N.L. FAAB Log: August 1, 2011 - PART I

I always like to try something new.  Since there were 19 players bid on or claimed on waivers this week in our home National League, I am going to split the FAAB log in two pieces.  The second piece should follow later tonight.  Enjoy!

Edwin Jackson $42.  Other bids: $37, $26, $22, $21, $20, $17, $9.

I wrote about Edwin Jackson on Friday.  He got off to an excellent start on Saturday for his new team, and I expect continued success.  $42 is an aggressive bid.  In our league, I am only surprised by the bidder, not by the bid – this is a team in 7^th place, 32 points out of first.  He likely will not be able to move Jackson in a trade if he decides to move him, as the teams at the top are nearly capped out.

Derek Lee $33.  Other bids: $28, $20, $17, $13, $13, $11, $9.

Lee is the first impact player obtained by the Pirates in quite some time, and is a very nice addition to the team in light of the fact the Pirates gave up nothing to get him.  It will be interesting to see if Lee keeps up his hot hitting post-All Star break, but he provides the Pirates with an instant upgrade at first base over Lyle Overbay.  From a fantasy perspective, this bid may still be a little conservative; knowing that there were no other players coming over from the American League (as the trade deadline passed at the time of our bidding), I thought the bids would be a bit more aggressive.  One owner actually did bid $42, but made a mistake calculating the salary cap and, therefore, the owner with the $33 bid was awarded Lee.

J.D. Martinez $30.  Other bids: $21, $20, $16, $11.

Someday we may look back on Martinez and say: “wow, how did he fall all the way to the 20^th round?”  To say his minor league numbers to date have been stellar would be an understatement.  John Sickels’ summation of his background and performance to date is here.  If Martinez’ hitting mechanics hold up in the major leagues, he could provide your team with a solid power/average combination.  He is a rookie worth looking at in OBP leagues as well, as he has good plate discipline.  I think $30 is a bit high for him, but given the park and lack of other options for the Astros, he could be banging away for the rest of the year.  Note that a contending team got him to fill the hole left by Colby Rasmus.  I thought he might get more keeper bids.

Collin Cowgill $25.  Other bids: $22, $20, $17, $15, $12, $11, $10, $9.

I wrote about Cowgill on Wednesday and Friday.  This is a solid bid from a second tier contender, and about the action I expected; I did expect higher bids.

Jimmy Paredes $8.  Other bids: $1.

Paredes is a former Yankee farm-hand who came to the Astros in the Lance Berkman trade.  He will play second and third.  He is also quite fast and steals a lot of bases, like Constanza.  He does, however, walk a lot less with a bit more power.  He probably projects to a part-time player, but can boost your team with a little speed (particularly if you owned any of the Astros players recently traded or sent down).

Felipe Lopez $11.  Other bids: $6, $6, $1, $1, $1.

The team that bought Jackson struck again.  His 2/8/1/.222 line is uninspiring at best.  He is a potential drag in average with little help in the counting stats, meaning you should likely steer clear of him and find a better option.

Corey Patterson $9.  Other bids: $7, $5, $1.

I wrote about Patterson on Friday.  These bids make sense in context and reflect his potential value the remainder of the season.

Jose Constanza $2. 

Constanza is a former Indians farm-hand who does a couple of things well: gets on base and steals the next base.  It will be interesting to see how he fairs in Atlanta, though his impact is now muted by the addition of Michael Bourn.  It is unlikely that Constanza amounts to a keep, but he could help in the short-term if you got shut out on the other big players in NL-only leagues.