BullpenGuru
LEAGUE ACQUISITION SUMMARY
The spending pullback continued this past weekend, as Main Event participants averaged $28 spent per team this week for the second weekend in a row. Personally, this was my favorite FAAB run of the entire season. It seemed like there were a ton of intriguing FAAB options this past week.
We are basically at the half-way mark of MLB regular season and we enter this week with teams on average having $194 in FAAB remaining. The most FAAB spent resides in League 1574, which has spent $13,223 FAAB dollars, or 88% of total FAAB, leaving teams in that league with $118 remaining on average. Conversely, the least amount of money spent resides in League 1673. This league has spent $9,729 in total FAAB dollars, leaving each team in that league with $351 remaining on average.
PLAYER ACQUISITION SUMMARY
Most Frequently Added
Only ten players were added in over 50% of Main Event leagues. Gavin Williams led the way, being added in all 53 leagues at an average price of $126 per add. He was seemingly the last highly-touted starting pitching prospect that is going to come up for a while, so it makes sense seeing him go for $100+. His first start was obviously a little troubling given the velocity drop seen throughout as well as the lack of swinging strikes, but I have the benefit of having seen his second start given this is being written on Tuesday June 27th, which was much more encouraging. We will just have to see how the Guardians’ starting rotation shakes out with Cal Quantrill’s return imminent.
Henry Davis was added in 52 of 53 leagues, and I think there’s a chance he might be one of the most impactful FAAB adds of not just this week, but of the season. Getting his power and speed profile with seemingly every day at-bats resulting from playing outfield and DH at the Catcher position can truly be a game changer. I have heard other analysts comp his contributions as a catcher being similar to Daulton Varsho and I am in agreement.
Joey Votto returned to the Reds’ lineup last week and as I was setting my preliminary bids on Saturday, I found myself getting caught up in the hype of their win-streak and electric matchup last Friday against the Braves where Votto hit two homers and feeling like I had to get a piece of the action by upping my Votto bids. As the weekend went on, I found myself lowering those bids and referring to his struggles at AAA and difficulty returning from his shoulder injury rather than get swept up in the excitement of his return and the Reds’ run and did not end up with Votto on my two teams.
Alek Thomas should continue to get everyday playing time at the bottom of the Dbacks’ order. He hasn’t shown much home run power or contributed stolen bases in the Majors, so to me it feels like just a volume-play, but he has been hitting better after his promotion so maybe the power and speed follow.
David Hamilton was a guy I have been monitoring dating back to last year and dreaming of his roto contribution potential given his performance at AA last year and in AAA thus far this year; however, I think he likely ends up back in AAA when Pablo Reyes or Trevor Story return, whoever is first.
Most FAAB Dollars Spent
These players were all mentioned above.
Highest Average Cost Acquisitions
As is the case when looking at the adds with the highest average price, it is a mix of exciting rookies (Williams) and players that are only available in a handful of leagues and thus are highly sought after in the leagues in which they become available.
DROP SUMMARY
Fourteen players were dropped in over 20 leagues this week. As per usual, demotions (Megill, Varland, Rojas), injuries (Robles, Lively, Laureano, Houck, Rogers), and underperformance (Smith, Donaldson) were the overriding themes behind this week’s popular drops.
UNOPPOSED BIDDING
Maybe the stink of the Mets kept people away from adding David Peterson and Eduardo Escobar (I know Escobar was traded to the Angels). It will be interesting to see how he fits into that crowded infield, but certainly worth a few bucks to find out. Hamilton going unopposed makes me think more people agree with me in terms of his role once Reyes is back. The Yankees are going to need Billy McKinney the next few months while Judge is out, so I was willing to throw a few bucks to see if there is anything there, as it seems others were as well.
