LABR FAAB Report: Week of March 26

Welcome to the inaugural 2018 League of Alternative Reality (LABR) FAAB report, on its new home at creativesports 2.0. I’ll be dropping by every Monday, sharing the results of Sunday night’s FAAB run, with commentary from American League competitor Lawr Michaels, National League site representative Brian Walton and yours truly, battling in the Mixed Draft League.

Before embarking on this week’s report, I’d like to dedicate this to our late friend, Steve Moyer, who unexpectedly passed on March 1. Steve was in Phoenix where he was about to meet up with the gang at a ballgame in advance of the LABR auctions. If you missed it, Lawr wrote a moving homage. For those inclined, we’re still gratefully accepting donations to Steve Moyer’s Kids Fund, lending a hand to his daughters Harmony and Mary.

The American League only and National League only formats are 12-team contests using standard 5×5 scoring rules. There’s an old-school flavor as players purchased in the auction cannot be freely bounced from the active to reserve roster. A player purchased in the auction can be placed on the disabled list if he’s on the MLB DL. However, he can’t be reserved then replaced by a player won with FAAB; he must be released. A auction-purchased player may also moved to reserves if subsequently sent down to the minors.

The 15-team Mixed LABR league allows free movement between active and six-man reserve.

In all three leagues, a player acquired via FAAB must be immediately inserted into the team’s active lineup.

Each LABR squad starts with 100 FAAB units, with a minimum bid of $1. Owners can ask for a FAAB rebate upon releasing a player on the DL.

Each week’s report will display the winning bids along with listing all contingency and failed bids so you get a feel for the level of interest in each player.

After the tables showing the successful and unsuccessful bids, Lawr, Brian and I will offer some commentary for our respective leagues. I’ll share additional thoughts for each league.

The heading for each league doubles as a publicly accessible link so you can check the standings, roster and complete list of transactions.

So, without further ado, here’s the Week 1 report, hopefully you’ll return to check out 26 more.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

UNAWARDED BIDS

Lawr Michaels’ Commentary

With the American League LABR auction nearly a month in the Roto rear view mirror, 15 acquisitions were made by the owners, filling gaps and voids created among trades, demotions, the DL, and ineffective play.

Of course Jon Jay was the cause celebre, drawing a $17 bid from Ray Flowers, besting six wannabe Jay owners who offered up to $16 for the rights to the Royal.

Flowers, who made a few gambles with free agents during the auction, also nabbed Carson Fulmer for $11 filling those holes, though oddly, the Fulmer bid went unchallenged.

Andrea Lamont went $11 on cornerman J.D. Davis, while Dan Vogelbach (Chris Liss) and Ryan Rua (Steve Gardner) both fetched $8, each with four failed challenge bids.

From there a litany of hopeful stopgap names–Dixon Machado ($5), Roberto Perez ($4), Ehire Adrianza ($3)–cost more than a couple of bucks, and then the flood of Mark Canhas, John HIcks, Austin Romine (whom I bagged for $1 to replace Josh Phegley) and so on.

Interestingly, Trevor Cahill, new Athletic hurler, cost Rick Wolf and Glenn Colton just a couple of bucks, a gamble that went for $37 in Tout Wars. Similarly, neither Rule 5 free agent, Victor Reyes nor Carlos Tocci, was picked up, though both promise to be on the big league roster all season.

Todd’s Take

One of the biggest decisions an owner in a league-specific format needs to make is whether to pinch pennies to be a player at the July 31 trade deadline, hoping for cross-over difference-makers or forgo the hammer to get a greater chunk of the season on a likely lesser player. It’s wise to take note of those willing to open the wallet early figuring if they’ll do it now, they’ll do it later too. The idea is, if you know you’ll be competing with someone apt to spend early, you’ll likely have to follow suit, or settle for a player lower on the food chain.

Four teams were willing to spend over ten percent of their allotment before the first pitch has been thrown. There’s no guarantee their spending will remain this liberal, but if I’m in line to clash with Ray Flowers, Steve Gardner, Andrea Lamont or Clay Link, I’m ready to loosen the purse strings, or settle for an inferior option. Sometimes, this can be gleaned from last season’s patterns. However, RotoLady is new to the league. Congrats to Andrea, the first woman to be invited to one of the auction leagues and second female overall, joining Mixed League veteran Stephania Bell. The intel learned here is she’s willing to be aggressive early with free agent bidding.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

UNAWARDED BIDS

Brian Walton’s Commentary

The LABR rules included the creation of an expected disabled list, enabling owners to replace obviously injured players whose teams had not yet put them on the real disabled list. I was a major beneficiary.

In all, 14 players were purchased by eight owners, with four NL LABR owners standing pat. Five of the 14 free agents acquired this week went to me, all on $1 minimum bids.

In the three weeks since our draft, my initial roster was hit particularly hard, with four players moved to the disabled list and my failed gamble on Neil Walker requiring an immediate release.

The additions include the new #3 in the decimated Giants rotation, Derek Holland. The right-hander would need to find the fountain of youth, as his last good season was 2014. At the other end of the experience spectrum is the fourth member of the mostly anonymous Marlins starting five, Elieser Hernandez. The Rule 5 pick from the Astros has yet to make his MLB debut. In spring games, the righty fanned nine and walked none while allowing three runs on eight hits in 10 innings. But it is asking an awful lot from a 22-year old who ended last season at high-A to step into a big-league rotation.

The highest winning bid this week was $9 for Washington reserve outfielder Brian Goodwin, who joined the roster of DC-based league host Steve Gardner of USA TODAY. That substantially topped two $1 offers. The 27-year old has a nice mix of power and speed, but finding at-bats could be a problem and top prospect Victor Robles does not look to be far away.

The next highest amount paid was $5, from Rotowire’s Jeff Erickson for Atlanta third baseman Rio Ruiz. Johan Camargo opening the year on the disabled list opened the door for the 23-year old Ruiz – at least until Camargo’s back heals. Erickson just beat out a $4 offer and two $1 bids.

The only other non-$1 winner was $2 for Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas from Zach Steinhorn of Baseball Prospectus. As long as J.T. Riddle remains sidelined, Rojas should receive every-day at-bats. Rojas batted .300 this spring, with his career mark a still-respectable .256.

Todd’s Take

Sometimes you can learn as much from the unawarded bids as the successful tries. There were only three owners comprising the unawarded bids. Brian counted nine participating, suggesting the others weren’t as anxious to fill a hole or upgrade, except Steve Gardner who bid aggressively on Goodwin. The point is, Brian, along with Jeff Erickson and Derek Carty were diligent, looking to acquire multiple players. This isn’t a sure sign they could be open to a deal, but if others in the league are looking for some early trade talks, that trio would be my initial targets.

MIXED LEAGUE

SUCCESSFUL BIDS

UNAWARDED BIDS

Todd Zola’s Commentary

Well, that was fun. Keep in mind, we drafted way back in early February. So, not only did injuries hit, but players established themselves as mixed-league worthy. As such, the bidding was not and heavy, lead by Jake Ciely, who dropped nearly two-thirds of his allowance on four players. Of the quartet, only C.J. Cron would have been a sure thing to go in the draft if he was slated to be the Rays first-sacker at the time. However, the well-decorated projectionist from RotoExperts/FNTSY had to replace Daniel Murphy, Yuli Gurriel, Jorge Polanco and Ervin Santana, so he was aggressive. In a mixed format, you are afforded that luxury. Jake will be able to still land decent players with smaller bids as the season progresses, not to mention, as his walking (and punished) wounded return to action, those are like $0 free agents. You don’t want to get behind, so why not go hard after guys earmarked for early playing time, then figure the rest out later?

The most sought after player was Dominic Leone, the likely recipient of the ball in the ninth inning when the Cardinals hold the lead, at least until Luke Gregerson is healthy – and perhaps longer. Currently, there isn’t a timetable for the righty’s return, with mid-April best case scenario. Leone is intriguing since he has the stuff and pedigree to get the job done after Gregerson returns. Since Gregerson has had success in a set-up role, there’s a chance Leone doesn’t cede the job.

Todd’s Take

In a sharp contrast to last season, my squad made it through the draft to opening day unscathed. The only negative is Greg Holland hasn’t signed yet so I only have Brandon Morrow for the save category. As you know, if there’s one spot to be deficient in a mixed format, it’s closer.

That said, it’s always wise to upgrade reserves, even if you don’t have any glaring holes to address in the active lineup. Obviosuly, some good players were acquired, however I opted to lay low, other than a token bid on Leone, in case the other 14 weren’t aware we were running FAAB Sunday night. Though, since I’m the one usually forgetting we FAAB before the season starts, it’s no wonder the gambit failed.

Follow Lord Zola @ToddZola and Mastersball.