Expert FAAB Review: Week 5

Picture credit score: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports activities

Welcome again to the FAAB Assessment, the column that opinions the goings-on in a number of analyst leagues within the hopes we will help you with your personal FAAB bidding course of and habits. This column will largely deal with The Nice Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI), a contest that accommodates 31 leagues of 15 groups every and crowns an total champion. We’ll have a look at the ten hottest FAAB buys in these leagues each week. We’ll additionally deal with some highlights in Tout Wars AL and LABR NL, two deeper trade leagues.

TGBFI and Tout Wars use a $1,000 FAAB price range, whereas LABR makes use of $100. Tout Wars additionally permits groups to position $0 bids. All three leagues run their FAAB weekly on Sundays.

TGFBI

Juan Yepez $121 (Most Bid $318, Minimal Bid $28)
My TGFBI league was the lone bracket out of 31 the place Yepez wasn’t obtainable (he was drafted as a reserve decide by Baseball Prospectus’ personal Adam Lawler — strong decide, my man). The priority with Yepez this offseason was that his protection wouldn’t play within the majors. The common DH solved for that, and whereas the presence of Albert Pujols creates a theoretical logjam at DH, Yepez has began 3 times at DH and twice within the outfield since his call-up. St. Louis will reside along with his protection within the outfield if he can hit and up to now, he’s mashing. There’s 25-30 dwelling run potential if Yepez sticks (lifeless ball caveats apply). I don’t suppose I’d have bid this a lot if Yepez was obtainable in my TGFBI, however I perceive why so many have been so aggressive.

Jose Miranda $96 ($245, $23)
I did bid on Miranda and my second place supply, $78, fell effectively in need of the $152 successful bid. A number of accidents on the Twins give Miranda a superb opportunity to stay within the main league lineup however his batted ball profile mixed with the deadened ball will dampen his fantasy worth a superb deal. The projection fashions and the scouting scuttlebutt see him as extra of a 15-home run hitter than the 30-plus dwelling run man he was within the minors in 2021, which is ok however unsexy given the aggressiveness of those bids. Miranda in all probability must show extra persistence on the plate to reside as much as his ceiling, but when he does it, it strips away a few of his fantasy worth in non-OBP leagues. I like him, however the extra I give it some thought the extra I’m glad I didn’t go hog wild and bid $154 or larger.

Royce Lewis $73 ($308, $1)
I bid $26 on Lewis and obtained him, though I didn’t have a urgent want at center infield. He may get despatched again to the minors in every week if Carlos Correa’s finger harm doesn’t require an IL stint, however his uncooked expertise and ability set may shortly power the problem in Minnesota. Lewis hadn’t performed a recreation since 2019 however didn’t miss a beat upon his return, hitting three dwelling runs, stealing eight bases and batting .310 at Triple-A. The pace is what makes Lewis worthy of a stash, and he has a better actual life and fantasy ceiling than any of the non-Correa Twins infielders. It additionally isn’t troublesome to ascertain a state of affairs the place the Twins strive him within the outfield if all different choices fail. I don’t need to oversell this, as we’ve seen gamers like Lewis shortly get despatched down and spend a full yr within the minors, however the reward if he does stick is appreciable.

Josh Winder $56 ($173, $11)
It’s Twins week on the FAAB Assessment. Winder blew the doorways off in two begins final week at Tampa and towards the Athletics however with the return of Sonny Gray doesn’t seem to have a rotation spot. It takes little or no creativeness to ascertain a path again to the beginning 5 for Winder. Chris Paddack left a recreation over the weekend with an elbow challenge (additionally, cough, Chris Archer, cough). My concern with him isn’t that he can’t begin or achieve success within the position however that the Twins may need to hold him within the bullpen to maintain his innings low this season. 

Edward Olivares $42 ($188, $1)
Is that this the yr Olivares lastly sticks with the Royals and places up the 20/20 season his affected person and forlorn believers all know he’s able to? It appeared like Kansas Metropolis had lastly dedicated to their proficient and toolsy prospect, sticking Olivares in proper discipline and letting him do his factor … till yesterday when a quadriceps harm despatched him to the bench. He may land on the IL this week. Bummer. Olivares’ early numbers are BABIP-influenced however he simply has 15/15 upside with a batting common that gained’t kill you. Right here’s hoping the harm is minor.

Brandon Drury $38 ($175, $2)
Drury has been one of many only a few shiny spots on the Reds, with 5 dwelling runs and a .276 AVG in 84 plate appearances. The enjoyable will finish sooner or later, however on a skinny workforce with out numerous inner choices to exchange him Drury may carve out a daily position even after Cincinnati’s many injured gamers return. 15-20 dwelling runs with a .250 AVG is real looking and whereas that’s hardly attractive his third base eligibility makes him not solely value including however fairly needed in deep codecs. My phrase the new nook is skinny.

Yadiel Hernandez $36 ($97, $4)
I type of known as this one in my Week 19 FAAB Assessment in 2021, once I wrote:

I’m not suggesting Hernandez might be a celebrity, however the lack of awareness on him and his superior age each make me consider that he’s being ignored and is greater than the placeholder many assume he’s.

Hernandez was slated to be a bench bat heading into 2022 however he has outplayed Lane Thomas and continues to mash. He now has a .286/.334/.442 slash line in 392 main league PAs and whereas his .436 BABIP this season isn’t sustainable I consider he can hit sufficient to maintain the gig, particularly on a skinny Nationals squad.

Jarren Duran $27 ($111, $1)
Duran was known as as much as Boston this weekend, began one recreation, and was despatched again to Triple-A. When you have been out celebrating Mom’s Day, you might need missed it. Duran is destroying Triple-A pitching and is an efficient stash when you have the roster area. I don’t know when he’ll be again up, however Boston’s outfield is sporting a collective .579 OPS and positive may use a lift. Duran is a superb pace gamble if you happen to’re determined for steals. I used to be one of many $1 winners for him.

Rafael Montero $19 ($55, $1)
Montero has been terrific for the Astros and his fantasy managers and picked up two saves whereas Houston nearer Ryan Pressly was on the IL. A blown save by Pressly on Thursday generated some pleasure for Montero however Pressly righted the ship on Saturday with an eight-pitch save. Montero is an excellent reliever however wants one other Pressly harm or main blow-up to reclaim the position.

Ben Gamel $12 ($53, $1)
Gamel is boring, however you want boring gamers like this in deep combined leagues to fill out your fifth outfield slot and/or reserve checklist in leagues with day by day lineup modifications and weekly FAAB. He’s platooning with Jake Marisnick, which limits the worth of each gamers. It helped Gamel’s trigger final week when the Pirates performed completely towards righthanders. Gamel and the Pirates have a righty-heavy schedule for the following two weeks, which makes him a tremendous short-term add if you happen to want quantity.

Tout Wars AL
Jarren Duran $39
Jeffrey Springs $32 ($0)
Andrew Velazquez $32
Ryan O’Hearn $26 ($13, $2)
Cal Raleigh $19
Luis Rengifo $17
Willi Castro $17
Zach Reks $12 ($2)
Marwin Gonzalez $7
Erik Swanson $6 ($0)
Felix Bautista $2
Jaime Barría $2
Ben Rortvedt $2
Aaron Whitefield $1
Sam Hentges $0
Ryan Brasier $0

I all the time lament how little offense there may be in mono leagues, however this week the script flipped, with 5 of the six highest bids in Tout AL going for hitters. Duran was up for a sip of espresso, however I think about he’ll be again sooner or later this season. He has seven steals in 67 plate appearances at Triple-A Worcester with a .397 AVG. 

With David Fletcher returning to the IL due to a recurring hip challenge, Velazquez and Rengifo may each see extra enjoying time up the center in Los Angeles. Neither is a very engaging fantasy choice, though Velazquez’s pace is the slight tiebreaker in his favor. Raleigh is the catcher of the longer term in Seattle however seems to separate time with Luis Torrens for now.

LABR NL
Patrick Corbin $2 ($1)
Kyle Freeland $1
Connor Overton $1
Travis Jankowski $1
Hanser Alberto $1
Luis Guillorme $1
Humberto Castellanos $1

There have been seven successful bids in LABR NL, with just one above the minimal. Corbin just isn’t as terrible as his 7.16 ERA signifies, however he’s not good anymore, both, and his upside is an NL-only starter on a workforce that PECOTA tasks for 67 wins. I’d be extra considering Freeland on some other workforce and in a format the place I can reserve him. It’s ride-or-die in NL-only FAAB purchases and in lots of weeks it will likely be extra die, and that dying might be painful. Overton and Castellanos are each fringy even in mono. It’s OK to play the quantity recreation with Castellanos in a two-start week towards the Marlins and Cubs. That’s completely different than saying he’s a superb advice.

We have to fill 14 offensive slots, even in NL-only leagues. As you possibly can see by the three hitting choices above, offensive is an efficient alternative of phrase.