Monday, April 16, 2012

A.L. FAAB Log: April 16, 2012

Drew Smyly $10. Other bids: $7, $5, $4.
Smyly was considered a long shot to grab a rotation spot out of camp for the Tigers, but then won the job with a terrific spring. The results from Smyly's first outing were mixed, but you have to deduct points for the fact that Smyly is supposed to be a command guy and was anything but. I also don't like Smyly's lack of professional experience: unless a pitcher is a top-of-the-line stud, young arms tend to struggle in the bigs in their first go 'round. Smyly is a two-start pitcher this week, so as a straight up wins play on the Tigers he's OK in A.L.-only. I should point out that I'm lower on Smyly than others. John Sickels has him 5th among all Tigers prospects, while Fangraphs has him 3rd. Smyly could be decent in the long-term; I just don't like him right now.

David Phelps $4.
Phelps is yet another in a long line of Yankee pitchers who could probably be a 4th or 5th starter elsewhere who will probably get buried in middle or long relief in New York. He's worth keeping in mind for 2013 as a closer flyer assuming Mariano Rivera retires, but right now is a stretch to use even in A.L.-only and even with the high strikeout potential. I'm not a fan of long relief plays in Roto; Joe Girardi has zero incentive not to leave Phelps out there to die in a 13-2 game.

Clete Thomas $2. Other bids $2, $2.
Thomas is an interesting wait-and-see guy in A.L.-only. He's glued to the Twins bench for now, but has a number of potential injury candidates in front of him in the starting line-up. The reality is that he's probably a Quad-A starter or Major League bench candidate, but on a weak squad like the Twins could sneak in 350-400 AB of 5 HR/15 SB under optimal circumstances.

Kelly Shoppach $1. Other bid $1.
I'm slightly surprised that Shoppach was on the wire in an A.L.-only, and slightly more surprised that he went for a $1 bid. As a second catcher, if you can stomach the low BA the double-digit HR potential is very enticing. Don't read too much into Jarrod Saltalamacchia's slow start - Shoppach is clearly the back-up - but Shoppach should still be a sneaky source of secondary power.

Kevin Millwood $1.
Millwood was profiled in Friday's Gearing Up.

Jason Repko $1.
If you play in deep leagues you hear about organizational depth all the time, but rarely does a team have to go to the well and plug organizational depth onto the Major League roster for more than a few days or a week. But with multiple injuries to Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury, the Red Sox have no choice but the bring Repko up. He profiles as a light power/moderate speed 4th outfielder. He probably won't play much, but Cody Ross/Ryan Sweeney/Darnell McDonald aren't obstacles. Repko could sneak into 2-3 starts a week unless the Red Sox make a trade.

Munenori Kawasaki $1
Kawasaki is a third MI, A.L.-only speed play. He'd be extremely stretched offensively as a starter if Brendan Ryan were to ever miss significant amounts of time.

Mitch Maier $1
Jason Bourgeois is the more exciting choice for Roto, but because of his left-handedness, Maier might be the guy to get more playing time in the next week or two while Lorenzo Cain is out. The problem is that even playing every day, Maier's value is extremely limited. He has virtually no power or speed. Pick him up if you have a dead spot in A.L.-only; otherwise stay away.

Alex Cobb $1.
Cobb is a solid long-term play who might ultimately wind up starting for the Rays. In the short-term, though, he'll probably pitch in middle to long relief for the Rays and has very limited Roto value.

Koji Uehara. Claimed by 7th (tie) place team.

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