The headline player this week was Hunter Greene, as everyone expected. I only had him available in three of my leagues, all in the NFBC, where he went undrafted in my three last leagues due to his late return date and the lack of an IL spot. Once a player goes undrafted and doesn't play a game in the big leagues in a given season, we're not allowed to bid on him until he logs a game.
Greene's first start didn't exactly quell the bidding on him, despite allowing eight runs on seven hits and four walks against the Orioles. He was picked up in all 30 NFBC Main Event leagues that he was available, with a max bid of $501 and the lowest winning bid coming in at $130.
AL Tout Wars
Due to my incredibly good fortune of having redeemed Cole Ragans' salary last week, I have the most FAAB remaining in the league, by $56 more than the next highest total. Given the close proximity to the trade deadline, I plan on keeping the hammer, in the hopes of landing a difference-maker coming across from the NL. I don't always have the patience for this, and there's no guarantee that anyone big comes over. But the opportunity cost this week wasn't too high.
There was no drop here, because once again Corey Seager went on the IL.
NFBC Main Event
In two of the three leagues that Greene was available to me, I couldn't afford
The headline player this week was Hunter Greene, as everyone expected. I only had him available in three of my leagues, all in the NFBC, where he went undrafted in my three last leagues due to his late return date and the lack of an IL spot. Once a player goes undrafted and doesn't play a game in the big leagues in a given season, we're not allowed to bid on him until he logs a game.
Greene's first start didn't exactly quell the bidding on him, despite allowing eight runs on seven hits and four walks against the Orioles. He was picked up in all 30 NFBC Main Event leagues that he was available, with a max bid of $501 and the lowest winning bid coming in at $130.
AL Tout Wars
Due to my incredibly good fortune of having redeemed Cole Ragans' salary last week, I have the most FAAB remaining in the league, by $56 more than the next highest total. Given the close proximity to the trade deadline, I plan on keeping the hammer, in the hopes of landing a difference-maker coming across from the NL. I don't always have the patience for this, and there's no guarantee that anyone big comes over. But the opportunity cost this week wasn't too high.
There was no drop here, because once again Corey Seager went on the IL.
NFBC Main Event
In two of the three leagues that Greene was available to me, I couldn't afford him. But I'll always have Jakob Junis. Well, no, that's not true - I've long since cut Junis. Meanwhile, on the Sunday night RotoWire podcast, I mentioned that Greene was part of my "three-legged stool" for my FAAB foundation for the week, along with Tyler Wells and Esmerlyn Valdez. I couldn't afford Greene, I got outbid on Wells and Valdez wasn't available. Maybe that's why I'm struggling in this league?
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Jonah Heim has been a revelation for the A's, and he keeps getting bonus playing time. I sure wish we could have paid $3 for him, though.
Our Drops: Javier Assad, Cooper Ingle. The Assad gambit had run its course, with him getting pulled after 4.2 innings on Sunday despite not allowing a run on 80 pitches being the last straw.
NFBC Auction Championship
Once again, Greene was available but I couldn't afford him, with a FAAB budget in the low 200's. However, I got the Wells bid right, and efficiently at that, winning 39 to 37. It was a bitter pill again to have to cut Tony Santillan, but setbacks happen, and we move on.
I also added Zach McKinstry, who has been playing more often lately and qualifies at 2B, 3B, SS and OF. He's had a couple of flash points this year despite an overall downturn of a season, and at the very least I see him being more useful than Davis Schneider.
My Drops: Tony Santillan, Davis Schneider.
Beat Jeff Erickson1
Jonah Heim's bat has come to life with the A's, and he's in the lineup as the DH when he's not catching for them. With a number of key bats out for them, he's moved up in the order as well. Meanwhile, this could be near the end for J.T. Realmuto, who is down to a .618 OPS this season in his age-35 year. I have to wonder if he'll still be on the roster by the time his freshly signed three-year deal is complete.
The highlight pickup for me this week is Esmerlyn Valdez. Valdez still strikes out too much, but he's taken off since starting to play everyday, following Spencer Horwitz's injury. There's some concern about what happens once Horwitz and Oneil Cruz return, probably after the All-Star break, but the genie is out of the bottle, plus Valdez gives the Pirates some lefty-righty balance, with so many of their key hitters batting left-handed.
My Drops: J.T. Realmuto, Steven Kwan.
Beat Jeff Erickson2
Here was I able to get both Hunter Greene and Esmerlyn Valdez, and I probably should have gone aggressively after Wells. It's gross winning a player $67-to-4, as I did with Valdez. I'm now down to $106 in FAAB for the rest of the season with these two big buys, so it'll be small ball the rest of the year. But, that's what happens when you land a big player like Greene. I thought it noteworthy that Rico Garcia went for more than Tyler Wells.
My Drops: Ryan Jeffers, Steven Kwan. I'm a little bummed to drop Ryan Jeffers, who is beginning his rehab assignment. But this is a reflection of my buy-in on Jonah Heim, and I also have Shea Langeliers. I needed a drop for Greene, and I hate carrying three catchers. I might regret this decision.
TGFBI
I found out on the Sunday night podcast that the second place bid here was from our good friend Paul Sporer. It always feels validating when someone you respect so much was in on the same player, and you beat him out on a bid!
My Drop: Roman Anthony. This one really hurts. I was really in on Roman Anthony, and even liked him as a darkhorse MVP candidate. But Anthony still hasn't resumed a hitting program, and has another "peace of mind" appointment with a hand specialist this week. There's no clear timetable for his return.
SCARF
I was pretty aggressive on Tyler Wells in small part because I think this latest IL stint for Ryan Helsley could last awhile, and because Wells is just a very good pitcher. I love relievers that don't nibble, and Wells fits that description, having never walked more than 7.2% of the batters he's faced in any given season.
My Drop: Mitch Keller.
LABR
I had three spots open due to multiple guys landing on the IL this week, including Connelly Early. Alas, I only landed Wells, and was outbid for the services of Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep. The starting pitching pool here was especially grim. Because we have IL spots, there were no drops here.
RotoWire Staff Keeper League
I thought I might have adjusted for the league size appropriately on Tyler Wells, but still got outbid by Todd Zola for his services. I have a competitive team, at least for second place - Bret Cohen (aka Tuffy's Goats) is crushing us. But I currently don't have a closer, having lost Daniel Palencia again, and now Tony Santillan. Instead, I settled for another cheap starter in Trevor McDonald.
But in my late-night bidding, I made a big mistake, not noticing that Jacob Webb was available. I absolutely would have bid $3+ on him had I noticed him. The lesson here? Even if you have a really late deadline (FAAB runs overnight here), you don't need to wait until close to the deadline to put your bids in! You can always adjust later.
My Drop: Tony Santillan.
