Steve Gardner’s latest in Sports Weekly looks at uncertainty and our fantasy fascination with it, with a little Tout Wars twist.
Month: July 2013
Mastersball FAAB Report: Trading Deadline Part 1 Edition
The AL acquired a couple of impact players, and the Tout Warriors were willing to spend on them. Read all about it here.
Maybe next week the NL will join in.
TOUT NL Trade (and more): Hertz So Good.
Phil Hertz made another trade this week, swapping Julio Teheran to league leader Tristan Cockcroft for $24 FAAB (after which Tristan still had more FAAB than anyone). But before that deal Phil wrote about his flurry of pitching trades in USA Today. You can read that here.
The July 22 Mastersball FAAB Report
Read about all the goings on at mastersball.com.
The big news in the NL was that Tristan Cockcroft redeemed Ben Revere (out for season) and BJ Upton (out for a week more) last week, giving him a huge FAAB advantage over everyone else. There’s a good chance Upton will be the first or second most valuable hitting addition in the NL this month, so the money flew.
Catching Up With The Trades: NL Edition
A few deals slipped by without comment in recent weeks.
June 28, 2013
Mike Gianella gets: Jordany Valdespin NYM from Phil Hertz
Phil Hertz gets: Wilmer Flores NYM from Mike Gianella
Comment: Gianella gets a vexing, argumentative, underachieving player on the active roster. Hertz gets a minor leaguer with some potential, though without a defensive position that makes sense, and probably not for a year or two.
June 30, 2013
Derek Carty gets: Wilmer Flores NYM from Phil Hertz
Phil Hertz gets: 2 FAAB dollars from Derek Carty
Comment: Hertz is tireless at trying to get something/anything for the pieces he’s going to unload.
July 5, 2013
Tristan H. Cockcroft gets: Ben Revere Phi from Scott Wilderman
Scott Wilderman gets: Ryan Howard Phi from Tristan H. Cockcroft
Comment: When it happened it was a classic power for speed move. The next day Ryan Howard went down, out until mid-September. Six days later, Revere broke his foot and is out for the season.
July 12, 2013
Scott Pianowski gets: Paul Maholm Atl from Steve Gardner
Jean Segura Mil from Steve Gardner
Steve Gardner gets: Adeiny Hechavarria Mia from Scott Pianowski
Adam Wainwright StL from Scott Pianowski
Comment: Gardner upgrades his pitching, while Pianowski upgrades his offense. The gem here is Wainwright and Gardner has a lot of points to gain in ERA, WHIP and K, while Segura, regardless how much power he shows, will help Pianowski in BA and SB especially.
July 16, 2013
Mike Gianella gets: Everth Cabrera SD from Scott Wilderman
Starling Marte Pit from Scott Wilderman
Tyler Clippard Was from Scott Wilderman
Travis Snider Pit from Scott Wilderman
Scott Wilderman gets: Carlos Beltran StL from Mike Gianella
Aaron Hill Ari from Mike Gianella
David Freese StL from Mike Gianella
Matt Belisle Col from Mike Gianella
Comment: Gianella gets the best basestealer in the game to add to his lowest-ranking steals squad in the league, while Scott converts the cat he’s far ahead in first in for some additional power. For teams like Scott’s (and my 11th place team), the goal is to get to 60 or more points, to avoid the FAAB penalty, and to pass as many teams as possible to move up in the 2014 reserve draft.
July 17, 2013
Peter Kreutzer gets: Gerrit Cole Pit from Phil Hertz
Todd Helton Col from Phil Hertz
Carlos Villanueva ChC from Phil Hertz
Phil Hertz gets: Brad Ziegler Ari from Peter Kreutzer
Drew Storen Was from Peter Kreutzer
Jose Constanza Atl from Peter Kreutzer
Comment: I found myself with the Dbacks’ putative closer, a status that could work out or could be undermined at any moment. Since I’m 20 some odd saves behind the 11th place team, holding onto Ziegler had almost zero value (apart from the innings). I offered him up to the league and fell into productive talks with Phil, who is looking to strip his staff of average (or worse) innings, looking to bring his ERA and WHIP down. While I’m wary about adding mid-level starters, for the same reason, Cole’s ERA improves me, and so does Villanueva’s WHIP, and I do have points to gain in K. Phil gets two lottery tickets for saves, plus significant reliever strikeouts. I also get a hitter who should have a decent average and a few RBI in 15 or so AB per week. That’s a lot better than I’ve been playing.
July 18, 2013
Mike Gianella gets: Taylor Jordan Was from Phil Hertz
Phil Hertz gets: 2 FAAB dollars from Mike Gianella
Comment: Hertz sheds guys he doesn’t want, gets a little something back. Jordan is a risky guy to play, he’s not been overpowering, but while he fills in for Ross Detwiler he could be helpful to a team that could use some innings. Mike points out that he’s got two starts next week, versus the Pirates and Mets. After that he may well be gone.
Do breakouts help?
I just posted a story on the Askrotoman.com blog called The Overachievers (or are they?): What to expect from the first half’s most surprising hitters. It occurs to me that maybe we would learn something by looking at who drafted the year’s monster offensive profit generators and see where they are in the standings:
The Top 12 Hitters By Profit, Their Cost, The Drafting Team, Its Place In The Standings
Jean Segura, 15, Steve Gardner, 4th
Chris Davis, 20, Wolf/Colton, 2nd
Josh Donaldson, 10, Jason Collette, 7th
Nate McLouth, 3, Andy Behrens, 11th
Everth Cabrera, 17, Scott Wilderman, 12th
Daniel Nava, R, Larry Schechter, 1st
Manny Machado, 14, Joe Sheehan, 4th
Domonic Brown, 15, Phil Hertz, 3rd
Matt Carpenter, 14, Steve Gardner, 4th
James Loney, 7, Wolf Colton, 2nd
Yasiel Puig, 1, Lenny Melnick, 10th
Carlos Gomez, 25, Tristan Cockcroft, 1st
One thing for sure is that it’s good to have two of these guys.
the Mastersball FAAB Report: All Star Break Edition
This week’s theme: Picking up DL and minor league pitchers during the short week.
Mastersball July 8 Tout FAAB Analysis
Find coverage of all four leagues right here.