Mastersball

Each week, your friends at Mastersball will post the results of the weekly Tout Wars FAAB run, featuring the winning bid as well as the runner-up bids. There are three LABR leagues, a 12-team AL only, 13-team NL only and 15-team Mixed League. You can see the complete standings for each league by clicking on the appropriate heading, located just under each player photo.

Tout Wars uses a modified Vickrey system to award bids. For a complete description of the Vickrey system, click HERE for the Tout Wars constitution.

Included with each league report will be commentary from a Mastersball staff member participating in that league. We invite you to ask questions and post comments at the bottom of the report.

All contingency bids for awarded players are included. Sometimes, this is a bid tied to a player that the owner received, so at times the bid amount is larger than the winning bid. We are including it to provide as much information and context as possible with each report.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

PLAYERS AWARDED

UNAWARDED CONTINGENCY BIDS

Todd Zola's Commentary

I'm pinch-hitting for Rob today. Chris Parmelee was on a lot of sleeper lists in the spring as the tenuous situations of both Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau paved the way for Parmelee to pick up some playing time at first. His first go-round resulted in a demotion to Triple-A Rochester, but after 1.208 OPS on the farm, the Twins' youngster is back for another shot. Target Field will depress his power, but at this point of the season, anytime you can acquire a player that will accrue neat full-time at bats, you take the chance, like the dynamic duo of Colton and the Wolfman did.

Something that caught my eye was what I consider curious bidding on Hank Conger, called up to help fill in for Chris Iannetta. Maybe it is just an artifact of my 2011 man-crush on Conger, but I am surprised the bidding was not higher. I realize Conger is a short-term fix, but if the young receiver were to hit, he could stick with Bobby Wilson losing his backup spot. I just feel it would have been a shot worth taking for those in need of a catcher. Ron Shandler is now covered regardless as he owns the entire Halos' receiving troika.

Something else I find extremely interesting is the FAAB totals for the AL Tout Warriors. Here they are:

Usually, there are multiple teams vying for the top spot in the hopes there is an impact deadline deal that sends an NL player over the AL. I wonder if the addition of the second wild card has caused concern that fewer teams will be sellers, decreasing the chance a top player comes over. Or maybe, injuries are much more prevalent so they can't afford to fold onto their FAAB. Either way, Jason Collette is in the interesting position of being able to bit a pretty healthy amount, especially with Vickrey, and still retain the top spot. That said, the trading of FAAB is allowed in Tout Wars, as is the ability to reclaim FAAB if you have a player purchased at the auction on the DL. I have a feeling that if there are some crossovers, we'll see some interesting deals involving FAAB. Keep in mind that FAAB acquired in a trade is not eligible to be used until the following transaction period, so all the owners will know what they are up against. The previous week, however, is where clandestine deals can be consummated, and I, as the league SWAT, will be asked not to announce some deals until the last possible instance and still have the transaction be valid that week. This is all part of the gamesmanship that goes on in a league such as Tout Wars.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PLAYERS AWARDED

UNAWARDED CONTINGENCY BIDS

Brian Walton's Commentary

Coming off a 2011 debut during which he drove in 20 and stole nine bases in 215 at-bats for the Pirates, Alex Presley fetched a $14 winning bid on draft day from ESPN's Nate Ravitz. Last year's success did not initially carry over to 2012, however. Batting just .220 on May 15, the outfielder was returned to Triple-A. With only four reserve spots in Tout, Ravitz cut his ties with Presley. Back to the bigs this week, Presley drew 10 bids, including $19 from his previous owner. It wasn't nearly enough as Mike Gianella's $54 ($60 Vickrey) edged Derek Carty's $53 offer. Last week, Presley could have been had for just $1, but who knew he'd be called up?

The back injury suffered by Philadelphia's Freddy Galvis and the continual question marks that dog Chase Utley turned Mike Fontenot from unwanted last week to a hot commodity this Sunday night. The former Cubs and Giants' second sacker attracted seven bids. Six were single-digit offers, with the winner being Scott Pianowski at $10 ($15 Vickrey).

Losing Jaime Garcia for up to two months with a shoulder problem meant my already-underachieving staff needed someone else. I went for the left-hander's replacement. Joe Kelly had passed top prospect Shelby Miller in the Cardinals pecking order and in his Sunday MLB debut, Kelly allowed just one run over five innings. I figured that performance would interest some of my competitors, but my $4 bid surprisingly stood alone.

MIXED LEAGUE

PLAYERS AWARDED

UNAWARDED CONTINGENCY BIDS

Zach Steinhorn's Commentary

I think it’s safe to say that Cory Schwartz is a big Alex Presley fan. Presley, who was banished to the minors after a dreadful start to the season but recalled early last week, received a $52 bid from Schwartz, dwarfing Fred Zinkie’s second place bid of $12. Tout uses Vickrey bidding for bids exceeding $10, however, so Cory was only forced to shell out $13 for the Pirates’ outfielder. In six games since getting recalled, Presley is 8-for-27 (.296 AVG) with a homer and three steals, so Schwartz’s enthusiasm is certainly understandable.

First baseman Gaby Sanchez, another player who is fresh off a stint in the minors after starting the year in the big leagues, garnered the second highest bid and went to Fred Zinkie for the Vickrey adjusted price of $10. Even though he has yet to fully live up to expectations, Sanchez has still been a mixed league worthy player over the past few years and without question deserved a spot on a Tout roster.

I put in bids for both of these guys, but with less than half of my season FAAB budget remaining, I had to limit myself. I did scoop up Joaquin Benoit to serve as my new non-closer reliever but ERA/WHIP/K rate helper, figuring that he’s an upgrade over the disappointing Jonny Venters. All in all, what could have been a busy FAAB week for me turned out to be a rather quiet one.