Last week Alfonso Soriano had the 3rd best RotoValue in a deep NL 4×4 league. This week, he’s the MVP in each format I’ve been tracking: a shallow 5×5 mixed league and deep 4×4 and 5×5 NL only leagues. He started the week with a HR and 2 SB on Monday, and followed that with a 2 HR game on Tuesday. Overall, he hit .296 with 4 HR, 8 R, 5 RBI, and 2 SB on the week, to earn $63.89 in the mixed league, $53.93 in the 4×4, and $57.30 in the 5×5, all easily the highest totals in the respective leagues.
Zack Greinke was runner-up to Soriano in both the mixed and 4×4 NL leagues after fanning 16 in as many innings while posting a 0.00 ERA, 0.438 WHIP, and wins in both his starts, good for $57.31 mixed, $46.43 in 4×4 NL, and $46.96 in 5×5 NL. Edging Greinke out in the latter was Shin-Soo Choo, who hit .448 with 1 HR, 9 R, 2 RBI, and 2 SB to earn $47.18. The lack of RBI left him earning just $38.39 in the 5×5 NL, but he placed 4th with $49.26 in the mixed league.
The AL’s top player depended on format. Kendrys Morales hit .367 with 3 HR, 9 R, and 6 RBI to earn $50.14 in mixed and $40.87 in 5×5 AL only, both leading figures for AL players. But those stats earned just $36.87 in the 4×4 AL, placing just 6th. The 4×4 leader was Adrian Beltre, who hit .407 with 3 HR and 8 RBI, earning $42.69 there. But he scored just 4 times, and so was worth $35.19 in 5×5 AL only, 5th best, and $43.94 in 5×5 mixed, which ranked 8th. Chris Davis and Adam Jones also had big weeks for Baltimore, with Jones batting .400 with 3 HR, 8 R, and 6 RBI (earning $39.70 in 5×5 AL only, 2nd best), and Davis hitting .250 but with 4 HR, 7 R, and 8 RBI, to place 3rd in 4×4 AL only with $38.98 RotoValue.
The AL’s top pitcher was Rays’ rookie Chris Archer, who followed a 6 inning win Monday in which his only run allowed was unearned with a 5 hit, complete game shutout of Houston on Sunday, giving him a 0.00 ERA and 0.533 WHIP over 15 innings. Two wins and 10 strikeouts gave him a $36.87 RotoValue in 5×5 AL, $41.08 in 4×4 AL, and $47.01 in 5×5 mixed. Felix Hernandez also posted a pair of wins, with a 1.000 WHIP, 1.20 ERA, and 10 Ks in 15 innings, the same as Archer. But his RotoValues lagged far behind because of worse percentage stats, earning $29.59 in 5×5, and $30.93 in 4×4. Derek Holland had an interesting week, with a pair of wins and a league-leading 14 strikeouts in 13.67 IP, with a good 2.63 ERA. But a poor 1.683 WHIP left him earning only $17.06 in 4×4, 10th best among pitchers, while his 5×5 value of $23.75 was 3rd best. Koji Uehara ranked as the week’s top closer after recording 3 saves in 4 appearances, with a 0.200 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, and 7 Ks in 5 innings. His $22.81 4×4 RotoValue was 3rd best, and his $20.67 5×5 value was 4th best. Chris Perez led the league in saves with 4, but his 1.200 WHIP and 1.80 ERA left him just behind Uehara at $21.17 in 4×4, while he was further behind in 5×5 because of only 5 Ks.
Wily Peralta was runner-up behind Greinke among NL pitchers, as he also won both his starts and notched 14 Ks, a 1.000 WHIP, and 0.56 ERA in 16 innings, earning $35.01 in 4×4 and $36.37 in 5×5. Tim Lincecum tossed a no-hitter on Sunday (and used 148 pitches to do so, which should make his owners a little nervous), and did have another decent start, but his no-hitter was his only win, which depressed his value relative to 2-win starters. His totals on the week were still excellent – a 0.688 WHIP, 1.69 ERA, and 24 Ks in 16 IP, but his 4×4 RotoValue was only $24.84, ranking 7th, while his 24 Ks nearly pulled him into 2nd despite just one win, as in 5×5 he earned $36.31.
As in the AL, the league’s top closer wasn’t the save leader. Edward Mujica posted a win and 3 saves in his 4 appearances, posting a 0.545 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, and 2 Ks in just 3.67 IP to earn $33.62 in 4×4, good for 3rd best among pitchers, and $25.72 in 5×5, still 6th best. Rafael Betancourt led the league in saves with 4, but did so with worse peripheral stats, a 1.250 WHIP 2.25 ERA, and just 1 strikeout in 4 innings. Mujica’s win more than made up for the extra save, but his better ERA and WHIP pushed his value further ahead, as Betancourt earned just $23.21 in 4×4 and $16.72 in 5×5.