N.L. FAAB Log: April 28, 2008

Jerry Hairston $17. Other bids $6, $2, $1.
Hairston looks like he'll be getting a good amount of AB for the Reds in the near future, mostly at Corey Patterson's expense. $17 seems like too much, though: the Reds will probably sit Hairston when he cools off, which he eventually will. His game is also speed, and he hasn't run as much in the last two years as he used to do. He's worth owning as long as he plays, but probably not worth a fat bid.

Shawn Chacon $6.
We've been down this road with Chacon before. He'll put up decent ERA/WHIP numbers despite absolutely awful peripherals, and someone will get sucked in. In this case, he had one dynamite start at Philadelphia and four OK starts to date. His 1:1 K/BB highlights the danger, and Chacon will eventually put up one of those stinkers that will remind you why he shouldn't be owned.

Jason Marquis $3.
This is another guy I'm simply not impressed with. He's better than Chacon, but Marquis is still a borderline Roto starter. Someone's got to own him in a deep league, but I've always noticed that that someone is seldom the winner.

Martin Prado $2.
He's been filling in for Chipper Jones the last few days. Even if Jones does go on the DL, Prado's value is very limited, as he doesn't hit for power or run. He's an organizational foot soldier who is important to a real baseball team due to his versatility but not so much for us.

John Lannan $2. Other bid $1.
I got to see Lannan pitch against the Cubs on WGN today and I'm glad I did. I don't think his numbers so far are all that fluky. He's got a deceptive delivery, some nice sink to his fastball and some good movement on his curve. The Cubs lineup looked pretty fooled by what he was dishing. He still doesn't quite know where the ball is going (thus the walks), but I think he can be a solid citizen for the Nats this year. I'd rather roll the dice on Lannan than on Marquis or Chacon if I had to choose.

Jeff Baker $1.
His newly found middle infield eligibility (in some leagues) gives Baker a slight boost in value, but I don't think he's going to play enough over Clint Barmes to justify the roster spot in most cases.

Wes Helms $1.
With Mike Jacobs day-to-day, Helms should be worth looking at this week in N.L. only leagues. He hit a home run today, and he should be a good power source (last year's outage notwithstanding) for at least next week. Long term, it's hard to see Helms getting too many AB as long as Jorge Cantu continues to hit at 3B.

Paul Bako $1.
Bako's had an amazing run to start the year; as a result, he's grabbing a good number of AB behind the plate for the Reds. It won't keep up, but I don't see the harm in riding the hot hand and hoping for more of the same.

Rich Aurilia $1. Other bid $1.
With two HR this week, Aurilia cemented his job in the near future. He continues to be the source of the odd HR. He's a weak option at corner, but he's not exactly the worst player out there in deep leagues so he should be owned.

Aaron Miles $1.
With Brendan Ryan playing SS for the day-to-day Cesar Izturis, Miles might not see much playing time going forward. Given his very limited Roto value, that probably doesn't matter much anyway.

Endy Chavez $1.
Chavez picked up a couple of starts over the weekend, but I still don't see him taking too many AB away from Angel Pagan. He has to run to be worth something, and Chavez hasn't run that much in the last two years.

Joe Smith $1.
Smith got beat up a little bit in the last week. He remains an OK middle relief option in Roto, but he's not a closer-in-waiting who will magically start supplying more value than that.