This is the latest of our weekly reports for 2019,
summarizing the top free agent bids in each of the five Tout Wars leagues, with
links to the detailed bidding action following our 8 p.m. ET deadline each
Sunday evening. All prices are on a $1000 base.
After you scan the detail below, please join our live chat,
starting at 9 p.m. ET Sunday evening, to discuss these results with Todd Zola
of Mastersball and other Touts.
American League
This week, 16 free agents were acquired via the FAAB process
in the American League-only league, however, per-player spending was low. Top
prospect Brendan McKay was not among them, having been owned by Mike Podhorzer
since June 10. This early speculation is typical for the highest-profile
prospects in the two “-only” Tout leagues.
Colton and the Wolfman bid $52 for Oakland’s Franklin Barreto,
topping the next-largest offer of $32. The long-time infield prospect was just
called up on Sunday, though his path to regular playing time is unclear.
Jeff Erickson of RotoWire dropped a pair of winning $11 bids
on Lone Star State free agents Logan Forsythe and J Urquidy. The veteran
Forsythe may be most valuable in this format due to his eligibility in all four
infield spots rather than his bat. Urquidy, 24, an Astros pitching prospect, is
an option to be called up to make his start Tuesday – in Colorado!
13 players moved onto NL Tout rosters this Sunday evening.
It was an oldie-but-goodie move for Lenny Melnick in
acquiring Fernando Rodney of the Nationals for $31. The 42-year old picked up a
save this past week, for his ninth team in his long career, but his role is
more likely to be a setup man ahead.
St. Louis’ Tommy Edman can do a little of everything – show
a bit of pop, steal a base and can play all over. The infielder is taking
advantage of Matt Carpenter’s prolonged slump, but will more likely settle into
a super-sub role. I expected more interest, bidding $20 when a buck would have
gotten the job done.
Alex Young was called up by Arizona and yielded three runs
over five innings to the Giants in his MLB debut. Scott Wilderman of onRoto
paid $14 to roster the lefty.
Mixed auction was busy this week with 18 players acquired.
Here, McKay was unowned and joined the roster of big-spending
Jeff Zimmerman for $178. The two-way player seems to have the most immediate
value on the mound. Zimmerman also posted a winning offer for starter Austin
Voth of the Nationals. The 27-year old is up for the second season and gets the
Royals this coming week.
With much of his pre-season prospect luster worn off,
Rockies infielder-outfielder Garrett Hampson is back with the big club and
should see time as long as Trevor Story’s thumb injury keeps him out. Yahoo’s Scott
Pianowski won the bidding at $41.
Another prospect who struggled earlier, St. Louis’ Tyler O’Neill,
is also back due to misfortune to another, this time Marcell Ozuna’s hand
injury. O’Neill can hit for power, but has major problems with the strikeout.
This may be his last big chance to show if he can replace Ozuna next season,
with Brent Hershey’s winning offer of $35 sealing the deal.
Mixed Draft is often a busy group at free agent time and
this week was no exception. A whopping 24 players were added.
Leading the way at $400 is new/former St. Louis closer
Carlos Martinez, acquired by Seth Trachtman. The ex-starter also filled in with
ninth-inning duties last season and may actually be more consistent than
hard-throwing Jordan Hicks, the injured player he is replacing. With his own
upper-90’s heat, Martinez can get the job done.
McKay fetched a winning offer of $222 from Greg Ambrosius of
the NFBC, with the next-closed bid having been $175.
Adam Ronis acquired Dylan Cease for $57. The White Sox
prospect is slated to make his MLB debut on Wednesday vs. the Tigers. The
timing is odd, as Cease had a strong April and May, but a rough June. Well, it
is a new month…
An even total of 20 players were picked up this Sunday in
the Head to Head format league. The top teams in the standings made the biggest
individual moves.
The top price was the $116 paid for McKay by league leader
Clay Link, a relative bargain perhaps.
Next at $103 is Justin Upton. The outfielder is finally
healthy again and back in the Angels outfield. He has yet to steal a base, but
has three long balls in his first 11 games this season. Upton’s new team is that
of second-place owner Ian Kahn.
Few if anyone thought much about Kevin Newman coming into
the season, but the Pirates infielder continues to be a steady performer. The
25-year old was red-hot this past week, with three home runs and nine RBI and his
second, short and third eligibility is a nice bonus. Kahn was again the high
bidder with his $37 offer.
It’s the first week of Period 4, everyone has a clean slate. Nine Golden Tickets have been awarded, three more are on the line the next four weeks. Here are some of the choices the Touts are counting on for a place in the Finals.
Dan Strafford (FNTSY Radio, @DanStrafford)
Pitcher: Max Scherzer – While his price point may be a tad prohibitive, it’s hard to see a pitcher in a better spot than Mad Max tonight. It is true that the Marlins are simply middle of the pack when it comes to K% against RHP on the year, but Scherzer sports a 38.9% K rate against right hand batters. The Marlins could potentially run out eight right handers in their lineup tonight. For cash games, a Scherzer/Bumgarner pairing may be pretty popular.
Hitter: Aaron Hicks – If we’re paying up for Scherzer, we’re going to have to find some cheaper bats to chase homeruns with on this slate. While Hicks isn’t a bargain, at 4k he represents one of the cheaper Yankees options on the night. Over his career, Clayton Richard has yielded 1.27 homeruns per nine to right handed batters. New York has an implied total of 7.3 runs. Hicks has sufficient power from the right side against left handed batters and should see the underbelly of the Jays bullpen early.
Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)
Pitcher: Madison Bumgarner – Chalkier than a batter’s box before the game starts but I don’t care. The Rox have struggled on the road versus LHP for the past several seasons.
Hitter: Franmil Reyes – Today’s DFS is all about the homer, so is the Orioles pitching staff. Reyes is reasonable priced from the five-hole.
Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)
Pitcher: Madison Bumgarner – There are a couple of expensive starting pitchers tonight, that I would love to roster, but struggle to complete an entire lineup that I feel comfortable with. That being said, I’m starting Madison Bumgarner (SF): $8,200 vs. COL. He’s at home and facing a Colorado team that is a lot worse on the road than at home when facing left-handed pitchers. The rockies have a 30.0% strikeout rate versus lefties on the road, which is the 2nd worse in MLB.
Hitter: Giancarlo Stanton – Giancarlo Stanton is back and hit his first home run of the season last night. He faces lefty Clayton Richard tonight and Stanton owns a lifetime .500 BA against him. Only $4,600 tonight. Yes please.
Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ, @RayHQ)
Pitcher: Andrew Heaney – Pretty nice spot for Heaney at home for the Reds, will take a shot at him re-discovering the high-K form he flashed in his first couple of starts off the DL.
Hitter: Francisco Mejia – I really like the SD stack in general, but Mejia at 3300 in Camden (vs crappy O’s pitching) is a true gift.
Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)
Pitcher: Madison Bumgarner – Joining the heard on MadBum. Struggling with my choice as the second pitcher – I’ve switched my choice there multiple times, but I’m trying to find someone cheap so that I can afford as many Yankees as possible.
Hitter: Aaron Judge – Judge hasn’t homered yet since his return, but it’s Clayton Richard at home, and he’s underpriced at $4,700.
Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy)
Pitcher: Shane Bieber – Bieber has 116 Ks in 91IP including 20 strikeouts in his last 2 starts. Kansas City is 25th in runs per game and OPS and averages 8.6 strikeouts per game.
Hitter: Jose Altuve – For $3,900 he faces Trevor Williams who allowed 7 runs in his last start. Altuve has 7 hits over his last 4 games including a home run and 2 doubles.
Steve Gardner (USAToday Fantasy Sports, @SteveAGardner)
Pitcher: Jake Arrieta – Arrieta has been hit-or-miss all season, but I’ve heard some “bad stuff ’bout the Mets” lately so I’m all-in on a Philly rout tonight.
Hitter: Jose Altuve – Just off the IL and just $3900, I like Altuve and the Astros against Pittsburgh’s Trevor Williams. The former AL MVP has seven hits in his last four games, including a homer on Sunday.
This week’s question revolves around some of the young arms making their debut recently.
Several young pitchers have debuted recently including Adbert Alzolay, Zac Gallen, Logan Allen and Jordan Yamamoto. Who of this group interests you the most and are there any other young hurlers to keep tabs on?
Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): Neither of the four really excite me enough to consider adding in 12-team mixed leagues or shallower. But Gallen is the most interesting solely because his strikeout rate spiked at Triple-A this year and it was fully supported by a surge in SwStrk%. That validates the legitimacy of the 30%+ strikeout rate, as it’s unlikely driven by good fortune, or a heavy reliance on called or foul strikes. Still, his pre-2019 metrics were pedestrian enough that I’d only consider investing in 15-team mixed and deeper. Otherwise, he’s really no better than your cookie cutter streaming option that’s seemingly always available in shallower formats.
Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ, @dougdennis41): These are good questions for NL-only 12 team leagues. I am in leagues where I have lost Kyle Hendricks and Pablo Lopez in the last week and innings are of course at a premium. In leagues like that, owners replacing starters must take a flyer on pitchers like Gallen, who have had terrific Triple-A metrics this season. Yamamoto is no slouch, either and I certainly did snap him up the week before and am hoping for the best. Logan Allen came into 2019 as the one you would take from this list, and his is probably already on reserve lists in these deeper leagues. Allen might have the most staying power as well. Finally, I do not have any confidence that Alzolay can hold the job because the Cubs are trying to win now and have a veteran group, so once Kyle Hendricks comes back, Alzolay will almost certainly go back.
Tim McCullough (Baseball Prospectus, @TimsTenz): None of the four really excite me in shallow leagues (12-teams or less) but I’d consider adding Gallen and perhaps Yamamoto in 15-team leagues. Gallen in particular has the skill set that I look for in a fantasy pitcher. At the very least I’d like to see more. The young arm I’m still waiting on is Jesus Luzardo. Once he’s healthy I’m expecting a top 5 pitcher to emerge.
Phil Hertz (BaseballHQ, @prhz50): I’m with Tim on shallow leagues. In an NL-only, I might go with Allen as my top choice.
Perry Van Hook (Mastersball, @): I am going to disagree with my Tout brethren about these young pitcher being added in 15 team leagues – Having seen Yamamoto pitch in the Arizona Fall League and watched his progress, I was all in on him last week in the Tout Mixed Draft League. Unfortunately I lost my bid for him in my home NL only league, but I will try again for Gallen this week. BTW Gallen was one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues to date this year and his first outing was fine. Sure their W potentials on the Marlins is not great but a look at free agent pitcher lists in 15 team mixed will not give you many better choices.
Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): I side with Perry. We old fogies may not like it, but today’s fantasy game isn’t designed to wait and see. Someone will take the chance. Conservative gets you middle of the pack. It’s unclear if Allen will stay up, but at some point he will be and it’s worth being aggressive. It’s worth being aggressive on Gallen right now. I don’t see the whiffs from Yamamoto so he’s third for me. Other than the obvious Luzardo, Forrest Whitley and Dylan Cease, I’m monitoring Justus Sheffield as the Mariners are pot-committed to give him a chance (he’s still struggling at Double-A) and my longshot is 26-year old southpaw Kyle Hart, a Red Sox farmhand. Hart isn’t dominant, but he’s done well in Double-A and now with Pawtucket. He’s old for the levels, but if Brian Johnson struggles, I can see Hart getting a shot, especially if Nate Eovaldi has another setback.
Glenn Colton (Fantasy Alarm, @GlennColton1): Gallen for me. 1.77 ERA and 12:1 K/BB in PCL. And now he gets to pitch in a pitcher’s park. Sign me up.
Tim McLeod (PattonandCo, @TimothyLMc): I’m with Perry and Todd. A quick look at the Free Agent pool of available SP in 15-team Mixed Leagues and it becomes apparent that these kids simply can’t be ignored. Allen and Gallen are my preferred choices with Yamamoto just slightly below those two. Alzolay will be heading back to Triple-A when Hendricks returns, so minimal interest. Jesus Luzardo, Dylan Cease, and even Brendan McKay have my attention for the second half. I know McKay is a Ray, which normally means we don’t see him early, but in a close race they might need that arm in September.
Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports): Yamamoto was impressive in two starts against the Cardinals. I’ll be interested in seeing how he does against the Phillies Sunday . If he shuts them down also, he could be major league ready. There is hesitation , as he ( as Gallen) pitch for the offensively challenged Marlin, whose bullpen is also less than desirable.
Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): I like Gallen of the four. MiLB 2019: 1.77/0.71 in 91.1 innings, .153 BAA, 112 K against 17 walks, all in the PCL. I’m especially positive here because he bumped his K/9 from around 9 K/9 pre-2019 to 11.0, cut his walks from 2.4 bb/9 to 1.7, and as a result saw his Command Ratio leap from 3.8 to 6.6. I’m starting to get the feeling that MIA might be onto something in drafting and developing pitchers. I’ve seen analysis noting that Allen’s awful 5.15/1.44 decimals were inflated by two horrendous starts to open the year, which was true (11 earnies and 18 baserunners in 5.0 innings (19.80/3.60); since then: 3.84/1.26). But here’s the thing: In those nine subsequent starts, he had two more stinkers (5.1 combined innings, 11 hits, a walk, 5 HR), making him seem risky from a consistency perspective.
Tristan H. Cockcroft (ESPN, @SultanofStat): Zac Gallen seems to be the consensus choice and it’s one that makes sense: He’s got a wide-open path to a rest-of-year rotation spot, he’ll call one of the most pitching-friendly environments his home, and he could probably double his current innings total (majors and minors) before the Marlins think about shutting him down. Sign me up, including for Logan Allen if I’m ranking them. As for “what’s next,” I don’t think Jesus Luzardo is getting enough attention. Had he not gotten hurt, he’d have made the A’s out of spring training, and the Frankie Montas suspension does open up a spot for Luzardo as soon as he’s healthy.
Scott Engel (Rotoballer, @scotteTheKing): I like Yamomoto. He has some really good movement on his pitches and he is not easy for opponents to pick up. Allen was impressive as well and while he works in a pitcher’s park, I want to see more before I commit to backing him
Nando Di FIno (The Athletic, @nandodifino): I am very much on board with Zac Gallen. I think the strikeout breakthrough is real and he’s exhibited nice enough control through the minors for me to feel safe in him translating that to MLB. But what stands out to me most is his 1.77 ERA this season in the PCL. The ERAs in the PCL are insane right now, and meanwhile here’s Gallen with a sub-2 ERA. I don’t think you can ignore that. When everyone else is getting completely pounded to cartoonish levels, you have a pitcher who is an extreme outlier now coming into a home park that should play to his strengths. As far as anyone else to watch? I would’ve said Elieser Hernández, but he’s also up. Maybe J.P. Feyereisen, if the Yankees make a deal and he’s part of the package that goes to a team without a closer?
Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis): Jordan Yamamoto is my click to pick. He now has won his first 3 games he’s piched in at the major league level this season. Impressive victories over the Cardinals twice, and now the Phillies.
Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): Alzolay and Allen interest me more than Gallen and Yamamoto. However, there are a number of other options who could be returning from the IL or minors at some point this summer who’d also interest me – e.g. – Manaea, Reyes, De Leon, Lamet, Luzardo, and Puk. All else being equal I’d rather have a pitcher who hasn’t missed an extended period of time due to injury, but I feel the ceiling of the pitchers in the second group generally exceeds the ceiling of the pitchers in the first group, and at this point in the season, the ceiling concerns me more than the expected projection.
Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy): Of the group mentioned Zac Gallen intriques me the most. In AAA he averaged over 11 K/s per 9 and less than two walks per nine innings. However the most impressive stat is less than 1 home run allowed per 9 innings. Anthony Kay of the Mets is someone I am monitoring. The dysfunction continues and players like Vargas and Wheeler could possibly be traded by mid-July and Kay is the Mets best pitching prospect.He dominated AA this season and has struggled a bit in 5 AAA innings but as he adjusts the lefty with high strikeout potential could receive a late season call-up.
Vlad Sedler (Fantasy Guru Elite, @rotogut): As far as fantasy relevance for this season, I’d rank them Gallen, Yamamoto, Alzolay, Allen. Gallen is the clear favorite of the group because of his pedigree and domination in Triple-A thus far. He’s the guy most likely to be an SP2 and top-100 overall pick in your fantasy drafts two years from now. Yamamoto has certainly dazzled through his first couple starts, but these final rotation spots are competitive and he’ll have to keep cruising in order to keep it. Alzolay and Allen are talented but are much more likely to be demoted – Allen likely first since he could still use some more seasoning in the minors and Dinelson Lamet should be back in the rotation soon.
Welcome to this week’s summary of the top free agent bids in
each of the five Tout Wars leagues, with links to the detailed bidding action
following our 8 p.m. ET deadline each Sunday evening. All prices are on a $1000
base.
After you scan the detail below, please join our live chat,
starting at 9 p.m. ET Sunday evening, to discuss these results with Todd Zola
of Mastersball and other Touts.
American League
16 new players were rostered this week in the American
League-only format. Prices were subdued, with the most expensive player being
Cleveland right-hander Adam Plutko, acquired by Chris Liss of Rotowire for $47.
Other than a seven-run clunker in his second start, the 27-year old has not
allowed more than two runs in any of his five starts. However, last time out,
Plutko was pulled in the fifth, so he apparently is working on a short rope.
Apparently, the time for 22-year old Luis Arraez of the
Twins is now, as he joined Jeff Erickson’s team for $35. The second base
prospect is batting .364 and a .500 OBP though his first 14 MLB games.
Next in the financial hierarchy this week were a pair of $16
winning offers for Joakim Soria of the A’s by Colton and the Wolfman and Aaron
Civale of the Tribe by Erickson. The ninth inning is at least temporarily open
in Oakland and Civale threw six scoreless innings on just two hits in his MLB
debut against the Tigers.
This week in NL Tout, 14 free agents were acquired. Top
dollar price of $101 went for starting pitcher Logan Allen of San Diego. The
prospect did not have a good start to 2019 in Triple-A, but after a strong MLB
debut against the Brewers this week, he has been given at least one more start,
with the Orioles next. Tristan H. Cockcroft of ESPN is Allen’s new owner.
Cursed with bad luck with closers this year, I dropped $55
for Michael Lorenzen, who has collected three saves already for the Reds with
Raisel Iglesias continuing to be shaky.
Andy Behrens of Yahoo made a speculative $46 winning offer
for Cardinals reliever Tyler Webb, likely based on an emergency save collected by
the lefty on Saturday when (my closer) Jordan Hicks exited with triceps
tendinitis. If Hicks misses any considerable time, my money would be all in on
Carlos Martinez and/or John Gant getting the opportunities ahead of Webb.
It was a busy week in Mixed Auction, with 21 free agents
acquired via FAAB this Sunday night. Still, they stayed just under triple
digits in their bidding.
At $99, former and current closer Roenis Elias of Seattle
joined the roster of Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski. The 30-year old has four saves in
his last five appearances and nine on the season.
Emilio Pagan of Tampa Bay was acquired by Zach Steinhorn of Creativesports for $88. Though the right-hander has just two wins and four saves this season, his ERA/WHIP combination of 1.23 and 0.818 would help any roster. Interim saves are possible with Jose Alvarado and now, Diego Castillo, on the shelf.
Sadly, the next most expensive free agent did not go for
$77. Instead, $57 fetched Oakland starter Liam Hendriks, who picked a save on
Saturday. He may not be the favorite for saves in Blake Treinen’s absence, but
who knows for sure?
An even 20 free agents were purchased via FAAB in Mixed
Draft this week.
Padres starter Allen topped the bidding at $123, going to
Perry Van Hook, followed by Hendriks at $73 to Adam Ronis.
Tim McCullough acquired Indians power-hitting first base
prospect Bobby Bradley for $61. 24 home runs and 55 RBI in 67 Triple-A games are
a solid return, with the 32 percent strikeout rate concerning. Called up on
Sunday, Bradley should get another chance to earn a starting role.
League leader Rudy Gamble picked up Nationals first sacker
Matt Adams for $56. The slugger dodged a recent minor oblique strain while
playing regularly in the absence of oft-injured Ryan Zimmerman.
While the least number of players were acquired this week in
Head-to-Head, the highest bid was placed here. Marlins prospect Zac Gallen
fetched $179 of league-leader Clay Link’s FAAB. Gallen was leading the minors
in innings pitched and ERA before his strong MLB debut this week against the
team that traded him away, the Cardinals.
Hendriks went for $39 to RotoLady, aka Andrea LaMont.
Despite an uneven first start on Friday, well-rested new
Braves starter Dallas Keuchel fetched a $33 winning bid from Dr. Roto.
Alex Chamberlain went $22 for St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez,
who stepped in as closer for the Cardinals for Jordan Hicks last September and
may have to do it again, depending on how Hicks progresses with his forearm
injury.
Tout Wars own Glenn Colton and Rick Wolf will commemorate the announcement this Tuesday night, June 25 on Colton and the Wolfman, heard on Sirius XM Fantasy Radio from 9 PM – 11 PM ET. Several special guests will share memories of Lawr in advance of this well deserved honor.
It’s the last week of Period 3 with three more Golden Tickets in the balance. Here’s who the Touts are counting on to get them into the Championship Tournament.
Gene McCaffrey (The Athletic, @WiseGuyGene)
Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – I have him as the best pitcher tonight regardless of price, against the compulsively whiffing Padres.
Hitter: Robinson Cano – Healthy and hitting, a super-bargain at $3100.
Anthony Aniano (Rotoballer, @AAnianoFantasy)
Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff – He’s striking out 29% of the batters he’s facing and goes against a Padres team that is 21st in runs per game and 27th in strikeouts per game with 9.77.
Hitter: Ramon Laureano – Laureano leads an Oakland stack against Ynoa and his 5.02 ERA and less than 7 Ks/9. Laureano has 8 HRs vs RHP this season and 4 HRs 4SBs in his last 15 games.
Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola)
Pitcher: Brett Anderson – Fading Woodruff and need some additional differentiation
Hitter: Michael Conforto – Seems to work for Phil
Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire, @JeffBoggis)
Pitcher: Julio Teheran – Has an ERA under 2.00 in 8 consecutive games. He is one of the hottest starting pitchers on one of the hottest teams right now with the Atlanta Braves owning the NL East.
Hitter: Ian Desmond – In the past 2 weeks, Ian Desmond has been on a tear, batting .386 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI.
Charlie Wiegert (CDM Sports, @GFFantasySports)
Pitcher: Jack Flaherty – Due to rebound at home vs light hitting Marlins, and hopefully tack up 7 + k’s
Hitter: Matt Carpenter – Another homer, who I hope homers again tonight. I expect the Cardinal hitters to have a better approach tonight than they did against Yamamoto last week.
Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson)
Pitcher: Mitch Keller – Last round of this scoring period, need to take some chances. Keller at least gets strikeouts and is facing the Tigers.
Hitter: Dan Vogelbach – Matchup against Homer Bailey? Yes please.
Howard Bender (Fantasy Alarm, @RotobuzzGuy)
Pitcher: Jack Flaherty – Come on. It’s Miami! The Fish stink. K-rate should be solid with minimal damage via hits/walks on DK
Hitter: Jorge Bonifacio – How about this tasty dart? Kikuchi pitches to a ton of contact and Bonifacio is hot out of the gate following his call-up. He’s got four hits, including two doubles and 3 RBI in his last two games.
Here is the latest weekly report summarizing the top free
agent bids in each of the five Tout Wars leagues, with links to the detailed
bidding action following our 8 p.m. ET deadline each Sunday evening. All prices
are on a $1000 base.
After you scan the detail below, please join our live chat,
starting at 9 p.m. ET Sunday evening, to discuss these results with Todd Zola
of Mastersball and other Touts.
American League
A lucky total of 13 free agents were purchased this week in
American League Tout, however, prices were subdued.
League leader Jason Collette paid the top dollar, $27, for
lefty Colin Poche. Since Collette follows the Rays especially closely, he must
see something in the 25-year old reliever beyond his mediocre Triple-A and
limited MLB numbers to date.
Seattle shortstop Austin Nola joined the roster of Nando
DiFino of The Athletic for $18. The 29-year old, the older brother of Aaron,
can play all over the infield and catch and had good all-around numbers at
Triple-A. Maybe he can carve out a reserve role in his first stint in the
majors.
For $14, Aaron Bummer of the White Sox was acquired by Larry
Schechter for $14. The 25-year old lefty picked up a stray save this week, and
could serve as a closer-in-reserve if the Sox trade Alex Colome this summer.
Only nine players were acquired in NL Tout Wars this week,
with starting pitching leading the way.
Jordan Yamamoto was promoted from Double-A by Miami to
fill-in for injured starter Jose Urena. The 23-year old tossed seven scoreless
innings at the Cardinals in his debut, striking out five. Yamamoto will draw
St. Louis again on Wednesday. Andy Behrens of Yahoo acquired the right-hander
for $146.
His teammate, Elieser Hernandez, posted a solid outing last
week, also against the Cards. He also gets St. Louis next, on Monday. Grey
Albright decided an $11 bid was right, and he won.
Another fill-in starter, Daniel Ponce de Leon of St. Louis,
was picked up for $27 by Mastersball’s Todd Zola. The walks are high and five
innings are about all one can expect from the 27-year old righty, but the Cards
have a need with few other obvious choices.
Bidding was brisker this week in Mixed Auction, with 19 free
agents acquired via FAAB.
The most expensive player added is Toronto’s Joe Biagini,
for $57 to Gene McCaffrey. The 29-year old reliever has two stray saves this
season, and has a 3.72 ERA and a 1.103 WHIP to go with 28 strikeouts in 29 innings.
Brent Hershey of BaseballHQ picked up St. Louis reliever
Giovanny Gallegos for $45. The right-hander, acquired from the Yankees in the
Luke Voit trade, has received more meaningful innings for the Cardinals, but is
unlikely to get a shot at the ninth inning.
For a dollar less, Gallegos’ second base teammate Kolten
Wong was acquired by Scott Pianowski of Yahoo. The 29-year old started the
season strongly, slumped in May, but has picked up his game in the last two weeks,
batting .350 with five stolen bases.
It was a busy Sunday night in Mixed Draft with 22 free
agents acquired via FAAB.
Reborn Phillies infielder Scott Kingery fetched the highest
bid both in Mixed Draft and all five leagues, a $314 winning offer made by
Michael Beller. The 25-year old launched four home runs and plated eight over
his last six games while batting .455. That increased Kingery’s season batting
average to .347 and OBP to .389.
Another Philadelphia player, starting pitcher Zach Eflin,
went for $167 to Scott White of USATODAY. In 13 starts, the 25-year old
right-hander has a solid 2.81 ERA and 1.150 WHIP.
Marlins starter Yamamoto fetched a winning $127 offer from
Perry Van Hook.
15 players were picked up this week in Head to Head Tout.
Leading the way with the top two bids is Ian Kahn, who spent
over a quarter of his full-year FAAB, $235 specifically. For that, he acquired NL
East offense in Kingery for $144 and outfielder Garrett Cooper of the Marlins
for $91. Finally healthy, Cooper is hitting .400 with a .474 OBP and 13 RBI over
the last three weeks.
Andrea Lamont, aka RotoLady, dropped a total of $101 on four
pitchers – Ian Kennedy, Adam Plutko, Merrill Kelly and Pedro Strop. For $30,
Cleveland starter Plutko is an especially intriguing selection. In two starts
since his return from Triple-A, the 27-year old beat the Yankees and Tigers with
a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12 innings.
