It's rare to find a pitcher that's coming back from injury that has added three miles an hour to his average fastball, and even rarer still to find him available on the waiver wire in a deep league in mid-June. But that's where we are with James Paxton, and also why he has become one of the most important players to my success this season. And the funny thing is I'm not even going to use him this week in one of my two leagues where I own him (Hi, Red Sox!). Late note - it appears now that Paxton will face TB instead of BOS, which still isn't a picnic given what the Rays do against LHP.
NFBC Main Event (15-team mixed)
| Team | Player | Bid | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Scorchos Main | James Paxton (SP) | 133 | 78 |
| Team enfield | Tim Anderson (SS) | 125 | 37 |
| CC's Desperados | Jameson Taillon (SP) | 112 | 18 |
| Canadian Beavers | Carlos Estevez (MR) | 96 | 76 |
| Strike Force ME | Dan Straily (SP) | 70 | 33 |
| Team Keikoan | Fernando Abad (MR) | 37 | 19 |
| El Scorchos Main | Matt Cain (SP) | 27 | |
| Canadian Beavers | Martin Prado (3B) | 19 | 11 |
| Doctor Who | Danny Espinosa (SS) | 13 | 2 |
| Doctor Who | Zack Godley (SP) | 13 | |
| Doctor Who | Michael A. Taylor (CF) | 11 | |
| Ozville Flying Monkeys | Boone Logan (MR) | 9 | |
| CC's Desperados | Jason Motte (MR) | 7 | |
| El Scorchos Main | Robinson Chirinos (C) | 5 | 3 |
| HARRY CRUMB | Raisel Iglesias (SP) | 4 | |
| HARRY CRUMB | Danny Santana (RF) | 4 | 1 |
| Ninja squirrel | Kurt Suzuki (C) | 3 | |
| Canadian Beavers | Tyler Anderson (SP) | 3 | |
| Team Keikoan | Luis Valbuena (3B) | 2 | |
| Money 2 | Tom Koehler (SP) | 1 |
My ratios in this league have improved from "historically bad" to "still gruesome, but not all-time bad" - I even have a better WHIP than one competitor in my league! But I still need a lot of help, and it was worth it to me to spend a good chunk of my dwindling FAAB on Paxton and use him.
Paxton's average fastball has leaped from 94.2 MPH last year to 97.8 MPH this season in three starts. I don't know if that's sustainable, but it's clear he's working at a different level. The "luck" stats tell (in three starts, so not much) a conflicting story - he's got a .460 BABIP against, but he's also stranded 95% of the runners he's had on. Five of the eight runs he allowed against the Padres were unearned, so that explains part of that disconnect, as does his 13.5 K9IP.
Meanwhile, Cain comes off the DL to have two good starts this week - at least, starts against teams that strike out a lot and are heavily right-handed. I overpaid though, which is going to be tough given how little FAAB I have left. Chirinos replaces Francisco Cervelli.
NFBC Online - Beat Jeff Erickson
| Team | Player | Bid | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Meller | Jerad Eickhoff (SP) | 138 | 99 |
| Something Something Wheel | James Paxton (SP) | 137 | 25 |
| Mudhens | Carlos Estevez (MR) | 104 | 15 |
| Mudhens | Brandon Kintzler (MR) | 67 | 15 |
| Water on mars | Jameson Taillon (SP) | 51 | 15 |
| Had to be MOO | Billy Burns (CF) | 50 | 3 |
| Tigers Slappy BJE | Tommy Joseph (1B) | 43 | 21 |
| the dirty pearls | Tyler Chatwood (SP) | 37 | |
| Sack & Chip I | Peter O'Brien (LF) | 29 | 25 |
| Team Duncan | Steve Pearce (LF) | 26 | 26 |
| Mudhens | Javier Baez (3B) | 26 | 18 |
| Tigers Slappy BJE | Melky Cabrera (LF) | 21 | 21 |
| THEHAZELCHARLIES - TUES 8 | Yordano Ventura (SP) | 16 | |
| the dirty pearls | Robbie Grossman (LF) | 12 | 1 |
| Team Miree | Chase Anderson (SP) | 11 | 6 |
| the dirty pearls | Zack Godley (SP) | 10 | |
| Mudhens | Lonnie Chisenhall (RF) | 5 | |
| the dirty pearls | Cheslor Cuthbert (3B) | 4 | |
| Mudhens | Brandon Finnegan (SP) | 4 | 2 |
| THEHAZELCHARLIES - TUES 8 | Mitch Moreland (1B) | 2 | |
| Griffey2016 | Tucker Barnhart (C) | 2 | |
| Sack & Chip I | Christian Friedrich (SP) | 2 | 1 |
| Sack & Chip I | Zach Davies (SP) | 2 | |
| Team Duncan | Martin Prado (3B) | 1 | |
| THEHAZELCHARLIES - TUES 8 | R.A. Dickey (SP) | 1 | |
| Sack & Chip I | Chris Young (LF) | 1 |
Check out how heavily contested bidding was in this league this week, and compare it with my other Online League. It's really mind-blowing. There were a lot of potentially valuable contributors available in this league this week, but if my competitors have a similar dynamic to me, they probably had a hard time figuring out who to drop. Watch the drop list closely in your NFBC leagues - there's usually some treasure to mine. Here's the list for my league:
| Team | Type | Player | Position | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sack & Chip I | Waiver Release | Smith, Seth | OF | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| THEHAZELCHARLIES - TUES 8 | Waiver Release | Travis, Devon | 2B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Team Duncan | Waiver Release | Duffy, Matt | 3B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Sack & Chip I | Waiver Release | Santana, Ervin | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Sack & Chip I | Waiver Release | Andriese, Matt | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Griffey2016 | Waiver Release | Wood, Alex | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| THEHAZELCHARLIES - TUES 8 | Waiver Release | Morrison, Logan | 1B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Mudhens | Waiver Release | Drury, Brandon | 3B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| the dirty pearls | Waiver Release | Rasmus, Colby | OF | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Mudhens | Waiver Release | Bolsinger, Mike | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| the dirty pearls | Waiver Release | Volquez, Edinson | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Team Miree | Waiver Release | Duffey, Tyler | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| the dirty pearls | Waiver Release | Crisp, Coco | OF | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| THEHAZELCHARLIES - TUES 8 | Waiver Release | Velasquez, Vince | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Tigers Slappy BJE | Waiver Release | Santana, Domingo | OF | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Mudhens | Waiver Release | Jepsen, Kevin | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Team Duncan | Waiver Release | White, Tyler | 1B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Sack & Chip I | Waiver Release | Lee, Dae-Ho | 1B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| the dirty pearls | Waiver Release | Santiago, Hector | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Tigers Slappy BJE | Waiver Release | Duda, Lucas | 1B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Had to be MOO | Waiver Release | Cabrera, Asdrubal | SS | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Water on mars | Waiver Release | Greene, Shane | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Mudhens | Waiver Release | Shields, James | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Mudhens | Waiver Release | Owings, Chris | 2B | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Something Something Wheel | Waiver Release | Niese, Jonathon | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
| Team Meller | Waiver Release | Buchholz, Clay | P | 6/12/2016 10:19 PM ET |
Ok, so this list (currently) isn't as interesting as I first thought. A lot of injured players and "No Game" James Shields.
NFBC Online - Beat Vlad and Jeff
| Team | Player | Bid | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobu's Heroes | Jameson Taillon (SP) | 443 | 165 |
| Captiva Fox | Jhonny Peralta (SS) | 75 | 7 |
| Pearls of Pine Tar | Doug Fister (SP) | 68 | 1 |
| ScorchedGut | James Paxton (SP) | 33 | |
| Mad Russians | Raisel Iglesias (SP) | 29 | |
| Royale with Cheese | Chase Anderson (SP) | 14 | |
| Pearls of Pine Tar | Zack Godley (SP) | 11 | |
| Pearls of Pine Tar | Avisail Garcia (RF) | 11 | |
| ScorchedGut | Brandon Kintzler (MR) | 11 | |
| Royale with Cheese | Ichiro Suzuki (RF) | 5 | |
| ScorchedGut | Robinson Chirinos (C) | 3 | |
| Paps Playboys | Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C) | 1 |
It worries me that those darn Mad Russians picked up one of our drops, Raisel Iglesias. You would think that we'd have some insight on how to defeat the Russians having Vlad on our side, but instead I'm starting to think that they have some insight on how to play against him instead. Very weird league, though - seven teams picked players up this week, so it's an active league, yet there were considerably fewer pickups overall and much less competition for those players.
FSTA
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Tim Anderson awarded to SiriusXM for $171.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Tim Anderson: $76.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Chris Young awarded to Baseball HQ for $40.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Chris Young: $2.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Danny Espinosa awarded to RonShandler.com for $31.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Brad Miller awarded to Baseball HQ for $30.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Brad Miller: $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Fernando Abad awarded to Dr. Roto for $21.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Fernando Abad: $1, $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Carlos Estevez awarded to Colton & The Wolfman for $21.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Carlos Estevez: $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Carlos Perez awarded to Fantasy Alarm for $9.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Jake Peavy awarded to RotoWire for $5.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Brandon Kintzler awarded to RotoWire for $3.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Cheslor Cuthbert awarded to Dr. Roto for $1.
With six reserves and unlimited DL spots, the quality of players available on the waiver wire was considerably lower here, even with there being only 13 teams. I sort of didn't want to put my pickups in bold font.
In a related note, I have a whopping eight players on the DL in this league.
Mixed LABR
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Carlos Estevez awarded to Razzball for $17.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Carlos Estevez: $3.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Tim Anderson awarded to MLB.com for $17.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Tim Anderson: $1, $4, $4, $6.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Peter O'Brien awarded to MLB.com for $17.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Fernando Abad awarded to Mastersball for $13.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Fernando Abad: $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Brandon Kintzler awarded to Fangraphs for $6.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Brandon Kintzler: $1, $4, $3.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Chase Anderson awarded to MLB.com for $5.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Failed bids for Chase Anderson: $3, $3.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Jason Motte awarded to Fangraphs for $5.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Chase d'Arnaud awarded to Fantasy Alarm for $4.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Miguel Gonzalez awarded to Fantasy Alarm for $3.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Enrique Hernandez awarded to USA TODAY Sports for $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Danny Espinosa awarded to RotoExperts for $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Derek Holland awarded to MLB.com for $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Rob Refsnyder awarded to Baseball HQ for $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Brad Brach awarded to Fantasy Alarm for $1.
Mon Jun 13 12:05 AM ET: Edwin Diaz awarded to Fantasy Alarm for $1.
I had bids in on Kintzler and Abad but lost both. Sometimes Abad is Bad.
AL Tout
Chris Liss: res JGallo Tex, pur JMorneau CWS 76
Mike Podhorzer: res ALind Sea, pur IDavis Tex 13
Mike Podhorzer: res MAndriese TB, pur JDiekman Tex 1
Steve Moyer: res SMoya Det, pur JBonifacio KC 1
Ron Shandler: res EEscobar Min, pur AAlcantara Oak 37
Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton: res JHoying Tex, pur TCunningham LAA 1
Rick Wolf/Glenn Colton: res SRobinson LAA, pur MTonkin Min 6
Seth Trachtman: dis PHughes Min, pur DMengden Oak 186
Larry Schechter: res PNeshek Hou, pur XCedeno TB 1
Larry Schechter: res RGoins Tor, pur JShuck CWS 6
Jason Collette: rel ARomine Det, pur MGonzalez CWS 36
Seth Trachtman: rel MLatos CWS, pur EDiaz Sea 1
RotoWire Staff Keeper League
| Schin Kickers: Pick up Fernando Abad ($11), drop Jake Diekman (High-A West Madison: $17) (Erickson: $3) (Factory of Sadness: $1) |
| Diamond Dogs: Pick up Robinson Chirinos ($5), drop NO PLAYER (Factory of Sadness: $6) (Casale Industries: $5) (Schin Kickers: $4) (Shoe and Liss' Dynasty: $3) (Tuffy's Goats: $3) |
| McLovin's Spoonful: Pick up Zach Davies ($12), drop Joe Smith (Diamond Dogs: $7) (Browns: $6) (Casale Industries: $5) (Tuffy's Goats: $4) (Tuffy's Goats: $4) (Factory of Sadness: $4) (Wakanda Panthers: $3) |
| Schin Kickers: Pick up Danny Espinosa ($6), drop Peter Bourjos (Browns: $3) (Browns: $3) |
| Factory of Sadness: Pick up Carlos Estevez ($15), drop Mikie Mahtook (Shoe and Liss' Dynasty: $9) (Tuffy's Goats: $6) (Casale Industries: $5) (Browns: $3) (Browns: $3) (Wakanda Panthers: $1) (Wakanda Panthers: $1) |
| Tuffy's Goats: Pick up Christian Friedrich ($2), drop Jimmy Paredes (High-A West Madison: $11) (Tuffy's Goats: $2) (Shoe and Liss' Dynasty: $2) |
| Browns: Pick up Miguel Gonzalez ($4), drop Cody Anderson (McLovin's Spoonful: $9) (Browns: $4) |
| High-A West Madison: Pick up Brandon Kintzler ($23), drop Kevin Jepsen (Erickson: $11) (Shoe and Liss' Dynasty: $11) (Tuffy's Goats: $4) (Tuffy's Goats: $4) (Wakanda Panthers: $1) (Wakanda Panthers: $1) |
| Browns: Pick up Tom Koehler ($1), drop Nate Jones (Browns: $1) |
| Tuffy's Goats: Pick up Daniel Mengden ($2), drop Jeff Francoeur (Factory of Sadness: $3) (Tuffy's Goats: $2) (Wakanda Panthers: $1) (Wakanda Panthers: $1) |
| Anderson: Pick up Jason Motte ($3), drop Wade Miley |
| Anderson: Pick up David Phelps ($1), drop Matt Andriese (Anderson: $1) |
| Wakanda Panthers: Pick up Addison Reed ($1), drop Darren O'Day (Wakanda Panthers: $1) (Anderson: $1) |
| Casale Industries: Pick up Chris Stewart ($1), drop Brett Wallace |
| Erickson: Pick up Michael Tonkin ($3), drop Joaquin Benoit |
It's so expensive to bid on closers in this league, once again, even if they aren't guaranteed the gig. I got outbid on Abad and Kintzler, but I was also unwilling to spend an amount that would make them not keepable, as a rebuilding team.