TDGX Transactions: Week 16

The Dynasty Guru Experts League is a 20-team (40-man roster) 5×5 rotisserie dynasty league founded by BP managing editor Bret Sayre in 2014. It is intended to satisfy the deep-league needs of all, down to just the right amount of Alexi Amarista. We roster 23 starters (C/1B/2B/3B/SS/MI/CI, along with two additional utility hitters, five outfielders and nine pitchers). We also roster seven bench slots and have 10 spots designated for minor leaguers, although a quick scan of the league finds that most teams utilize a majority of their bench spots for additional prospects. That means that there are an additional 100-120 prospects that are rostered above the 200 spots reserved for them.

These write-ups are intended to pair nicely with Mike Gianella’s Expert FAAB Review, as we will look at each week’s TDGX free-agent acquisitions, as well as include thoughts on every major trade that occurs during the season. The yearly budget for free-agent transactions is $100, with $0 bids allowed for major leaguers and prospects.

This installment covers the Week 15 and 16 FAAB period, along with any trades that have taken place over the past week.

Trades

None

Week 15 FAAB Transactions

Tyson Ross (SP)—Rangers (Won at $32) by Ben Carsley—Baseball Prospectus
Desmond Lindsay (OF)—Mets (Dropped)

Garrett Cooper (1B)—Yankees (Won at $12) by Ben Carsley—Baseball Prospectus
Drew Storen (P)—Reds (Dropped)

Drew Robinson (SS)—Rangers (Won at $11) by Al Melchior—FanGraphs/FanRag Sports
Dwight Smith, Jr. (OF)—Blue Jays (Dropped)

Tyler Nevin (3B)—Rockies (Won at $3) by J.J. Jansons—Baseball Prospectus/TDG

Nevin appears to be healthy finally, after missing the basic entirely of the 2016 season and most of this season with various maladies after being selected 38th overall by the Rockies in 2015. Nevin had been sidelined since May 3 with a hand injury, and went on a rehab assignment at the end of June. Since re-joining Low-A Asheville at the beginning of the month, Nevin, 20, has smashed his way to a .315/.333/.521 line in 74 plate appearances that has included more home runs (three) and as many steals (also three) as he had in his first taste of pro ball at Rookie level Grand Junction over 223 plate appearances. Nevin has been playing mainly third base while Colton Welker is out at Asheville, but will likely have to slide over to first down the line, however, if he continues to flash the appetizing power that scouts saw prior to him being drafted it might not really matter and Nevin’s power production is certainly something that dynasty owners should monitor over the rest of the season.

Ryan Castellani (SP)—Rockies (Won at $0) by Jeff Zimmermann—FanGraphs
Jordan Guerrero (SP)—White Sox (Dropped)

Shelby Miller (SP)—Diamondbacks (Won at $0) by Tom Trudeau/Craig Glaser—MLB.com

Must be nice to have open DL slots. For reasons unknown to me, in this league we only have three available and I think mine were all full before spring training was over. This is a good pickup by the MLB.com crew, provided they have the open space to carry Miller this winter.

Buck Farmer (P)—Tigers (Won at $0) by J.J. Jansons—Baseball Prospectus/TDG
Wilmer Font (P)—Dodgers (Won at $0) by J.J. Jansons—Baseball Prospectus/TDG
Shane Greene (P)—Tigers (Won at $0) by J.J. Jansons—Baseball Prospectus/TDG
Akil Baddoo (OF)—Twins (Won at $0) by J.J. Jansons—Baseball Prospectus/TDG

There’s no truth that I wanted to make half of the transactions this week to provide more steaming hot content. No truth whatsoever. Farmer (3.76 DRA, 88 cFIP, 16.3 percent K:BB rate) and Font (1.88 DRA, 67 cFIP, 26.6 percent K:BB rate) have been two of the better pitchers at the Triple-A level this season, and were added in hope that both are able to attain rotation spots somewhere after the trade deadline. Font’s 33 percent punchout rate at Triple-A Oklahoma City is the highest of any starting pitching with 60 or more innings in either Triple-A league. Greene was added in hope that the Tigers will bypass Joe Jimenez, Bruce Rondon and Alex Wilson for saves after the deadline, presuming Justin Wilson is dealt.

Akil Baddoo is a prospect that I think should get more recognition in leagues that roster 200 or more prospects. Baddoo wasn’t really on my radar prior to being selected 74th overall in the 2016 draft out by the Twins from a Georgia high school, but he caught my eye after Bret Sayre placed him among his honorable mentions on his Top 50 Signees list from 2016, and I ended up plucking him in some deeper leagues after the draft last season. He was not impressive in posting a .570 OPS in the GCL in his draft season (as a 17-year old), and was kept in extended spring training this season before being ticketed once again for the the GCL, where he hit .267/.360/.440 with one home run and four steals in 20 games and earned a promotion to the Appalachian League. Baddoo was touted as a power/speed prospect coming out of the draft, but Prospect Team member Mark Anderson noted that a growth spurt has potentially changed Baddoo into somebody who might be able to add power, although from a fantasy aspect it might cost him some speed along the way. Baddoo has only played six games since his promotion, but he’s off to a good start and his production, particularly in the power department, over the rest of the season warrants monitoring in deeper leagues.

Michel Baez (P)—Padres (Won at $0) by James Anderson—RotoWire

Baez is huge (6-foot-8) and has a heavy fastball, per Prospect Team member Nathan Graham. The Cuban native is already 21 and is at Low-A Fort Wayne, but he’s been the recipient of quite of bit of recent buzz in various-sized dynasty formats due to his sparkling 41 percent strikeout rate (and 0.78 ERA) in his 23 innings this season there. He’s already worthy of a speculative grab in leagues that roster 200 or more prospects, but he basically has no track record, as he only made 16 appearances in Cuba prior to coming stateside, so there is that.

Week 16 FAAB Transactions
Alex Claudio (RP)—Rangers (Won at $15) by Jeff Zimmermann—FanGraphs
Hisashi Iwakuma (SP)—Mariners (Dropped)

Claudio has earned saves in three of his last five appearances, but as Matt Collins pointed out in this week’s Closer Report, this is a situation that remains fluid as both Keone Kela and Jeremy Jeffress (and perhaps Claudio himself) could be moved prior to the deadline.

Anthony Swarzak (RP)—White Sox, now Brewers (Won at $10) by Ralph Lifshitz—Razzball
Sam Gaviglio (SP)—Mariners (Dropped)

At the time of this pickup, Swarzak looked like he could receive some save chances in Chicago, but now it looks like he’ll settle into a seventh or eighth-inning role in Milwaukee. His move to Milwaukee still qualifies as a positive one in most leagues that use holds, but his value takes a ding from where it (very briefly) was after Robertson and Kahnle were shipped to New York in standard 5X5 leagues like TDGX.

Jabari Blash (OF)—Padres (Won at $10) by Nick Doran—The Dynasty Guru/Rotoworld
Colby Rasmus (OF)—Rays (Dropped)

The #Blashtoff movement is back, baby! Blash has clubbed his way to a .341 AVG with two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored in 14 games since returning from Triple-A El Paso earlier in the month, and as the San Diego roster currently stands, he only needs to jump past Jose Pirela and Matt Szczur for playing time in left field. Plenty more will change in San Diego prior to the deadline, probably, but if more competition isn’t brought in, Blash could certainly see plenty of at-bats, as he has now hit 21 home runs between El Paso and the majors this season in 330 plate appearances. Putting too much stock into any type of hitting statistics put up at El Paso is not advisable, but Blash did have a .407 OBP there, and has utilized a 17 percent walk rate in his brief 82-plate appearance MLB sample for a .366 OBP.

Sal Romano (OF)—Reds (Won at $6) by Al Melchior—FanGraphs/FanRag Sports
Derek Holland (SP)—White Sox (Dropped)

Jose Siri (OF)—Reds (Won at $4) by James Anderson—RotoWire
Tzu-Wei Lin (SS/3B)—Red Sox (Dropped)

Siri has nine home runs this month at Low-A Dayton, and has done so while hitting for a glorious .359/.374/.728 line along with six steals. That line screams promotion when it’s achieved as an age-21 hitter in the Midwest League, and while Siri is viewed as a much better fantasy prospect (29-for-40 in SB attempts this season) than as an actual one (see his current walk rate of 6 percent, again, as a 21-year old in Low-A ball, as partial evidence) at this point; he’s mentioned here as somebody who needs to be watched in deeper leagues as he eventually climbs the ladder.

Brent Suter (P)—Brewers (Won at $2) by Greg Wellemeyer—Baseball Prospectus
Jacob Barnes (RP)—Brewers (Dropped)

CC Sabathia (P)—Yankees (Won at $1) by Greg Wellemeyer—Baseball Prospectus
Phil Maton (RP)—Padres (Dropped)

Alex Presley (OF)—Tigers (Won at $0) by Chris Mitchell—RotoExperts
Tyler Moore (1B)—Marlins (Dropped)

Brandon Moss (OF)—Royals (Won at $0) by Chris Mitchell—RotoExperts
Jaycob Brugman (OF)—Athletics (Dropped)

Tyler Clippard (RP)—White Sox (Won at $0) by Scott White—CBS Sports
Jake Junis (SP)—Royals (Dropped)

Marco Gonzales (P)—Mariners (Won at $0) by Scott White—CBS Sports
Brady Aiken (SP)—Indians (Dropped)

I’m already kicking myself for not plopping down a buck or two on Gonzales, as I just can’t believe Jerry Dipoto traded for the former Gonzaga pitcher with the intention of keeping him down at Triple-A Tacoma and deploying Yovani Gallardo every fifth day for much longer. But you never know what Jerry Dipoto will do, or wait, how does the song go again?

Billy McKinney (OF)—Yankees (Won at $0) by Tom Trudeau/Craig Glaser—MLB.com
Brian Goodwin (OF)—Nationals (Dropped)

Juan Nicasio (P)—Pirates (Won at $0) by Tom Trudeau/Craig Glaser—MLB.com
Ramon Laureano (OF)—Astros (Dropped)

Hector Sanchez (C)—Padres (Won at $0) by Ralph Lifshitz—Razzball
Gregor Blanco (OF)—Diamondbacks (Dropped)

Parker Bridwell (P)—Angels (Won at $0) by Ralph Lifshitz—Razzball
Eric Young (OF)—Angels (Dropped)