Expert League FAAB Report - Week of 6/30

A pair of questionable drop decisions opened the door for me to make a pair of pricey pickups.

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

Spencer Steer ($178) - Despite his slow start to 2025, I was very surprised that Steer was dropped in this league last week. And that was before he enjoyed his most productive week of the season, going 12-for-23 with three homers, seven RBI, five runs and a steal. This is a player who averaged 22 home runs, 89 RBI and 20 stolen bases per season from 2023-2024 and is still just 27 years old. Throw in multi-position eligibility (OF and 1B) and a triple-digit dollar bid was warranted. Considering that my outfield is in need of a boost, I aggressively pursued Steer and was fairly confident that my $178 bid would be enough to win him. As it turned out, it was barely enough, beating out six other bids including the runner-up bid of $161 and a $123 offering. Maybe Steer will fall short of matching his past production level but it’s likely that the best part of his season will come as a member of my squad.

Quinn Priester ($155) - Fresh off his finest outing of the season in which he blanked the Rockies across seven innings while racking up 11 strikeouts, Priester was a popular FAAB target this week. But the winning bid of $155 dwarfed the $55 runner-up bid, so there were plenty of wasted FAAB dollars here. Still, he might be worth the hefty investment. The young righty has pitched exceptionally well since moving into the rotation full-time, posting a 3-0 record to go along with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in four starts. He gets a favorable matchup this week versus a Marlins offense that ranks 19th in the majors in runs scored this season.

MY BUYS

Spencer Steer ($178) and Gary Sanchez ($38) - Aside from upgrading in the outfield, finding a viable No. 2 catcher was my only other FAAB mission this week. I gave David Fry a two-week trial and he was awful, both from a performance and playing-time standpoint. Sanchez can be streaky but he’s swinging a red-hot bat right now and should continue to serve as Baltimore’s primary backstop until Adley Rutschman returns from the IL shortly after the All-Star break.

LABR MIXED

TOP BUYS

Chase Burns ($30) - Why was Burns still available in this league? Well, LABR rules prohibit the FAAB acquisition of any minor-league player, and Burns had yet to be officially called up by the Reds when FAAB claims were processed last Sunday night. The 22-year-old’s big-league debut was good enough (5 IP, 3 ER, 8 K) to convince one manager to spend nearly one-third of his season FAAB budget to add him. All but two managers placed bids, the highest losing bid being $27.

Yusei Kikuchi ($23) - I have no idea why Kikuchi was dropped in this league last week. Sure, he walks a few too many but through 17 starts this season, his ERA stands at a pristine 2.79 and he’s struck out more than a batter per inning. I’ll gladly accept this good fortune and insert the veteran southpaw near the top of my rotation. Interestingly, Burns, the higher upside but perhaps riskier starting pitching option (at least in the short term), went for much more than Kikuchi. My $23 bid for Kikuchi comfortably topped the runner-up bid of $16.

Justin Wrobleski ($9) - After tossing six shutout innings versus the Royals yesterday, Wrobleski boasts a 1.77 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP over his last four appearances, all of them as a bulk reliever. The Dodgers southpaw seems to have adjusted to this new role quite nicely and deserves some mixed-league attention, but his lack of a big-league track record and uncertain long-term outlook would cause me to think twice before making a significant bid. The runner-up bid of $2 is more in line with my valuation of him at this point.

MY BUYS

Kikuchi was my only purchase this week as starting pitching was my biggest need. I also placed a bid on Burns in the event I missed out on Kikuchi, though my $13 bid would have been nowhere near enough. But all that doesn’t matter since I view Kikuchi as the safer choice.

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