Expert League FAAB Report - Week of 5/26
Another week of prospect buys. I was somewhat active but ended up with only boring vets.
Every Monday throughout the season, I’ll be reviewing some of the top purchases along with my own buys in the Tout Wars Mixed Draft alternate category league and the LABR Mixed league. Note that the Tout Wars season budget is $1000 with $0 bids allowed while the LABR season budget is $100 with a minimum bid of $1.
TOUT WARS MIXED DRAFT WITH IP & SAVES+HOLDS
TOP BUYS
Matt Shaw ($333) - Shaw was dropped in this league last month following a rough start to the season that resulted in a demotion to the minors. But after dominating at Triple-A, the Cubs recalled him last week, and he’s fared a lot better in his second big-league stint, going 9-for-25 with five doubles, two RBI and three runs in six games. The highly-regarded prospect has the potential to develop into a fantasy star as a five-category force, and he figures to serve as the everyday third baseman for the North Siders going forward. I was surprised that he received only two other bids aside from the $333 winner. I wasn’t surprised that both of those bids were of the triple-digit variety, $288 and $106. Although I had some interest in Shaw, I didn’t place a bid on him as I’m not in great shape in terms of FAAB dollars remaining and knew that he would be very expensive.
Jac Caglianone ($211) - Caglianone has yet to make his major-league debut but judging from his minor-league performance so far this season, the 22-year-old should reach the big leagues sooner rather than later. A natural first baseman, Caglianone is currently getting starts in the outfield at Triple-A as the Royals look to open up an additional pathway to playing time. Tout Wars rules stipulate that all FAAB adds must remain in active lineups for at least one week, so the downside of this move is a week of no stats. But Caglianone’s combination of power and on-base ability could override the downside, though his new manager cannot be happy that there was zero competition to acquire him. Let’s just say that overpaying by 211 FAAB dollars isn’t ideal.
MY BUY
Jameson Taillon ($78) - There’s nothing exciting about Taillon but as the saying goes, you can never have enough starting pitching. This week seemed like a good time to invest in the veteran righty as he’s a two-start pitcher and has allowed three runs or fewer in eight of his ten starts this season.
LABR MIXED
TOP BUYS
Marcelo Mayer ($9) - Alex Bregman’s quad strain opened the door for Mayer to make his much-anticipated big-league debut on Saturday as Boston’s new everyday third baseman. The 22-year-old’s minor-league numbers fall short of the elite category but he’s shown significant improvement in the power department this season, swatting nine homers to go along with 43 RBI in just 43 games at Triple-A. With Bregman likely to be sidelined through the All-Star break, Mayer will have plenty of time to prove that he belongs in the majors and deserves a permanent spot on mixed-league rosters. Unfortunately, I happen to be the Bregman owner in this league. I tried to pick up Mayer but my $6 bid wasn’t enough.
Ronny Henriquez ($8) - The Marlins have followed a closer-by-committee approach up to this point but that doesn’t mean the team will continue mixing and matching in the ninth inning for the remainder of the year. Henriquez earned a save yesterday and now boasts a 1.78 ERA and a 12.4 K/9 for the season. Still, his $8 price is above my comfort zone. I didn’t bid on Henriquez as saves aren’t a huge need. But even If I was chasing saves, I would not have gone higher than $5 considering the uncertainty surrounding his long-term role.
Daniel Palencia ($7) - Speaking of closers, Palencia has now recorded two saves in his last two appearances. He received a total of five bids while Henriquez garnered only three. This makes sense as it seems like the Cubs righty is the safer choice for saves, at least in the short term. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Pressly eventually reclaims his old job.
MY BUY
DJ LeMahieu ($2) - My confidence level in LeMahieu is barely above zero but for the next week or two, I’m willing to give him a chance as my replacement at third base for Alex Bregman. Other than Mayer, the waiver-wire 3B pool was devoid of even mildly appealing options. If this LeMahieu experiment doesn’t work out, which is very likely, I will try to make a trade to address my need at the hot corner.
Thanks for reading Steinhorn’s Universe. Post your comments and/or questions in the comments section and become a free subscriber to the newsletter by clicking the button below.