MLB FAAB Factor: Skenes Time!

This FAAB article is in addition to the AL and NL FAAB articles that run Sunday. Bids are based on a $100 FAAB budget. Throughout the season, this column will have two goals:

1. Identify FAAB targets for fantasy managers in leagues with Thursday FAAB.

2. Offer a preview of FAAB targets ahead of Sunday's columns.

With most teams reaching or at the very least getting close to playing in their 40th games by Mother's Day on May 12, we're officially hitting the point in the baseball season where we can no longer say, "it's still early."

Time to look more closely at the standings in your fantasy league, to see what areas your team is particularly strong or deficient in. Make sure you're not panicking if Matt Olson's .200 batting average and three home runs is burning a hole in the middle of your fantasy lineup. The hot streaks will come for last year's 54-homer man. While it's not early anymore, patience is always important when it comes to sluggers in their prime. 

Maybe it's time for a trade, though I'm finding fair deals harder to come by in redraft leagues. So we're left with the waiver wire primarily for finding those edges. Thankfully, there are some solid players to hunt for in this week's MLB FAAB Factor. Starting with a much-ballyhooed rookie making his big-league debut.

Starting Pitcher

Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates (80%)
Before his call-up news started to hit social media, Skenes was at six percent rostership in Yahoo leagues. Every top pitching prospect's debut has big expectations set upon it. Clayton Kershaw in 2008 against the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols at the top of his powers felt like a heavyweight title fight. Stephen Strasburg striking out 14 in his 2010 debut had the anticipation and excitement surpassed only by Taylor Swift coming to town in concert.

Skenes is set to make his major-league debut on May 11 against the Cubs in what surely will be a jam-packed PNC Park. Nothing better on a Saturday night than to see triple-digit fastballs. Skenes has blazed through seven starts with a 0.99 ERA and .091 WHIP, striking out 45 hitters in 27.1 innings. He's gone six innings in just one of his turns, so the Pirates will probably handle the prized phenom with kid gloves. Be ready to spend up. FAAB: $20 (go higher if you're like many and need pitching. 

Gavin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers (41%)
Stone saw his rostership number grow by 15 percent in a matter of days as he was tabbed to pitch against the Marlins on May 8, and he delivered seven innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and striking out four. It tied his longest outing of the season.

After an uneven 2023 debut in the big leagues, Stone has been rock solid in the Dodgers' rotation. In his last five starts, he's gone at least six innings in four of them and picked up three wins along the way. He pitches next in the Bay Area against the Giants, who are 23rd in runs scored and play in one of the best pitcher's parks in MLB. This kid is not going anywhere anytime soon. FAAB: $9

Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers (15%)
The rookie gets a do-over, after getting rocked for seven runs in 3.2 innings in Detroit on April 18. The second time around on May 8, he lasted four innings, allowing six runs (four earned) and getting touched up for seven hits without a walk, striking out three. 

Whether that earned him another shot in the rotation may be a moot point. Injuries to Dane Dunning and Nathan Eovaldi may necessitate Leiter staying in the big leagues and taking a turn in the Rangers' rotation. A series with Cleveland next week may give Leiter the opportunity to pitch at home for the first time in his big-league career. FAAB: $5

Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers (24%)
Don't let the 0-4 record fool you, the 6-foot-1 righty has pitched well this season. In his seven starts, Olson has allowed one or fewer earned runs. He's gone at least five innings in all but one turn, and in his last five outings he's thrown 23.1 innings, striking out 25 with a 1.54 ERA.

Olson is lined up to face the Marlins in Detroit early next week. This might be just the setup for his first win of the 2024 season. FAAB: $5

Relief Pitcher

Daniel Hudson, Los Angeles Dodgers (32%)
Coming back from multiple injuries, Hudson has persevered like few pitchers have. After contemplating retirement last offseason, Hudson may be front of the class in the Dodgers' bullpen for saves after closer Evan Phillips tweaked his hamstring and landed on the IL.

Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia are also getting high-leverage work, though Hudson got the most recent save, closing out a 3-1 victory to finish a series sweep of the Marlins. While Hudson may not get every save chance while Phillips rehabs, he should get his fair share on a team that's winning at a .667 clip. FAAB: $7

Catcher

Danny Jansen, Toronto Blue Jays (13%)
In his last six games, Jansen is 7-for-19 (.368) with two home runs, five runs scored and two RBI. With a .311 average on the season, Jansen will remain in the lineup for a Blue Jays team that is just 26th in the major leagues in runs scored.

Jansen has even started at DH when Justin Turner has gone in the field, and that's huge for any catcher. He's also hit fifth three times in his last six starts. FAAB: $3

Ivan Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals (5%)
When Willson Contreras went down with a fractured left forearm on May 7, the primary catching duties for the Cardinals seemingly shifted to Herrera. It's very telling that in the first game after Contreras' injury, Herrera was slated to hit cleanup as the DH before the game was rained out.

Herrera has started just two of the last four games, but that will change dramatically. He is 3-for-7 in the last two games in which he's appeared. If he continues to get DH at-bats, he'll be a viable play in two-catcher leagues. FAAB: $2

First Base

LaMonte Wade Jr., San Francisco Giants (13%)
When a right-handed pitcher is going against the Giants, Wade is in the lineup. He has just nine of his 106 at-bats against southpaws, so for those fantasy managers playing in weekly transaction leagues, keep an eye on the number of upcoming games San Francisco has against right-handers. 

Facing righties, Wade is hitting .338 with an .893 OPS. He also has a K:BB rate of 27:18, which is incredibly respectable. He has four RBI in the first two games of a series against the Rockies at Coors Field. And when Wade starts, he's usually in the second or third spot in the lineup. FAAB: $3

Jon Singleton, Houston Astros (5%)
When all the talk was about Joey Loperfido coming up to the big leagues, it was Singleton who started at first base after Jose Abreu was relegated to the minor leagues. He even went 6-for-20 in the first six games following Abreu's demotion, and hit three home runs in that span.

Singleton has hit in the middle to bottom half of the Astros' lineup that is looking for any kind of spark. It's been reiterated time and again in this space that first base is not deep this year, so teams that punted this position in the draft could look to Singleton for some offense. FAAB: $5

Second Base

Abraham Toro, Oakland A's (14%)
Eligible at third base along with the keystone, Toro just went 8-for-18 with three runs and two RBI in a four-game series against the Rangers. He hit leadoff in three of those games. Before that, he had a four-game streak with multi-hit games from April 30 to May 4, scoring six times and driving in four in that hot stretch.

Toro will likely remain in the lineup as long as Zack Gelof is on the IL, and the multiposition eligibility is so valuable. FAAB: $3

Luis Garcia, Washington Nationals
Garcia has made appearances in this space before, and while his rostership numbers are climbing, there's still more room for growth. Garcia is 10-for-24 in his last six games, banging out two home runs, scoring four times and knocking in 10 RBI. 

Garcia has moved up the lineup, hitting in the third hole in the last five starts. With middle infielders seemingly always in need on fantasy rosters, Garcia at the very least is a stash and someone to play against right-handers – he's hitting .354 against them.

Third Base

Andy Ibanez, Detroit Tigers (2%)
Returning from the IL on April 30 after being sidelined with a hamstring injury, Ibanez got two hits in a doubleheader and has hit at or near the top in his starts since then. On May 7 in Cleveland, Ibanez crushed two homers in a 4-for-4 game, scoring four runs and driving in four.

He's another movable chess piece in that he can slide from second base, to third base, to the outfield on fantasy rosters. Ibanez has been a part-time player, mostly hitting against lefties, but the Tigers are like many teams in search of offense. His playing time could rise in the immediate future. FAAB: $2

Brett Baty, New York Mets (11%)
The one-time prized prospect put himself front of mind with many fantasy managers when he went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI on May 3 in Tampa Bay. He's still doing more of his damage against right-handers – he's hitting .273 versus righties and only .200 facing lefties. Baty's been in the lineup regularly and has a decent K:BB ratio of 26:10. FAAB: $3

Shortstop

Jose Caballero, Tampa Bay Rays (56%)
The middle infielder ran wild on Cinco de Mayo, stealing four bases against the Mets. He added another the next day. With 14 stolen bases, Caballero is tied with Ronald Acuna and Brice Turang for second place in that category.

Caballero usually hits in the bottom third of the Rays' lineup, yet is in the starting nine consistently. He's started 21 of the last 22 games for Tampa Bay. FAAB: $3

Outfield

TJ Friedl, Cincinnati Reds (50%)
Coming off the IL on May 7, Friedl was immediately inserted at the top of the Reds' lineup that was facing a right-hander. He moved to eighth the next day against a lefty. That could be the arrangement for the time being, as Friedl gets his legs under him. 

Friedl hit 18 home runs and stole 27 bases last year, and did so with an .819 OPS. With the Reds scuffling of late, Friedl may be one of the players to give them a spark as the weather turns warmer. And on days when he's hitting in front of Elly De La Cruz, there could be plenty of fun to be had. FAAB: $10

Alex Verdugo, New York Yankees (56%)
Nicknamed "Dugie," Verdugo has five home runs and 17 RBI in the young season. He's risen up the Yankees' lineup, and in a recent stretch from May 2 to 7 went 6-for-19 (.316) with a home run, two runs and four RBI – all of those coming in a May 7 10-3 blowout win over the Astros.

Hitting behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, Verdugo is going to do plenty of damage as long as he remains in that great batting slot. He's shown great plate discipline, walking more times (17) than he's struck out (14). FAAB: $9

Jonny DeLuca, Tampa Bay Rays (20%)
One of the main players going to the Rays in the deal that landed Tyler Glasnow with the Dodgers, DeLuca started the year on the IL and did not debut until May 3. Two days later he started a three-game streak where he went 6-for-11 with one home run, two runs and seven RBI. The latter number really got him on the fantasy radar.

The Rays like to mix and match lineups based on the pitcher, so look for DeLuca to sit on occasion. He's an upside play in daily leagues when he is in the lineup. FAAB: $3

Bryan De La Cruz, Miami Marlins (57%)
The National League's other De La Cruz is on a five-game heater going 7-for-19 (.368) with three home runs, six runs scored and five RBI. With the Marlins starting to tear down after the Luis Arraez deal, De La Cruz is going to remain in the lineup and has been hitting consistently in the second spot. He's hit home runs in three of his last five games. FAAB: $4