N.L. FAAB Log 6/4/07

Tony Abreu $3. Other bid $3
For now, the Andy LaRoche experiment seems to be over, and Abreu is the short-term 3B. Long-term, he slots in as a middle infielder, probably at 2B. As far as his Roto value goes, it seems limited for now. Abreu reminds me of a poor-man's Dustin Pedroia, someone I like a lot as a baseball player but not a lot as a Roto player (though Pedroia is overperforming my expectations of him so far). Abreu won't hit for much power, won't run much initially, and that .382 BA is a mirage if Abreu won't take a walk. He's worth a $3-4 bid, but don't go nuts.

Yuniel Escobar $2. Other bid $1
If Abreu is a poor man's Pedroia, then Escobar is a poor man's Abreu. The Braves decided that Escobar, and not Prado, was a better fill-in at 3B for Chipper Jones. Like Abreu, Escobar's one tangible skill in the minors was batting average, something that won't necessarily translate to the bigs. What applies for Abreu applies to Escobar. Bid if you need a replacement, but don't go too far over the minimum.

So Taguchi $1
Taguchi's been seeing PT due to Chris Duncan's day-to-day status. The latest report is that Duncan is probable for Tuesday, so FAABing Taguchi only makes sense if you can reserve him this week.

Norris Hopper $1
He's gotten the lion's share of the playing time with Josh Hamilton out. Hopper runs and doesn't do much else; he doesn't even have a RBI over his 70 AB. The speed makes him worthy of bidding a little more than the minimum, and I'm assuming that the Reds won't rush Hamilton back given his history.

Ben Johnson $1
The Mets OF is a walking M*A*S*H* unit, so Johnson's been seeing a good amount of playing time with Moises Alou and Shawn Green on the shelf. Johnson can't really be seen as a prospect any more (he turns 26 this month), and his last impressive year in the minors was in 2005 at the age of 24 for Triple-A Portland. Alou's supposed to return this week, so I don't know what's going to happen with Johnson's playing time. I'd guess he'll play somewhat, given that Carlos Beltran's also nursing an injury.

Byung-Hyun Kim $1
Rotoworld says he's a weak NL-only option. That's probably true, but I say sometimes you've got to ride the hot hand and see what happens. His K/BB ratio is terrible, but keep in mind that Kim was buried in the Colorado bullpen before getting moved to Florida. That could just be rust. I know that Colorado isn't the hitters' heaven it once was, but I still think some pitchers fall prey to the Coors effect. I'm not sure if Kim was one of them, but if he was we could see a decent turnaround here. But don't bid much more than $1, because he could go downhill fast as well.

Gary Bennett $1. Other bids $1, $1.
Rotisserie teams sure love to chase at-bats. Unless the Cardinals run out and grab another catcher besides Kelly Stinnett, Bennett should get most of the AB while Yadier Molina is out. That doesn't mean you should bid on him. Bennett's career OPS is 631, and he's more of a catch-and-throw guy than anything else. He'll pop the occassional HR, but not enough to make him worth the drag on your average.

Matt Belisle $1
Here's a guy I'd avoid right now. He's been bombed in four of his last five starts and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of improving.

Joe Smith $1
I'm not sure why Joe Smith was dropped, but I do know that some Roto teams prefer starting pitchers to relievers (even in 4x4), and that trading a guy like Smith is easier said than done: teams would rather take their chances with a free agent than giving up something for a middle reliever. But Smith has been great so far, and I wouldn't have dropped him in a million years. Yes, I know that the odds are against him continuing to put up a sub-2 ERA. But I'd still bid $2-4 if he were a free agent in my league.

Tony Graffanino $1
Craig Counsell $1 Other bid $1
Obvious fodder for the free agent pool when Ryan Braun was called up, Graffanino and Counsell are now lukewarm properties once again, now that Richie Weeks has landed on the DL. Counsell has a little value for his speed, while Graffanino is more likely to provide sneaky earnings with a HR here and there, a SB here and there, and a few ribbies thrown in for good measure. Neither one has done much of anything this year, but they're certainly worth another free agent stab with Weeks out.