A.L. FAAB Supplemental: Josh Bell

A highly regarded 3B prospect for the Baltimore Orioles, Josh Bell came to Baltimore in a 2009 mid-season swap for reliever George Sherrill. Bell projected as a plus power hitter who hopefully would provide decent but not spectacular batting average: kind of like a moderate improvement over the guy blocking him on the Dodgers, Casey Blake. Bell was promoted by the Orioles this past week to see what he could do, but was told by O's GM Andy MacPhail not to "buy an apartment here (in Baltimore)." Bell was great in the Arizona Fall League this past winter but didn't really put up the kind of numbers at AAA that screamed he was deserving of a promotion. His BB/AB and K/AB are both poor, and right now Bell looks like a 15 HR guy whose BA would make him one of the weaker starters at 3B. The Orioles are probably going to send him back down at this point barring a trade, making a bid only worth it if you're playing for the future. If you are playing for 2011, bid $11, but note that even this bid is pretty much on spec at this point. Bell has some work to do if he's going to live up to the modest hype surrounding him.