RCL Update: The Week That Was, Week 18, 2026

We are into the single digits for the number of weeks remaining in the 2026 fantasy baseball season.  Fantasy football drafts are starting to get scheduled, managers at the bottom of the standings are tuning out, thinking their poor seasons are unsalvageable, and yet we push on.  I’m far too competitive to abandon a team.  I may not pay quite as much attention, may not hit that league waiver wire first, but I’ll be dipped in pine tar if I’m just going to lay down and not fight for every last point.  I’m also fairly petty.  Remember on draft day when someone sniped your next pick?  Let’s stack some stolen bases, so they lose a point and finish in second instead of first, that’ll teach ‘em!  Just call me Matt Petty.  Keep up the good fight, RCLers.  Here’s a look at the week that was, week 18.

‘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.

Speaking of fighting for every point, I actually managed to finally gain some ground in Perts this week.  This despite getting fleeced by MarmosDad for the broken goods that are Bryan Woo.  I think I want a refund.  Still, I gained a league best 5.5 points this week and moved up four places to fourth.  Will it last?  Probably not, it’s been one step forward, two steps back here all season, but I’m trying!

Itch came back down to earth this week, dropping 5.5 points and with Mike gaining 2.5, now holds a mere four point lead.

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.

RazzSlam at this point in the game is all about who gets hot.  Mark Vogel got hot this week and takes over the top spot.  I dropped like a rock here and RotoSurgeon and Roto_Wan have taken over the top Team Razzball spots in the standings.  As for the Wild Card Tier, here are you current teams moving up next cut:

TRADES

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

Just five deals this week, but they are some doozies!  Sale, Yordan, Miz, Wood, oh my!  I traded Baker for Woo, I’d like to rescind that and trade him for Yamamoto instead.  Marmos?  You on board?

TRADE DEADLINE IS AUGUST FOURTH!  Only about a week to improve those teams and only two more RCL updates with a trades section.  We had 172 trades last year with 23 coming in the final week.  Right now we’re sitting at 110 trades, well off the mark.  We’ll see what happens the next two weeks.

WEEKLY LEADERS

The best of the best from the week that was.

R – 57 – AngelsAfterHours (FCL)

HR –21 – 4 Teams Tied

RBIs – 61 – Man or Stroman? (COUGS R US)

SB – 14 – jgumbel (RCL 27) & tberkman (RCL 19)

AVG – .343 – Sun Kil Moon (RCL 33)

K – 104 – Neto Premium (RCL 11)

W – 9 – Not Lingering (RCL 23)

SV –  10 – 4 Teams Tied

ERA (Min. 40 IP) – 1.14 – BIG_ROD (RCL 6) (in 47.1 IP)

WHIP (Min. 40 IP) – 0.613 – BIG_ROD (RCL 6)

No new records this week, but some impressive weeks nonetheless.  Vin tells me that the leader in Wins and Strikeouts is the same manager with two different teams, that’s always awesome!

Speaking of Vin, some more stats from the week:

41 teams had an ERA under 2; 8 teams were over 6.

17 teams hit under .200; 22 teams were over .300.

78 teams had 0 saves.

65.2% of the schedule has been completed. 652 IP would be on pace for the 1000 IP minimum. 913 IP is on pace for the maximum 1400 IP.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

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

Team: Man or Stroman?

League: COUGS R US

Stats:   AVG: .245, R: 49, HR: 20, RBI: 61, SB: 4

IP: 69, ERA: 1.83, WHIP: 1.145, K: 66, W: 7, SV: 4

Summary: This is Man or Stroman’s second appearance in TOW, with two different teams.  Quite the season from the perennial top finisher, and this time, in the Champions League.  CJ Abrams led the majors in hits (15), home runs (6), and runs batted in (12) and carried Man or Stroman? to this excellent week. He also scored eight runs and stole a couple bases. Gabriel Moreno provided nice production from the catcher slot, hitting .423 with six runs, a homer, and eight ribbies. Jacob Wilson had two long balls and a steal, while Yandy Diaz added one of each. James Wood, Casey Schmitt, and Max Muncy each homered twice. Nick Martinez earned two wins, allowing just one run and eleven baserunners in twelve innings. Cam Schlittler threw seven and a third shutout innings and struck out twelve to earn another win. Yoshi Yamamoto, Robbie Ray, and Shane McClanahan also won their starts and combined for a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings. Aroldis Chapman (3 saves) and Kenley Jansen (a win and a save) led the relief corps that did not give up a run in 10.1 IP.  The big week added 3.5 points and stretched their lead in the toughest league to 11.5.  That’s amazing!

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