It is obvious that none of these guys are long term options, so they are not getting more than a buck a piece of my FAAB budget.  I like Overbay the best because the struggling Paul Goldschmidt could find himself back in triple-A if he doesn’t turn things around – or they will at least protect him against some better pitching giving Overbay some at-bats. 

Tyler Moore probably has the most upside out of the trio, but with Adam LaRoche being red hot right now he won’t be finding at-bats at first base, and some kid named Bryce Harper made a pretty strong debut, so it is doubtful he steals at-bats from him.  Best case scenario for Moore to get at-bats is when the Nats face left handed pitching, forcing Davey Johnson to sit Rick Ankiel, move Jayson Werth or Harper to center, in turn freeing up a corner spot for him.  Next week the Nationals will see two lefties in Joe Saunders and Cole Hamels, so adding in possible pinch-hit opportunities, Moore’s at-bat total probably has a ceiling of 10.

I am working on a trade to acquire a first base eligible player while giving up an arm and/or outfielder, but again since there aren’t many quality first base options the asking price in trade talks is still high from league members.

Now to the Bryce Harper conundrum.  Our league does not allow you to draft players if they are not on the major league roster when the auction happens.  Bryce was of course sent to the minor league camp before the auction, so now that he has been called up he is eligible to be bid on.  Here is a quick history of the highest priced free agents since the FAAB system was established by our league. 

2011 – Edwin Jackson $23 when traded from the AL
2010 – Stephen Strasburg $57 when called up
2009 – Matt Holliday $80 when traded from the AL
2008 – CC Sabathia and Rich Harden both $59 when traded from the AL