NFBC Main Event: Fever Dream, Chapter 3

After 13 weeks of the MLB season, it's time to share my second quarterly update on how my "Fever Dream" NFBC Main Event team is doing. My first quarterly update covering the first seven weeks of the season can be found in Chapter 2, while Chapter 1 chronicles my Main Event draft. As a reminder, with each quarterly update, I'll dive into stats and standings for each scoring period, weekly FAAB results and any lessons learned.

Here is my roster heading into Week 8, which started May 23: 

A few reminders based on the above: 

• Danny Jansen, Nathan Eovaldi and Dany Jimenez were not injured as of Week 8
• Riley Greene had not been promoted as of yet
• Shane Baz had not been activated yet
• Isaac Paredes was not on a home run tear at that point

Period 8 (May 23 - 29):

My catching duo of J.T. Realmuto and Danny Jansen were the stars of my offense this week, combining for a .353 average, eight runs, four homers and 10 RBI. On the pitching side, my trio of aces boosted my ratios as Eovaldi, Shane Bieber and Alek Manoah excelled.

May 29 FAAB - $748 FAAB remaining, spent $14

Added Harold Ramirez (1B/OF) for $7 (no backup bid), dropped Chas McCormick - Tyrone Taylor and Nico Hoerner were my primary FAAB targets this week, but both went for $10 more than I bid on each of them. This was also the week Michael Harris, Oscar Gonzalez and Jon Berti were picked up. Clearly, I prioritized my conditional bids incorrectly.

Added Jose Siri (OF) for $7 (no backup bid), dropped Isaac Paredes - Paredes went 0-for-8 in week 8 and wasn't playing everyday for the platoon-heavy Rays. Siri was performing better than McCormick with the power and speed upside, but in hindsight, I should have had more faith in Harris, Gonzalez and especially Berti.

Lesson learned: When comprising lengthy FAAB waterfalls, which is often required very active Main Event leagues, put a bit more time and research into your conditional bids, particularly the order in which you list each player.

Period 9 (May 30 - June 5):

I finally had a breakout week offensively in the HR and RBI categories, hitting a whopping 18 homers with 56 RBI! Vladimir Guerrero, Starling Marte and Lane Thomas hit three home runs apiece, while my pitching performed well yet again.

June 5 FAAB - $734 FAAB remaining, spent $11

Added Luis Guillorme (2B/3B) for $11 (backup bid $1), dropped Harold Ramirez - This was the least prepared I've been for a FAAB period this season. I spent very little time on it and it was a quiet week as I had one waterfall and didn't bid more than $19 for any player. Owen Miller, Bryson Stott and Luis Garcia (WAS) were my targets, but I settled for Guillorme, who didn't really fit the needs of my team with his lack of power. He still offered a high batting average and position flexibility. In hindsight, bidding a bit more than $11 on Garcia, who went to Vlad Sedler for $33, should have been my play. Tanner Houck, Tanner Scott and Ross Stripling were missed opportunities on the pitching side, which wasn't really a focus of mine at all.

Period 10 (June 6 - 12):

I had my highest weekly batting average of the season, but my home run and RBI output came back down to Earth. Jurickson Profar, one of my better adds of the season to date, scored nine runs. Shane Baz made his season debut and floundered in 2.1 innings. I left a Miles Mikolas gem on my bench to add insult to injury.

June 12 FAAB - $723 FAAB remaining, spent $35

Scott Barlow, Gabriel Moreno and Edward Olivares were the prize bids of the week. 

Added Nick Lodolo (SP) for $17 (backup bid $2), dropped Dany Jimenez - With news that Lodolo (back injury) would be making a rehab start the next day, I thought there'd be more interest in stashing him. Jimenez was expendable to me after giving up 11 earned runs over 4.2 innings the past two weeks. He hit the IL roughly a week later with a shoulder strain.

Added Omar Narvaez (C) for $16 (backup bid $7), dropped Danny Jansen - It pained me to drop Jansen, who had gone on the injured list for a second time this season, this time with a fractured pinkie finger. However, there were a few free-agent catchers worth bidding on. I wasn't sure how long Moreno would be up with the Jays, so he wasn't really a priority for me. Narvaez and Christian Bethancourt were the two I was focused on. My $16 bid on Bethancourt was the runner up, so I settled for Narvaez instead.

Added Darin Ruf (1B/OF) for $2 (no backup bid), dropped Jose Siri - Platoon bat with power who was playing more at the time than Siri.

Period 11 (June 13 - 19):

Tough blow with Eovaldi to the IL with a back injury, but at least I had a few two-steps this week with Bieber, Manoah and Nick Pivetta all throwing twice. PIvetta was fantastic with two wins, a 1.20 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 13 strikeouts over 15 innings. Power output was solid again with Josh Bell (four homers) and Guerrero (three homers) each driving in seven runs apiece for the week.

June 19 FAAB - $688 FAAB remaining, spent $115

Kendall Graveman was the priority add this week with Liam Hendriks to the IL with a forearm issue.

Added CJ Abrams (SS) for $90 (backup bid $34), dropped Darin Ruf - J.P. Crawford was listed as day-to-day and I didn't have a backup shortstop on my roster. There weren't too many worthwhile shortstops available, so Abrams was my top priority and I bid much higher than normal to ensure I got him. Manny Machado had suffered an ankle sprain on Sunday and news somewhat quietly broke of Abrams getting the call. He was on fire in Triple-A, hitting .371 with three homers and five steals over 13 games in June before his promotion. Pure upside play over alternatives like Miguel Rojas and Nicky Lopez.

Lesson learned: Make sure you have coverage for each position in case someone gets hurt during the week, especially since we can adjust our hitting lineups on Fridays in the NFBC.

Added Brad Hand (RP) for $25 (backup bid $13), dropped Reid Detmers - Corey Knebel had been moved out of the Phillies closer role a few days prior and everyone's focus was on Seranthony Dominguez as the next man up. I thought the committee would favor Hand, who did get the first two save opportunities in Philadelphia's committee.

Period 12 (June 20 - 26):

What an absolutely horrific week hitting with a .203 average and minimal HR and RBI. Realmuto hit two of Fever Dream's three home runs for the week. Even the strength of my team, my pitching staff, didn't perform to standards. Mikolas was productive in his two-step but didn't record a win for his impressive efforts.

June 26 FAAB - $573 FAAB remaining, spent $30

There were 35 pickups in my league this week. Isaac Paredes went on a home run binge with five in three games, but bids were tempered at $26. The real star of FAAB was Jhoan Duran, who went for a whopping $188 with a backup bid of $106.

Added Steven Matz (SP) for $18 (no backup bid), dropped Brad Hand - They say you can never have enough pitching in a Main Event league. I wasn't close on Duran ($37) or Lou Trivino ($25 vs. $44), but prioritized Matz and Freddy Peralta as IL stash candidates and potential roster upgrades. I bid $18 for Peralta, who ended up for $30 to Jeff Mitseff. Matz was the fallback option.

Added Kyle Farmer (SS) for $12 (backup bid $11), dropped Luis Guillorme - Josh Smith was my primary target as he had been hitting leadoff for the Rangers and could give me a boost in stolen bases with SS and 3B roster flexibility. I thought my $30 bid was more than enough to acquire his services. Unfortunately, Rick Kulaski bid $43. I'll be honest - this one stung for some reason. It's not like Smith is a superstar or anything, but I thought I was a lock to get him.

Lesson learned: Don't assume what you perceive to be an "overbid" is enough to acquire who you perceive to be an under-the-radar target. No one is under the radar in the NFBC Main Event.

Period 13 (June 27 - July 3):

Justin Turner finally woke up with three home runs on the week, while "Vladito" contributed 10 RBI. Shane Baz has been dominant since his first start off the IL, while Ryan Helsley struck out 11 over four innings with a win and a save.

July 3 FAAB - $543 FAAB remaining, spent $301

Vinnie Pasquantino week. Enough said.

Added Vinnie Pasquantino (1B) for $301 (backup bid $170), dropped Robbie Grossman - HR and RBI have been my primary category needs all season. This may have been my only opportunity to acquire both, hence the hefty bidding. Pasquantino was acquired in all 47 Main Event leagues for as high as $373. My $301 bid was fifth-highest among all Main Event participants. With 1B and CI already locked up by Guerrero and Bell, I'd have to play Pasquantino at UT, but I felt it's worth it for what I hope to be a huge lineup and category boost. Grossman has been awful all season and I hadn't been starting him lately.

Parting Thoughts:

I'm tracking behind the NFBC Main Event 80th percentile targets as of Week 13 in most of the hitting categories. I'll likely need more help than just Pasquantino to catch up in the home run and RBI categories. As for steals, I'm hopeful Starling Marte goes on a base-stealing binge for the Mets like he did with Oakland last summer. His 10 steals in 15 chances is a huge disappointment through three months.

On the pitching side, I'm tracking ahead of the NFBC Main Event 80th percentile targets as of Week 13 in both ratio categories, while I'm right there in wins and strikeouts. I'm falling behind in saves, but I'm confident in my abilities to stream them in the second half since I follow bullpens so closely.

If you have any advice you're willing to share with me, please do so in the comments or on Twitter. 

Until next time!