Week 12 FAAB Results - Closer Carousel

I had my mom's memorial service last week and didn't have time to get this out, nor did I do very well in my bids. Highlights include adding Connor Norby in AL Tout Wars right before he was sent down, and adding Tyler Kinley in the NFBC Main Event. At least Kinley got a save for me in the course of allowing two runs over two innings.

Let's move on to this week.

AL Tout Wars:

It was a pretty quiet week in Tout, though Ryne Stanek attracted a lot of interest He's been picking up saves again due to Andres Munoz dealing with a back injury.

I tried to replace Norby in the lineup, but alas Jamie Westbrook got sent down today. I also added Angel Zerpa as a good ratio reliever to replace the injured Kyle Bradish in the lineup.

NFBC Main Event:

Our FAAB purchases here illustrate why teams often draft two early closers and be done with it:

• 4/14 - Ryne Stanek $17
• 5/5 - Daniel Hudson $89
• 6/2 - Reed Garrett $37
• 6/9 - Tyler Kinley $27
• 6/16 - Nate Pearson $35

That's $205/$1,000 FAAB dollars spent (so far), and for our efforts we received three saves (so far - Pearson hasn't had a chance to disappoint us yet) - two from Daniel Hudson when Evan Phillips was out, and one from Kinley last week. Of course, Stanek picked up three saves last week, when he was long gone from our roster. The point here is that I haven't been terribly efficient in picking up saves from the waiver wire this year, and it's been similarly challenging for me in previous years. Some saves have come into the league - Kirby Yates and Jason Foley come to mind as pretty good investments. But it's possible that next year I need to reconsider the possibility of drafting two top-10 closers and hpe that they stay healthy.

We also finally rid ourselves of Bo Naylor this week, adding Jacob Stalling and the Rockies seven home games this week. This will likely be a temporary solution.

Lastly, we added Kevin Pillar, who has started seven consecutive games for the Angels.

BJE1:

I have a good amount of dead weight to clear from this roster, so I found some other dead weight to add in their place. Jared Kelenic is batting leadoff for the Braves against right-handers, with Michael Harris out, and has homered the last two days. J.P. Crawford gives me a pivot to rest Zack Gelof, who really has struggled since his return from the IL. And David Peterson gives me a two-step this week against the Rangers and the Cubs. The Rangers are dangerous but haven't been firing on all cylinders, and the Cubs are in a massive slump right now. 

I also get a much-needed return from Trea Turner from the IL this week.

BJE2:

Whereas the free agent market for starting pitchers in my 15-team leagues was pretty barren, I was happy to land Alec Marsh and Cade Povich in this 12-team league, even though I'm not using Povich against the Yankees this week. Povich should get an extended look in the Orioles' rotation now that Kyle Bradish is out.

Yogurt:

Not the most efficient week:

I hade a shot to add David Hamilton but was too cheap - those darn Sunday night stats!

SCARF:

Michael Lorenzen might end up being the AL version of James Paxton - pitcher on a relatively good team with a deceptively good ERA. But I'll take the chance he's better than that, again with with better options hard to find. Unfortunately I had too many easy cuts, with Robert Gasser out for the year, Alex Kiriloff sent back down to Triple-A, and Junior Caminero now hurt at Triple-A.

Staff Keeper League:

I lost both Kyle Bradish and JT Realmuto to injuries this past week, Bradish potentially for the long term. I'll keep fighting the good fight to defend my title, but this was definitely a rough week. I have to admit I wasn't on Tyler Soderstrom like many of my competitors were across multiple platforms, because he's not catcher-eligible. But if he keeps batting in the middle of the lineup and hitting for power, his pickup here and in other leagues for similar costs could end up working out well.