$$$ Wacha $$$

[DOUGHBOYS]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

[Glenneration X]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

$250 might have gotten you Gausman last week...and you would have been better off.

[Money]

It went like this in my leagues

ME - 198
XXI's - 165,150,351
Super - 252

I got him nowhere, although I new going in my bids weren't high enough.

[Ando]

Dan,

You popped your cherry on Yuniesky Maya last year!

[KJ Duke]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

$250 might have gotten you Gausman last week...and you would have been better off.

I'll take Wacha anyday.
Unfortunately, won him in only one main event league today for 200+. Dan went nuts in my other main and won him for $300+. I couldn't afford it, but he could be worth it to those with the cash.

[BK METS]

Went for:

Main Events - $428, $340
Auctions - $419, $399, $252, $448(ultimate auction)

I got him in Vegas auction for $252.

[ToddZ]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

Easy explanation (with no numerish)

Say his name a few times in a row and it sounds like Pac-Man. Pac-Man likes to eat.

Don't ask me why others in the past have bid on Dickey, Putz and Bush.

[King of Queens]

Don't ask me why others in the past have bid on Dickey, Putz and Bush.

That should be "Putz Dickey n' Bush"

[BEF]

Say his name a few times in a row and it sounds like Pac-Man.

Naw, it's gotta be Fozzie Bear when you say his name twice...

[uky]

good, bad, or indifferent..I purchased Wacha for $405 in my league today.....Runner up bid was $404....

[Hells Satans]

I'm sure Wacha is the "The One".

[TParsons]

Like him a lot, Dan. Plays for a good team in the NL with a good defense in a good ballpark. Bid everywhere on him and only got him once. You winning him in our Main made me wish I had gone a few extra $$$ on him.

[Outlaw]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

$250 might have gotten you Gausman last week...and you would have been better off.

Wacha will be the better Fantasy pitcher this year, by far, IMO.

[Money]

It seems to me that players like to go big in the Main Event. It would be interesting to see the amount of money left in the 15 vs the 12 team leagues.

In my main event league the first place team is 27th overall and leads the league by 5 points. He currently has 12 FAAb dollars left.

[Glenneration X]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

$250 might have gotten you Gausman last week...and you would have been better off.

Wacha will be the better Fantasy pitcher this year, by far, IMO.

I disagree and I don't think it will be close either. I do believe Wacha has a chance to be decent. However, his ability is not on the elite level of Gausman.

[Money]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

$250 might have gotten you Gausman last week...and you would have been better off.

Wacha will be the better Fantasy pitcher this year, by far, IMO.

A big point for me was that Wacha isn't guaranteed a long leash. He may only be around for a couple of weeks. Gausman on the other hand has a long leash and is firmly entrenched in the rotation.

[Hells Satans]

For $300-400, I can grind out weekly SP match ups for the next two months and do better.

[uky]

For $300-400, I can grind out weekly SP match ups for the next two months and do better.

Maybe, but with Wacha, I don't have to grind it out...

[ToddZ]

A big point for me was that Wacha isn't guaranteed a long leash. He may only be around for a couple of weeks. Gausman on the other hand has a long leash and is firmly entrenched in the rotation.

I think it's the opposite. Chen should be back by early July and the O's have multiple guys on the farm they can bring up (Britton, Arrieta, Jurrjens - not to mention a bunch of converted starters they're using in relief. Granted, Freddy Garcia could lose his spot, but I don't see a guarantee of anything but June while Chen is out and even that is tenuous.

The Cardinals are thin at SP. Westbrook is close but who knows what's up with Gast. Westbrook should bump Lyons - I don't see anyone to really threaten Wacha. The Cards may temper his innings and put him in the pen a la Wainwright (when he closed) and to a lesser extent Lynn last season down the stretch and into the playoffs, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say Wacha throws more MLB innings than Gausman in 2013.

[Glenneration X]

A big point for me was that Wacha isn't guaranteed a long leash. He may only be around for a couple of weeks. Gausman on the other hand has a long leash and is firmly entrenched in the rotation.

I think it's the opposite. Chen should be back by early July and the O's have multiple guys on the farm they can bring up (Britton, Arrieta, Jurrjens - not to mention a bunch of converted starters they're using in relief. Granted, Freddy Garcia could lose his spot, but I don't see a guarantee of anything but June while Chen is out and even that is tenuous.

The Cardinals are thin at SP. Westbrook is close but who knows what's up with Gast. Westbrook should bump Lyons - I don't see anyone to really threaten Wacha. The Cards may temper his innings and put him in the pen a la Wainwright (when he closed) and to a lesser extent Lynn last season down the stretch and into the playoffs, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say Wacha throws more MLB innings than Gausman in 2013.

Both Gausman and Wacha pitch for teams that still plan on contending this season. Let's face it, the extent of both their runs are totally dependent on how they perform. Neither is in a Jose Fernandez or Zach Wheeler situation.

That was a reason I was concerned going into Gausman's start yesterday. He needed to show something as the O's do not have time for patience, they need someone in that spot who will contribute now. That said, Gausman's performance yesterday against possibly baseball's toughest lineup showed he has the goods to do so.

I think Wacha is a nice player as well, I just don't believe he has the ability to be as dominant as Gausman can be, nor has Gausman's ceiling. Wacha wasn't striking out many batters on the farm this year. That's not the only indicator that matters, but it's one of the ones I look real closely at.

I did bid what I thought was a decent amount on him everywhere yesterday, but wasn't close to winning him. At this point in the season, he'll have to provide Matt Harvey type numbers to provide an ROI at those prices, and we all know there's only one Matt Harvey.

[CASS]

Wacha is the flavor of the week...that's all...his stuff for me (eye test wise) plays very average. He has a 150 firm innings cap - he's thrown 60+ I believe. So you're getting 90 innings BEST case - gonna be tough to justify 300+ dollar bids unless he's lights out. Are we still talking about him in 2 weeks? We'll see....

[Bronx Yankees]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

Dan - Have to ask ... did you break your cherry because:

1) your thinking/strategy has changed and you now view FAAB differently than in years past?

2) your $250+ bid was dictated by the circumstances of that particular league (desparate need for SP, lots of money left to spend)?

3) your opinion that Wacha is so good and/or better than the other up-and-comers earlier this year and in years past?

4) all of the above?

Just curious. Thanks.

Mike

[KJ Duke]

I think Wacha is a nice player as well, I just don't believe he has the ability to be as dominant as Gausman can be, nor has Gausman's ceiling. Wacha wasn't striking out many batters on the farm this year. That's not the only indicator that matters, but it's one of the ones I look real closely at.

I did bid what I thought was a decent amount on him everywhere yesterday, but wasn't close to winning him. At this point in the season, he'll have to provide Matt Harvey type numbers to provide an ROI at those prices, and we all know there's only one Matt Harvey.

Wacha's K's were down this year at AAA, but were much better (ridiculous, actually) last season in a short stint at AA and lower levels ... superior to Gausman at those levels, and he pitched very well this Spring against major lgrs. As the harder thrower, Gaus should have the greater K potential, but that might not happen this year. Most important for me, pitching for St Louis is a big edge over Baltimore, and the Card's track record with young pitchers is hugely better. That made me more willing to spend on Wacha than Gaus. If Jake Westbrook can succeed in Stl, whatcan wachado?

[DOUGHBOYS]

Too late too tout....

I saw him go for over $100 to over $400 in my leagues
The first time this cheapskate bid over $250 for a player.
My cherry is broke....and It only took nine years

Dan - Have to ask ... did you break your cherry because:

1) your thinking/strategy has changed and you now view FAAB differently than in years past?

2) your $250+ bid was dictated by the circumstances of that particular league (desparate need for SP, lots of money left to spend)?

3) your opinion that Wacha is so good and/or better than the other up-and-comers earlier this year and in years past?

4) all of the above?

Just curious. Thanks.

Mike

Many are going to find this answer to simple.
It's not about the money. I'm a cheap bastard and usually spend FAAB money like it's my own.
It's the player and feelings towards him.
I was gushing over Wacha to a friend and partner in spring training. He was simply the best pitcher at spring training.
I told him we have to have this guy for 2014.
Now, we all measure spring training differently. I look at it like AAA having a party for major leaguers. It's a party and major leaguers don't have to be at their best. At the same time, they don't want to look like a AAA player either.
Wacha was impressive there. He made major leaguers look like AA hitters. In the minors they hit .187 against him.
He's the first player in nine years that I WANTED to throw a lot of money at.
If I had known the Cards would have needed him this soon, I would have taken him in 50 rounders, instead, I took Cingrani in those.
I have no great need at Pitcher on rosters. But, in my way of thinking, there was going to be no better pitcher coming the rest of the year on FAAB than Wacha.

For our purposes, he is with a great organization. One that wants to win. A great league. A great pitchers park. A great catcher. A great defense. And a good bullpen, since they've sent Boggs down. All too much to ignore.

I was in the 'tell all league' and somebody drafted Ogando, maybe it was me, I don't remember. But, I gushed about him for awhile and had replies like, 'his strike out rate is good' or something about his starting numbers, and I told these fellas,
'It's not about ratios or strike outs or any of that stuff!
He's hard to hit!
Simple as that. That is my first pre-requisite for drafting a pitcher. A pitcher has to be hard to hit.
And I believe Wacha is hard to hit.

[Outlaw]

I saw the same things with Wacha in the spring and Agree with everything Dough said about Wacha. If he pitches well, the Cards will not Strasburg him. They'll watch his work load and adjust so he is available for the playoff run or playoffs. As for Wheeler, I think he will be as good as Harvey, if not better long term. He has better stuff, my only question with him is his head and attitude, something Harvey and Wacha both shine at. I viewed Wheeler and Wacha about the same, but went after Wheeler on more teams because I thought his path to the Mets was quicker. BTW Dough, I guess I out-bid you for Wacha in the premature league this weekend.