BullpenGuru
LEAGUE ACQUISITION SUMMARY
This Sunday was an important FAAB run, as it was two days before the MLB Trade Deadline, and while some trades had been completed prior to FAAB, there were still plenty of moves to be made. I am writing this after the Trade Deadline dust has settled, so I have the benefit of knowing the outcome of many of the speculative adds this past weekend. There were no uber prospects entering the pool this week which was obvious by the spending, which was the lowest on a per-add basis this year, and was second only to the Week 17 FAAB in terms of total dollars spent, which was the FAAB following the All Star Break. Spending this week averaged $7 per add and $12 per team.
We now have 8 FAAB periods remaining, and the average team has $111 remaining. The most FAAB spent resides in League 1574, which has spent $14,186 FAAB dollars, or 95% of total FAAB, leaving teams in that league with $54 remaining on average. Conversely, the least amount of money spent resides in League 1673. This league has spent $10,901 in total FAAB dollars, leaving each team in that league with $273 remaining on average.
PLAYER ACQUISITION SUMMARY
Most Frequently Added
Twelve players were added in over 20 Main Event leagues, six of which were relievers. The most popular add was Brooks Raley, who was picked up in 51 leagues for an average price of $17 and is now rostered in all but one Main Event league. Raley picked up two saves following David Robertson’s trade to the Marlins, including the dreaded Sunday save tax. Bullpen mate Adam Ottavino was also a popular add, as he was acquired in 24 leagues, as both were speculated to be on the trade block. Obviously, we know that both were not moved off the Mets roster, as the Mets have a club option for Raley’s services next year and Ottavino has what I presume was a cost-prohibitive player option for next year that likely made his contract difficult to move. Raley was given Tuesday’s save but went on to blow it, so this situation will require monitoring going forward.
Gregory Santos was added in the 44 leagues he was available for an average price of $27. With Kendall Gravement getting traded back to Houston and Liam Hendriks still on the shelf, he appears to have a clear path to saves for Chicago. He has been their best reliever this year and I think the only threat to his clear path to virtually all of the White Sox’s saves is when and if Hendriks returns.
Yimi Garcia was added in 26 leagues at an average price of $5, as players tried to speculate in the Toronto bullpen following Jordan Romano’s IL placement with more back issues. The Jordan Hicks trade was announced about 6 hours before FAAB ran, so I’m assuming many players lowered or removed bids on Yimi; however, he still got picked up in about half of leagues. I’m assuming he’ll be a popular drop next weekend.
JoJo Romero was added in 25 leagues at an average price of $7. I chalk a little of this to the Sunday save tax and potentially some to players speculating that Giovanny Gallegos may also be traded. Romero picked up Sunday’s save after Gallegos worked two innings of relief. Obviously as I am writing this, I know that Gallegos was not dealt. Romero has dealt with command issues throughout his career, including this year, and doesn’t profile as a closer to me. I will be curious to see how the Cardinals deploy their relievers until Ryan Helsley returns, as I think he factors largely in the 9th inning mix once he is activated.
Robert Suarez was added in 24 leagues for an average price of $6. If the Padres didn’t sweep the Rangers over the weekend, I think Suarez would have been more highly sought-after, as I believe there would have been increased speculation around Josh Hader potentially being dealt. I know he was my top speculative closer target at the beginning of the week but lowered my bids to the $2 range after their sweep of the Rangers was complete. Crazy how a few games can completely change an organization’s approach to the deadline!
Beyond the closer specs, Matt Wallner was the most popular offensive addition this week after his 4 homer performance last week. He’s crushing the ball and I wanted him, but I do have reservations given how the Twins seemingly have a number players with profiles similar to Wallner that they like to cycle through their lineup depending on who is healthy and swinging the bat well with Gallo, Larnach, Kirilloff (obviously currently hurt) and Kepler all on the Twins’ roster after the deadline and Royce Lewis and Nick Gordon on the mend.
Michael Toglia seems to be the obvious beneficiary of the Rockies trading CJ Cron and Randal Grichuk to Anaheim, as Toglia can play both first base and outfield, and as a switch-hitter makes him platoon proof. The Cron trade broke late on Sunday, so maybe players didn’t have enough money to up their Toglia bids. An average price of $8 seems like a pretty good price for a switch hitter who should be getting every day at bats and has Coors Field to call their home park.
Marco Luciano was added in 34 leagues for $8 on average. He’s highly touted and the Giants clearly love him, but it was obvious from his performance at AAA that he is not ready for the big leagues yet and he got exposed in his brief 4 game stretch with a 25% Swinging Strike rate. He was returned to the minors on Tuesday and will likely be highly dropped next week.
Most FAAB Dollars Spent
Most of these players were already touched on. The exception is Ryan Mountcastle, who went for the highest average price this week at $67. He seems to have put the vertigo issues behind him and is back to playing every day. The managers who cut him last weekend are presumably kicking themselves by not waiting a week to see if Mountcastle’s PT picked up, as his lineup spot now seems to be extremely stable.
Highest Average Cost Acquisitions
As is the case when looking at the adds with the highest average price at this point in the year, it is typically comprised players that are only available in a handful of leagues and thus are highly sought after in the leagues in which they become available.
I’m still shocked at how tightly held Ruiz is. Despite his drain in 3 categories, I guess his contribution in steals is too valuable to cut for many managers with still 2 months remaining. I do expect him to be a highly cut player as the season progresses and Ruiz owners feel more solid with their steals points and look for players who contribute more elsewhere.
DROP SUMMARY
Fifteen players were dropped in over 20 leagues this week. As per usual, injuries (Bieber, Ward, Teheran, Pratto, Hicks, DeSclafani, and Henry), underperformance (Grove), job change (Scott, Silseth, Graveman, Puk, Marsh) and demotions (Peraza, Myers) were the overriding themes behind this week’s popular drops.
UNOPPOSED BIDDING
Similar to Andrew Montasterio who was on this list last week, I think Toglia will be a popular add in the 11 Main Event leagues or so he is still available, as I expect him to get regular playing time for the Rockies with the moves of Cron and Grichuk.
