MLB FAAB Factor: Stash a Cy Young Winner

This FAAB article is in addition to the AL and NL FAAB articles that run Sunday. Bids are based on a $100 FAAB budget. Throughout the season, this column will have two goals:

1. Identify FAAB targets for fantasy managers in leagues with Thursday FAAB.

2. Offer a preview of FAAB targets ahead of Sunday's columns.

There really is nothing better than country hardball, taking baseball down to its basics. Back in the 1970s and '80s, the gold standard of power pitchers was Nolan Ryan. In fact, he's on my Mt. Rushmore of high heat with Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson. The fourth member is TBD.

Ryan never backed down from a challenge against a power hitter. And few players ever had the power package that Bo Jackson had in his Royals days. There was a Sports Illustrated article in the late '80s talking about an at-bat when Ryan just reared back and threw it as hard as he could, daring Jackson to hit it. Here's the result. 

Scouts and media types wondered in that article what would happen if Jackson actually connected. Well, here's what happened the next time they faced each other in Texas. Word at the time was that the ball was traveling to a space station.

That brings us to the events of June 5: Dodgers vs. Pirates. Paul Skenes facing Shohei Ohtani and the vaunted LA lineup for the first time. PNC Park was buzzing, and blew up when Skenes struck out Ohtani on three straight heaters in the first inning, the last one of the 101-mph variety. Then came a full-count 100-mph heater that Ohtani tattooed for a 415-foot shot to straightaway center field. Baseball as mano a mano. Man, so fun.

This is what makes baseball beautiful. It's why we watch and partly why we play fantasy. To keep us glued to a June game that might otherwise be overlooked. Here's to more moments like those in the next four months – five if we're counting playoffs.

For now, let's get into MLB FAAB Factor.

Starting Pitcher

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers (40%)
It's hard to imagine a three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP on this list, but that's what happens after offseason shoulder surgery. He's been throwing simulated games already and should be going out on a minor-league rehab assignment this week. This should be considered like his spring training, and that usually means about six starts. 

Even though media reports have him "ahead of schedule," this is going to be more of a stash, and it should be at least through the All-Star break before he returns. But this is Clayton Kershaw. Future first-ballot Hall of Famer and someone who can still pitch even with diminished velocity. And there's the bonus of him being 56 strikeouts from the hallowed mark of 3,000. It won't count for fantasy, but it's still pretty cool to have him rostered if he hits that benchmark later this season. FAAB: $15

Albert Suarez, Baltimore Orioles (27%)
He's made five starts, and gone no more than 5.2 innings, as he's flip-flopped between the rotation and the bullpen for the Orioles. He's pitched well in his last three outings, allowing three runs in 13 innings, striking out 12. 

For those in weekly transaction leagues, Suarez is looking at a two-start week coming up. Though those games will be home matchups against good offenses in the Braves and Phillies. If he sticks in the rotation for Baltimore, he could have plenty of fantasy value. FAAB: $6

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants (15%)
This is the injury-stash edition of MLB FAAB Factor. The 2021 AL Cy Young award winner, Ray is returning from Tommy John surgery and just began a rehab assignment. He went one inning for the Giants' Arizona Complex League team.

Fantasy pitching staffs are littered with injuries right now, so it'll be hard to find many rosters with availability. But if anyone has an open spot and Kershaw is gone, Ray is available in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues and could be another pitcher getting ready to toe the rubber for the Giants around the All-Star break. FAAB: $9

Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals (28%)
In his last seven starts, Irvin has allowed more than two runs just once. And over his last three starts, he's struck out 22 batters in 18.1 innings, giving up just four runs (1.97 ERA). He's walked just three batters in that span.

Irvin faces the Braves on June 7 in D.C. The 27-year-old fourth-rounder out of Oklahoma is pitching for a long-term spot in this rotation in just his second year in the big leagues. FAAB: $6

Relief Pitcher

Yimi Garcia, Toronto Blue Jays (45%)
The new-closer feeding frenzy has happened for Garcia, as he's subbing for the injured Jordan Romano. In his last four outings, Garcia has one win and two saves. High-leverage situations are nothing new for him, as he has nine holds in his first 22 games. That 0.74 WHIP and 1.57 ERA sure look good on a closer this year, no matter how long he has the mantle. FAAB: $8

Catcher

Tyler Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds (16%)
Stephenson has started six straight and eight of nine for the Reds. In a three-game series in Colorado, Stephenson went 5-for-14 with four runs, a home run and two RBI. That's part of a six-game hitting streak.

He's hitting fifth or sixth primarily, still prime position when he gets to hit half his games at Great American Ball Park. FAAB: $3

First Base

Mark Vientos, New York Mets (35%)
His last name means "winds" in Spanish, and he's caught plenty of air by hitting in seven of nine games for a .916 OPS. He has a pair of homers, five RBI and four runs scored in that span. Brett Baty has gone down to the minors, so there will be plenty of Vientos in the sails at Citi Field to see if he can keep up that .339 batting average on the season. FAAB: $5

Luke Raley, Seattle Mariners (23%)
In a four-game streak May 31-June 4, Raley went 5-for-13 with four runs, five RBI and a pair of home runs. He also stole a bag. He hit either fifth or sixth in the last three games in that stretch. With Raley's outfield eligibility as well, get ready to move him around fantasy lineups. FAAB: $3

Second Base

Connor Norby, Baltimore Orioles (6%)
Fantasy managers might be dipping their toes into the waiver-wire waters when it comes to the Orioles' treasure trove of prospects. Jackson Holliday had a 50 percent K rate before going back down for more seasoning. Heston Kjerstad played just seven games and hit .143, his name out of the lineup more than in.

Up to the plate steps the 23-year-old Norby, who hit .286 with an .884 OPS, smacking nine homers and driving in 36 runs in 51 games. He hit his first big-league home run on June 4, just his second MLB game. He's hit in the bottom third in the lineup, and could be a target for teams beset by injuries or those rebuilding in keeper leagues. FAAB: $8

Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays (21%)
That 2021 season with 39 home runs and 99 RBI feels both recent and long ago all at once. Yet Lowe is still a month shy of his 30th birthday and has some good baseball in him. He missed about six weeks with an oblique injury, returning on May 20. Of late he's started to heat up, going 6-for-15 with a home run, four runs and six RBI in a four-game span ending June 5.

He's still sitting occasionally against lefties, so he's better in leagues with daily moves. Yet when he's been in the lineup since his return, he's hit no lower than fifth. FAAB: $4

Third Base

Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers (49%) 
Known for his glove and defensive versatility throughout the infield, Ortiz has had things come on with the bat of late. In his 30 games ending in a 1-for-5 outing against the Phillies on June 4, Ortiz hit .289 with four homers, 13 RBI and 18 runs scored. His batting eye has been wonderful, as he's struck out and walked the same number of times, 16. He's even hit leadoff in some games, a good tiebreaker in daily leagues if picking between two infielders. FAAB: $7

Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates (45%)
After missing time with a back injury, Hayes returned to the Pittsburgh lineup on May 29. Health has been an issue, as he's yet to play more than 136 games in his five-year MLB career. But when he's been on the field, his bat has played.

Coming off a 2023 season in which he hit .271 with 15 home runs and stole 10 bases, Hayes was an under-the-radar pick in fantasy drafts. Now he could help teams off the waiver wire, as in his last four games he's gone 6-for-18 with one homer, four runs, four RBI and a stolen base. He's hit fifth in every game he's started. FAAB: $4

Shortstop

J.P. Crawford, Seattle Mariners (28%)
The shortstop position was pretty thin in options for this week's column, unless we looked at repeats from recent editions. Crawford is getting everyday at-bats at the top of the Mariners' lineup, and on June 1 hit a grand slam. He's coming off a 2023 season when he hit 19 home runs and scored 94 runs. He's still young enough (29) that he could replicate that production this season. FAAB: $5

Outfield

Miguel Andujar, Oakland A's (41%)
Is Andujar really just 29? Seems like we started hearing about him before Taylor Swift's Fearless era. Yes, proud Swiftie dad of three daughters who are big fans. Since his big 2018 season with 27 home runs, 92 RBI and a .297 batting average, Andujar has just 14 total home runs in the big leagues. Thankfully for fantasy managers looking to catch lightning in a bottle, two of those long balls have come in 2024.

In just 10 games in his first season with the A's that was delayed by surgery on a torn meniscus shortly before Opening Day, Andujar has smashed the ball repeatedly. He's hitting .341 with an .870 OPS, driving in 12 runs and scoring six more while batting second through fourth in the lineup. Oakland is like Ellis Island for ballplayers looking for another chance, and Andujar is making a good first impression. FAAB: $9

Heliot Ramos, San Francisco Giants (13%)
What I wrote about Luis Matos a few weeks back, let's apply that to Ramos. And hopefully with an end result other than a demotion to the minors. Ramos has done well after getting called up to the big leagues on May 8, especially lately. 

Ramos hit home runs in three of his last four games, going 6-for-13 with six RBI and four runs scored. The slugger is up to 19 RBI in just 26 games and has a healthy OPS of .918. He's been hitting in the top two spots in the Giants' lineup and may not leave there anytime soon. FAAB: $10

Jesse Winker, Washington Nationals (33%)
I know it's easier to steal bases in the big leagues the past couple years, but Winker has taken it to a new level. He's stolen 11 bags after pilfering just three total bases in his previous seven big-league seasons combined. 

One of the best prospects in baseball when he came up with the Reds in 2017, Winker's injuries have kept him from realizing that potential. But he appears to be healthy right now and hitting anywhere from third through sixth in the Nats' lineup. FAAB: $7