Non-Roster Race 2012 - Week 1

Last week I debuted the non-roster invitee fantasy challenge. Let's check in on their prices after a whole week of bullpen sessions! Here are the non-roster invitees and their prices (players listed in alphabetical order, according to last name):

• OF Vinnie Catricala: $22
• OF Darren Ford: $10
• RHP Matt Fox: $28
• INF Nick Franklin: $22
• LHP Steve Garrison: $4
• RHP Jarrett Grube: $2
• INF Carlos Guillen: $56
• RHP Aaron Hielman: $9
• LHP Sean Henn: $2
• C Ralph Henriquez: $1
• DH Luis Jimenez: $6
• SS Munenori Kawasaki: $31
• RHP Josh Kinney: $1
• RHP Jeff Marquez: $7
• RHP Kevin Millwood: $58
• RHP Scott Patterson: $10
• LHP James Paxton: $68
• LHP Oliver Perez: $17
• RHP Stephen Pryor: $5
• C Guillermo Quiroz: $2
• RHP Erasmo Ramirez: $19
• INF Luis Rodriguez: $29
• RHP Forrest Snow: $5
• C Jesus Sucre: $1
• LHP Philippe Valiquette: $1
• RHP Taijuan Walker: $42

Biggest gainer: James Paxton (+$40)
Biggest loser: Luis Rodriguez (-$28)

As a whole, pitchers were worth $252 when prices opened, and are worth $279 as of now. Position players opened up at $208 total, and are now worth $181. It is not surprising that pitchers gained more values than position players this week because only pitchers and catcher were in camp to start out with. Reporters tend to write articles on what they see.

My initial portfolio did very well. I gave myself a $100 budget and picked eight players (Catricala, Ford, Heilman, Henn, Kawasaki, Kinney, Millwood, Snow). As a group they were worth $98 last week, and now carry a value of $138.

Time for trades. I will sell my share of Kevin Millwood for $58, giving me $60 total to play with. I will purchase shares of Vinnie Catricala, Darren Ford, Nick Franklin, Josh Kinney, and Stephen Pryor. Those 5 combined come to exactly $60.

Join me in the non-roster invitee fantasy challenge! Prices are set based on news and blog articles written about a player (according to Google search data, using the player's name in quotes, and including Mariners as a keyword). Once players begin to get cut, their value will be dispersed equally among remaining players in the market, to ensure market efficiency (no overall money is gained or lost in the market as a whole). Start with $100, and only buy 1 share of a player at a time. Check back next Saturday for the next installment.