NL FAAB Factor: Mother's Day Edition

Normally, this would be my weekly look at National League free agents. But as we all know, we are not in normal times. First and foremost, I hope you and all of your loved ones are safe and well and remain that way.

To provide you some fresh reading material during this mandated hiatus, this article will look at some interesting NL players to draft and/or add off waivers. The LABR and Tout Wars NL-only leagues are our starting point for the column. Players drafted late or reserve picks are the main focus, though I probably will touch on others whose values I think will exceed their costs. My plan is to cover a handful of names each week, hopefully saving several over for the following column, allowing a new population of players to be covered weekly.

To make this somewhat interactive, 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 in the comments and I will touch on those the following week. We will see how many weeks this lasts, and hopefully by the time we exhaust all the names we want to cover, we will have baseball or an idea when games will resume, enabling a resumption of the normal column.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL! THE MOMS, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO!! 

STARTING PITCHER

Miles Mikolas, Cardinals: Mikolas closed 2019 with a sore flexor tendon, which required a platelet-rich plasma injection on Feb. 18. That injury prevented him from throwing for nearly a month and he most certainly would have missed the first 2-3 months of the regular season. The suspension of spring training and current delay due to the Coronavirus pandemic will allow Mikolas, who has already thrown a few light intensity bullpen sessions, to be ready when baseball resumes. LABR: $5; Tout Wars: $6 

Bryse Wilson/Kyle Wright, Braves: Wilson and Wright could fill the role of spot starter or long reliever if rosters are expanded beyond 26 players. Both players struggled in the majors in their brief exposures the last two seasons, but are still viewed highly within the organization. Wright is more highly thought of than Wilson and each will have to battle Touki Toussaint and non-roster invitee Felix Hernandez to earn roles on the parent club. But each have the upside to be worth owning. Wilson - LABR: $2; Tout Wars: $0; Wright - LABR: $0; Tout Wars: R

RELIEF PITCHER

Scott Oberg, Rockies: Oberg stepped in ably as the Rockies' closer last year, replacing an ineffective Wade Davis, before a blood clot ended his season six weeks early. Colorado inked Oberg to a three-year, $13 million extension this offseason with a team option for 2023. Oberg had a 2.25 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and posted the best strikeout rate (26.0 percent) of his career, recording five saves before moving to the injured list. Davis is penciled in as the team's closer, but given his struggles, owning Oberg as a handcuff or just outright is wise strategy. LABR: $4; Tout Wars: $2

CATCHER

Manny Pina, Brewers: Pina was the defacto starter behind the plate for Milwaukee in 2017 and 2018. Last season, he filled the role of No. 2 behind Yasmani Grandal, a position he will slide into again this season but behind Omar Narvaez. But as RotoWire noted in our March 2 update, Narvaez's skills behind the plate do not compare to Grandal's, and Pina fared far better against left-handed pitching last year, so Pina should play more than your standard backup catcher and a platoon could even be in the cards. Factor in the expected double-headers and condensed schedule if/when baseball returns, and Pina should see more action than a backup normally would receive. LABR: $2; Tout Wars: $1

FIRST BASE 

Dominic Smith, Mets: Smith is one of those on the Mets who could benefit from a Universal DH. Blocked at first base by Pete Alonso and not talented enough defensively to play left, though he has made positive strides in that regard, Smith is relegated to spot duty. But he took a major step forward last year, showing he deserves more playing time. A Universal DH would afford Smith extra at-bats, though the Mets have several players for that spot in the batting order. Smith's upside warrants a spot on your bench with the hope for additional playing time.  LABR: $2; Tout Wars: $1

SECOND BASE 

Enrique Hernandez, Dodgers: Hernandez figures to reprise his role as a super-utility player when baseball resumes. Gavin Lux should start nearly every day, but Hernandez, who played every position in the field but catcher last season, and Chris Taylor figure to see action as well. Hernandez struggled at times last season, but still posted 17 home runs and 64 runs batted in more than 414 at-bats.The mechanical adjustments Hernandez made to his swing over the offseason appeared to pay off in Cactus League play, as he posted a .300/.323/.667 slash line with three home runs and nine RBI before spring training was suspended.LABR: $2; Tout Wars: $3

THIRD BASE 

Ke'Bryan Hayes/Colin Moran, Pirates: Moran will open the season as the Bucs' fifth-place hitter and starting third sacker but how long he retains the job is up in the air. Hayes is far superior defensively with a better eye at the plate but the jury is out on just how must power he will generate. Moran, acquired from Houston in the Gerrit Cole deal, isn't a big power bat at the hot corner, so it's only a matter of time before a change is made. Pittsburgh figured to have Hayes play a few months at Triple-A before recalling him. The Corona pandemic likely will change that timeline. Hayes - LABR: $2, Tout Wars: $1; Moran - LABR: $5, Tout Wars: $3 

SHORTSTOP

Freddy Galvis, Reds: Claimed by Cincinnati off waivers from the Blue Jays last August, Galvis saw his $5.5 million option for 2020 exercised by the Reds in October. Galvis posted career highs in homer runs and runs batted in last season, while seeing time in two hitters parks. His advanced metrics showed a player likely to decline this year, but Galvis should benefit from playing half his games at Great American Ball Park — presuming teams play at their home park — after unseating Jose Iglesias as the team's starting shortstop.LABR: $7; Tout Wars: $7 

OUTFIELD

Lane Thomas, Cardinals: Thomas was gaining on Tyler O'Neil for playing time in left field for the Cardinals when spring training was halted. In addition, Thomas has support within the organization, as we noted in our May 4 update: Thomas is highly regarded by organizational instructor Bernard Gilkey and assistant coach Willie McGee. "He's sneaky good. He's one of those guys that when the game's over, they're saying, 'Who was that guy?'," McGee said. "We haven't seen enough of him. But (instructor) Bernard Gilkey has seen a lot of him and 'Gilk' loves him." He is likely to open the season with the parent club and could end up the starter before the end of the year with a strong start. LABR: $0; Tout Wars: R