FAAB expert summary: TGFBI 2026

Translated by Pepe Latorre

For the past six years, the free analysis (or FAAB) analysis column for . I wrote Big Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI). In it I see how the participants of the “covenant” set their accounts for free agents. Today, TGFBI will share the most valuable and successful acquisitions of FAAB.

Typically, conversations about free agency can focus too much on the immediate impact of a player, often neglecting how he could help the team throughout the season. This type of analysis has its value (especially in the use of pitchers or hitters in teams), but it often lacks character. Especially in the deeper leagues, what we usually look for are players who offer solutions to medium to long-term challenges.

This does not mean that we ignore the need to focus on the statistics of the times, or that we want to expose our ignorance. However, we are human, and it is understandable that when a top rookie is promoted, he wastes time and energy on his potential impact. We also have the problem that, while we know the rookies are good, we don’t always use FAAB as a tool to “correctly” evaluate a player’s value. The low-profile veteran outfielder, who is currently sharing playing time but who is slowly gaining at-bats, won’t be as free as the promise that makes waves in Triple-A. You could bid 30% of your FAAB budget for that outfield, but what if you knew 8% to 10% more would be enough?

As a reminder, TGFBI uses a FAAB budget of $1000 with a minimum price of $1.

Table 1: Caesar’s most successful searches by FAAB. TGFBI 2016

The scope of this article is limited to the players in my publications on the FAAB of the 2026 TGFBI league, which covered the most frequent acquisitions of free agents in the said competition on a weekly basis. If there is a slow onset of extreme impatience Lucas Keaschalto be congratulated, but the purpose of this article is not to exaggerate everything. This approach also does not take into account players who were signed separately during the season. I am mainly focusing on the overall performance of TGFBI participants.

Spoiler alert: There is no overlap between the best performing FAAB hitters and the most expensive ones. Antonacci and Hicks were the only hitters on Table 1 to break the $50 mark, and six of those ten players were just 3% (or less) of your economy. This is in stark contrast to the 2025 situation, when Kurtz, Simpson and Ramirez cost $232 or more.

He did not decide to make big money, but he was looking for help in the season, when eight hitters were acquired in Table 1 in Week 7 (May 12) or before. While this number lacks notable additions like Kurtz, it is much deeper and more talented than the 2025 roster. Only seven hitters in 2025 have reached double figures in earnings, with 13 doing so this year (including Henry Bolte, AJ Ewing y* Travis Bazzana).

Table 2: The most successful acquisitions launched by FAAB. TGFBI 2026

It’s not just a matter of your thinking, the first impact is particularly noticeable by their absence in Table 2. Rogers, Abbott, Horton and Cameron reached double digits in 2025, compared to only one case (Burke’s) this time. This was not intended to detract from Soroka’s or Seymour’s work, but neither of them was the high-impact caddy that defenders of the initial zephyr war so praise when defending their favorite style. With so many rookie pitchers starting high-impact seasons in the majors, it stands to reason that that number will dominate the lower-profile media.

For the second time in three seasons, several free agents have reached closer to $10 or more. Baker tied for the league lead in saves, but because of Varland’s advantage in pitches and innings pitched, the Jays easily earned a closer division rival. I usually check out those who overlook heavy middle relievers who become closers, but Montgomery was a high-hitter but a mediocre-ERA pitcher before he was signed in late July, and only since then has he become the best reliever in baseball, whether as a closer or in any other position.

Table 3: FAAB’s most valuable hitter. TGFBI 2016

The wins column makes Baez look much worse than he was, but even if you just compare his contributions to the league since the day he was acquired, he was only the 185th best hitter ($3) at that time. Unlike 2025, the TGFBI market saw no impact of bats above the $200 bid price until Báez’s appeal in August. Perhaps the biggest cost recently was that teams realized they couldn’t make it through him.

It was a solid season for rookie hitters, although many of them (A cousin of McGonigle, Chase DeLauter y* Carson Benge) were already part of the day’s rosters. This did not stop the TGFBI market from betting on available rookies. And the crew was the only one on Table 3 who wasn’t a rookie. It is true that the best players of this group are not exactly the best players (as Kurtz was in 2025), Bolte, Ewing and Bazzana stood out in the off-base section, thus setting up the minimum expected performance for their respective fantasy teams.

Table 4: The most expensive FAAB launcher acquisitions. TGFBI 2026

The intense FAAB bidding for pitchers that took place in 2023 feels a long way off, but that’s largely because there was little to no hype surrounding most of the pitchers in Table 4. Maybe if Anderson had been promoted in May instead of August, he would have drawn higher, but the common sense is that the rest of the solutions are temporary (“moment man”) rather than definitive options (“ideal man”).

We all know that it is not a good idea to increase the conditions for potential closers, but sometimes it is necessary to give in to the temptation. However, the average offer of $112 for Soto was seen as the lowest for the most expensive closer when I started to read these tables in 2022. What concerns me most is not the money spent, but the scarcity of the salvage of these vessels contribute. Soto was the only reliever on Table 4 to reach double digits. It’s not the end of the world to get closer through the FAAB system, it’s better to keep the bids low and make another mistake paying more than $71.