The best players in the world play on NFBC. The most popular high-stakes contest is the NFBC Main Event, which has a $1,750 buy-in with a $7,000 league prize and a $200,000 overall prize. Thankfully, for everyone, NFBC allows us to see what each team is doing with their FAAB pick-ups on Sunday night.
Each week, I look at the most popular FAAB pick-ups in the NFBC Main Event to see who the best players in the world are picking up and whether we should add them in our leagues.
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- Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Week 5 High-Stakes FAAB League (2024 Fantasy Baseball)
Andy Pages (OF – LAD)
Andy Pages is one of the Dodgers’ top prospects. He was called up earlier this week, which is why he was picked up in 57 leagues with a max bid of $266 and a minimum bid of $40. He has hit at every level of the minors showing power and the ability to hit for average while stealing a few bases. He doesn’t have any massive tools, so he needs regular playing time to make a real fantasy impact, but he has played every game since he was called up, which is a very good sign.
Jonatan Clase (OF – SEA)
Jonatan Clase is a top prospect for the Mariners who debuted this week. Clase was picked up in 57 Main Event leagues with a max bid of $152 and a minimum bid of $11. Clase is fast; like extremely fast. He stole 79 bases between AA and High-A last year. He was hitting .311/.396/.622 with two home runs and three stolen bases in his first 12 games at AAA before his call-up. He is a better fantasy player than a real-life one and could lose playing time at some point, but he is one of the fastest players in baseball. If he continues to play, he could put up huge stolen base numbers.
Albert Suarez (RP, SP – BAL)
Albert Suarez was the top starting pitching pick-up this week, added in 55 leagues with a max bid of $92 and a minimum bid of $8. Suarez is a 34-year-old journeyman pitcher who spent the last two seasons in Korea. Suarez looked great in spring training and pitched well in his debut this last week, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with zero walks and striking out four.
Mitchell Parker (SP – WAS)
Mitchell Parker was picked up in 54 leagues with a minimum bid of $2 and a max bid of $177. Parker probably would have been an afterthought if not for a fantastic outing versus the Astros, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing zero walks and three hits while striking out eight. Parker isn’t a top-tier prospect and has struggled with command and control throughout the minors. He is someone to stream, but I don’t know that he’s much more than that.
Sean Bouchard (RF – COL)
Sean Bouchard was picked up in 54 leagues with a max big of $54 and a minimum bid of $3. It was surprising that he was left off the Opening Day roster so it was a matter of time before he got the call. Bouchard is more of an accumulator with decent all around tools, but nothing that stands out, so he needs full time playing time to make a difference. If he gets that, then he could be valuable in fantasy but the Rockies have a long history of ignoring youthful talent in favor of veterans that have worse upside.
Mark Leiter Jr. (RP – CHC) and Hector Neris (RP – CHC)
Mark Leiter Jr. was picked up in 53 leagues with a max bid of $115 and a minimum bid of $3. Neris was picked up in 45 leagues with a $185 max bid with a minimum bid of $17. With Adbert Alzolay struggling as the Cubs closer, people are taking gambles that one of these two will take over the job. If I had to bet on one, it would be Neris, who has the bigger contract and experience closing, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it is a committee or if Alzolay keeps the job after all.
Wilyer Abreu (OF – BOS)
Wilyer Abreu was picked up in 49 leagues with a max bid of $350 and a minimum bid of $31. Abreu has been playing regularly with Tyler O’Neill dealing with a concussion, hitting .280/.390/.440 with one home run and four stolen bases. The problem is the underlying numbers aren’t great. He is striking out at a 29% clip and is making way below league-average zone contact. I worry these larger bids will regret it when he inevitably cools down.
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