 

WEEKLY LEADERS

The best of the best from the week that was.

R – 71 – Des Morts-Vivants (ECFBL)

HR –24 – Des Morts-Vivants (ECFBL) & CPWinos (RCL 32)

RBIs – 68 – Trussell Shuffle (RCl 5)

SB – 14 – 6 Teams Tied

AVG – .318 – Rough Trade (RCL 28)

K – 96 – Ryan Ruocco Sucks (RCL 21)

W – 10 – Juselman (RCL 15)

SV –  10 – 4 Teams Tied

ERA (Min. 40 IP) – 0.78 – Bedbug (RCL 15) (in 46 IP)

WHIP (Min. 40 IP) – 0.739 – Bedbug (RCL 15)

Six new records this week, as the early season continues.  Runs, HR, RBIs, Strikeouts, Wins, and ERA all saw new high (or low in ERA’s case) marks.

Some other stats from the week from VinWins:

13.5% of games have been played. 135 IP is on pace for 1000. 189 IP is on pace for the max 1400.

35 teams have 0 saves. 

Not Lingering (RCL 23) recorded their first 4 wins. 

Juselman (RCL 15) has 22 wins in 200.67 innings for the RCL best 9.1 IP/Win. 

Most total decisions is 44 for The Great Knoche (RCL  #4) [14 Wins/30 Saves].

23 teams have made 0 moves. The average is 22 moves. TrixMcGee (RCL 26) leads with 95. 67 moves is on pace for the maximum 500.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Our weekly shout out to the team that killed it the previous week.

Team: Des Morts-Vivants

League: ECFBL

Stats:   AVG: .278, R: 71, HR: 24, RBI: 56, SB: 12

IP: 66.2, ERA: 4.18, WHIP: 1.20, K: 65, W: 4, SV: 6

Summary: A 24 homer week is absurd.  I think I have teams that haven’t even hit 24 homers all season.  Mike Trout and Jose Ramirez paced this team of the living dead. Trout hit five home runs, scored nine runs, and drove in another nine, while Jose also scored nine times and hit .364 with four homers and five stolen bases. Ben Rice (4 HR), Jo Adell (2 HR/8 RBI), and Oneil Cruz (3 steals) rounded out the impressive offense. While the pitching wasn’t the best, a 4.18 ERA in this economy is at least decent.  Gavin Williams was the pitching star with two wins and 15 strikeouts in 12 innings. He allowed just three runs and eleven baserunners. Justin Wrobleski threw eight shutout inning for another win. Seth Lugo and Chase Burns had fine outings to keep the ratios from total disaster. They had to overcome Cole Ragans (6.10/1.65), Garrett Crochet (20.25/3.15), and Shane Baz (6.00/1.50). Also helping was Mason Miller, who recorded four saves without giving up a run and striking out eight. Bryan Baker added the other two saves. The big offensive display gained Des Morts 9.5 points this week to move them into a tie for third place in the very tough ECFBL.

Want to be my internet pal?  That’s kinda creepy, but you can follow me on the bluest of skies: @matttruss.bsky.social