N.L. FAAB Log: September 8, 2008

Robert Andino $2.
Andino will back up Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla for the Marlins. He put up decent numbers in a small sample size at AAA Albuquerque, but nothing spectacular enough to generate notice. His future probably lies as a major league back-up, at best.

Jorge Julio $2.
Julio picked up a garbage win he didn't deserve this week against the Marlins. Don't expect too many more of those. Julio is borderline middle reliever at this point in his career (remember when he was a closer?) and is probably not worth owning.

James Parr $1.
Parr had fallen off the prospect lists after a subpar 2006 at Myrtle Beach, but bounced back in a big way this year with strong numbers between AA and AAA. He was sterling against the Nationals in his first major league start, but gets a tougher assignment this week against the clinging-to-life-in-the-N.L.-West Rockies. Based on the numbers, I'm not totally sold on Parr. His K/IP is a little too low for my liking and he's still a flyball pitcher, meaning he'll take his lumps now and again as a 22-year-old still learning his craft. He's worth a flier if you need wins, since few starting pitchers are out there at this point, and there's no denying that he'll be back on the prospect lists this winter.

Nate Schierholtz $1. Other bid $1.
Another year, another impressive minor league campaign by Schierholtz. The knock on him is poor plate discipline, and he indeed had a poor BB/AB rate at AAA this year, but his other numbers were solid across the board. Some who have seen him play have also said that he's a good bad ball hitter, for what that's worth. He's probably not a superstar in the making, but Schierholtz looks like an OK major league OF to me, and a $15-20 player if everything breaks right. He deserves a clean shot at a job, and so far since his call-up the Giants have obliged. Bid more aggressively than this if you have the FAAB and need a starter in your OF.

Geoff Blum $1.
With Ty Wigginton on the shelf, Blum and David Newhan will battle for the 3B AB in Houston. Blum is the better bet offensively (despite the low batting average), but Cecil Cooper does seem to have a Ron Gardenhire-esque man-crush on Newhan, so don't be shocked if Blum settles into more of a part-time role. Still, Blum has 14 HR in 276 AB this year, so he's a good play no matter what Cooper decides to do in the next 7-10 days while Wigginton recovers from his strained groin.