This week, the Staff Keeper League 3 had a spike in activity on the waiver wire. Here's a summary of this week's claims:
Player | Owner | Winning Bid ($) | Other Bids ($) |
Sam Dyson | Todd Zola | 17 | 2, 1 |
Tommy Kahnle | Todd Zola | 13 | 3, 1 |
CC Sabathia | Juan Carlos Blanco | 8 | 1 |
Stephen Vogt | Steve Broihahn | 6 | 4, 2, 1, 1 |
Wilmer Difo | Josh Fathollahi | 3 | |
Joe Musgrove | Erik Siegrist | 3 | 13, 1 |
Paul Blackburn | Peter Tongas | 3 | 1 |
Enrique Hernandez | Doug Thorburn | 3 | |
Luke Voit | Chris Benzine | 1 | |
Victor Caratini | James Anderson | 1 | |
Brad Boxberger | Clay Link | 1 | |
Brent Suter | Josh Fathollahi | 1 | |
Ketel Marte | Erik Siegrist | 1 | |
Jordy Mercer | Peter Tongas | 1 | |
Bruce Rondon | James Anderson | 1 |
Plenty of dollars were thrown around this week, with Todd Zola easily pacing the rest of the league. Zola is just five saves off the league lead, so he spent big money to get Sam Dyson, the current fill-in closer for the Giants, and Tommy Kahnle, the likely closer if David Robertson gets dispatched to a contending team. Dyson has been vastly improved since joining San Francisco, collecting three saves while sporting a passable 3.48 ERA, and Kahnle holds a career-best 2.45 ERA and 0.94 ERA in a setup role. Those two, when paired with closers Alex Colome and Edwin Diaz who are already on his roster, could be enough to vault him to the top of the heap.
Despite the high attention pitchers typically get on our waiver wire, the most bidding occurred on Brewers' catcher Stephen Vogt. After struggling mightily in Oakland, he found his stroke in Milwaukee, as he already has three home runs and seven RBI in seven games played. This move allows him to upgrade from Chris Iannetta and hopefully jump up higher in the hitting stat standings.
One of the most interesting things to see each week is how actively the rebuilding teams scour the free agent pool for up and coming talent. Chris Benzine nabbed Luke Voit, a 26-year-old first baseman getting his first taste of the big leagues with the Cardinals. Although he doesn't have much prospect shine, he has impressed with a 1.083 OPS and six extra-base hits in 11 games played. James Anderson also consistently grabs young players making their debuts each week, with this week's selections featuring Cubs' catcher Victor Caratini and Tigers' reliever Bruce Rondon. Caratini is a converted catcher with the versatility to play other positions, although his bat could make him incredibly valuable if he's given enough opportunity to play. Rondon also has plenty of upside, and even though his prospect shine has faded considerably, he has been picking things up as of late and could even move into the closer's role by the season's end.
Finally, we'll cover the biggest mover in the league. Although he spent the earlier portion of the season as a seller, Joe Bartel has slowly climbed up the standings and is now sniffing the top four places in the league. He's made a number of savvy free agent pickups like Edinson Volquez and Eric Sogard, while also bolstering his roster with trades netting Kris Bryant and Jose Peraza. He's just nine rotisserie points out of the top four, and with more moves like this, he could end up in the running for a cash prize in September.
For your reference, here is a summary of the lone trade that took place this past week:
Owner | Player(s) Received | Owner | Player(s) Received |
Steve Broihahn | Andrew McCutchen J.A. Happ Ronald Guzman | Peter Tongas | Franklin Barreto Daniel Norris Stephen Piscotty |
Things are heating up, and these moves should make things even more interesting. Let me know your thoughts on these moves on Twitter (@IsaacButtke). Good luck to everyone this week!