MLB Week 9 FAAB Insights

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all! Here’s to your holiday weekend of remembrance finding you safe, healthy, and filled with baseball! Don’t forget to get your FAAB bids in before tonight’s deadline! Let’s get right to it!

 

Catcher

 

Victor Caratini (61% TGFBI, 5 % Yahoo) – It’s not often that we are able to look to a catcher for help in a counting-stat category, but Caratini may be just what some of our rosters looking for RBI help could use. He’s 19th among catcher eligible players in PA, but tied for seventh with 21 RBI – the 3 HR, 14 R, and 2 SB aren’t too shabby for a catcher either. With Austin Nola hitting the IL on Friday, Caratini should receive a bulk of the playing time for the Padres over the next couple of weeks – all 13 games of which will come vs the Cubs and Mets. Looking a bit further ahead, the Padres head to Coors for three games as it may be heating up in Colorado in a couple of weeks.

Jose Trevino (78% TGFBI, 1% Yahoo) – The Rangers are one of the few teams with a day off Monday, but head to Coors on Tuesday for three of their six games of the week. Trevino has been getting about four starts behind the plate a week for Texas, so a couple of games in Colorado may be just the right time to get him in our lineups.

 

First Base

 

Joey Votto (68% TGFBI, 16% Yahoo) – Votto has been taking grounders for a week and took batting practice on Friday, so a rehab stint is on the horizon barring any setbacks with his thumb injury. Much has been made about his increased aggressiveness at the plate, and his pull% is 10+ percentage points above his career average the past two seasons. The .300 BA and .400 OBP days are long gone, but improvement on his current .226 and .305 are a good possibility. Now is the time  to grab him for 15 or so HR and close to 50 R and RBI the rest of the way.

Jonathon Schoop (83% TGFBI, 7% Yahoo) – After a slow start leading to his current .230 BA with 5 HR, 17 RBI, and 18 R – which isn’t a bad line these days – over the past three weeks, Schoop has hit .306 with 3 HR, 9 RBI, and 8 R. He plays every day (198 PA), is also eligible at second base, and the Tigers play at least six games each week until the All-Star break. As with Votto, 15 HR and close to 50 R and RBI the rest of the way are realistic.

 

Second Base

 

Freddy Galvis (85% TGFBI, 15% Yahoo) – His two HR last night brought his season total to nine (.497 SLG) in 178 PA on the season with 20 RBI and 25 R highly underrated at this point. He’s filling three of four counting-stat categories with a .255 BA that doesn’t hurt either. The Orioles are heading home for their next eight games at Camden, and as the weather is forecast to heat up in Baltimore, Galvis looks to as well. He also has SS eligibility.

Jon Berti (61% TGFBI, 10% Yahoo) – The Marlins have been as banged up as anyone recently, and that bodes well for opportunities for a guy with Berti’s versatility. He’s also eligible at 3B and OF in NFBC and most formats. His BB% and K% are right in line with his career numbers and he still sports 98th percentile sprint speed. His .215 BABIP is well below his career .326, so I fully expect drastic improvement of his .170 BA to come with some consistent PA. Miami is another team that is scheduled for at least six games each week leading up to the break.

 

Third Base

 

Brad Miller (12% TGFBI, 36% Yahoo) – I’ve included Miller in this article multiple times this season and will continue to do so as long as he remains so widely available. He’s gotten consistent PA for six weeks now hitting .303 with 5 HR, 14 RBI, 17 R, and 3 SB. He’s OF eligible as well and a true five-category contributor available in 88% of TGFBI leagues. Three games to start the week at Great American Smallpark are a bonus.

Evan Longoria (88% TGFBI, 27% Yahoo) – A couple of weeks back Longoria had a cold week going 2 for 23. He responded the past couple of weeks going 13 for 38 with 4 HR, 12 RBI, 7 R, and 1 SB, bringing his season totals to .267 with 8 HR, 26 RBI, 25 R, and that one SB. His availability, even the 12% in TGFBI, is surprising to me.

 

Short Stop

 

Amed Rosario (98% TGFBI, 10% Yahoo) – Rosario got off to a horrendous start to the season, but it appears many in shallower leagues may not have noticed how good he’s been recently, or at least haven’t bought in yet. He’s 17 for 52 (.327) over the past three weeks, and while the Cleveland offense as a whole hasn’t been very good leading to just four R and RBI over that span, he has stolen three bases. After four games at home vs the White Sox, Cleveland travels to Baltimore for the weekend. I expect at least another SB this week and possibly some of the power we saw in 2019. Remember, he’s OF eligible as well.

Elvis Andrus (44% TGFBI, 5% Yahoo) – Another slow starter to the season, Andrus has gone 16 for 52 (.307) over the past three weeks in spite of a 2 for 16 week sandwiched in between his six and eight hit weeks. The problem is he hasn’t stolen a base since he had three in week four of the season. He was caught in an attempt on Friday, so as he continues to perform better at the plate (optimism!) he may see more opportunities. The A’s have three in Coors next weekend as well.

 

Outfield

 

Edward Olivares (0% TGFBI, 0% Yahoo) – He won’t be eligible for bids tonight in NFBC formats, and it’s not yet certain he will be next week, but I intended to include him this week even prior to Soler’s injury on Saturday that seems to be the reason for Olivares’ scratch from last night’s lineup at AAA Omaha. His .395 BA with 5 HR, 16 RBI, 19 R, 7 SB, and 11 BB are forcing his way into the conversation in Kansas City. Grab him now in leagues you’re allowed to.

Jo Adell (90% TGFBI, 12 % Yahoo) – Adell is still striking out over a third of the time at AAA, but his 10 HR, 20 RBI, 16 R, and 2 SB in 95 PA may have him in an Angels uniform soon in spite of his .239 BA, which if he can maintain at the MLB level would actually be above league average. The Angels’ OF is 3 for 32 the past three nights.

Trevor Larnach (83% TGFBI, 3% Yahoo) – As with most teams, injuries are an issue in Minnesota. Larnach began to get into the swing of things this week to cement his spot in the Twins outfield, going 5 for 12 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. This may be the last chance to grab him cheaply, and he heads to Camden for three games to start the week.

 

Pitcher

 

Brad Keller (51% TGFBI, 14% Yahoo) – I feel a week late on Keller, but fortunately he’s still widely available, even in nearly half of TGFBI leagues. Keller was a popular choice during draft season, drafted in 821 of 880 March NFBC drafts, but disappointed for most of April. He’s went back to throwing his slider more in his recent starts with 33 2/3 IP, 13 ER, and 31 K in his past six. He went seven innings giving up just one run with seven strikeouts on Tuesday vs Tampa. He goes for the Royals vs the Twins today which may keep his FAAB bids down a bit this evening in leagues he’s available, as the two-start week was missed.

Logan Gilbert (98% TGFBI, 19% Yahoo) – I wasn’t in at the price a couple of weeks ago, but I’m scooping Gilbert up where he’s been let go after just 10 2/3 IP. The strikeouts are there, the walks are not, he’s just given up too good of contact out of the gate. I look for at least one win this week in his starts vs the A’s and Angels.

 

Lots of Baseball!

 

I always end with, “Enjoy the games!” This week is no different, and there is all kinds of baseball in the weeks ahead. We have the Tournament of the Americas Olympic Qualifier beginning tomorrow, the NCAA regionals begin next weekend, and the super regionals and College World Series follow. So much baseball! Enjoy!

 

Photo from Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire | Design by Quincey Dong (@threerundong on Twitter)