N.L. FAAB Log: July 13, 2009

Manny Parra $4. Other bids $4, $2, $2.
Parra got beat up three times in late May/early June, finally leading to a demotion. He pitched decently for Nashville and got called back up to start against the Cardinals this week. Parra was extremely solid in his outing, looking a lot more like the pitcher that everyone was excited about last year. He's probably not out of the woods yet - I agree with Rotoworld that I'd like to see more than one good outing before getting too excited - but Parra makes an intriguing FA play in really deep leagues - and probably won't be available next week given that some team in your league will likely roll the dice now rather than pay more later.

Tim Stauffer $4. Other bids $1, $1.
The former first-round pick lost his luster as a prospect a long time ago, but any pitcher with a pulse pitching in San Diego has potential Rotisserie value. Stauffer pitched very well in his 2009 debut against the Giants and is coming off of Tommy John surgery that cost him 2008. Keep an eye on Stauffer's velocity; if it increased, he could be on of those pitchers who benefited from TJ. It's too early to tell, but Stauffer might turn into something yet (he's only 27, which isn't ancient for pitchers).

John Bowker $2.
Bowker was mashing in the PCL prior to his promotion (.347 BA, 17 HR, 1062 OPS) and it seems like the Giants are going to give him a chance to keep mashing in the majors. The most impressive thing to me about Bowker's PCL line is the complete improvement in batting eye and plate discipline, as Bowker had nearly a 1:1 K/BB ratio after having nearly a 4:1 ratio last year. It could be sample size, but if Bowker has learned something, he could be a solid MLB 1B.

Luis Cruz $2.
Cruz is a solid glove man with virtually no bat to speak of. He's up for the Pirates mainly just in case Freddy Sanchez gets hurt and the Pirates need someone to field the position. No Roto value.

Brooks Conrad $1. Just when it seemed like it was safe to start Martin Prado, along comes Conrad. Bobby Cox has been giving Conrad a chance and Conrad responded with a modest six-game hitting streak. As a power hitting 2B, Conrad is intriguing, though keep in mind that he's got lousy plate discipline and the MLE of a lot of Conrad's minor league BAs is close to the Mendoza line. Conrad's an intriguing gamble - cheap FAAB power bats in the middle infield don't fall out of the sky - but a cold streak could make him dissolve as quickly as he appeared.

Brian Moehler $1.
Moehler has been solid this month, but the extremely high HR/IP numbers make me nervous no matter what the match-up is, and Moehler's overall numbers aren't good enough to make two or three decent starts enough to pull the FAAB trigger.

Jeff Weaver $1.
See May 11. Since that comment, Weaver has a 3.9 ERA and a 1.7 WHIP, mostly out of the bullpen. Even with the decent ERA, I'd be uncomfortable using Weaver even as a spot starter in a "favorable" match-up.

Edward Mujica $1.
See July 8. Mujica slipped a little bit in June - including a distressing drop in K/IP - but was still a very solid option for the Pads in middle relief. He still has no shot of supplanting Heath Bell barring a Bell trade.

Ryan Hanigan $1.
For a while there, the Reds seemed committed to playing Ramon Hernandez at 1B so Hanigan could catch, but that experiment seems like it's over. Hanigan defied the odds by providing an excellent BA, but that's the product of an absurd 359 BABIP that won't hold up over the long haul.

Sergio Romo $1.
See July 6.

Jeremy Affeldt $1.
Affeldt's provided some strong numbers out of the Giants pen, including a ridiculously good G/F rate. I agree with Fangraphs that Affeldt's rate is going to revert, but I'm not as confident as they are that Affeldt's rate will still suppress his ERA/WHIP. That isn't to say that he couldn't keep putting up numbers like this, but I would expect a solid season more in line with his 2008 numbers than his 2009 campaign to date.