Monday, July 05, 2010

A.L. FAAB Log: July 5, 2010

Bengie Molina $24. Other bids $16, $13, $10, $9, $3.
It seems doubtful that Molina is going to be the biggest import from the National League this year, but despite Molina's poor start this year, these bids seem very low for someone who is likely to be the Rangers starting catcher the rest of the way. Molina should pop a few HR the rest of the way out and unless your league plays with OBP instead of BA he probably won't hurt your team. Don't expect a peak 15-20 HR Molina pace and you won't be disappointed, but this is far better than you're probably going to do behind the dish the rest of the way out with a FAAB bid...even if Chris Snyder gets traded in this coming week.

Daniel Schlereth $2. Other bids $1, $1
This flame-throwing Closer of the Future came over to the Tigers this winter in the huge Curtis Granderson/Edwin Jackson three-team swap between the Yankees/Diamondbacks/Tigers. With Jose Valverde having a banner season, Schlereth is more of a future play/name to keep in mind at this point, but he is one of the better reliever prospects in baseball not named Drew Storen. His walk rate at AAA Toledo was pretty alarming, though, and I'd be wary to add Schlereth if I'm still playing for this season.

Anthony Lerew $1.
Luke Hochevar's injury pressed Lerew into the Royals starting rotation, and thus far he's provided two decent outings and two poor ones, which is far better than what I would have expected given Lerew's age (27), non-prospect pedigree, and pedestrian minor league numbers. Perhaps Lerew is a match-up play, but given that he's on the Royals I wouldn't touch him in any format 

DeWayne Wise $1.
Wise is a Triple-A lifer who occasionally finds himself on a Major League bench, and right now he's surfaced with the Blue Jays. He has a little speed and a scintilla of pop but doesn't have much value unless he's playing every day. However, he's not good enough to play every day so there's the rub. Wise is only worth it if you're truly desperate to fill a slot.

Robinson Tejeda $1.
Tejeda is part of a Royals bullpen that has quietly moved from awful in April to very good since. Tejeda is a big part of the turnaround; after posting an 11.57 ERA in April, he has a 0.92 ERA since. The key has been keeping down the walks: Tejeda walked 13 in April and only seven since. His stuff has never been in question, only his control/command, so when Tejeda is throwing strikes he has the potential to go on one of these sick runs. At this point, Tejeda is well worth adding as a middle reliever, though with Joakim Soria in front of him the odds he'll become a mid-season closer are poor.

Shawn Camp $1.
Camp is having a tremendous year for the Jays in middle relief, but what he's doing is extremely unsustainable. A 92.3% strand rate, 214 BABIP, and a pedestrian 87 MPH "fastball" all point to a moderate to extreme Post All-Star regression coming for Camp. He's not going to move into a closer-in-waiting role so his value comes from his tremendous rate stats, which he most definitely cannot keep up.

Craig Breslow $1.
Unlike Camp, Breslow should regress but has enough positive markers in his numbers to be a solid middle relief option, particularly in 4x4 leagues. He's almost entirely abandoned his change this year in favor of a cutter, and the results so far have been more than encouraging. Breslow's a lefty who is more than a mere LOOGY, and the A's have been smart enough to use him this way. He won't get saves, but should keep getting vulture opportunities here and there.

Kyle Farnsworth $1.
Like Tejeda, Farnsworth has been incredible following a subpar April. Farnsworth has always had electric raw stuff and when he's on he can be one of the best relievers in baseball. He's always worth riding when he's pitching well, and thus far Farnsworth is worth owning as long as you recognize his perpetual inconsistency means he can go south at any given moment.

Willie Bloomquist. Claimed by 8th place (tie) and 2nd place teams.
Bloomquist has done little this year off of the Royals bench, but that's only because they haven't given him as much playing time as he got last year. His 2 HR/5 SB isn't bad for Roto even if Bloomquist's sub-700 OPS means he's not worth it in real life. He's OK as your last bat off of the bench, though if you're in a dumping league you had better be doing better than this by now.

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