AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

This is our weekly look at American League free agents. We have two goals for this article:

1. Identify likely free agents and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.

2. Estimate how much of your $100 starting free-agent budget you should bid on them.

We've incorporated grids into the FAAB articles, so users can easily see at a glance how certain players stack up against others and how much they should command in a variety of formats.

The grids, which are sortable by column (click on the header), include a very basic "player grade" column. This serves as a reflection of a player's skills and role on an A-E scale. Shohei Ohtani would have been an "A" grade player last year – that mark will be reserved for similarly high-impact prospects stepping into an everyday role.

As always, if there is a player that was not discussed in the article that you would like to know about, feel free to ask about the player in the comments.

AL FAAB | NL FAAB

Starting Pitcher

Homer Bailey, Royals: If you're already scrounging for streaming options, there are a couple arms this week with good matchups who would definitely qualify as dumpster diving. Bailey hasn't been good for four years now, but somehow Kansas City couldn't find any better pitchers for their fifth starter job, so the veteran righty is expected to make his Royals debut April 2, setting him up for a two-start week. Even better, one of those starts is on the road against a Tigers offense that has been very offensive to begin the season, managing two runs in 28 innings so far against the Blue Jays. The other start lines up as a home outing against the Twins, but you'll be counting on Bailey to make hay in Detroit. Any value he provides against Minnesota is gravy. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1

Brad Keller, Royals: Keller was sharp in his 2019 debut, blanking the White Sox over seven innings while striking out five. Sure, it was only the White Sox and yeah, he wasn't overpowering, but that's what the 23-year-old does, or at least what he did last year after getting sniped from the D-backs in the Rule 5 draft. The AL Central is still arguably the best pitcher's division in baseball simply due to the lackluster lineups – whatever improvements the Twins may have made this offseason, Cleveland gave back – so if Keller didn't get drafted in a shallower league, he's worth grabbing despite his lack of prospect pedigree. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Owned

Clayton Richard, Blue Jays: If Bailey wasn't bad enough, here's another ugly two-start week for your streaming pleasure. Richard was actually the Padres' Opening Day starter last year, but the veteran lefty was pretty awful, which is why he washed up in Toronto's patchwork rotation. He faces Baltimore and Cleveland this week, though, neither of whom seem like particularly fearsome offenses to overcome. Again, this isn't about what his numbers will look like at the end of the year – heck, he could be out of a job by mid-April – but whether he can give you a handful of useful innings and maybe even steal a win against two soft-ish opponents. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $1

Matt Shoemaker, Blue Jays: The early success Toronto pitching had against Detroit has to be taken with a massive grain of salt, but the fact that Shoemaker looked healthy and delivered seven innings might be a more important takeaway than the fact that they were seven scoreless innings, or that he struck out seven ragged Tigers in them. Injuries limited Shoemaker to 21 starts and 108.2 total innings in 2017 and 2018, and he's never made 30 starts in a year, but when he's been fit the right-hander's been a solid mid-rotation guy, something the Jays could desperately use. It's an understandable reflex to dismiss him, but stumbling across an arm this early in the season who can give you, say, 130 solid innings is like finding treasure in the dark. Why-y-y-y-y don't you use him? 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Chris Stratton, Angels: Picked up from the Giants right before the season started, Stratton will give the Angels' rotation a little bit more length. A very little bit. Because hey, why would you want to surround Mike Trout with former Cy Young winners when you can add guys with a career 4.63 ERA for peanuts. If someone like Andrew Heaney or Nick Tropeano ever gets healthy, Stratton will probably find himself in the bullpen or Triple-A – in other words, expect him to make 20-plus starts for the Angels this season. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Trent Thornton, Blue Jays: There was a mad scramble for the Jays' fifth starter spot at the end of spring training, and Thornton emerged the winner. The 25-year-old has some mild strikeout potential – he fanned nearly a batter an inning at Triple-A last year for Houston before getting flipped to Toronto in the Aledmys Diaz deal – but he's probably just keeping a rotation spot warm for whichever of Ryan Borucki or Clay Buchholz is ready to claim it first. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers: Good as the Tigers' hitters made the Jays rotation look to begin the season, Toronto's lineup returned the favor for Zimmermann, as he one-hit the Jays over seven scoreless innings in his first start of 2019. The 32-year-old has been mostly a disaster over the last three years, and there's no real reason to expect a turnaround, but he does have that AL Central appeal, even if he won't get to face his own teammates. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Relief Pitcher

Cory Gearrin / Nick Rumbelow, Mariners: Hunter Strickland's injury doesn't seem too serious – the M's are describing it as a lat strain – but he doesn't yet have a timetable for his return, leaving the back end of the team's bullpen wide open. Anthony Swarzak could be the guy when he comes off the IL, which is expected to happen Tuesday, but he's not there yet. In the meantime, Gearrin doesn't have typical closer stuff, sitting in the low 90s with his fastball, but he's been seeing fairly heavy usage so far without faltering and seems to have earned some trust from Scott Servais. He was unavailable Saturday, though, which left Zac Rosscup to start the ninth inning and Rumbelow to finish it up for a one-out save. Hmm. If that wasn't murky enough, Servais basically mentioned the entire bullpen as candidates for saves when asked what he would do in Strickland's absence. Of the rest, Matt Festa might have the most shine. The righty has a smidge more giddyup on his fastball than Gearrin and saved 20 games at Double-A last year. None should be viewed as a long-term option to close, but if Strickland's injury does keep him out for any significant amount of time, someone will have to take the reins, whether it's one of this motley assortment of middle-relief arms or a prospect like Justus Sheffield getting a chance to cut his teeth in high-leverage spots in the majors. Gearrin - 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7 / Rumbelow - 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Ian Kennedy, Royals: Speaking of bullpens in chaos, Kennedy got the save for the Royals on Saturday. Huh? Brad Boxberger recorded a one-out save Opening Day but then got called upon in the seventh inning two days later and fell apart. Wily Peralta looked rough Thursday and hasn't pitched since. Apparently Kennedy is the next man up, and he does fit the profile of "failed starter turned reliever" that so many others have parlayed into closer success. He didn't show appreciably more velocity during his save, topping out at 93 mph after averaging 91.9 mph last year in the rotation, but maybe he just needs more time to get used to working in shorter stints. There's a good chance none of these pitchers takes the job and runs with it, and larger than a non-zero chance this ends up being Kennedy's only career save. Still, if you committed to FAABing your saves from the get-go, he's exactly the kind of lottery ticket you should be throwing bids at. 12-team Mixed: $1; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Taylor Rogers, Twins: Rogers got the first save of the year for the Twins, and it wasn't a situational job either – he earned it by striking out three batters in 1.1 frames. If I had to guess at what manager Rocco Baldelli is thinking, he seems to prefer Trevor May in that Andrew Miller/Josh Hader highest-leverage role – May entered Saturday's game in the seventh inning to face Carlos Santana and Hanley Ramirez – while leaving the ninth for whichever of Rogers or Blake Parker is rested and pitching well. Rogers has a much better arsenal than Parker, so if that's the case, it may not be long before Rogers is the de facto closer in Minnesota. 12-team Mixed: $4; 15-team Mixed: $9; 12-team AL: $19

Mike Wright Jr., Orioles: The O's are engaging in bullpen shenanigans as well, giving Wright the save Saturday after having Mychal Givens work the eighth inning to protect a 3-1 lead, Technically, Richard Bleier started the ninth after Baltimore tacked on two insurance runs, but once he flopped and created a save situation again, Wright got the call. Unlike Kennedy, Wright was absolutely letting it all hang out, sitting 95-97 mph with his fastball – a nice jump for a guy who was more 92-94 mph last year in a long relief/swing man role. I'm not convinced he's the best man for the job in the long run if Givens isn't going to see regular ninth-inning duty – Tanner Scott could be their next Zach Britton if he tightens up his control at Triple-A – but dialing it up to 97 can't be ignored. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Catcher

Tom Murphy, Mariners: The former Rockie gets a shot with the M's after failing to make the Giants' roster out of camp. The experiment may not last long – he's not a prospect any more at 27, and if he couldn't hit in Coors Field it's hard to imagine him having more success at Safeco... sorry, T-Mobile Park – but there is some pop in his bat if he can unlock it. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

First Base

Lucas Duda, Royals: Duda abided his way back to Kansas City after failing to make the cut in camp with Minnesota. Rather than use the former Met at DH and put Jorge Soler in right field as expected, though, manager Ned Yost has emphasized defense by leaving Soler at DH, moving Whit Merrifield to right and giving Chris Owings a look at the keystone. If that arrangement sticks, it doesn't leave much playing time for Duda given that Ryan O'Hearn has dibs on being the Jack Clark in this mid-80s Cardinals cosplay thing the Royals have going this season. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Hanley Ramirez, Cleveland: Does Hanley have anything left in the tank? It's hard to say. Boston's decision to cut him loose last year was largely financial, in that they wound up paying Steve Pearce a lot less to do the same things. There's no question Ramirez isn't the same hitter he was a decade ago in Miami, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's completely washed up. As the semi-regular DH for Cleveland, he could have some deeper-league value, but don't get too attached. Even in this ramshackle lineup, there are a lot of scenarios that see him squeezed off the roster before long. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Frank Schwindel, Royals: O'Hearn's platoon partner at first base in Kansas City is probably just a Quad-A guy and won't see much playing time, but his name sounds like the attorney going up against Dewey, Cheatem and Howe in a Three Stooges film, so I couldn't not mention him. Schwindel does have 41 homers in 233 games for Triple-A Omaha, though, with seemingly good contact skills, so you never know. It's not like O'Hearn is a proven commodity. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Rowdy Tellez, Blue Jays: Seemingly headed back to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the season despite his big September last year, Tellez instead made the Opening Day roster after Kendrys Morales was flipped to Oakland. The 24-year-old is really still hanging his prospect status on his 2016 campaign at Double-A, but a) Jays fans with long memories are probably hoping he's a combination Carlos Delgado (whose first full season also came at age 24) and Otto Velez, and b) his name is Rowdy. Rowdy! Well, OK, it's really Ryan, but I doubt even his mother calls him Ryan. Rowdy is great all on its own, but combined with a short, punchy last name like Tellez, and you've got at least a 70-grade moniker, one that conjures images of standing side by side with Sam Elliott in a bar fight. He'll DH against righties and sit against lefties – which is probably a good thing for his confidence in a division with Chris Sale, Blake Snell, David Price, and James Paxton – but he won't need to slug .614 again to have value in that role. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: $11

Second Base

Tommy La Stella, Angels: David Fletcher was supposed to be the Angels' starting second baseman this year, but instead it seems like he's stuck on the short side of a platoon with La Stella. That's uhh, not ideal for anybody. La Stella has a .263/.344/.365 slash line in nearly 1,000 career plate appearances, so if this keeps up he might have a bit of value in OBP leagues, but Fletcher should probably win out in the long run – even if he doesn't have any more fantasy upside than La Stella does. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $2

Brad Miller, Cleveland: Miller played his cards right at the end of spring training, opting out of his minor-league deal with the Dodgers and landing a big-league spot as part of Cleveland's injury-plagued infield. His 30-homer season in Tampa in 2016 seems like it happened forever ago given how bad he's been since, but Miller only needs to be better than Max Moroff against RHP to keep a starting job until Jason Kipnis gets healthy. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Outfield

Peter Bourjos, Angels: Justin Upton's toe injury could have him sidelined until late May, so naturally the Angels front office made replacing him a priority and went out and got... wait, this can't be right. Sigh. Anyway, a Bourjos/Brian Goodwin platoon will patrol left field next to the best player in the game, because Arte Moreno is really committed to making "you can't win pennants with mega-contracts" a self-fullfilling prophesy. Bourjos, the short side of that platoon, still has a rep as a speedy fourth outfielder type, but he hasn't actually stolen double-digit bases in the majors since 2011, so don't get your hopes up. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $1

Leury Garcia, White Sox: OK, look. I know Adam Engel can't hit and is basically a destitute man's Billy Hamilton, but he can at least play good defense in center field. What should be the priority for the White Sox right now – getting marginally more offense from the position via Garcia, the oft-injured utility man whose career OPS is only about 50 points higher than Engel's, or supporting Eloy Jimenez and a mostly young rotation with the best glove they can? Naturally, Chicago has chosen Garcia to begin the season. He won't stick in a starting role – he never does – but in the short term he could provide modest power/speed numbers. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $2; 12-team AL: $5

Brian Goodwin, Angels: Goodwin couldn't crack the Royals' roster despite being just about gifted the starting spot in right field at the beginning of camp, but he was waived at the right time to catch the Angels' eye and got scooped to help replace Upton. The 28-year-old has always looked the part of an athletic big-league outfielder, but the skills have never developed enough for him to establish himself, and there's little reason to think things will click for him now unless Trout is also the best hitting instructor in the world as well as the best player. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $1; 12-team AL: $4

Tyler Naquin, Cleveland: Cleveland's early-season lineup not only seems to have Naquin in a starting role but as their No. 3 hitter against RHP, and typing this sentence has spontaneously made my eyeballs start to bleed. At some point, the likes of Carlos Gonzalez and Bradley Zimmer are going to be looking for playing time, and it'll probably come at Naquin's expense, but for now he's kind of in a prime run-producing spot somehow? So I guess he should be rostered? He's also 0-for-7 with six Ks to begin the year, but that's neither here nor there, hum de dum. 12-team Mixed: $2; 15-team Mixed: $5; 12-team AL: Owned

Chris Owings, Royals: With Merrifield patrolling right field, Owings gets first shot at the starting second base job. The former D-back has fantasy appeal if he sees regular playing time – he's stolen double-digit bases in four straight seasons and jacked 12 homers in 2017 – but his actual real-life skills are better suited for a utility role, so his hold on the gig will be tenuous. Prospect Nicky Lopez isn't even on the 40-man roster yet, though, so internal options to replace Owings are limited if Yost is serious about putting his best defensive lineup on the field. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: $3; 12-team AL: $7

Joey Rickard, Orioles: Rickard's been a bench player for the O's for a few years now, but the new regime under Brandon Hyde is going to give the 27-year-old a look in a starting role, because really, what do they have to lose? Aside from another 115 games, I mean. He's probably got the tools to provide double-digit homers and steals over a full season, but Rickard's also probably the guy who will get shoved aside if, say, Austin Hays ever gets healthy again. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3

Dwight Smith, Orioles: Or maybe Smith will get shoved to the bench instead. The 26-year-old never got much of a chance with the Jays, mainly due to the fact that he's a defensive liability even in left field without much offensive upside to compensate, but his contact skills are good enough that Baltimore will give him a chance to prove that scouting report wrong. 12-team Mixed: No; 15-team Mixed: No; 12-team AL: $3