I’m gonna to spend some time going through the FAAB bidding in five experts leagues. There were some aggressive bids on players that I think were overspends, and plenty a player added on the cheap that could turn out to be a bargain. Did the spending in your leagues mirror what the pros did this past weekend? Read on to find out.
FSTA (14-team mixed) – $1,000
Merrill Kelly $68 (31, 8, 6) – I was the $31 bid. Kelly has 17 strikeouts and just three walks in three outings (19 innings) while allowing 17 hits on his way to two quality starts in three outings. His next start is against the Padres.
Nick Margevicius $49 (11, 8, 8) – I discussed this hurler in this podcast.
Touki Toussaint $25 (17) – Sean Newcomb was demoted after Toussaint’s strong outing out of the bullpen last week. Touki is the starter, for now, but a couple of issues exist. Touki has below average control that could rear its ugly head at any moment. There is still some debate if he would be better served out of the bullpen long term as a result. The second major issue is that the Braves have soooo many young arms they can turn to – Newcomb/Wright/Soroka/Anderson/Wilson/Gohara etc., that if Touki struggles there are a handful of directions the team could easily turn to.
Brett Anderson $21 – Didn’t get Kelly, but I ended up with Anderson. He will get hurt. Bank it. Could happen at any moment. Still, he’s thrown three quality starts in four outing with the fourth outing three runs allowed in 5.1 innings. Serviceable until the injury strikes.
Josh Phegley $21 (2) – He’s seeing the bulk of the time (Nick Hundley), but Sean Murphy is coming at some point to take over catching duties. Though he’s hitting .325 including .400 the last two weeks, the guy has hit .203 the last two seasons.
Adam Wainwright $18 – He’s allowed three runs over 12 innings the last two outings, but I can’t seem him sustaining enough production to be close to being a starter in a mixed league.
Carlos Gonzalez $11 – He should pretty much play daily in an Indians lineup that is searching for any spark it can find. Went .278-16-64-71 last year, and could do the same again this season.
SiriusXM Host League (12-team mixed) – $1,000
Dan Vogelbach $217 (191, 148, 45, 27, 19, 19) – As you can tell, there was a lot of interest. His game has been tremendous to date, but there are still issues with lefties and there is some concern about playing time if everyone is healthy. He could hit 30 homers, or he could be an afterthought in a month.
Mitch Moreland $117 (32, 32, 24) – He is what he is. Solid, stable, boring and he will be platooned. That said, he is off to a strong start with a .702 SLG, five homers and 12 RBI in 15 games.
Jonathan Schoop $107 (47, 45, 24, 24) – Finally rounding into form after a slow start. The last eight games Schoop ahs gone .267/.353/.500 with a couple of homers and six steals. He’s not a star, but he could be one of the better counting category guys at second base.
Ji-Man Choi $101 (11, 11, 1) – An overbid and a bit odd given that he hasn’t gone deep this season and was just 4-for-26 the last seven days (.154).
Michael Pineda $101 (44, 9) – Pineda has allowed five runs in three outings, has walked two, and has struck out a batter per inning. When he’s right, he’s good. When he’s off, he gets blasted (just two pitches he can trust). There’s also the obvious concern about how his body will hold up.
Max Fried $67 (36, 12) – He’s allowed one runs in two outings while walking one and permitting six hits. Locked in is he. He can miss bats, and when right he’s generating huge ground ball numbers. There’s a lot to like with this youngster. The key will likely be throwing strikes, something he’s struggled to do in his young career (4.30 walks per nine).
Yandy Diaz $64 (26, 24, 24) – He shouldn’t be on waivers in most leagues. Still, he’s hit .211 the last 10 games and though everyone is excited about the potential, his current 56.8 percent ground ball rate is actually two tenths worse than his 56.6 percent mark. Until he starts to lift the ball more, there isn’t too much to get excited about.
Brandon Keller $48 (38, 1) – A serviceable starter who had a big 10 strikeouts his last time out. He’s 4-for-4 in the quality start game, and he gets the White Sox this week. Still, even with all the success, he’s not a big K arm despite that last outing, and that 4.56 BB/9 rate is concerning.
Touki Toussaint $41 (9) – You saw my thoughts about him above.
Anthony Swarzak $39 (17) – He is on my squad now. A bit surprised there weren’t more than two bids. Since being activated he has two saves, has walked just one guy and has six strikeouts in 4.1 frames.
Trevor Cahill $19 (2) – Cahill is on my squad. He faces Smyly and the Rangers Monday and Seattle and Kikuchi later in the week. One solid out, one a bit scary. He’s allowed just seven runs in three outings, all six inning affairs, and he has walked just two men while allowing three of those runs his last two times out. An injury is coming, but until then he’s solid.
TOUT WARS (15-team mixed)
Hector Neris $203 (7) – One of my favorite bullpen arms, he’s been terrific since returning from his demotion last season. He’s worked six straight scoreless outings this season, but with the uncertainty in the 9th inning with the Phillies, the winning bid was just too much at this point.
Touki Toussaint $179 (46, 37, 8) – One aggressive bid in the hopes that he runs with the starting gig.
Jordan Lyles $49 (9, 4, 4, 3, 1) – He’s a strong streamer versus the Giants this week. I wouldn’t have spent on him as if he’s gonna be part of my staff long-term.
Derek Dietrich $47 (33, 13, 1) – Has three homers and eight RBI his last 11 games, but when Nick Senzel is called up, it’s hard to see a way that DD remains in the lineup consistently, that is unless the Reds leave Senzel in the outfield.
Josh Phegley $42 (4, 2, 1) – An elevated bid right here.
Leury Garcia $42 (7) – Just a nothing bat in my eyes. Still, as an injury fill in he’s… ok, he’s still a nothing. The last two weeks he has a .366 OBP, but has little power and though he has four steals the last two weeks, he’s a 20 steal at best guy, and that is if he’s playing daily which is hard to envision being the case all season long.
Scott Schebler $33 – I debated shifting to Schedule from my current Eric Thames, but I ultimately passed. He went for $33, a reasonable price, even though he’s underperformed to date. Still, he did look much better the last week (.286/.375/.500).
Trevor Hildenberger $23 (14) – Got a save last time out, the Twins don’t seem settled there at all, and Trevor has pitched well this season with nine strikeouts, one walk and zero runs allowed in eight outings.
NFBC (15-team mixed) – $1,000
*Only the runner up bid is listed.
Dan Vogelbach $415 (138) – Bruce at first, Santana/Smith/Haniger in the outfield and Encarnacion at DH. So, if everyone is healthy, where does Dan play? At first over Bruce? Maybe, but with Bruce being what Vogelbach hopes to become, is that really how it would play out?
Touki Toussaint $129 (63) – The pick-up of the week in a lot of spots.
Kevin Pillar $77 (41) – Has four homers and 13 RBI this season, but his slash line tells the story in a more direct manner (.155/.161/.379). Minus a couple of big swings with the lumber, he’s been pretty terrible.
Hunter Dozier $50 (35) – I bid $31 on Dozier. Maybe I should have gone a bit higher, but I wouldn’t have hit $50. He’s first and third eligible, and he has at least two hits in 4-straight games. The expected numbers all suggest the results should be better to this point.
Jordan Zimmermann $39 (36) – His first two outings he allowed one run. The last two it’s been nine over 7.1 innings. All told he has a 4.29 ERA, about right, but that 1.10 WHIP of his will likely go up a bit.
David Fletcher $31 – My bid of the week over… no one else. He qualifies at second and third base. He’s no great shakes, but he’s playing a lot and his .300 average and versatility is something I need with Alex Bregman less than 100 percent heading into the week and Upton/Ohtani/Olson on the DL.
Josh Phegley $31 (4)
Hector Velasquez $31
AL LABR (12-team only) – $100
*There is a rule that any player that you paid for in the auction, or any player you pay for off waivers, must be active in your lineup. That means you cannot bench a struggling player in this format, he must remain in your lineup. That further means when you add a player off waivers, unless one of your guys was placed on the DL or sent to the minors, that you have to drop someone you paid money on to add players off waivers.
A personal note. I dropped Chris Davis last week as he has no hits in three weeks. I added Socrates Brito, who of course, had an 0-for week. That’s three weeks without a hit from my UT spot, yet I’m still clinging to first place at the moment.
Zack Cozart $13 (4, 3, 1, 1) – He started out 1-for-30 but has gone 3-for-6 since. He will play daily, at least until the inevitable injury strikes.
Chris Davis $5 (1, 1, 1) – The last week, Davis has three hits and four RBI.
Terrance Gore $4 (2) – Runs like the wind, but can’t hit for nothing. He’s 4-for-9 in the early going and already has four steals including three the last week. His value is likely tied to the health of Billy Hamilton (knee) who appears to be fine.
Jake Diekman $3 – Has eight strikeouts in seven innings and has allowed just four hits. Ratios could be an issue, but he had 66 Ks in 53.1 innings last season.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday-Friday, 8-10 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). Follow Ray’s work on Twitter (@baseballguys) and be sure to listen to his podcast work too.
