A.L. FAAB Log: May 23, 2011

Eric Thames $12. Other bids: $12, $6, $6, $4, $3.

I wrote about Thames on Friday. He has been facing RHP only for the Jays and there's a chance he gets sent down at the end of the month when Adam Lind comes back. Unless the Jays drop Corey Patterson or Juan Rivera, Thames seems like he'll be the odd man out. He's a good future play, but it doesn't seem like there's a place for him when the Jays are at full strength.

Danny Duffy $12. Other bids: $11, $9, $6.

I also wrote about Duffy on Friday. Not only is Duffy sticking in the Royals rotation, but it looks like he's a two-start option this week. The downside? He's pitching at Baltimore and then at Texas. Duffy will have to be sharper than he was in his Major League debut if he doesn't want to get tattooed. This is a better future play than this year play; at the moment, Duffy seems like he's more high risk than high reward.

Ezequiel Carrera $8. Other bid: $2.

Carrera isn't considered much of a prospect, but he can fly. He was 15-for-17 in SB attempts at AAA Columbus this year, and he walks enough that his minor league steals can't be completely discounted. Even if Carrera only hits .260 in the Majors he could have some value. The problem right now looks like playing time. Even with Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner on the DL, Carrera still might only play 2-3 times a week. He's intriguing because of the speed, but right now is only worth a minimal bid at best.

Nolan Reimold $8. Other bids: $6, $5, $2.

Necessity and not performance led to Reimold's call-up by the Orioles, but he could still put up some decent stats while he's in the bigs. The 27-year-old outfielder had a lost season in 2010. Reimold was banged up in Spring Training, started out in the Majors, and slumped before getting sent down to AAA. He never got his rhythm back and wound up out of the Orioles plans in 2011. Now he's up again, and while his minor league numbers this year were far from inspiring, he has a shot at some OF at-bats while Derrek Lee's on the DL (Luke Scott looks like he's going to shift over to 1B for now). Reimold may have been overrated entering 2010, but he might be underrated now. He has 19 HR and 44 XBH in 479 Major League AB and could wind up stealing AB from Felix Pie while he's with the team.

Joey Devine $5. Other bid $1.

Devine was a spectacular pitcher in 2008, but then had TJ surgery. He missed not only all of 2009 but all of 2010 as well after suffering multiple setbacks in his recovery. When he's healthy, Devine has been terrific since joining the A's in 2008. He sailed through his rehab at AAA Sacramento and should be a prominent reliever in the A's pen assuming health. With Brian Fuentes struggling, Devine might pick up a save or two as Andrew Bailey wraps up his rehab this week. Don't expect anything more than that, though.

Brandon Snyder $1.

Snyder was once a top prospect for the Orioles, but now looks more like organizational filler. His last strong campaign - half a season at AA Bowie to start 2009 - isn't that far off of the radar but Snyder doesn't show enough power to forgive the subpar batting average and vice versa. It seemed like Snyder might get some AB at first when Lee hit the DL, but Scott has been playing there and Snyder might only get 1-3 starts a week at best. He could see additional playing time if he gets hot, but right now Snyder looks more like depth than a starter.

Juan Cruz $1.
Cruz continues to do solid work for the Rays in middle relief. The high walk rate bothers me, but Cruz is OK in deep leagues. 

Carlos Villanueva $1.

Villanueva has been stellar for the Jays this year as a middle/long man out of the pen. His reward this week is spot duty in the rotation, and he gets a two-start week: at the Yankees tonight and home vs. the White Sox Saturday. Villanueva is one of those pitchers with good stuff who you think should succeed as a starter but never does: his OPS against as a SP from 2008-2010 is over 900, while his OPS against as a reliever over that same span is under 700. I like this move. The team that picked up Villanueva is struggling despite coming in as a heavy favorite and is at the point where it needs to start taking some chances. Villanueva's honeymoon period in the A.L. might not be over and he could defy history and put up a good week.

Adam Everett $1.

Everett isn't playing all that much, and isn't doing anything productive when he plays. Leave him in your free agent pool.

Ryan Adams $1

Adams isn't a top prospect. However, from a Roto standpoint he's intriguing because of his power bat profile as a middle infielder. Adams could become a 15-20 HR guy in the Majors if he stuck somewhere as a regular. The problem for Adams is that his defense at the keystone is suspect and his plate discipline has always been in question. He has a brief window to impress while Brian Roberts is on the seven-day DL, but it's possible that Robert Andino picks up the majority of the starts this week and that Adams is merely up to provide infield depth. You can stash here if you like, but Adams is the kind of prospect who could simply disappear. Don't stash if your reserve list is limited.

Charlie Furbush $1.

I profiled Furbush on May 13. He's up now to help the Tigers bullpen, not the rotation. It's possible that at some point the Tigers could flip Phil Coke and Furbush, but for now Furbush is a guy to either monitor or stash.

Fautino De Los Santos $1.

De Los Santos looks like a fungible middle reliever, but way back in the winter of 2007-2008 he was a top prospect, and considered a get for the A's when they got him, Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney for Nick Swisher from the White Sox. De Los Santos had TJ surgery in 2008 and never really regained his prospect luster. John Sickels still likes his stuff, and at the very least De Los Santos could be a decent middle relief arm for the A's. Keep on eye on this one.

Jim Johnson $1.

Writing about deep leagues gives me the privilege to write about Jim Johnson 4-5 times a year. He's pitching well once again for the Orioles and now has three wins on the year. He's a vulture candidate, and definitely someone you want in leagues that count holds.

Joba Chamberlain. Claimed by 12th, 10th, 7th, 6th, 4th (tie) and 1st place team.

In this league, waived players keep their salary for a week, so Joba's a $2 keep for next year. He's been solid in middle relief so this is a good keeper play. Rotoworld is reporting this morning that Chamberlain has some eye inflammation and might not pitch for a few days.

Eduardo Nunez. Claimed by 10th and 6th place teams.

See Friday's Gearing Up.

Rich Thompson. Claimed by 9th, 7th and 1st place teams.

Thompson stands out from last week's fungible list of waiver wire relievers due to his strong numbers thus far (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 25 K in 22 IP). The high strikeout rate makes him a sneaky back of the bullpen add/own in 5x5.

Brent Lillibridge. Claimed by 4th (tie), 4th (tie) and 6th place (owned last week) team.

See Friday's Gearing Up. Lillibridge got some playing time last week due to Carlos Quentin's knee injury. Quentin should be back full speed this week, but I still believe that Lillibridge could wind up filling in for Juan Pierre if Pierre's base stealing days are over.

Jake Fox. Claimed by 4th (tie) and 2nd place teams.

See Friday's Gearing Up. As outlined above, there are plenty of playing time opportunities on the Orioles, but Fox isn't taking advantage. He should be mashing against LHP, but all of his production has come against RHP. He's worth it as a catcher in A.L.-only but it hurts that he's behind Matt Wieters, who plays almost every day.

Craig Gentry. Claimed by 2nd place team.
Gentry stole three bases last week but could get sent back down to AAA with both Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton due back early this week. Julio Borbon might also be back in 7-10 days, so Gentry's window is rapidly closing in any event.