BullpenGuru
Week 3 FAAB
As I mentioned on last week’s pod, I am a bit short for time this week, thus I find myself here on Sunday night writing up my recap article shortly after FAAB ran. Excuse me if I don’t go into as much detail as Rob and I did last week or on my first few write-ups. The in-depth analysis will be back next week from me, but I think I should be able to hit on many of the key trends from this week’s FAAB run.
As I was setting my FAAB bids earlier tonight a short while before FAAB ran, I wondered to myself if many other managers in the Main Event found themselves in the same spot as me, scrambling on a holiday evening to get FAAB bids in. I thought to myself, “potentially this might be a light week of FAAB with players slipping through the cracks at cheaper prices?” I was proven very wrong, as this was the most FAAB money spent thus far in any of the 3 weeks of FAAB. Let’s get into it.
LEAGUE ACQUISITION SUMMARY
There was FAAB activity in all 53 Main Event leagues this past Sunday. League 1448 led the way with the most FAAB moves this week, with 41 transactions totaling $865 spent, at an average of $21 per addition. The most money spent came from League 1614 with $1,801 spent this week (37 additions, average of $49 per add, which was also the league with the highest average spent per add this week). The league with the fewest transactions was League 1737 with 27 additions ($566 total spend, average of $21 per add). The least money spent came from League 1579 with $520 spent this week (32 additions, average of $16 per add). The average acquisition was $70, up $6 dollars per add from last week. Through three FAAB runs, the average team has spent $142 in FAAB. If you find yourself with about $850 or more, consider yourself ahead of the competition! Here is the summary of activity by league and by week. :
PLAYER ACQUISITION SUMMARY
Most Frequently Added
Sixteen players were added in 50% or more of Main Event leagues this week. The most frequently added player was Kris Bubic, who was added in 52 leagues. Those that were targeting Bubic prior to his Sunday start had to be frustrated by his six-shutout innings against the Giants on Sunday, which likely drove his price up and put him on the radar of everyone. Francisco Alvarez was the second most popular bid, as playing time for the Mets seemingly has opened up as a result of the Omar Narvaez injury. Main Event managers rostering Alvarez will now patiently wait as Alvarez has to accumulate nine more games at catcher to qualify for catcher eligibility in the NFBC. Matt Strahm, Bryce Elder, and Wade Miley were all popular adds due to their two-start weeks. 30 managers added Matt Brash, hoping he will factor into the save mix with the news that Andres Munoz would be placed on the IL on Sunday. Akil Baddoo, Braxton Garrett, Alec Burleson, Luke Raley, Matt Vierling and Edmundo Sosa owners all have to hope that they are able to take advantage of the playing time that has opened up to them as a result of injuries.
Most FAAB Dollars Spent
Eleven players fetched over $1,000 in total Main Event FAAB bids this week, many of whom were already mentioned earlier in the most-added discussion. The one that stands out is Chas McCormick, who was only added in 18 leagues yet yielded a winning bid of $70 on average this week. After serving as the leadoff hitter on Saturday and Sunday for the Astros, it comes as no surprise that he was a big target in the 18 leagues he was added.
Highest Average Cost Acquisitions
Seventeen players averaged triple digits this week on a per-addition basis. When looking at this list, it primarily consists of players that were only available in a handful of leagues in the Main Event contest. When heavily-rostered players hit the wire in leagues, it makes sense that there is a bit of a bidding frenzy on them, which appears to have been the case here. Only Alvarez averaged more than $100 per bid and was added in more than 8 leagues.
ADD OF THE WEEK
This week’s Add of the Week comes from League 1717, where Samuel Horton was able to optimize his bid on Drey Jameson, managing to bid just enough to win him without overspending a single dollar. Well done Samuel!
DROP SUMMARY
Thirteen players were dropped in over 50% of leagues. Injuries to Darick Hall, Omar Narvaez, Josh Donaldson, Joey Wendle, Austin Meadows, and Avisail Garcia understandably were the reason they were jettisoned from rosters. Many managers were understandably frustrated after watching Michael Grove, Kutter Crawford, and Jared Shuster’s two-start performances this week. Those speculating on saves appeared to move on from Brusdar Graterol, Jimmy Herget, and Brad Boxberger. It will be interesting to see if managers will end up regretting cutting these relievers, especially if they manage to wrangle saves on their respective teams. While not exceeding the 50% threshold, I did notice some interesting names that were cut this week. If we were recording a pod this week, Rob and I certainly would have discussed the potential thought process behind these cuts, but I found it notable that Oneil Cruz was cut in 10 leagues, Jose Berrios was cut in 7 and Alex Lange, Carlos Carrasco, and Victor Robles were all cut in 5 leagues.
UNOPPOSED BIDDING
I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I really enjoy looking at which players went unopposed to other leagues. It seems some of the most popular players that go unopposed are players with really favorable matchups, for example Rob Refsnyder and Connor Wong facing primarily lefty-starters the next few weeks while Franchy Cordero gets 7 righties this week.
I will be back next week for another article and podcast with Rob. Good luck this week!
