RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 14, 2025

Everyone will refer to the All Star break two weeks from today as the halfway point of the season, but in reality, this past week marked our official 50% of the season mark.  Good time to evaluate those Razzball Commenter League teams if you ask me.  How are you looking so far?  Does the July 4th weekend officially kick off fantasy football prep for you?  I’ll admit, many of my teams are not where I hoped they’d be at the halfway mark, but several are starting to show signs of life, even if that means creeping from 12th place to 8th place.  Now is the time to strike.  If you’re already in first, take the break to look over the standings and see where you are strong, where you can trade from a position of strength to move up even more.  Once everyone realizes they are 200 IP behind pace, the streamers are going to dry u,p and it will be harder to find quality options, so it may pay to get ahead now before the crunch, avoid the rush.  We’ll have overall standings freshened up for you next week, just in time for the ASB and four weeks ahead of our trade deadline (August 5th).  Let’s take a look at where things stand after week 14.

‘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.

Kirksey should be looking over his shoulder.  There was a moment this week where Son (Dad) took the lead, but finished Sunday back in second.  Still, if you think a two point lead is safe with Son on your heels, you are sadly mistaken.  Son is a master of maximizing moves and counting stats.  We’re at the halfway point, and he’s got 256 claims remaining, just to give you an idea.  Kirksey lost five points this week (the most in the league), and Son gained 1.5 as things tightened up.  MarmosDad was the big winner this week, though, gaining 10 points and moving into tenth place!  I was next with 5.5 points gained as Marmos and I try to climb out of the cellar.

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.

Nowhere near the cellar is Taylor Case, who held onto first place overall in the Razzslam.  The top four remained the same, as we are now just two more weeks from the first cut.  Knoche is also making a well-timed push, getting back into the top ten this week.  Between him and Zach Meyer, I don’t think they left any points for the rest of their league.

TRADES

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

Six deals this week, with two going one for one with Kyle Finnegan.  I get it, he could definitely be traded in four weeks and be in a setup role.  Four weeks of saves is four weeks of saves, though if you’re needy.  There’s also the chance the Nationals are dumb and don’t move him.  I’ve seen weirder things…looking at you, Rockies.  I made a deal for Schwarber and Garcia, moving Paul Skenes who has been a bit of a letdown compared to last year.  Never mind the lack of wins, the K-rate also isn’t quite what I planned on.  We’ll see how this shakes out, but I was ahead in IP and lacking in counting stats, so it felt right.

WEEKLY LEADERS

The best of the best from the week that was.

R – 62 – Longballers (RCL 35)

HR –23 – Vinfrequent (FCL)

RBIs – 66 – Phake Phillies (RCL 4) & Vin Twenty (RCL 20)

SB – 13 – 4 Teams Tied

AVG – .341 – Vin Twenty (RCL 20)

K – 114 – Raleigh ‘Round the Family (DFSers Anonymous)

W – 9 – password is taco (RCL 14)

SV –  9 – jjbanks (RCL 15)

ERA (Min. 40 IP) – 0.74 – Benchbat (RCL 14) (in 48.2 IP)

WHIP (Min. 40 IP) – 0.583 – Hankg (RCL 24) (in 60 IP)

Only one new record this week as Raleigh ‘Round the Family decided they were behind in IP and streamed everything in sight.  The ratios were darn good too (2.67/1.01).  All that hard work netted them 5.5 points, and if they keep this up, they could have a shot at the overall standings.  This is the league I won my overall championship out of.

Check out Vin peppering the leaderboard this week, too!  Speaking of Vin, as always, he has graced us with some stats from the week:

99 teams had an ERA below 2.00! 23 were above 6.

6 teams hit under .200  (5 last week)

22 teams hit over .300.  (41 last week)

51.8% of the schedule has been completed. 518 IP would be on pace for the 1000 IP minimum. 725 IP is on pace for the maximum 1400 IP.

Ralf_B (RCL 25) has fallen below the IP minimum and gives the ERA lead to Benchbat (RCL 14). Benchbat also has a team in RCL 23 with a 2.78 ERA that is low on IP.

ERA (520 IP Min) – 2.45 Benchbat ( RCL #14 ) 572.33 IP

If you’re slipping below the minimum, there’s a very good chance you end up missing the 1000 IP requirement at the end of the season.  Don’t do that.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

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

Team: Isotopes

League: RCL 33

Stats:   AVG: .277, R: 47, HR: 18, RBI: 47, SB: 6

IP: 67, ERA: 0.81, WHIP: 0.776, K: 91, W: 6, SV: 1

Summary: Vin runs the TOW numbers, and much like when I run them, we hate giving ourselves the honor unless there is no other option.  If it’s remotely close, we defer.  Vin had a close one this week, but we’re tipping our caps to Isotopes, because no one likes talking about themselves, right?  What we do like, though, is sub 1.00 ERAs and WHIPs.  Pitching was clearly the strength of the Isotopes this week, with only Ben Casparius spoiling an immaculate ERA, allowing 6 earned runs in 4 innings. Twelve other pitchers threw 63 scoreless innings. Sonny Gray’s complete game 1-hitter with 11 strikeouts led the way. Also earning wins were Shane Baz (9 K), Yusei Kikuchi (12 K), Quinn Priester (11 K), Jacob Misiorowski (8 K), and Drew Rasmussen (5 K). Zack Wheeler and Chad Patrick each struck out 8 as well. Raisel Iglesias earned the only save.  It was a solid week of pitching around the leagues this week, but this one really stood out.  On offense, Jazz Chisholm Jr. (3 HR/7 RBI) and Shohei Ohtani (3 HR/5 RBI) paced things. Cody Bellinger hit .476 with a homer and a steal, while Yandy Diaz went .409 with a home run. Jonathan Aranda knocked two round trippers and hit .320. Byron Buxton contributed two home runs and two stolen bases. Pete Crow-Armstrong slumped but still chipped in a couple steals.  The big week gained them 5.5 points and moved them up from 4th to 3rd in RCL 33.  I’m sitting in sixth in this league, one of those underperformers I mentioned in the opening, but we’re still fighting, despite teams like the Isoptopes taking off.  Nice work, Isotopes!

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