N.L. FAAB Log: The Memorial Day Edition

Neil Walker $11: Walker falls into the "almost former prospect" category. Walker will be 25 in September, and was putting up a very nice year at AAA this year (952 OPS). In his Age 21 season, Walker put up an 824 OPS at AA and things looked like they were headed up. A horrid cup of coffee at AAA and some injuries led Walker to drop down the prospect list from B/B+ to an also ran. Now, he appears to have won the 2B job in Pittsburgh and brings a so-so 2009 AAA season and a pretty good AAA this year to the Majors. So far he's held his own. My read is that if he can keep the K/BB ratio in check, he can be a relatively productive hitter. He's no Buster Posey, Michael Stanton or Steven Strasburg, but you should spend a few bucks on him, particularly as both a 2B and 3B eligible.

Luis Durango $11: Speed, speed, speed. If you need cheap speed, you may as well take a chance here. Two problems: one, he gets caught an awful lot (18-for-28 this year in the minors); two, he has to get to first base. I think this price is aggressive, but, nonetheless, desperate times call for desperate measures. Just be prepared for him to potentially get sent back down when Jerry Hairston Jr. comes back, which could be as early as Tuesday.

R.A. Dickey $3: You know all of the caveats about knuckle ball pitchers. Dickey will pitch until someone better replaces him. With your luck, that could be all year. The Mets are scoring enough runs right now that he has to be on the wins-play radar screen, but do not expect a sterling ERA or any good WHIP.

J.D. Martin $2: Martin should see one start this week against Houston before Scott Olsen comes back. This is a good match-up play this week.

Chris Capuano $2: Congratulations to Capuano for getting back to the Major Leagues. He had some success in the majors back in 2005 and 2006, but cannot be counted on for immediate impact. He is an intriguing reserve list stash.

Akinori Iwamura $2: Fail. If you can't cut it with the Pirates, well, you really can't cut it anywhere. Iwamura strikes out too much, and while his BABIP is a poor .200, observation says there is a reason: he is not squaring up anything he is swinging at. Neil Walker has started off red hot, and, as a result, you could potentially see a DFA here. Is Iwamura really this bad? He is this year.

Rusty Ryal $1: Ryal has a little pop in his bat, and should see some more ABs based on his performance in limited time so far. If you have a hole to fill and need the occasional home run, this is one place to look. He just won't get enough ABs to carry you.

Ben Francisco $1: Francisco has done about nothing so far this year, but there is some chatter that he could wind up in a platoon with Raul Ibanez at some point. I wouldn't count on it, though if Francisco were to get more chances to play, I suspect the offense would come around. Not a bad guy to stash away on a deep reserve list.

Delwyn Young $1: This pick-up is probably a week too late, as Adam LaRoche is back and Young will head back to starting once a week at most. The Walker call-up will not help his playing time either.

Matt Belisle $0: Belisle's K/9 is the highest of his major league career so far. If you need to have a middle reliever/set-up guy on your roster, this is one to have, as he should put up close to 80 innings of work.

Sam LeCure $0: LeCure is not really a prospect, but has put up good numbers as a minor league soldier for the Reds. He put up a decent line in his first start with the Reds, but he really needs to keep runners off base via the walk to be effective.

Miguel Cairo $0: Cairo started each of the last five games, but Joey Votto's injury is expected to be minor, and Cairo will wind up back on the bench. Cairo hasn't hit more than two HR since 2005, so don't expect much more than what he has already given the Reds this year.

Raul Valdes $0: The 32-year-old Cuban defector is striking out more than a batter per inning; his FIP is actually lower than his ERA. If you don't like the starting pitcher alternatives, Valdes is a strikeout option.