This week we can see what a difference there is in the bidding between 15-team and 12-team mixed leagues, not to mention the difference between mixed leagues and mono leagues. In the NFBC the obvious attention was paid to Yordan Alvarez, and there typically was a pretty big gap between him and the next highest purchase. But one of my 12-team leagues also had some pretty big names available, which led to some interesting results.
Let's veer away from our usual order and hit the big one first:
NFBC RotoWire Online Championship 1
This was the least stressful high-dollar bid I've ever made in free agent bidding. I had the most FAAB remaining in the league by nearly a $300 margin, so it was an easy decision to spend $1 more than second on the list. I made it clear here and on the podcast that I'd do that, but I still appreciate the $399 "keep 'em honest" bid to make my bid look better.
The only tricky part here is getting all the pieces to fit on my roster. It's a 12-team league, so it's going to look stronger than it should, but here are my OF-eligibile players:
- Ronald Acuña Jr. (1st round)
- Charlie Blackmon (3rd)
- Nick Senzel (15th) - often using at 2B
- Austin Meadows (17th)
- Adam Eaton (18th) - on my bench this week, already had a big game
- Trey Mancini (22nd) - 1B/CR eligible, but I also have Freddie Freeman and Joey Votto
- Ramon Laureano (FA pick up after someone got impatient)
- Shin-Soo Choo (FA pick up)
- Yordan Alvarez
The opportunities for lineup errors are rampant! I'm going to have to be very aggressive riding who has the most games Mon-Thur, using the NFBC's mid-week lineup changes, but I don't have an obvious top-six (including the UT slot).
Of course, my big issue now is starting pitching, having lost Domingo German and Kyle Hendricks this week, forcing me to use the likes of Adrian Sampson and Julio "... I'd rather live in" Teheran (h/t Chris Liss) this week.
AL Tout Wars
As you can tell by the bid amounts, it was a quiet week, with Alvarez picked up long ago. My pathetic pick up was Luke Maile, though I should have gone after Zach Collins instead. My gambit to get Sam Travis 1B-eligible while Mitch Moreland and Ryon Healy are out failed, and Travis is back in Triple-A. So now I have to have three catchers active, putting John Hicks at first base. Awesome.
NFBC Main Event
Normally an overbid by $4 is no big deal, but I'm down to $90 in FAAB - I probably need to lower my rental bids. I'm using Wacha for just this one start against the Marlins, most likely.
RotoWire Online Championship 2
And here you can see the difference between the 15-team leagues and the 12-team leagues. Yes, Josh Donaldson was dropped in this league, as was Matt Carpenter and Hunter Renfroe the week before a road trip to Coors Field. Oops! Carpenter's bid price was downright reasonable, too. I like the Urias pickup here - if you have the roster space for a speculative pickup, this is how you can find a big difference-maker for cheap.
TGFBI
Look at the perfection in that Alvarez bid! And no, this wasn't merely a case of going one higher than the second place team in FAAB. There are still teams with $842 and $659 remaining in FAAB. Not me, mind you - I'm at $307 - none of which garnered a badly needed pitcher, with Thor, Hendricks, Gausman on the IL and Corbin Martin in the minors. Super sweet job by me this week.
FSTA
I needed a first baseman, or at least thought I did, with Justin Smoak hurting over the weekend but not yet on the IL (thanks, Jays). I dropped Tyler White, who was going to lose even more playing time with the Astros going on the road for an interleague series, and with the eventual returns of Jose Altuve and George Springer, White could even lose a roster spot. But I screwed up - I could have moved Michael Chavis to 1B and put Jeff McNeil at MI - instead, McNeil's big night Tuesday is on my bench.
LABR
I'm in FAAB-preservation mode in this league, with only $10/100 remaining, and didn't see much that I wanted. Luckily I don't have many glaring holes to fix. I might end up having to trade for FAAB to get through the season, however.
RotoWire Staff Keeper League
I missed out on Cavan Biggio by $3 to dumb stupid Liss. Aargh. That's gonna leave a mark, especially as I'm a rebuilding team. Instead I had to settle for Mac Williamson under the guise of "at least he's playing more" to replace flat tire Jed Lowrie. We don't have IL spots in this league, only seven reserves and 10 minor league spots, so I'm carrying the dead weight of Carlos Carrasco, Brandon Nimmo (nice job, LOL Mets), Seranthony Dominguez on a really nice contract that means nothing now, Odubel Herrera and Nathan Eovaldi. I'm getting salty just typing about it.