Aggressive early, conservative late. When it comes to FAAB spending, this has always been my strategy, as there is more time available for a strong early-season purchase to positively impact your squad. In Tout Wars, where FAAB trading is allowed, this philosophy makes even more sense, as the Touts are able to use any of their players as trade bait to help erase some of their FAAB mistakes.
The funny thing is that this season in Mixed Auction Tout Wars, my best FAAB buys have been the cheaper ones. I made my most expensive purchase last week, shelling out $128 ($1000 season budget) to acquire Zack Wheeler. Let’s just say that hasn’t turned out too well. But since I don’t want this article to be of the depressing variety, I figured that now, roughly one-quarter into the season, was a good time to look back at the best FAAB buys in the Mixed Auction league so far. Note that “best” can be subjective, so the main criteria I’m using is production following the acquisition relative to acquisition cost.
Jed Lowrie ($37 on 3/29) – Lowrie’s resurgent 2017 campaign was dismissed by many (myself included) as an outlier. But could it be that the A’s second baseman is a legitimately improved player? Lowrie is on pace to shatter his previous single-season highs in homers and RBIs and perhaps most impressively, he’s getting on base at a very high rate, suggesting that last season’s .360 OBP might not be a fluke after all. For the price of 37 bucks, which can’t even buy you dinner at a nice restaurant here in New York, Bret Sayre bought himself nine home runs, 37 RBIs and a .391 OBP across 44 games. Pretty good. That said, I still view Lowrie as a sell-high guy considering his long track record of being merely a decent fantasy option along with an unsustainable .371 BABIP.
Francisco Cervelli ($0 on 3/29) – At a position where reliable offensive production is hard to find in drafts, let alone on the waiver wire, Cervelli has been quite the find for Scott Engel. And the best part is that he cost absolutely nothing. Injuries have been an issue for Cervelli throughout his career, and he’s missed a few games so far with minor ailments, but nothing major. His power output has been the biggest surprise, as the Pirates backstop has already swatted six homers through 34 games, placing him just one home run shy of his single-season high. I’m not so sure how reliable Cervelli will be in the home run department from here on out, but he certainly makes for a fine second catcher in mixed leagues, especially in OBP formats (career .362 OBP), until he gets injured again.
Nick Markakis ($38 on 4/2) – When I took a flier on Markakis, I was expecting a strong OBP and respectable contributions in both runs and RBIs. I wasn’t expecting elite numbers in OBP, runs and RBIs to go along with power production on a level at which we have never seen before from the veteran outfielder. On one hand, it’s hard to envision him all of a sudden becoming a 25-plus home run hitter at the age of 34. On the other hand, he is hitting more fly balls than in years past, so 15-18 homers doesn’t seem to be out of the question being that he’s already left the yard seven times. Regardless, Markakis has easily netted me a positive return on investment. Despite his exceptional start to the season, Markakis’ trade appeal is probably limited, so owners are better off simply hanging onto him.
Bud Norris ($126 on 4/16) – Honestly, I hate to play the waiver wire closer game, but it sure does feel good when you guess right, and in the case of Norris, Tim Heaney has been the beneficiary. Norris’ tenure as Cardinals stopper was supposed to be a temporary one, but Greg Holland has yet to find his groove, and at this point, Norris might just keep the job for the duration. The 33-year-old righty has converted all nine of his save chances while registering a 2.14 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and a 29-to-3 K/BB ratio through 21 innings. Norris did save 19 games for the Angels last season, so it’s not like we’re talking about a guy with no ninth inning experience.
So, of the top four FAAB purchases thus far, two were made before the season even started and none were made later than mid-April. If you had any doubts that the “aggressive early” approach is the way to go, I hope those doubts are gone.
Zach Steinhorn is the 2016 Mixed Auction Tout Wars champion. Follow him on Twitter @zachsteinhorn
