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Whitestone’s Waiver Watch: NFBC Main Event (6/3)

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A Whole New Era

MLB Counter = 36.7% of the season complete

We’ve completed two months of the baseball season, so it’s tough to say “it’s too early to worry about the standings” to yourself (Do you often make statements to yourself like this? Just checking.). In any case, 2024 has been a whole new world of lower scoring thus far. As you can see in the table below, we are back to the 2022 runs per game total – and 2022 and 2024 are down from every other year since 2017.

MLB Runs & HRs Per Game (as of June 3)

MLB HITTING STATS RUNS/GAME
2024 YTD 4.32
2023 4.62
2022 4.28
2021 4.53
2020 4.65
2019 4.83
2018 4.65
2017 4.65

But some people are happy – and you know who those guys are. The pitchers! They’ve been dreaming of a world like this, and perhaps it isn’t just a dream any longer (you can see them describing what their dream was like to their pitching coach at the beginning of this season below).

Something New Movie GIF by Paramount Network

But even among our happy group of pitchers, there are a select few starting pitchers who were ready to step into this new world. Below, I’ve listed the top-20 starting pitchers who have thrown the required innings to qualify for the ERA title through June 2. It’s a group that quite frankly contains some hurlers I never would have guessed in March. Sure, there are three pitchers who were drafted in the top three rounds of the Main Event – Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler and Corbin Burnes. But that’s just three out of 20. The other 17 contain only two starters drafted in the top 200 (Jose Berrios and Cristopher Sanchez). They are joined by seven more selected in the 200-299 range, three from 300-399, three from 400-499, plus one over 500 (Tyler Anderson) and one who was undrafted (Austin Gomber). Sure, some of these guys will fade over the season, but it’s been pretty impressive so far, and those who rostered (or added them early in the season) have been reaping the benefits of their fine pitching. Counting Mr. Gomber at a conservative 450 ADP, the average Main Event ADP of these 20 is 273.4. Goodness!

Earned Run Average Leaders 2024 (as of June 2)

ERA RANK EARNED RUN AVERAGE PLAYER MAIN EVENT ADP
1 1.70 Ranger Suarez PHI 289
2 1.72 Seth Lugo KC 258
3 1.73 Reynaldo Lopez ATL 299
4 1.85 Tanner Houck BOS 305
5 1.99 Luis Gil NYY 328
6 2.01 Tarik Skubal DET 31
7 2.27 Javier Assad CHC 475
8 2.32 Zack Wheeler PHI 17
9 2.35 Corbin Burnes BAL 16
10 2.44 Ronel Blanco HOU 423
11 2.47 Tyler Anderson LAA 526
12 2.48 Reese Olson DET 250
13 2.52 Clarke Schmidt NYY 309
14 2.63 Brady Singer KC 409
15 2.70 Jordan Hicks SF 282
16 2.73 Marcus Stroman NYY 240
17 2.76 Austin Gomber COL Not Drafted
18 2.78 Jose Berrios MIN 142
19 2.83 Cristopher Sanchez PHI 187
20 2.91 MacKenzie Gore WAS 232
TOP 20 ERA 2.36 Avg Draft Position of Top 20 (counting Gomber as 450) 273.4

NFBC Main Event FAAB #11

In FAAB #11 Sunday, the majority of bidders were still bargain hunters. The top-10 widest acquisitions this week are in the chart below, and Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL) and David Peterson (NYM) were added in the most leagues (all 57). The only significant average winning bid among the 10 widest pickups was Yimi Garcia at $109. Schwellenbach almost reached the $50 plateau ($48.88), Peterson was about $35, Pete Crow-Armstrong settled at $30 and then it dropped all the way down to $14 (Jake McCarthy). The only additional players added in more than 10 leagues who had relatively high average winning bids were David Hamilton (average of $44 from 10 leagues) Jalen Beeks (average of $43 from 26 leagues), Reed Garrett (average $40 in 16 leagues) and Henry Davis (average $36 in 23 leagues).

NFBC Main Event – Most Added this Week: Isn’t this Schwell?

Player Leagues Added Highest Winning Bid Average Winning Bid Reason
Spencer Schwellenbach 57 $218 $48.88 Regular spot in ATL rotation
David Peterson 57 $103 $34.58 at WAS then vs. MIA
Pete Crow-Armstrong 46 $88 $30.07 The regular Cubs CF?
Yimi Garcia 38 $220 $109.42 Taking over from Romano
Joey Estes 38 $31 $11.26 Two home starts: SEA/TOR
Blake Perkins 32 $67 $10.06 Playing more in MIL
Gio Urshela 31 $31 $9.32 Back and productive
Jake McCarthy 28 $37 $14.18 Speed in AZ
Chad Green 28 $19 $9.93 Sneaky saves in TOR?
Masataka Yoshida 27 $33 $13.11 Closing in on return

Winning Bids over $100 and $200

Bidding Stock Market GIF by Pudgy Penguins

I’m also keeping tabs on players attracting the highest individual FAAB bids. In the 11th run on June 2 (see below), there were just four $200-plus successful bids, a very low total. These bids were for Ben Brown, Yimi Garcia and Spencer Schwellenbach. There were also 37 winning bids between $100-199, which was at least higher than last week’s very low total of six. The most popular target for the over $100 crowd was Garcia, with two winning bids over $200 ($220 and $207) and 17 more between $100 and $199.

FAAB Date Winning Bids (< $200) Winning Bids ($100-$199)
3/24 1 9
3/31 58 43
4/7 1 23
4/14 13 80
4/21 14 80
4/28 8 75
5/5 48 95
5/12 10 58
5/19 11 24
5/26 3 6
6/2 4 37
YTD 171 530

The Wow Bid of the Week: What Can Brown Do For You?

SNL gif. Chris Farley in the Schmitts Gay Beer sketch lifts the sunglass portion of his double lenses in stunned surprise.

The highest overall bid in FAAB Week 11 was for Ben Brown of the Cubs. His services were won with a bid of $366 (the sixth-highest Wow bid out of the 11 registered so far in 2024), which beat out the unsuccessful runner-up bid of $98. You can see the can-do spirit that Brown represents below, which is what attracted this owner to bid $366 in order to add him to his fantasy squad (this was one of only three Main Event leagues in which Brown was a free agent).

Working Customer Service GIF by ConEquip Parts

The Wow Bids of 2024

  • 3/24: Nolan Schanuel $200 (#11)
  • 3/31: Jason Foley $479 (#3)
  • 4/7: James McArthur $225 (#10)
  • 4/14 Brandon Nimmo $578 (#2)
  • 4/21 Wilyer Abreu $350 (#8)
  • 4/28 Pete Crow-Armstrong $355 (#7)
  • 5/5 Christian Scott $677 (Highest)
  • 5/12 Taj Bradley $444 (#4)
  • 519 Reed Garrett $420 (#5)
  • 5/26 Wyatt Langford $248 (#9)
  • 6/2 Ben Brown $366 (#6)

FAAB Summary: Bargain Hunters

In the 11th FAAB week, Main Event owners successfully made 1,774 winning bids (virtually the same as last week) and have now spent about $535 of their $1,000 allocation. This remains significantly lower than the last three years at the 11-week mark. However, this year’s Week 11 was about the same as the previous three years in the Main Event ($41.32 per team) – the previous three years it was $43, $42 and $40, respectively. With on average $465 of FAAB left per team, Main Event owners are still able to aggressively bid over the last 16 FAAB weeks. As you can see in the second chart below, we are beyond the normal high spending weeks (usually Week 2 to Week 8), and with all this FAAB still in circulation, I’d anticipate a couple of spike weeks later in the season.

Total Spent: Main Event Through 10 FAAB Periods

  • 2024: $535
  • 2023: $684
  • 2022: $606
  • 2021: $620

FAAB Spending Summary 2024

2024 FAAB Week Total # of Winning Bids Total FAAB $ Spent Average Winning Bid Average Amount Spent (per team) Cumulative FAAB Spent (per team)
1 310 $4,929 $15.90 $5.76
2 1460 $46,330 $31.73 $54.19 $59.95
3 1728 $34,480 $19.95 $40.33 $100.28
4 1825 $52,908 $28.99 $61.88 $162.16
5 2029 $57,486 $28.33 $67.24 $229.40
6 1929 $51,835 $26.87 $60.63 $290.02
7 1925 $64,251 $33.38 $75.15 $365.17
8 1875 $45,824 $24.44 $53.60 $418.76
9 1718 $35,076 $20.42 $41.02 $459.79
10 1728 $28,757 $16.64 $33.63 $493.42
11 1774 $35,327 $19.91 $41.32 $534.74
TOTAL 18301 $457,203 $24.98 $534.74

Average Weekly Spending Per Team (21-24):

FAAB Period 2024 2023 2022 2021
1 $5.76 $8.46 $11.29 $9.89
2 $54.19 $63.55 $51.24 $86.71
3 $40.33 $70.01 $65.29 $85.95
4 $61.88 $86.51 $62.57 $67.98
5 $67.24 $67.77 $53.82 $67.41
6 $60.63 $77.52 $71.32 $66.39
7 $75.15 $93.31 $83.64 $47.16
8 $53.60 $75.35 $65.81 $42.71
9 $41.02 $51.57 $51.68 $46.22
10 $33.63 $46.77 $46.93 $59.57
11 $41.32 $43.38 $42.24 $40.12
12 $65.35 $39.90 $28.44

The Colosseum

Pvp Elden Ring GIF by Xbox
Four Widest ME Pickups from 3 weeks ago LGS Added First three weeks stats after wide pickup
Robert Gasser 54 22.0 IP (12/1 K:BB) 1 W 3.27 ERA 1.23 WHIP
Jonny DeLuca 47 .133 BA 1 HR 2 SB (2/4 R:RBI)
Abraham Toro 47 .253 BA 1 HR 2 SB (10/3 R:RBI)
Matt Manning 41 10.2 IP (6/4 K:BB) 0 W 5.91 ERA 2.16 WHIP

Each week during the season, I’ll take a look at the four widest 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. We’re focusing on the first three weeks after the pickup where players can earn their new owners some good stats (as they are generally in the active lineup) or underperform badly, leading to a drop as the weeks go by.

Three weeks ago, we had our 8th FAAB run, and the above stats have yielded two thumbs up (Robert Gasser and Abraham Toro). Gasser has provided good ratios, one win and a nice K:BB ratio. Toro, while not getting much publicity, has been relatively solid with a .253 average along with a homer, two steals and 10 runs scored. On the other hand, Jonny DeLuca and Matt Manning left something to be desired. DeLuca hardly played and didn’t hit much when he did, while Manning got a couple of starts but was knocked around and hurt the pitching ratios of his fantasy managers. Sadly, we must give both a thumbs down.

Main Event owners still are doing relatively well in 2024 with 14 thumbs up (44%), 11 thumbs down and seven pushes, and the thumbs up percentage is about equal to 2023 (39 thumbs up for the season equalled 44%). This is about the same neighborhood as the 2022 good pickups mark of 39% but better than 2021, which was 24%.

Colosseum Thumbs Up Record

  • 2024 thus far: 43%
  • 2023: 44%
  • 2022: 39%
  • 2021: 24%

2024 Colosseum Thumbs Up Players

Running Total Date Added THUMBS UP
1 3/26 Spencer Turnbull
2 3/26 Ronel Blanco
3 3/26 Yimi Garcia
4 3/26 Daniel Hudson
5 3/31 Jason Foley
6 4/7 Blaze Alexander
7 4/14 Blake Perkins
8 4/14 Jose Soriano
9 4/21 Andy Pages
10 4/21 Albert Suarez
11 4/28 Simeon Woods Richardson
12 4/28 Jo Adell
13 5/12 Robert Gasser
14 5/12 Abraham Toro

Overall Leaderboard: Schroter Chillin’ Like a Villain

Wildlife gif. Two sunbears in swim trunks lay out in the sun with cocktails. Both turn toward the camera as one raises a paw to wave "hello!" Text, "Sup."

So I keep checking in on Glenn Schroter, the 2015 overall Main Event champ, who is leading the 2024 Main Event for the fifth time in the last six weeks. Is he tense? Does he spend all day worrying about his lead and whether he can maintain it? Well, you can see his general approach above. He’s just not worried about anything!

Main Event Leaders in 2024

Week Date Fantasy Owner Overall Points Margin Over Second Current Overall Place
1 3/31 Jenny Butler 7501.5 48.5 305th
2 4/7 Nelson Sousa 7468.5 22.0 14th
3 4/14 Nelson Sousa 7646.0 13.0 14th
4 4/21 Greg Diehl 7501.5 134.5 58th
5 4/28 Glenn Schroter 7481.0 63.0 1st
6 5/5 Glenn Schroter 7673.0 255.5 1st
7 5/12 Robert Cramutola 7731.0 105.5 3rd
8 5/19 Glenn Schroter 7538.0 35.0 1st
9 5/26 Glenn Schroter 7585.5 182.5 1st
10 6/3 Glenn Schroter 7523.0 129.0 1st

So our relaxed Glenn still leads by 129 points over his nearest rival. However, The Liberator, Bradley Libros, has moved up from fifth to second and is right on his heels (and he also has a Main Event team ranked #79). Also not really throwing in the towel is Robert Cramutola, our 2022 Overall Champ. Robert bounced back up to third from seventh and has his eyes on re-taking the lead (he already led after Week 7). Also proving to be difficult to get “RYDD” of (okay, I used this same joke again, but I kinda like it) is Dave Rhydderch, who dropped a touch from third to fourth. Then there’s Eric Drescher in fifth (up from 13th) who claims he took a little break and is “fresher” than the other players (look, I’m just reporting what these guys tell me – so don’t complain about these insights). Clark Olson, the legend, is holed up in sixth (second last week) and also has teams ranked #73 and #78. Star fantasy manager Jason Santeiu, who has teams holding down seventh, 31st and 46th on the overall leaderboard, sent me another message that Jason is officially Chasin’ the overall lead (thanks Jason). Also in the top 10 is Brian Magnani (still eighth), former overall champ Abdulaziz Madani (up from 15th) and David Einhorn (zooming up from 19th, and who tells me he invented the term “around the horn” for MLB).

A few other notables in the top 31 (the top 31 are paid an overall prize at the end of the season – see below table) include Knute Rockne aficionado Nicholi Knutson (11th), Delaware Governor Andy Saxton (12th), Monte Carlo resident Eric Karlovic (13th), Sousaphone inventor Nelson Sousa (14th) and a fellow who never travels on paved roads, Dusty Wagner (15th). 

I also recommend keeping an eye on Jello Magnate Dominic Rello (16th), Bordeaux wine aficionado Chrish Boudreaux (17th), Matthew Do or Do Not Dugan (19th and 23rd) and the Wardog David DiDonato (24th).

But all 31 of these fantasy managers are in the hunt for sure, and in a big 855-team contest like the Main Event, that’s all you can ask after a couple of months. We’ve almost reached the two-fifths mark of the season (36.7%), but there’s still lots of games to be played before October.

Top 31: Main Event 2024

Overall Rank Overall Prize Money Fantasy Manager Overall Points Points Behind 1st Place
1 $200,000 Glenn Schroter 7523.0 0.0
2 $50,000 Bradley Libros 7394.0 129.0
3 $30,000 Robert Cramutola 7188.5 334.5
4 $25,000 Dave Rydderch 7182.5 340.5
5 $20,000 Eric Drescher 7149.5 373.5
6 $15,000 Clark Olson 7111.0 412.0
7 $12,500 Jason Santeiu 7,062.5 460.5
8 $10,000 Brian Magnani 7043.0 480.0
9 $9,000 Abdulaziz Madani 6896.5 626.5
10 $8,000 David Einhorn 6875.0 648.0
11 $7,500 Nicholi Knutson 6873.5 649.5
12 $7,000 Andy Saxton 6843.5 679.5
13 $6,500 Eric Karlovic 6813.0 710.0
14 $6,000 Nelson Sousa 6801.5 721.5
15 $5,500 Dustin Wagner 6799.5 723.5
16 $5,000 Dominic Rello 6796.5 726.5
17 $4,000 Chris Boudreaux 6746.0 777.0
18 $3,500 Stephen Ciepiela 6742.5 780.5
19 $3,000 Matthew Dugan 6659.5 863.5
20 $2,500 Mike Massotto 6573.0 950.0
21 $2,400 Neil Petersen 6566.0 957.0
22 $2,300 Matthew Dugan 6527.5 995.5
23 $2,200 Alan Mitchell 6520.0 1003.0
24 $2,100 David DiDonato 6500.0 1023.0
25 $2,000 Mike Ballschmiede 6487.5 1035.5
26 $1,950 Griffin Benger 6475.5 1047.5
27 $1,900 Shawn Gidley 6465.0 1058.0
28 $1,850 Jordan Rosenblum 6455.0 1068.0
29 $1,800 Jeff Freeman 6453.0 1070.0
30 $1,750 Todd Hoppe 6452.0 1071.0
31 $1,700 Jason Santeiu 6449.5 1073.5
Average Top 31 Overall Score Average Top 31 Overall Score 6787.9

League of Legends

Legends Never Die GIF by HOMAGE

Here are the 57 Main Event leagues with the current top three in the standings as of the morning of June 3!

Top Three: 2024 Main Event League Leaders

NFBC League # LEADER – $7,000 prize 2nd Place – $3,500 prize 3rd Place – $1,750 prize
1190 Kyle Brinkmann Gregg Martin Ryan Welborn
1194 Nicholi Knutson Michael Alloca Kyle Brinkmann
1232 Joe Anthony Ray Murphy David Miller
1233 Andrew Sullivan Danny Bronski Andrew Kopicz
1337 Daniel DaSilva Robert Osgood Jr. Shamir Naran
1380 Michelle Smith Scott Waggener Phillippe Dussault
1381 Jackson Price Michael Mager John Roberts
1418 Neil Petersen Stephen Prepas Tom O’Bryan
1419 Brody John Michael Brophy Bill Gaffney
1427 Robert Cramutola Ian Peterson Dave Anderson
1438 Abdulaziz Madani Chris Uram Dave Rhydderch
1443 Nelson Sousa Jason Santeiu Clark Olson
1460 Erik Sviggum David Hinkel Dalton Del Don
1479 Dave Rhydderch Jordan Rosenblum Robert Beckman
1484 Adam Warner James Anderson & Todd Whitestone Matthew Shepherd
1485 Clark Olson John Pausma Bill Gaffney
1487 Brian Magnani Mike Ballschmiede Dan Thompson
1488 Brandon King Brian Edwards Scott Davis
1489 Ben Tidd Richard DiMondo Joe Green
1493 Alan Mitchell Robert Cramutola Ian Hubbard
1516 Matthew Davis Dustin McComas Mark Bendar
1517 Dominic Rello Eddie Gillis Bill Macey
1518 Michael O’Brien Joe Meyer Leonard Ringle
1519 Scott Waggener Steve Maier Dalton Del Don
1520 Peter Christensen Steven Weimer Bryan Fitzgerald
1521 Griffin Benger Dave Shovein Elliott Pell
1522 Glenn Schroter Stephen Jupinka Stephen Goodwin
1523 Clark Olson James Tomony Jacob Halusker
1528 David Einhorn Richard DiMondo Paul Sporer
1539 Bradley Libros Stephen Fiore Scott Masel
1566 Matt Leahy Greg Diehl Mark Srebro
1585 Leonard Ringle Dave Sowa Lane McVey
1586 Mike Massotto Rich Barry Jordan Epping
1587 James Maples Zachary Waxman Tom O’Bryan
1598 Eric Drescher Robert DiPietro Michael O’Brien
1605 Peter Marrero Nelson Sousa James Maples
1615 Eric Karlovic Matthew Anderson Ken O’Brien
1634 Bradley Libros Aaron German Michael Lins
1645 Stephen Ciepiela Dominic Rello Jonathan Fox
1646 David DiDonato Ned Donohue Jeff Mitseff
1647 Stephen Fiore James Tomony Jon Stadtmueller
1648 Dustin Wagner Jeffrey Biddle Al Williams
1649 Jason Anthony Chris Fessler Matt Hurley
1650 Scott Waggener Mark Kieffer Dalton Del Don
1653 Scott Fleming Steve Brunn Anthony Palavis
1658 Matthew Dugan Chris Uram Andrew Kaplan
1676 Jason Santeiu Todd Hoppe Matt Modica
1680 Jeff Freeman Michael DeCalvalcante Dan Passalacqua
1685 Shawn Gidley David Deterra Dohn Terrell
1692 Glenn Schroter Robert Brendler Paul Jager
1707 Pat Tremaglio Zachary Viglianco David Miller
1714 Chris Boudreaux Anthony Donisch Mike Ballschmiede
1778 Andy Saxton Tyler Jung Carter Gill
1817 Matthew Dugan Gregg Martin Tristan Hills
1820 Tom Rodriguez Danny Bronski James Hyler
1831 Jason Santeiu Tim Wagner Dan Leonard
1837 Robert Cramutola Michael O’Brien Alan Mitchell

Shout-outs

Shout Out Love GIF by The3Flamingos

The 26 players listed below account for 23 of the 57 first-place positions (40%) and 58 of the 171 total cashing positions (34%). So far, the most outstanding performance across the Main Events belongs to the trio of Scott Waggener, Robert Cramutola and Jason Santeiu, who each have two first places and a second place!! Congratulations! Also sporting three league placements are Michael O’Brien (one first, one second and one third) and Dalton Del Don (three thirds). But see below, as there are several other fantasy managers doing terrific work!

Notables include:

Two first, one second – Scott Waggener, Robert Cramutola, Jason Santeiu
Two first, one third – Clark Olson
One first, one second, one third – Michael O’Brien
Three thirds – Dalton Del Don
Two firsts – Glenn Schroter, Bradley Libros, Matthew Dugan
One first; one second – Nelson Sousa, Stephen Fiore, Dominic Rello
One first; One third – Dave Rhydderch, Alan Mitchell, Kyle Brinkmann, James Maples, Leonard Ringle
wo seconds – Gregg Martin, Chris Uram, James Tomony, Danny Bronski, Richard DiMondo
One second, one third – Mike Ballschmiede
Two thirds – Bill Gaffney, Tom O’Bryan, David Miller

Good luck in Week 12!

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