This article is part of our Rounding Third series.
This week wasn't as crazy as last week's spirited bidding, but it still was very active, as should be expected in a sprint season. Chris Liss and I were discussing what might happen in September, though - will more teams be willing to drop off as football starts, figuring that it's a weird season anyhow? The bad luck factor has less of a chance to even out, so we might see more teams farther out of the race - for example, if they are weighted heavier on Cardinals players. It's also possible that some fantasy players will have spent more aggressively early in the season, figuring that there are fewer chances to find big impact players. I did that in the SiriusXM FSGA Experts League and have just $5 remaining in my budget, though at least I can still trade in that league.
AL Tout Wars
Hey, guess who cut Mike Ford and then failed to pick him back up when Giancarlo Stanton got hurt? This guy! I got impatient with Ford's lack of playing time, but he's likely to play frequently against right-handed while Stanton is out. I wasn't able to pick up a hitter, also getting outbid on a smaller scale for Pat Valaika, who is getting a decent amount of run for the Orioles, similar to how Dylan Moore is for the Mariners. I settled for Blake Taylor in hopes that he might get some save chances for the Astros after Ryan Pressly struggled so much
This week wasn't as crazy as last week's spirited bidding, but it still was very active, as should be expected in a sprint season. Chris Liss and I were discussing what might happen in September, though - will more teams be willing to drop off as football starts, figuring that it's a weird season anyhow? The bad luck factor has less of a chance to even out, so we might see more teams farther out of the race - for example, if they are weighted heavier on Cardinals players. It's also possible that some fantasy players will have spent more aggressively early in the season, figuring that there are fewer chances to find big impact players. I did that in the SiriusXM FSGA Experts League and have just $5 remaining in my budget, though at least I can still trade in that league.
AL Tout Wars
Hey, guess who cut Mike Ford and then failed to pick him back up when Giancarlo Stanton got hurt? This guy! I got impatient with Ford's lack of playing time, but he's likely to play frequently against right-handed while Stanton is out. I wasn't able to pick up a hitter, also getting outbid on a smaller scale for Pat Valaika, who is getting a decent amount of run for the Orioles, similar to how Dylan Moore is for the Mariners. I settled for Blake Taylor in hopes that he might get some save chances for the Astros after Ryan Pressly struggled so much last week, but Pressly successfully converted a save on Monday night, so that's not looking so great.
NFBC Main I
Thirty nine free agents this week, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt, er, two $1 players in Stephen Vogt and Alex Young. Time to confess a big mistake in this league - Isaiah Kiner-Falefa was battling a bad hamstring in Week 1, and Martin Maldonado had a good first week and a starting job in a good offense. Of course, I should know better that it was one good week, and to be patient, but instead I did the amateur move, and also got outbid on IKF the following week. Here's hoping that Vogt gets some Coors Field at-bats.
Main Event II
There were so many bids in this league, I had to use a smaller font to screenshot them on to two pages. And once again, being cheap/judicious doesn't appear to have paid off. We weren't that close on our top two bids, Rafael Montero and Jesus Aguilar, and secondary options Mike Tuchman and Ty Buttrey as well. We're actually doing ok in this league despite getting one start apiece from our top two picks, Justin Verlander and Jack Flaherty.
NFBC Online Championship I
Here you can see the price differences in adding potential closers in a 12-team vs. a 15-team league. Montero went over $400 in my 15-team leagues, but here he goes for $289. Meanwhile, Ty Buttrey is the closer for now for the Angels, though they've said they're using a bit of a committee. Still, he got the save on Monday night, which is promising for him getting the next chance.
NFBC Online Championship II
Here's another case of me overestimating the cost of a fragile closer - I could have added Taylor Williams for $2 instead of $57! Meanwhile, I needed a third baseman with Mike Moustakas out and Matt Carpenter in limbo. Frazier is getting most of his time at first base but also qualifies at third base, plus he gets the Mariners and Rockies in Coors Field this week.
TGFBI
I missed out on all my targets last week, and had no shortage of weaknesses or drops on this team, so it was time for massive turnover this week. Up goes Frazier again, though times two in this case by also adding Adam Frazier for later in case I need a middle infield sub. There's a chance that I might regret dropping Dylan Carlson, but I have no idea when the Cards plan on calling him up and activating him, even with Lane Thomas on the COVID-19 list.
LABR
Having spent a good chunk of change in previous weeks, I'm going to be playing small ball the rest of the way in this league, where we don't have $0 bids or the ability to trade FAAB. The good news is that I still landed the third priority on my list, Joakim Soria, for $1. But he fits in well this week, where between injuries and matchups, I only had Kwang-Hyun Kim as my alternative for the last spot on my pitching staff, and it's unclear whether the Cardinals will play this week, whether Kim will get one of those three starts if they do play the White Sox, or if Kim will be stretched out enough to qualify for a win should he start.
RotoWire Staff Keeper League
It's annoying that Wade Miley is back and in the rotation for the Reds ahead of Tyler Mahle, but I think that Mahle is going to have some long-term value as well, and maybe even as a piggyback reliever behind Miley if the Reds get a lead. I also made a trade in this league, trying to improve my rotation in a go-for-it deal, acquiring German Marquez in the last year of his deal for Joey Bart.
