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).
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
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?
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).
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
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
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
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
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!