N.L. FAAB Log: April 27, 2009

Garrett Mock $11. Other bids $10, $8, $4, $2.
I shared my feelings about Mock in a post last week. He's put in three solid outings so far, but Joel Hanrahan hasn't allowed a run in his last three appearances. Hanrahan remains the closer, and I think it'll take three or four bad outings in a row for him to lose the job completely.

J.R. Towles $3.
After the Astros signed Pudge Rodriguez, the expectation was that Towles would spend a full year in AAA and get another shot at the starting job in 2010. An injury to Humberto Quintero and a lack of organizational depth forced the Astros hand, though, so Towles was called up this weekend to caddy I-Rod. He's definitely worth taking both as a future flier but also as someone who might be a stronger back-up this year in N.L.-only leagues. Just don't expect him to steal the job from Pudge.

Brandon Jones $2. Other bids $1, $1, $1.
John Sickels had a nice long write-up about Jones on the eve of the regular season. I'm not sold on Jones' power translating to the bigs, but respect Sickels' opinion a great deal, so I definitely could be wrong. With Garret Anderson on the DL, Jones could squeeze some AB out in the short-term, particularly since Matt Diaz is off to a slow start. I wouldn't expect a straight platoon in LF, but wouldn't be surprised if Jones and Diaz split the job 50/50.

Brendan Ryan $1.
Skip Schumaker's getting some time in the OF so Brendan Ryan has been getting 2-3 starts a week at 2B. In very deep N.L.-only leagues, he's probably worth owning, but he doesn't do much in the power or speed departments and his ceiling isn't very high in either of those areas either.

Mitchell Boggs $1. Other bid $1.
Boggs has a high ceiling, but is still a work on progress and had issues with a bum shoulder this spring. He had a strong start against the Cubs this past weekend and should be a decent play against the Nationals this week. Command has been an issue in the past, so watch the walks. He should stay in the rotation over P.J. Walters for now, so he's worth a shot if you need to roll the dice.

Jorge de la Rosa $1.
de la Rosa is one of those pitchers who has electric stuff when he's on but has severe issues with his command and might still be a better option in the bullpen long term. He's had two solid starts in a row - albeit with slightly high walk totals - and should be a good play this week against the Padres, even in Coors.

Jason Jaramillo $1. Other bids $1, $1.
He's picked up almost all of the starts since Ryan Doumit went down early last week, so Jaramillo has a little value in N.L.-only leagues. That being said, his last good year with the bat was in 2005 in the Sally League, so Jaramillo could be a batting average drain if he plays regularly. He has slight power and - despite the SB he's already logged - virtually no speed.

Doug Davis $1.
I wrote about Davis in last week's FAAB log. This league has daily moves when players come back from injury, so it's not uncommon to see someone like Davis FAABed, released, and then FAABed the following week. He had a rough outing against the Giants his last time out, though he did whiff five.

Ramon Vazquez $1. Other bid $1.
Vazquez has a chance to get some AB at SS for the Pirates with Jack Wilson hitting the DL, although Brian Bixler is probably the better fielder. Vazquez is off to a slow start, so he's going to have to start hitting if he wants to claim those AB. At his best, he offers light power and typically low BA (last year was the exception, not the rule).

Augie Ojeda $1. Other bid $1.
Short-term fill in for Stephen Drew, who hit the DL with a mild hamstring injury. Ojeda will play, but offers virtually nothing with the bat. He's organizational depth, which means a lot more in the majors than it does for us.

Barry Zito $1.
Fangraphs pondered Zito's future this winter, and suggested that the increased velocity he showed on his fastball in the second half made him worth a stab in N.L.-only leagues. If you believe in this theory, then Zito might be worth targeting: his fastball is faster than it's been since 2005. However, Zito's still a dangerous play and I think he's a match-ups play only right now, even in one-league leagues. He's at home against the Dodgers tomorrow, and I still wouldn't recommend him. My bigger issue with Zito is that his curve hasn't been as effective as it once was and he throws it less as a result. He might not be toast, but he looks to me like a borderline #5 MLB starter.

Ryan Hanigan $1.
There was talk at the end of 2008 of Hanigan possibly competing for the Reds catching job, but then they went out and got Ramon Hernandez in the off-season. Hernandez plays 5-6 days a week, so Hanigan has virtually no Roto value. He's also 28 years old and isn't a prospect of any kind.

Brian Bixler $1.
See Ramon Vazquez above. Bixler's game is mostly defense, though he did show some basestealing ability in the minors. Bixler's only good offensive season was way back in 2006 between High-A and AA, and at this point I agree with Sickels that Bixler won't hit enough in the majors to hold on to a long-term job for a good major league team. He's worth a stab in the hopes he runs, though he didn't run in his 100+ AB stint in the majors last year.

Jason Michaels $1.
As a back-up OF for the Astros, Michaels doesn't have much Roto value. He has a little pop, but needs an injury to have any sustainable value, even in deep leagues.