N.L. FAAB Log: July 9, 2012

Scott Moore $15.  Other bids: $14, $8, $2, $1, $0, $0.

Moore is finally getting a chance to play after losing his prospect sheen with a variety of injuries and a ton of strikeouts.  So far, so good – he has taken over the at-bats from Carlos Lee and there is no reason to take him out of the lineup until he stops hitting.  Streaks are a funny thing, though – the All-Star break is doing him no favors by interrupting his ride.  He should be owned in all deep league NL-only formats, and, with a hot start out of the gate after the break, should be considered in deeper mixed league formats as well.

Kris Medlen $3.

Medlen continues to pitch well, though, somewhat surprisingly, he finds himself in the bullpen and not the rotation.  This could certainly change, however, as the weeks pass.  What I do not like about Medlen is the low K/9…I am not sure how he gets guys out consistently with a K/9 in the 5.00s.  Of course, this is a bit skewed since he uses all of his pitches out of the pen and is not a flamethrower.  I do not see him as an addition at this point.

Justin Christian $1.

The team buying Christian makes a living off these guys…role players who suddenly start hitting after a career of middling numbers in the minor leagues.  Christian originally replaced Aubrey Huff on the roster, but now may see some platoon at-bats over Gregor Blanco.  At 32, he is certainly no prospect, and his minor league numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt.  Nonetheless, he is productive now and worth a look in deep NL-only leagues to fill a dead slot.

Wade LeBlanc $1.

LeBlanc pitched very well in spring training, only to find himself sent down to AAA.  He is back in a long relief role, and he is really not closer material.  An injury to or continued poor performance by a current Marlins starter will be required for LeBlanc to have anything resembling fantasy value.

Luis Cruz $0.

Cruz thought he made the Brewers out of camp this year, only to be outrighted to AAA.  He refused the assignment, signed with the Rangers, and made his way to the Dodgers.  He hit capably at AAA, but, until this past week, carried a .221 career average.  This hot start is unlikely to last.

George Kontos $0.

Kontos is a 5^th round pick from Northwestern with a history of injuries and poor command.  Since being picked in the Rule 5 draft by the Padres from the Yankees in 2010, however, Kontos seems to have the command issue “under control.”  He is buried, however, behind Casilla, Romo, et al., so he has no fantasy value at this time.

Brandon Lyon $0.

Lyon continues to pitch well, and could have value if Brett Myers is traded.  For those teams looking for a cheap second closer, this is a potential flier to take.

Jason Pridie $0.

Reserve outfielder with minimal fantasy value.  Though with Charlie Manuel at the helm, who ever knows.

Fernando Salas $0.

Salas decided he was smarter than his pitching coach, and moved to the right side of the rubber this year.  After getting clobbered by major league hitters all season, he decided to move back to the left side this past week, and the results are obvious.  He still carries very limited fantasy value.