Monday, August 24, 2009

A.L. FAAB Log: August 24, 2009

Bill Hall $15. Other bids $10, $5, $1.
Given where we're are at this point in the season, it's certainly worth bidding aggressively on Hall and hoping that you can get a reasonable facsimile of a 15 HR hitter here - particularly if you're playing for next year. Realistically, it looks more like Hall is going to slot in as a utility player going forward, and unless he has an OBP Renaissance and turns into Tony Phillips, he's not going to have a lot of value as a part timer.

Aaron Laffey $9. Other bid $5.
Laffey was waived after an atrocious outing against the Angels on July 29. Since then, he's put up a 2.00 ERA over four starts in August with a tolerable 1.296 WHIP. Laffey clearly isn't this good, but he is a plausible option in deep leagues, and his G/F tendencies keep the ball in the park. He gets Baltimore at Camden Yards this week.


Ivan Rodriguez $6.
At the age of 37, Pudge is a shade of his former self but he provided surprising pop this year before getting traded to the Rangers. Speculation was that Pudge would come off of the bench and, sure enough Taylor Teagarden has picked up most of the starts since Pudge was acquired. He's an upgrade on a dead spot in A.L.-only leagues, but perhaps not as much as you might think.

Mike Aubrey $2.
Aubrey was a prospect a long time ago, but at the age of 27 looks more like a fringe Quad A player at best. His power doesn't project to the majors and his poor OBPs probably translate to sub-300 in the majors. Aubrey might get some AB for the O's with Aubrey Huff out of town, but expect little given his track record.

Jose Mijares $2.
Mijares has quietly turned into a strong MR option for the Twins. I'd be a little concerned about the workloads - Mijares' pitch counts are a little high for a middle reliever - but as a short-term move Mijares is a good guy to fill out the back of a 4x4 pitching staff.

Eric Hinske $1. Other bid $1.
Hinske got off to a phenomenal start for the Yankees in July, walloping 5 HR in 21 AB, but fell off the cliff in August, posting a limp 596 OPS to date. The result is that Hinske's been buried on the bench and probably isn't a good option right now.

Craig Breslow $1.
Breslow's another middle reliever who has quietly put up a solid season for the A's. He has virtually no chance at saves this year or next.

Luis Valbuena. Claimed by 11th place team.
Valbuena's numbers are dampened by a choppy start in May/June; since July 1, he's hitting .303 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 109 AB. That translates to 15 HR pop over the course of a full season. This might be asking a little much, but if you're playing for next year Valbuena's an interesting guy to grab if the price is right. He could be 2010's version of Asdrubal Cabrera minus the steals.

Josh Roenicke. Claimed by 9th place team.
Roenicke has had some less-than-fun times since the Reds traded him to Toronto, but I still like him long-term as a possible closer candidate for the Jays. He's been too up and down to claim if you're playing for this year.

Armando Galarraga. Claimed by 7th place team.
Galarraga puts up decent (if not great) starts for the most part, but every once in a while he puts up such a clunker that the right idea is to stay away. I don't need to tell my readers that 21 HR allowed in 135 1/3 IP is a garish red flag.

Darren Oliver. Claimed by 5th and 4th place teams.
Sean White. Claimed by 3rd place team.
Like a couple of pitchers already listed above, Oliver and White are capable middle relievers who will help a Roto team in deep 4x4 leagues. Their rate stats have been excellent and - in particular - White has been on fire as of late.

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