MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
Week 7 of the Hall of Fantasy league is behind us, which also means the most treacherous bye week of the fantasy football season is too.
If you are unfamiliar with the league, they do a fantastic job of laying everything out clearly and concisely on their homepage:
“The HOFL consists of 10 Football Franchises representing key markets throughout the U.S. Teams will be managed by a dedicated Front Office of fantasy experts who will compete on behalf of their respective Stakeholders.”
For more information, I wrote up the ins and outs of the entire league, including who is involved. You can read it here.
This will be a weekly piece highlighting where things stand in the league and a matchup to look forward to in the upcoming week.
Stake Rankings
The biggest draw to the HOFL is a fan’s ability to stake a team and have skin in the game without needing to keep up with the day-to-day management. Below is a reminder as to where teams ranked heading into the season in terms of the total stake, with the Vegas Pocket Kings being the league leaders.
| Stake Rank | Team (GM) |
| 1 | Vegas Pocket Kings (Jeff Mans) |
| 2 | Ohio GOATS (Michael Fabiano & Bob Harris) |
| 3 | NY Bodega Cats (Scott Engel & Raphael Rabe) |
| 4 | LA Sidekicks (Christopher Harris) |
| 5 | Chicago Hogmollies (Jeff Ratcliffe) |
| 6 | Texas Y’allers (Sigmund Bloom & Joe Bryant) |
| 7 | Boston Barflies (John Paulsen & Jennifer Eakins) |
| 8 | Atlanta Hot Wings (Graham Barfield & Joe Dolan) |
| 9 | Seattle Haze (Melissa Jacobs & Pat Fitzmaurice) |
| 10 | Philly Powderkegs (Adam Caplan) |
Because of all the moving parts due to the bye week in Week 7, there was no matchup of the week. Below is a summary of how the league shook out last week.
Week 7 Recap – Hall of Fantasy League
Below is a snapshot of how the entire league is shaking out after Week 7’s slate:
| Record | Team | Points Scored | FAAB |
| 6-1-0 | Atlanta Hotwings | 1100 | $17 |
| 5-2-0 | Chicago Hogmollies | 1218 | $59 |
| 5-2-0 | NY Bodega Cats | 1203 | $39 |
| 4-3-0 | Ohio GOATS | 1195 | $7 |
| 4-3-0 | Boston Barflies | 1095 | $0 |
| 3-4-0 | Vegas Pocket Kings | 1040 | $28 |
| 3-4-0 | Philly Powderkegs | 949 | $1 |
| 2-5-0 | LA Sidekicks | 1097 | $0 |
| 2-5-0 | Seattle Haze | 987 | $38 |
| 1-6-0 | Texas Y’allers | 968 | $50 |
The Hotwings were finally defeated, ending their winning streak at six weeks and leaving the league without an undefeated team. There’s also still a cluster between the No. 4 seed (Ohio GOATs) and the No. 7 seed (Philly Powderkegs), as four teams in the league are all within one game of each other.
Week 8 Matchup of the Week – Hall of Fantasy League
Looking ahead to Week 8, we have a clash of two of the best teams in the league, as the Chicago Hogmollies (5-2-0) are facing off with the NY Bodega Cats (5-2-0) in a matchup that will spark some separation between two of the top three seeds in the league.
A preview of the matchup is below, with the Hogmollies on the left and the Bodega Cats on the right:
| Kirk Cousins | QB | Kyler Murray |
| Antonio Gibson | RB | Darrell Henderson |
| Alvin Kamara | RB | Jonathan Taylor |
| Mike Evans | WR | Mike Williams |
| Deebo Samuel | WR | Cooper Kupp |
| Ja’Marr Chase | WR | A.J. Green |
| Hunter Henry | TE | Zach Ertz |
| Justin Jefferson | FLX | Leonard Fournette |
| Tyreek Hill | FLX | Kalif Raymond |
| Teddy Bridgewater | SFLX | Sam Darnold |
| Brandon McManus | K | Graham Gano |
| San Francisco 49ers | DST | Tennessee Titans |
There’s a reason this game is projected to be the highest-scoring game on the slate, with both teams projected over 167 points with a thin 6-point spread. The wide receivers in this game may be the best in the league, while the running backs certainly aren’t lacking either. Given the five receivers Ratcliffe (Chicago Hogmollies) is rolling out, I have a hard time not getting on board with them as 6-point favorites.
Week 8 Overview – Hall of Fantasy League
Looking at the league as a whole, below is a preview of the other Week 8 matchup.
With so much stake on the line, every week counts. Will teams make a statement and separate themselves, or will they sink in Week 8 and make it even harder to climb out of the hole at the bottom of the standings?
