Expert League FAAB Report - Week of 7/24
While this week was a quiet one in terms of number of FAAB acquisitions, two top prospects and a pair of new closers attracted large bids.
Every Monday throughout the season, I’ll be reviewing some of the top purchases along with my own buys in the Tout Wars Mixed Auction and LABR Mixed leagues. 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 AUCTION
TOP BUYS
Kyle Finnegan ($109) - Hunter Harvey’s elbow strain has given Finnegan another opportunity to close games for the Nationals and he’s been pitching quite well lately, allowing a combined one run over his last five appearances. Harvey’s return timetable is unclear and being that he has a lengthy injury history, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Finnegan remain in the stopper role for the rest of the season. However, it’s worth noting that the rebuilding Nats could deal him to a contender prior to next week’s trade deadline, and the chances of him closing for his new club are slim to none. Finnegan might prove to be worth the 109 FAAB bucks but there’s certainly risk involved here. He received only one other bid, a measly $14 offering.
Kevin Ginkel ($81) - Coming off a two-save week, Ginkel seems to have taken ownership of Arizona’s closer role, for now at least. The 29-year-old righty is in the midst of a stellar season as he boasts a 2.39 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP through 33 appearances, so there’s little reason to doubt his ability to get the job done in the ninth inning. The only question is whether the Diamondbacks will continue to deploy Ginkel as their full-time closer or if they will instead turn to him in the highest-leverage situations, regardless of the inning. But in light of Scott McGough’s recent struggles, Ginkel seems to be the safest bet to approach double-digit saves from here on out. The runner-up bid was only $9, which is surprising considering that saves tend to be highly-coveted this time of year.
Jose Quintana ($56) - Quintana was decent in his season debut last week, tossing five innings of two-run ball in a loss to the White Sox. But at this stage of his career, the veteran southpaw doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm. Still, in a deep mixed league where the starting pitcher waiver wire options are often frightening, he absolutely deserves a roster spot. Quintana will next take the mound on Wednesday, on the road against the Yankees. Although the Bombers offense has been ice-cold for awhile now, I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a favorable matchup.
MY BUYS
Nobody. I almost placed a bid on Finnegan but with three closers already on my roster, the need simply wasn’t there. Plus, I’m concerned about the possibility of a trade. My bid would have been in the $30-$35 range anyway.
LABR MIXED
TOP BUYS
Christian Encarnacion-Strand ($18) - It was no secret that Encarnacion-Strand would be the grand prize in LABR Mixed FAAB this week. The top prospect was called up to the majors last Monday, so this was our first chance to add him. The 23-year-old carries tremendous power potential, and the early big-league results have been positive as he’s already slugged one homer to go along with six RBI and five runs through seven games. Cincinnati’s infield logjam might cost Encarnacion-Strand a few starts but I don’t think the team promoted him with the idea that he would be sitting on the bench. Aside from the winning bid of $18, he received eight other bids, four of them being of the double-digit variety. With only $30 remaining in my season budget heading into last night, I limited my bid to $5 as I didn’t have an obvious infield lineup opening and wasn’t in dire need of power. I knew that five bucks wouldn’t be enough to win him but placed the bid just in case.
Sal Frelick ($11) - A highly-regarded prospect, Frelick wasn’t exactly tearing it up in the minors this year, slashing .251/.344/.353 in 43 games. But he did miss a significant amount of time due to a thumb injury, which is likely partly to blame. His overall minor-league track record is strong, particularly in the batting-average department, and he’s off to a nice start through two games with the Brewers, going 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs. Six managers placed bids on Frelick but there was some wasted FAAB as the runner-up bid was only $7.
MY BUY
Travis Jankowski ($3) - This was a pure category-based move as I currently reside in the middle of the pack in steals and could gain a few points by adding an impact speedster. Jankowski, who has swiped four bags in his last nine games, surely fits that description.
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