A.L. FAAB Log: July 6, 2009

Scott Hairston $33. Other bid $4.
The curse of the late Sunday night trade...not enough owners were logged in at this late hour to see the Hairston trade, I'm guessing. The winning bid is mine. I suppose I could have bid less in the hopes of catching most of my league asleep. However, the Rototimes Player Rater has Hairston ranked 21st among 4x4 National League hitters and he has an outside chance at a 20/20 season. There is the possibility that a better player won't cross over into the American League this year. Hairston should start for the A's right away (I concur with Rotoworld and believe that Travis Buck gets sent down) and should be bid on aggressively.

Eric Hinske $12.
Even if Hinske can manage 3-4 starts a week for the Yankees, he could be valuable due to his power (if you can take a possible BA hit). The problem is that it's hard to see where Hinske's going to fit in on a team that's already loaded up in the OF and at both corners. Barring an injury, Hinske's not going to play more than 1-2 times a week, and that probably only makes him worth acquiring if you're truly desperate. There are better options out there even in deep leagues right now, such as...

Ryan Langerhans $5. Other bids $2, $1, $1.
It looks like the Mariners are going to use Langerhans in a pretty straight platoon with Wladimir Balentien. Since Langerhans is on the good side of the platoon, that makes him a solid short-term pick-up. His career numbers in the majors are quite uninspiring, but Langerhans could pop 10-15 HR over the course of a full season in a full-time role, so pick him up if you have a glaring need for power and have the slot.

Garret Olson $3.
Olson's numbers have been OK so far, and a solid start this weekend against Boston probably raised some eyebrows. The downside is that his K/IP has been underwhelming for a guy who throws as hard as Olson can and his HR/9 has been atrocious. His raw stuff is good enough that he could continue to put up OK numbers if he hangs on to the job, but with Erik Bedard possibly coming back this week, Olson might wind up in the pen again. Long term, I think his future might be as a LOOGY.

Chris Woodward $2. Other bid $1.
I'm not sure what the MLE of a 299 BA and a 766 OPS at AAA Tacoma is, but I'm sure it's nothing to write home about. At the moment, it appears that Woodward is the starting 3B for the Mariners, but one would hope that they're working the phones looking for a better option, or that Chris Shelton is playing 3B in AAA to see if his defense would hold up at the major league level. Woodward is suitable as a major league utility player, but his value in Roto is virtually non-existent, even if he's starting.

Jim Johnson $2.
Johnson had a shaky outing this week, but he's been solid all year for the Orioles and his fantasy owners, and could wind up closing if the O's do wind up trading George Sherrill.

David Dellucci $1.
Russ Adams wasn't cutting it for the Jays, so it's Dellucci's turn to see if he can be an effective de facto platoon mate with Kevin Millar. Like Langerhans, Dellucci is on the good side of a platoon at the moment, so could be worth a small bid if you have a dead spot in the OF. His upside is a little more power potential than Langerhans, but Dellucci hasn't hit at all this year and is at the age where players sometimes just fall off the map entirely.

Fu-Te Ni $1.
Ni is a 26-year-old Taiwanese pitcher that the Tigers signed to a minor-league deal in the offseason. I don't know much about him, but scouting reports say that he's a finesse pitcher. His minor league splits this year make him look like a lefty specialist, and since Bobby Seay already does that job well for the Tigers, I don't know how long Ni will be up or what kind of role he'll carve out in the long-term.

Jayson Nix. Claimed by 12th and 6th place teams.
Nix should probably be starting at 2B over Chris Getz, but he's mostly served as a utilityman/jack-of-all-trades player for the White Sox. He's provided solid power and speed off of the bench, and since he's MI eligible in most leagues he should be owned as a third MI in deeper leagues. Don't be fooled by his high number of AB this week. Alex Ramirez was fighting a finger injury and is healthy again. Nix should go back to starting 1-2 times a week assuming everyone else is healthy.

Aaron Poreda. Claimed by 10th, 5th, and 2nd place teams.
This is a suitable waiver claim for a team at or near the bottom of the standings. Poreda's been buried in the Sox bullpen and has barely pitched since his call-up. He belongs back in the minors, but is a good guy to pick-up and stash if you're playing for next year.

DeWayne Wise. Claimed by 9th and 6th place teams.
Wise looked like a solid option coming out of spring training, but it looks like Scott Podsednik has Pipped Wise out of a job. With Carlos Quentin starting a rehab assignment this past weekend, the ChiSox OF is going to get even more crowded, squeezing Wise out of further AB. He's a longshot to contribute at the moment.