FAAB: Free Agent Acquisition Budget Discipline

Most competitive leagues use FAAB — a blind-bid waiver system that gives every manager a fixed seasonal budget (typically $100 or $1000) to claim free agents. Bids runScored when a runner safely touches all four bases (1st, 2nd, 3rd, home). weekly; the highest bidder wins, ties broken by waiver order. There's no traditional waiver priority to manage, just budget discipline.

The trap most year-1 managers fall into is overbidding early. A hot two-week stretch from a backup outfielder generates excitement; you bid $30 of your $100 in May. Three weeks later he's hitting .180 and you've used 30% of your season budget on a streaming flier.

Rough guidelines for a $100 budget over 25 weeks: a closerThe reliever assigned to the 9th inning of close games. Earns saves. inheriting the ninth-inningA unit of play with a top half (visitors bat) and bottom half (home bats); a regulation game has 9. role from a deposed incumbent — 25-40%. A starting pitcherThe fielder on the mound who throws each pitch. Position number 1. with a clear two-start week and good matchups — 5-10% as a streamer. A position player who's seized a starting job through injury — 15-25%. A speculative stash of a prospect about to be called up — 1-5%. A bye-week or off-day fill-in — $1, every time.

Save the bulk of your budget for July and August, when contenders trade for players who suddenly emerge as impact pieces in new lineups. A late-July call-up posting elite numbers can swing a roto race; your remaining $40 wins the bid while a competitor blew their budget on April hot streaks.

Discipline beats aggression. The best FAAB manager isn't the one who lands the most pickups — it's the one who lands the right ones at the right cost.