Welcome to the weekly Tout Wars FAAB report, on its new home right here on the Tout Wars site. Each week, we’ll review the free agent acquisitions from all five leagues, with commentary from a league member, as well as yours truly.
We changed the timing of the weekly run to 1 PM ET every Sunday, with the report posted later that afternoon so you’ll have time to digest and apply to your own leagues. In addition, I’ll be joining Lawr Michaels and Justin Mason on the Tout Wars Hour on the FNTSY Network every Sunday at 3:20 PM ET to discuss the results.
You can find the complete list of Tout Warriors here. Everyone starts with 1000 FAAB units, less any penalty incurred by finishing below a designated point in the standings. This is a means of keeping everyone motivated to keep playing all season long. The minimum bid is $0. FAAB units can be traded as well as rebated for players released off the DL. The report will list all winning bids along with unsuccessful tries and contingencies. This provides the maximum level of information to help gauge interest on the players.
The American and National League only formats are 12-team leagues, as is the new points-based head to head league, The Mixed Auction and Draft each have 15 clubs. All the leagues have four reserves with an unlimited DL, expect the head to head league, which allows six reserves. The headings above each league are links to publicly accessible sites where you can see standings, roster and a complete review of transactions. The initial auctions and drafts can be found here.
SUCCESSFUL BIDS
| PLAYER | WINNING BID | ||
| AMcCutchen, NYY | Rob Leibowitz 455 | Jeff Erickson 246 | Seth Trachtman 165 |
| Mike Podhorzer 149 | Vlad Sedler 101 | ||
| Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton 47 | Lawr Michaels 46 | ||
| Larry Schechter 1 | |||
| FValdez, Hou | Jeff Erickson 246 | Vlad Sedler 19 | Seth Trachtman 5 |
| IHamilton, CWS | Jason Collette 20 | ||
| DCastillo, TB | Doug Dennis 15 | ||
| DLugo, Det | Vlad Sedler 13 | ||
| AHechavarria, NYY | Lawr Michaels 11 | ||
| JMateo, Oak | Patrick Davitt 1 | ||
| DHess, Bal | Seth Trachtman 1 | ||
| HSantiago, CWS | Vlad Sedler 1 |
UNAWARDED BIDS
| PLAYER | |||
| JrgLopez, KC | Vlad Sedler 7 | ||
| JAndreoli, Bal | Vlad Sedler 6 | ||
| BGuyer, Cle | Vlad Sedler 2 | ||
| RBuchter, Oak | Vlad Sedler 1 | ||
| BValera, Bal | Lawr Michaels 1 |
Todd’s Take
A combination of FAAB rebates for DL players in addition to a paucity of difference-making crossover players left a couple AL Toutians with deep pockets. Rob Leibowitz is glad Andrew McCutchen switched leagues as he tries to climb closer to the threshold to lose FAAB for next season. Cutch has a job now, we’ll see how much he pays once Aaron Judge returns.
Jeff Erickson was also able to lighten the wallet, grabbing Astros starter Framber Valdez. Valdez is working in Lance McCullers Jr.’s spot, allowing just two earned runs in his 14.1 innings, albeit with only 10 whiffs and seven walks. Still, starters, especially for contending teams are hard to come by.
SUCCESSFUL BIDS
| PLAYER | WINNING BID | ||
| LDuda, Atl | Brian Walton 60 | ||
| TToussaint, Atl | Brian Walton 25 | Todd Zola 17 | Grey Albright 11 |
| DPoncedeleon, StL | Mike Gianella 23 | Todd Zola 17 | Andy Behrens 2 |
| Tristan H. Cockcroft 0 | |||
| ZDavies, Mil | Mike Gianella 22 | ||
| CGranderson, Mil | Steve Gardner 14 | ||
| BWilson, Atl | Grey Albright 11 | ||
| BMitchell, SD | Todd Zola 7 | ||
| AGarcia, SF | Craig Mish 4 | ||
| BMorrow, ChC | Steve Gardner 2 | ||
| JBrigham, Mia | Craig Mish 1 |
UNAWARDED BIDS
| PLAYER | |||
| KWright, Atl | Grey Albright 11 | ||
| AChafin, Ari | Craig Mish 0 |
Todd’s Take
Lucas Duda was the big-ticket item, but with Freddie Freeman in two, Duda will likely be relegated to pinch-hitting duties, perhaps seeing some outfield time after a double-switch.
Starting pitching was the next order of business with five arms scheduled to work this week added to Tout rosters. My personal rank matches that of the bids with the Braves Touki Toussaint leading the way as he’s been announced to open the interleague series with Boston on Labor Day. Daniel Poncedeleon may lose his spot once Adam Wainwright and/or Michael Wacha return, but he has a nice matchup with Detroit this week. Zach Davies makes his return from the DL on Monday, the first of a double -dip. Without a lot of FAAB, I landed on Bryan Mitchell, someone I was expecting to transition to a usable starter after the Yankees dealt him to San Diego.
SUCCESSFUL BIDS
| PLAYER | WINNING BID | ||
| RRay, Ari | Zach Steinhorn 82 | Bret Sayre 61 | Scott Swanay 48 |
| Tim Heaney 4 | Jeff Zimmerman 1 | ||
| LUrias, SD | Scott Engel 19 | Tim Heaney 4 | Jeff Zimmerman 0 |
| JCave, Min | Scott Engel 5 | ||
| BMcCann, Hou | Fred Zinkie 5 | Jeff Zimmerman 0 | |
| JFry, CWS | Tim McLeod 4 | Jeff Zimmerman 1 | |
| TJankowski, SD | Fred Zinkie 4 | ||
| FPena, LAA | Al Melchior 3 | Zach Steinhorn 22 | |
| AJackson, NYM | Scott Engel 2 | ||
| RYarbrough, TB | Tim McLeod 1 | ||
| JRodriguez, Was | Tim McLeod 1 | ||
| FValdez, Hou | Jeff Zimmerman 1 | Al Melchior 0 | |
| JUrena, Mia | Tim Heaney 1 | ||
| SCishek, ChC | Fred Zinkie 0 | ||
| DRobertson, NYY | Fred Zinkie 0 | ||
| CReed, Cin | Al Melchior 0 | ||
| VCaratini, ChC | Jeff Zimmerman 0 |
UNAWARDED BIDS
| PLAYER | |||
| DStraily, Mia | Zach Steinhorn 22 | ||
| JAlvarado, TB | Tim McLeod 3 | Fred Zinkie 0 | |
| AFrazier, Pit | Scott Engel 3 | Tim Heaney 0 | |
| FHernandez, Sea | Al Melchior 3 | ||
| MMahtook, Det | Scott Engel 2 | ||
| ZDavies, Mil | Tim Heaney 1 | ||
| DHess, Bal | Tim McLeod 0 | ||
| HFillmyer, KC | Tim McLeod 0 | ||
| HDozier, KC | Tim Heaney 0 | ||
| JBruce, NYM | Tim Heaney 0 | ||
| NWalker, NYY | Tim Heaney 0 | ||
| WDifo, Was | Tim Heaney 0 | ||
| JBriceno, LAA | Jeff Zimmerman 0 | ||
| JSucre, TB | Jeff Zimmerman 0 |
Todd’s Take
Robbie Ray’s 11.6 K/9 is excellent, but he’s only pitched more than 5.1 innings once in his last 10 outing so his raw strikeout total isn’t especially high.
I’m a little surprised there wasn’t more interest on David Robertson. Yeah, it’s still a committee but my money is on Robertson to get the bulk of the saves in Aroldis Chapman’s absence.
SUCCESSFUL BIDS
| PLAYER | WINNING BID | ||
| TWhite, Hou | Adam Ronis 37 | Ray Murphy 30 | Charlie Wiegert 20 |
| SMatz, NYM | Ray Murphy 24 | Charlie Wiegert 18 | Adam Ronis 3 |
| ABeltre, Tex | Ray Murphy 24 | ||
| TAustin, Min | Adam Ronis 23 | Charlie Wiegert 12 | |
| JUrena, Mia | Charlie Wiegert 18 | ||
| APlutko, Cle | Charlie Wiegert 18 | ||
| YChirinos, TB | Charlie Wiegert 18 | ||
| MShoemaker, LAA | Charlie Wiegert 18 | ||
| MMahtook, Det | Ray Murphy 14 | Adam Ronis 1 | |
| ROHearn, KC | Charlie Wiegert 12 | Adam Ronis 23 | |
| JShields, CWS | Jeff Boggis 12 |
UNAWARDED BIDS
| PLAYER | |||
| AGomber, StL | Charlie Wiegert 18 | ||
| RLaureano, Oak | Adam Ronis 17 | ||
| AGordon, KC | Ray Murphy 14 | ||
| WChen, Mia | Charlie Wiegert 12 | Adam Ronis 3 | |
| ASenzatela, Col | Charlie Wiegert 12 | ||
| BJohnson, Bos | Charlie Wiegert 12 | ||
| FPena, LAA | Charlie Wiegert 12 | ||
| BMcKinney, Tor | Adam Ronis 12 |
Todd’s Take
If you’ve been using Evan Gattis for your catcher, you understand why Tyler White topped the bidding in the mixed Draft league. White has usurped primary DH duties, posting a 1.097 OPS with nine homers over the past month.
SUCCESSFUL BIDS
| PLAYER | WINNING BID | ||
| MFulmer, Det | Dr. Roto 29 | ||
| JBeeks, TB | Dr. Roto 18 | ||
| SOhtaniP, LAA | Dr. Roto 16 | ||
| DSpan, Sea | Peter Kreutzer 13 | ||
| MShoemaker, LAA | Peter Kreutzer 11 |
UNAWARDED BIDS
| PLAYER | |||
| JGant, StL | Peter Kreutzer 10 | Dr. Roto 9 | |
| APlutko, Cle | Peter Kreutzer 8 | ||
| FValdez, Hou | Dr. Roto 7 | ||
| WMiley, Mil | Peter Kreutzer 7 | ||
| NGoodrum, Det | Peter Kreutzer 4 | ||
| RErlin, SD | Peter Kreutzer 3 | ||
| MGonzalez, Hou | Peter Kreutzer 1 |
Todd’s Take
The competitors are looking for any help down the stretch in an effort to track down league leader Jake Ciely. Dr. Roto fortified his pitching staff, hoping the struggling Michael Fulmer returns to form. The righty has two starts next week, facing the White Sox and Cardinals.