When the Kansas City Royals gather for a road trip, you might expect the usual banter about batting averages and pitching rotations. But last season, the clubhouse buzzed with a different kind of competition: fantasy football. According to reporting from The Kansas City Star, the Royals’ players ran not one, but two fantasy leagues during the 2025 NFL season—one following traditional rules and another with the ruthless guillotine format, where the lowest-scoring team each week was chopped, their players sent to the waiver wire for the survivors to scoop up.
Overseeing this gridiron chaos was Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who took his role as commissioner seriously—so seriously, in fact, that he once cut short a postgame media interview, explaining, “The ball was flying today and everything, but I’ve got to get to Chicago, Joel. We got a fantasy football draft. Being a commissioner for the league is tough, and I’m really excited. I’m wearing a suit today.”
The stakes? Bragging rights, mostly, but also the satisfaction of outmaneuvering teammates off the diamond. At the Royals Fan Fest in February 2026, Pasquantino revealed the results. The pitching staff, it turns out, dominated both leagues. “They have more time. It’s messed up,” he joked, flashing a smile. “But it’s all right.” The traditional league saw Cole Ragans crowned champion, with Michael Wacha in second and Pasquantino himself settling for third. The guillotine league? That belonged to James MacArthur, Taylor Clarke, and Noah Cameron. “So, yeah, apparently they (pitchers) are better. I didn’t even realize that,” Pasquantino admitted, still sounding a bit incredulous.
But what does it really take to win a fantasy football league, whether you’re a major league pitcher or an everyday fan? The answer, as recent NFL seasons have shown, is a mix of skill, luck, and—most crucially—timing. The end of the season, when playoff spots and championships are on the line, is when fantasy legends are made or hearts are broken.
Take Parker Washington, for example. As detailed by PFF, he was barely on anyone’s radar for most of the 2025 NFL season. Buried on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ depth chart behind breakout rookie Brian Thomas Jr. and No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter, Washington was a deep stash at best. But from Week 16 onward, he exploded: 14 catches for 260 yards and a touchdown in just two weeks, followed by five more grabs for 87 yards and a score in Week 18. He wasn’t finished—Washington then racked up seven catches for 107 yards and another touchdown in the wild-card round against the Buffalo Bills. From Week 12 through the playoffs, only Rams sensation Puka Nacua earned a higher PFF receiving grade (95.6) than Washington’s 90.8.
It’s the kind of late-season surge that fantasy managers dream about. Suddenly, Washington was being rostered in every league, his stock soaring as general managers pinned their 2026 hopes on him. But as PFF cautions, “Players who end seasons on hot streaks don’t often carry them over into the following year. It’s a hard act to follow, and a lot of time—eight months—passes between the end of one campaign and the start of the next, during which a lot has also changed around the team.”
Jordan Love, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, is another cautionary tale. In 2023, Love was nothing special through 11 weeks—ranked 17th out of 27 qualifying QBs in PFF grade, with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But then came Thanksgiving, and Love caught fire. From Week 12 on, he led the NFL in touchdowns (21), big-time throws (21, tied with Josh Allen), and passer rating (11.5), while boasting the lowest pressure-to-sack percentage (8.1%). He was the fantasy QB1 over that stretch, propelling many teams to victory. Yet, the magic didn’t last. Love’s 2024 campaign was hampered by an early injury and inconsistent play; he finished as QB18 overall, his PFF passing grade dropping to 76.6.
It’s a pattern that repeats itself across the league. Brian Thomas Jr. dazzled as a rookie in 2024, especially after the Jaguars’ Week 12 bye. He was WR2 from Week 13 onward, logging three 100-plus-yard games and nearly matching his season-long fantasy points in just six weeks. However, his 2025 season was a letdown: Thomas finished as WR42 with a 66.7 PFF receiving grade, even trailing his own teammate Parker Washington (WR34).
Sometimes, though, a hot finish does carry over. James Conner, the Arizona Cardinals running back, struggled with injuries in early 2023 but caught fire late, rushing for 514 yards and five touchdowns from Week 13 onward—good enough to be RB2 over the final five weeks. Conner built on that momentum in 2024, notching 557 yards and four touchdowns in the first eight weeks and finishing as RB11 overall. Yet, 2025 brought more injury woes, derailing what could have been another strong year.
Why do these streaks so often fizzle out? For one, the NFL is a league in constant flux. Roster changes, coaching shifts, and off-season injuries can all upend a player’s situation. And, as PFF points out, “A lot of time—eight months—passes between the end of one campaign and the start of the next, during which a lot has also changed around the team.” Fantasy managers are thus urged to set their draft boards carefully, resisting the temptation to overdraft based on a few weeks of late-season heroics. “Think carefully before potentially overdrafting somebody based on five weeks of production eight months ago,” the outlet warns. The same goes for dynasty managers looking to reshape their rosters.
Back in Kansas City, the Royals’ fantasy football escapades offer a lighthearted reminder that, whether you’re a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, fantasy football is as much about camaraderie and fun as it is about winning. Still, Pasquantino’s wry observation about pitchers having “more time” might hold a grain of truth—at least when it comes to managing a fantasy roster between bullpen sessions.
For fantasy footballers everywhere, the lesson is clear: celebrate your late-season heroes, but don’t let recency bias rule your draft. As the Royals’ clubhouse and countless fantasy leagues have learned, last year’s magic doesn’t always repeat. But that’s what keeps us coming back—hoping that this year, we’ll catch lightning in a bottle once again.