Spring sports are off and running at Quinnipiac so it’s time for the Chronicle to break out our final installment of fantasy sports. Since we were unable to publish our rankings before the season started, the spring rankings are going to be a little different. Instead of projected stats and fantasy points, I’m going to rank athletes based on what they have accomplished so far in the season. I think this is the strongest 10 fantasy athletes to date. Fantasy owners can’t lose picking any of these 10 studs.
1. Heather Schwartzburg
1.72 era, 8-6, 137k’s 101.2 IP
The unquestioned number one fantasy player, Heather set the Quinnipiac Division I record in strikeouts last year with 255. I could have mistaken Heather for Jennie Finch last season when I would cover games, that’s how good she is. My guess is that she’ll break her own strikeout record, and just about every other school pitching record with it.
2. Marissa Caroleo
19 goals 3 assists 22 ground balls
To be honest I’ve never seen Marissa play a game, so putting her at the two spot is a bit of a risk, but when you net 19 goals and gather 22 ground balls in seven games, it’s impossible not to be high in the fantasy rankings. The former NEC Rookie of the Year is shining as a junior, and is going to put up monster numbers this season.
3.) Jack Oppenheimer (men’s lacrosse)
5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points 12 ground balls
Oppenheimer’s street credit lands him in the three spot in the rankings. Jack scored 32 goals last year as a junior, so don’t let his low goal total this season scare you. It’s early in the season, and Oppenheimer is a scorer. As UConn’s Roscoe Smith said after throwing a full court shot into the stands against Texas, shooter’s keep shooting.
4.) Juliet Labarthe (women’s tennis)
It’s bold, but Labarthe might be the best freshman athlete at Quinnipiac. Former fantasy standout Kelly Babstock may take offense to that, but Juliet has already won five NEC Rookie of the Week Awards, and twice has received player of the week honors, the first freshman to ever do so. We haven’t even approached the day-drinking part of spring and Juliet is absolutely killing it. Keep a close eye on Labarthe because she is going to continue to dominate.
5.) Mickey Amanti (baseball)
.370 5 2b, 9 rbi, .410 ob% 14 runs
Amanti is just raking right now at the plate, a .370 average right now is just silly. He was also named conference player of the week this season, the first Quinnipiac player since 2008 to receive the award.
6.) Chris Migani (baseball)
.304, 6 2b, 1 hr, 14 rbi, 12 bb, .447 ob%
He may not have the gaudy average that Amanti has, but .304 is just fine when you are crushing doubles and getting on base nearly half the time. Chris is a can’t miss if you have the sixth pick in the draft, but choosing between him and Amanti is like choosing between Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson in fantasy football.
7.) Jacquelline Ristow (softball)
.303, 0hr 9 rbi, 12 runs, .398 ob%
Starting at second base this year, Jacquelline is making the most of it, getting on base almost 40 percent of the time. When you get on base that much, the stats are going to just pile up. Jacquelline’s stock is on the rise in the fantasy world, and I’m thinking this is one of the cases where you buy low and sell never.
8.) Kevin Kelly (men’s lacrosse)
9 goals 7 assists 16 points
What jumps out at me about Kevin is his .346 shot on goal percentage, up from last year’s .207%. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that his other stats have increased as well. With 9 goals and 7 assists already this season, this lax bro is on pace to shatter his totals stats from last year (12g 11a).
9.) Anthony Cinelli (baseball)
3-0 0.43 era 1er in 21 IP
3-0 with a 0.43 era to start the season? Sign me up. You have to love how Cinelli is starting his junior season, just pure domination. Cinelli drops to the nine spot however because of his low strikeout total (8). My guess is that those will come as the season progresses, it’s still early, and come on…an out is an out however you get it.
10.) Lauren Salgado (softball)
clocked running from home plate to first base in 2.6 second
.260 0hr 3 rbi 13runs
Lauren has apparently been clocked running from home plate to first base in 2.6 seconds. That might be the most impressive thing I’ve come across with my time at the Chronicle. I used to be pretty quick back in the day when I played baseball, but the thought of trying to run to first base in sub three seconds after these past four years even gets me winded. So, even though Lauren may not hit for power, or have an average that jumps off the page, her speed alone got me to jump on the bandwagon.
