Whitestone’s Waiver Watch: Big-Ticket Items (6/2)

2025 MLB Counter: 36.3% of games played 

Most Expensive Main Event Free Agent Additions

This week we’re taking a break from our Main Event category tour (Whaddaya mean “thank goodness”?) to look at the first two months of free agent activity as a whole. Sure, we examine the weekly results individually, but I thought it would be instructive to determine which players have commanded the most total dollars in the first two months when fantasy teams had plenty of FAAB to kick around, even if some of the FAAB for a particular player was spent across more than one weekly period. Let’s take a look at what type of players were high on the list and how some of those players have performed to date.

Below are the top 25 players in terms of FAAB spent in the first 10 FAAB runs, when Main Event fantasy managers have had the most FAAB at their disposal (note: it does not include the June 1 FAAB). My theory is that these first 10 FAABs are inherently different from pickups in June through September, because the later bids are always significantly lower since all fantasy managers have less resources to deploy. As support for this notion, you can see below that the two players allocated the highest total FAAB occurred April 27 — Nick Kurtz and Agustín Ramírez. These two were not only first and second but by far the most was spent on them — in fact Mr. Kurtz was more than double the level of the third-highest player, Luke Jackson. Nine of the 25 had average winning bids of over $100, with the top three exceeding $200. The lowest average winning bid to make the list was J.T. Ginn’s average of $31, but he more than made up for it by being added, dropped, and added again (he was added a total of 107 times).

Free Agents Commanding the Most FAAB This Year

As you’d expect, there are some hits and some misses in the list above. But I had to wonder, is the record better for these top 25 than it is for the run-of-the-mill pickups further down the scale? In order to test this theory, I accumulated the stats below for all 25, then graded them as a pickup from A through F based on the production of these players thus far. These grades are absolutely accurate according to a super-secret formula that I cannot divulge, but if you want to assign different grades then of course I fully support you.

The first thing that struck me is the success of some of the biggest closer additions. Six of the top 25 have been closers or closer speculation of various forms, and we have five grades of A (Daniel Palencia, Will Vest, Dennis Santana, Camilo Doval, Emilio Pagán) and one B (Luke Jackson). In fact, these were the only five grades of A that I doled out. All six provided what their fantasy managers were looking for — saves and pretty darn good ratios. Pagán in particular has been fantastic with 13 saves. 

There were nine FAAB starting pitcher additions out of the top 25, and unfortunately their report card was not as good as the relievers. There were three grades of B (Ryan Weathers, Cade Horton, Logan Henderson), three at C (Tony Gonsolin, David Festa, Clayton Kershaw), two D’s (Chase Dollander, Gunnar Hoglund) and even an F (J.T. Ginn). You can see the mostly underwhelming stats below. 

The 10 hitters that attracted significant FAAB had a similar stratification as the starting pitchers. Three attained B’s (Agustín Ramírez, who hasn’t been outstanding but has flashed power and is playing regularly; Jordan Beck, who has faded a bit but has still contributed; and Chandler Simpson, who was optioned back to Triple-A but gave fantasy managers what they were seeking with 19 steals). Three more were at C (Nick Kurtz, who hasn’t done much but looked like he was ready to do so before his injury; Caleb Durbin, who at least has provided a few steals; and Noelvi Marte, who was looking good before his injury). Then bringing up the rear is the D grade (Kyren Paris); the two F’s (Zac Veen and Evan Carter, who both could still be factors but who haven’t shown it yet); and one incomplete (Marcelo Mayer, who has only been in the majors for one week).

So based on this in-depth and irrefutable analysis, it looks like closer specs are the best targets for big FAAB additions. This undoubtedly will vary season to season, but the advantage I can discern of spending big for closers is that it takes fewer actions for them to work out. If the manager decides a particular player is his choice to pitch the ninth inning, he can rack up wins and saves in a hurry. Alternatively, it’s a lot more difficult for starters and position players to adjust to a new role and hold onto playing time for long stretches — whether they are rookies or veterans coming back from injury. It’s all just food for thought for now, but perhaps something that can be revisited at the end of the season.

Position, Stats and Accurate Grade for Top 25 Adds

Most Common FAAB Pickups in the Main Event: Ring the Bell

Main Event Most Added Players

The top-10 FAAB acquisitions from Sunday are in the chart below, and Nationals first baseman Josh Bell, who blasted three homers this week, was the most added player in the Main Event. Main Event managers were not put off by this .183 batting average for the season, probably because they needed the power. Bell had a very low average winning bid of $13, so even though he was added in 45 leagues, he was not in heavy demand. The second-most added player was Tampa outfielder Jake Mangum, who returned from injury late in the week and figures to play regularly. Boston hurler Richard Fitts was the third-most added player, as he might get two starts this week although questions about how long he will pitch still linger. But this concern is outweighed, I am told, by the fact that Richard is quite fit and athletic. Finally, with the Rockies sitting at an impressive 9-50 for the season, they announced Thairo Estrada will fix all their issues by playing in the middle infield. Main Event managers — at least 41 of them — hope Rockies management knows what they are doing. Nevertheless, Mick Abel was the big prize — he had the highest average winning bid of $56 out of the top ten — as all the other average winning bids were below $30. 

Top Additions Based on Total FAAB Dollars Spent This Week

We’ve added a new feature — the top 10 acquisitions in the Main Event based on the total FAAB dollars spent. Obviously, this chart can highlight players who attract a higher average winning bid even though they were picked up in fewer leagues. Unsurprisingly, Mick Abel was far and away the leader here, with $2,059 spent on his services, with Jake Mangum a notable second at $1,422. Of course, it’s worth noting that neither of these players would have made the top-25 chart for the season despite their relative popularity. This week Ernie Clement and Ryan Yarbrough were the only two players who made this second list without being added in the most leagues, as spending was aggressive for them while they were being added in only 31 and 16 leagues, respectively. The average winning bid was $23 for Clement and $39 for Yarbrough, as they drew significant interest in the leagues where they were available. 

The Wow Bid of the Week: Of the Valley

So who attracted the highest single bids of Week 11 FAAB? Of course it had to be a closer (see my FAAB discussion at the top of the article) — Camilo Doval of the Giants at a $346 figure (which handily beat the runner up bid of $187). Now Doval means “Of the Valley” and since a valley is found between the mountains I can report that there was a mountain of evidence that Doval was a good pickup before this week, and this is proven since he was rostered in 55 of 57 Main Event leagues before the FAAB run. But there were two valleys where this information had apparently not yet reached (the two leagues that he was available), and this week Doval cost $346 and $228, respectively after the news finally arrived.

In addition to the Doval, there were eight other players with average winning bids over $100 that were added in one or two leagues: Bryce Miller ($164; 1 league); Marcus Semien ($148; 2); Dylan Crews ($147; 2); Andrés Giménez ($141; 3); Trent Grisham ($133; 1); Addison Barger ($112; 1); Alex Bregman ($109; 2); and Robert Garcia ($101; 5).

FAAB Summary: $579 Spent; $421 Remains

For the average Main Event manager, almost 60% of their FAAB allocation is gone after 11 of our 27 FAAB weeks. In the first 11 FAAB weeks, Main Event managers have recorded 18,086 winning bids (almost identical to the 18,208 in the first 11 weeks of last year). This means that the average Main Event team has placed about 21 total winning bids this season and spent about $579 of their $1,000 allocation on those 21 players. Spending is up about 8% over last year’s total of $535 in the first 11 weeks, and this week the average Main Event winning bid was a more moderate $18 (a little lower than the average winning bid of $20 in this same period last season). The average Main Event manager in total spent a moderate $35 this week on their approximately two winning bids — which will inevitably move even lower as resources dwindle. As of June 1, the $579 spent represents about $53 per week, and the $421 remaining leaves Main Event managers with approximately $26 per week to deploy over the final 16 weeks of the season.

The Colosseum: 4 Thumbs Up; 2 Thumbs Down

Each week during the season, I’ll review the most common Main Event pickups from three weeks ago and evaluate whether it was a good addition based on the early stats (thumbs up); a bad idea (thumbs down); or simply a push. In 2024, these pickups were rated as 30 thumbs up (38%), a little worse than in 2023 (44% up).

Our eighth set of Colosseum combatants is listed below. This group is from May 11, and the top hitter addition that week — Brett Baty of the Mets — has been solid for his Main Event fantasy managers — with plenty of playing time, a couple of homers and 10 RBIs. That’s a thumbs up from the emperor. Addison Barger of the Blue Jays has been even better — with 4 homers and a sizzling .288 average. It’s another win for our gladiators! And what about our third hitter, Tim Elko? Well, the good news was he made it up from the minors for 25 at bats and hit two homers, but his .160 average cost him and he was optioned back to Triple-A. That is a thumbs down for the White Sox first baseman.

On the pitching side, we had three starting pitchers as the major additions. The most added pitcher — Cade Horton of the Cubs — has been pretty helpful with a win, an ERA of 3.31 and a WHIP of 1.29. That earned him a thumbs up from the emperor. Stephen Kolek of the Padres did supply a win and 13 strikeouts, but the ERA (7.71) and the WHIP (1.65) was unfortunately not good enough. Finally, believe it or not, Landon Knack is back again! On his third trip to the Colosseum, the Knack finally got into the thumbs up column with 21.2 solid innings for the Dodgers. (Now that’s quite enough Landon. You’re banned from the Colosseum for the rest of the season.) In any case, it’s another thumbs up from the emperor to close out a very good week for the Main Event crowd. The final tally is four up, zero pushes, and two down, and makes the cumulative score 18 up; 9 pushes; and 21 down after six weeks (38% thumbs up).

The Most Added Free Agents from 3 Weeks Ago: Hitters 

The Most Added Free Agents from 3 Weeks Ago: Pitchers 

Overall Leaderboard: Addicted to First

The Main Event leaderboard is starting to get the hint that the first-place team of Brian Ambos and Adam Ronis is serious about this competition. They are in first place for the third consecutive week (and the fourth in the last six weeks). These two fantasy stars are competing under the tag of “the fan addict” and they certainly appear addicted to the top spot. Can anyone catch them? Well, one Main Event entrant — Todd Hoppe, who was in first place four weeks ago — has remained in a strong second position in the last three weeks. Using the hopping technique generally reserved for Easter, Todd remains the strongest alternative to our dynamic duo. The sultan (Markus Sultan) is still in third place as he claimed sovereignty over the Main Event landscape, and the man at the cliff’s edge — Kyle Brinkmann — edged up to fourth from sixth overall. Joseph Evans (who says this is shark week and has the handle nlsharks) is now in fifth, and in sixth is Gary Durbin (who was ninth last week) who says he will consider wearing a turban. Ross (the Iceberg) Berg patrols the nearby waters in seventh place, while the Kid Ben Tidd moves back towards the top in eighth (he was 14th last week). Former overall champ Bob Catsiroumpas also made a move — from 13th to ninth, and in 10th place is Scott Feschuk, who claims he chucked a baseball 90 miles per hour in high school.

The top 34 Main Event entrants will earn a prize from the overall pool this year in addition to any league prizes awarded, and other notables include Joe Anthony in 11th; veteran fantasy baseballer Jon Stadtmueller in 12th; the Scout Dustin McComas in 18th; the dangerous Andrew Geller (Da Gildz) in 22nd; yearly standout Jason Santeiu in 23rd; another former overall champ John Pausma in 26th; and two great minds from FTN Fantasy — Michael Mager and Dan Thompson — in 30th and 32nd.

Even though it’s still early, making the top 34 is a significant accomplishment — and we’ll follow the chase for the Main Event overall crown all season to see who can come out on top.

NFBC Main Event Overall Standings 

2025 Final Table CLQ & Qualifier Standings

The first chart below shows the first annual CLQ Championship League Standings — these are the 15 fantasy managers who qualified last season by finishing with the best combined score in an across-the-board competition and therefore were invited to compete in an auction league in March. If you’re unaware, the CLQ requires fantasy managers to enter one specified team in the Online Championship, the Draft Champions, and the Main Event. These top 15 in the 2024 CLQ qualified for this first-ever auction league with significant prize money at stake built from entry fees from all CLQ entrants (201 fantasy managers entered this competition in 2024). It’s the best of the best in a no-holds-barred 15-team league, so we’ll track it to see who can become the initial Champions League Champ (the Champs Champ?) — and this week Michael Brophy has added to his lead — he now has 116.5 points — but he still has five tough competitors within 16 points — second place Matt Leahy who surged from fifth last week (108.0); third place Neil Petersen (106.0); fourth place Chris Uram (105.5); fifth place Toby Guevin (101.5); and sixth place Tim Sansome (100.5).

Below that I’m showing here the race for the NFBC CLQ — the Champions League Qualifier for next March. The top 14 in the CLQ qualify for the 2026 Champions auction league (the champion of the 2025 Champions Auction league automatically is invited back to defend their title and will be the 15th competitor). You can see the current 14 leading contenders to make the auction table in 2026 out of the 155 intrepid souls who entered this year. Bob Catsiroumpas has moved from second into first place, while Kyle Pantalone is shirtless but still in fine shape in second overall. Matt Poole increased his butterfly laps in order to reach a tie for third place with Brian Edwards, and David Bone (who recommends ingesting lots of calcium for a stronger internal structure) is solidly in fifth. Aaron Jones, who plays for the Minnesota Vikings in his spare time, sits in sixth, and Michael Brophy — yes that Michael Brophy who leads the current final table — is in seventh in an effort to re-qualify for next year. Josh Pettersen is proving to be an extremely good fantasy player and finds himself in eighth; Samuel Horton — who apparently heard a who — is ninth; and Ian Hubbard (who growing up called his Mom “Old Mother Hubbard”) is now 10th. But all 14 of these fantasy managers have done an excellent job by currently reaching more than 2,800 points and have a leg up to be at the final table next March.

Good luck to all the fantasy managers this week — there’s still more than 60% of the season to go!

2025 Final Table CLQ 

Champions League Qualifier Standings