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0Yahoo! Roto Arcade invited us back to be a part of their 14-team Head-to-Head ‘Pro-Am’ league. They were so anxious to get things started that the draft was scheduled for February 23rd. Something’s wrong when draft day is closer to Groundhog Day than Opening Day.
Our team’s performance in this league last year mirrored our top hitter Justin Morneau’s season – a great start with plenty of 2nd half headaches.
The format of the league is 14-team H2H, 5×5 roto (1 point per category you win for week), weekly changes, auction draft, 2 C /1B/2B/SS/3B/5 OF/CI/MI/UTIL/3 SP/2 RP/4 P/4 Bench.
Grey wrote a recent post on H2H draft strategy. For this specific draft, our two main strategies were:
1) Draft at least 7 quality starting pitchers
H2H teams tend to throw more starts per week than in standard leagues. So the pitching talent on the free agent wire is weaker (because more SPs on rosters) and the impact of top starters is watered down by all the additional starts. We wanted at least 7 quality starters so we can take advantage of the pitchers with the best matchups (including 2 start weeks) and avoid having to compete too much with all the other teams over the free agent pitching crumbs. If that meant losing out on top tier starters, so be it.
2) Focus offense towards high R/HR/RBI.
Grey and I both feel that SBs are streaky where H2H rewards steady. So we focused our offense on the steadier R/HR/RBI stats with a goal of being just middle of the pack in SB and AVG. We wanted just enough in SB and AVG that we could break even on these categories while winning the other three the majority of the time.
Below is our roster. We spread the dollars around to a ridiculous degree – ending up with only two players above $20. This wasn’t our plan but our competitors went beyond our player values on the top tier players (including a ridiculous $62 bid for Hanley Ramirez). We felt that the player depth didn’t warrant such high bids and that our stinginess would be rewarded as the draft wore on.
Based on my calculations, we ended up with $306 in value on our roster for our $260 – more than any other team. That counts the 4 bench players. My rough estimates on just the top 23 players – based solely on starts and using standard roto – is that we’re a top 3 team that’s very strong in R/HR/RBI (top 3 in each) and weakest in ERA/WHIP (which we hope to improve by maximizing matchups).
Mike Napoli C $13
Kurt Suzuki C $6
Justin Morneau 1B $21
Adam LaRoche 1B $8
Kelly Johnson 2B $13
Ryan Raburn 2B $10
Starlin Castro SS $7
Neil Walker 3B $6
Matt Holliday OF $32
Mike Stanton OF $19
Bobby Abreu OF $9
Nick Swisher OF $9
Jose Tabata OF $7
Denard Span OF $4
Domonic Brown OF $6
Daniel Hudson SP $9
Matt Garza SP $9
John Danks SP $8
Gio Gonzalez SP $8
Edinson Volquez SP $7
Jhoulys Chacin SP $7
Ian Kennedy SP $5
Johan Santana SP $3 (to stash on DL until mid-year)
Heath Bell RP $11
John Axford RP $10
Drew Storen RP $7
Joe Nathan RP $5
NOTE: We still have about 10 spots available for Fantasy Razzball – the game where you try to manage the worst team possible. If you’d like to sign up, click here. If you would like more info on the rules/format, see here.
Cross-posted this in the comment boards.
My keeper league just had their draft – I’d love some feedback from Grey, Rudy, and the gallery; I had a couple of reaches.
MLB, 12-team, 25-man rosters, 3 DL slots, 7×6 roto scoring (traditional 5×5 categories plus OBP, SLG, and HLD), 11 position players with 1 C, 1 general IF, 1 general OF, and LF/RF/CF, one UTIL (no MI, no CI).
About 90 players were already kept. Only about half the league trades with any regularity
Keepers designated with (K); selected players have a (#) indicating the overall selection in the draft:
C – Mike Napoli (186)
1B – Adam Dunn (K)
2B – Chone Figgins (199)
3B – Evan Longoria (K)
SS – Stephen Drew (127)
IF – Mark Reynolds (106)
LF – Andres Torres (247)*
(I kind of love this pick this later, but are we sure he plays everyday?)
RF – Jay Bruce (K)
CF – Jose Tabata (138) *
(Too early, I know, but was it way too early?)
OF – Hunter Pence (96)
(This was my first pick; next players taken were Lincecum, Verlander, B. Phillips, and Markakis. Did I err?)
UTIL – Carlos Quentin (113)*
Early, yes, but a Sox-bias in the room made it such that I had to take him a bit early if I wanted him.
I have no offensive bench players, but I am thinking about picking up Coco Crisp from the wire after I am able to DL Wainwright.
SP – (soon to be DL) – Adam Wainwright (K)
SP – Dan Haren (K)
SP – Tommy Hanson (K)
SP – Colby Lewis (151)
SP – Hiroki Kuroda (175)*
I kind of love this pick this late, but I missed on Gio and his K’s. Mistake?
SP – Travis Wood (258)
SP – Michael Pineda (295) (my final pick)
RP – John Axford (K)
RP – Luke Gregerson (167)
RP – Ryan Franklin (210)
RP – Brandon League (223)
RP – Evan Meek (234)
RP – Darren O’Day (271)*
Should I cut him based on his recent troubles in Spring Training?
RP – Koji Uehara (282)
I’m probably still a bit light on speed, but I feel like I can pick up a speed-only OF type from the wire if absolutely necessary.
Everybody’s thoughts/tips/suggestions are appreciated.
By the way, how do you guys like H2H leagues v. roto for overall fantasy baseballing enjoyment? I’m more of a roto guy, but I’m willing to try H2H.
Love the numbers-based approach, Rudy! However, won’t your teams always look good to you since you analyze the results based on the same rankings from which you draft? I’m sure other people think their teams are great when they compare them to their own rankings.
Standard 12-team league: would you give up Josh Johnson/Rasmus for Pence/Billingsley?
Does anyone know of a site that has up-to-date projected batting orders?
I am in a head 2 head 12 team league that is a weekly line up set.
I keep reading about quantity over quality for a daily league.
does playing in a weekly H2H league inflate quality SP ADP?
and if so do i look to draft my pitchers a bit earlier then in a daily league?
15 team 6X6 (OPS, HD) mixed roto auction dynasty keeper (7). I purchased the team from another owner and inherited his roster (hence, the LaPorta contract I got stuck with). I punted catcher and went for speed at the SS and MI positions.I feel pretty good about the team but would maybe like more RBIs. If N. Morgan doesn’t work out I’ll need steals, too.
* = Keepers
What do you think?
C J. Jaso $4
C J. Thole $3
1B A. Gonzalez $59
2B D. Uggla $20*
SS C. Pennington $7
3B M. Young $19
OF J. Hamilton $28*
OF C. Rasmus $5*
OF R. Raburn $9
OF N. Morgan $2
OF W. Venable $1
CI C. Johnson $6
MI R. Theriot $5
U M. Laporta $15*
SP U. Jimmenez $30
SP M. Scherzer $5*
SP S. Marcum $19
SP I. Kennedy $8
SP A. Zimmermann $3
RP B. Lidge $8*
RP C. Perez $1*
RP J. McGee $2
RP R. Madson $1
BN A. Gordon, Y. Betancourt, M.Joyce, C. Richard, J. McDonald, W. Lopez, D. O’Day
That team looks very solid for a 14-team league. I completed my first draft this weekend. 10 team, AL Only, 4X4, Roto. Thoughts? I think I might have a little trouble getting to 1100 innings. I think my hitting is strong enough to carry some of the dead weight.
C Arencibia, J.P. 6
1B Morneau, Justin (keeper) 30
2B Aaron Hill 18
3B Beltre, Adrian (keeper) 21
SS Cabrera, Asdrubal (keeper) 6
MI Wood, Brandon 2
CM Laporta, Matt 8
O1 Cruz, Nelson (keeper) 27
O2 Choo, Shin-Soo (keeper) 8
O3 Upton, B.J. (keeper) 19
O4 Hunter, Torii 20
O5 Abreu, Bobby 20
U1 Chrisp, Coco 12
U2 McAnulty, Paul 1
P1 Hellickson, Jeremy (keeper) 8
P2 Buchholz, Clay (keeper) 6
P3 Gonzalez, Gio (keeper) 1
P4 Weaver, Jered 27
P5 Fuentes, Brian 5
P6 Soriano, Rafael 5
P7 Dotel, Octavio 1
P8 Sale, Chris 8
P9 Hunter, Tommy 1
B Machado, Manny
B Reimold, Nolan
B Turner, Jacob
B Oliver, Darren
B Mitre Sergio
B Wilson, Jack
Two questions for whoever wants to help:
1. Who is better to have on the roster right now, Farnsworth or McGee?
2. Is it worth holding Fuentes to start the season in hopes that Bailey hits the DL for an extended period?
Thanks for the help!
Love the pitching staff, looks like you got what you wanted. EXCEPT FOR ZIMMERMAN AND MINOR.
Johnny Cueto will be out 7-10 days, effectively missing the start of the season.
@Eddy: Great, shoulder soreness to kick off the season!
@Nuke LaLoosh: I prefer Roto over H2H but it’s nice for a change of pace. The one part I can’t stand is the ‘playoffs’ at the end of the season. The team with the best winning percentage should win outright imho.
@Charles: You’re absolutely right that any projections we have will bias towards our team since we used these projections to value players. I did a quick check against the 15-team Tout Wars draft this weekend and our team was valued at about $305 (after factoring in that it’s 15 team vs. 14 team) – https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AsAa9oCjuqbwdHlLcmNMTzRyUGl6V25DU1R2SGs5QkE&output=html&ndplr=1. And that’s with Domonic Brown only going for $1 since he got injured in between the two drafts.
@poop: I don’t think daily vs. weekly changes much in terms of valuing pitchers. Just realize that, in both formats, there will be a higher degree of pitcher streaming than an average Roto league. So the SP free agency pool is shallower than in Roto. I suggest drafting 7-8 SPs that would be considered in the top (# of teams * 6)…so in the top 60 if you’re in a 10 team league.
@Ozzie: Yeah, we’re pretty happy with the SPs even though it’s not very diversified (a bunch of 2nd year starters who are more injury and regression prone). Safety in numbers I guess.
@Charles: I can’t say how accurate or updated it is.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/spring/lineups/nl
@Nuke LaLoosh: Quick thoughts: I don’t think speed is your issue with Figgins, Tabata, and Torres (who should play 120 games this year if he can stay healthy). I think you’re good on power but will probably be weak on AVG (Dunn + Napoli + Bruce).
The SPs look solid even with Wainwright out for the year. I wouldn’t worry about missing out on Gio’s Ks. Kuroda should be a safer bet on ERA/WHIP and health. Your RPs are a motley crew. Don’t like the Gregerson pick – MIs aren’t great bets to repeat. I think O’Day, Uehara, and Meek are all droppable for anyone with April save possibilities. That includes Sergio Romo (in for Brian Wilson) and David Hernandez (possibly in for JJ Putz).
@Charles: I like Josh Johnson a lot more than Chad “High WHIP” Billingsley. I do like Pence better than Rasmus but I think Rasmus has a better chance to perform equal to Pence than Billingsley does to Josh Johnson. So I’d prefer Johnson/Rasmus.
@jonnycat: I like the staff. $59 for Adrian Gonzalez sure looks weird but I’m assuming there’s a rationale behind it. I think you’re fine on speed with Theriot, Pennington, Venable. I’d replace Morgan with someone who’ll have solid R/HR/RBI numbers.
@Dom: Your offense looks strong but your SP is too shallow and you have no closer. $8 on Sale looks like a bad gamble right now…
@BryanK: I would think Farnsworth will get more save opps this year since he’s righty and a vet but it’s hard to say since Joe Maddon is unconventional. And yes on Fuentes.
@Eddy: I have a sneaky suspicion this won’t be the last Cueto 2011 injury…
@Nuke LaLoosh: I prefer H2H, especially in leagues where you know everyone and you’re all friends. It makes for some really good battles throughout the season.
To be completely honest, I haven’t done a Roto league in quite a few years. This year is my first jump back into it, so my mind might change; but for now, I really like H2H and the constant work and change that goes into it (as well as the shizz talkin’).
I do agree, to an extent, with what Rudy said about the Playoffs, as that can be a pain in the ass in that you could have dominated the regular season and still not win the league – but it mimics more of the real game. No team wins in the MLB (or any team sport, for that matter) because they scored the most runs, points, etc. It seems like every year someone gets in the playoffs even though other teams have more wins, etc., and ends up winning a title. H2H is no different. To me, the Playoff system is one of the good parts of H2H, where Rudy disagrees.
@Rudy and/or Grey,
In a 10 team H2H non-keeper that counts QS and Losses on top of the normal 5 pitching stats, I was hoping you could help me decide who to add/drop (if anyone).
In case it factors into your decision at all, my opponent week 1 is stocked on closers (Wilson, Bell, Marmol, Bailey, Valverde).
Available pitchers — Rauch, Fuentes, Romo, McClellan, DLR, Pineda
My pitchers (8 SP, 4 RP) — Hamels, Scherzer, Billingsley, Anderson, D. Hudson, Volquez, Gio, Minor … Hanrahan, League, Mcgee&Farnsworth
Should I drop McGee or Farnsworth for Rauch, Fuentes, or Romo…or should I wait to see who gets the closing job in TB and hope Rauch, Fuentes, and Romo are still there?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks guys!
@Rudy Gamble: Thanks for the help!
@Eddy: that really sucks for me when I took him in my 16 Team H2H league draft last month ahead of people like DLR, Kennedy, Minor because I thought he was safer. Good call for me…GUH!
And I agree with Rudy…I’m guessing he’s back on the injury report frequently.
Not to pile on with the team comments, but just did a draft last night and wanted to get comments.
It is a keeper 6×6 roto (OPS and HRA), with 12 teams.
C – Wieters
C – Arencibia
1B – Kendrys Morales
2B – Pedroia
3B – Michael Young
SS – Jose Reyes
2B/SS – Theriot/Bill Hall
1B/3B – Konerko/Encarnacion
OF – Stubbs
OF – Jay Bruce
OF – Juan Pierre
OF – Chris Young
OF – Dexter Fowler
Bench – Jesus Montero, Bill Hall, Carlos Gomez, Chris Heisey
P – Matusz
P – Nolasco
P – Scherzer
P – Oswalt
P – Luebke
P- Aroldis Chapman
P – Heath Bell
P – Francisco Cordero
P – Joel Hanrahan
Bench – James McDonald, Carlos Zambrano, Jake Arrieta, Randy Wells, Kerry Wood, Tanner Scheppers, Mike Gonzalez
Obviously have too much pitching, but what are the glaring holes on offense?
When you say that we should not be concerned about spring numbers, does that mean that I should not be concerned when Darren O’day gives up 3 HRs to 3 straight batters and Jason Motte can’t seem to throw a strike (both on my team in a HLDs league)? Thanks for the advice.
Also, who would win in a battle between Grey’s mustache and Rudy’s fro?
@Hennessey: I’d think that QS and Losses (assuming you get points for having the least amount of losses) balance each other out so an SP’s value stays relatively the same. I’d hold on McGee/Farnsworth for now vs. those other middle relievers. ut I like DLR if you have a bench spot…
16-team 5 keeper H2H 5X5
*=keeper
C J.P. Arencibia
1B Kevin Youkilis*
2B Robinson Cano*
SS Alexei Ramirez
3B David Wright*
MI Eric Young Jr
CI Justin Smoak
OF Justin Upton*
OF Brett Gardner
OF Travis Snider
Util Vlad Guerrero
Bench Jesus Montero
Reid Brignac
Mitch Moreland
Alex Gordon
SP Ubaldo Jimenez*
SP Roy Oswalt
SP Edinson Volquez
SP Jeremy Hellickson
SP Wandy Rodriguez
SP Jhoulys Chacin
SP Ian Kennedy
RP Kevin Gregg
RP Brandon League
Missed out on the two closer runs, and am hoping 1-2 of my bench become serviceable. Also, do you think I’m ok on pitching, or should I try go after another K pitcher in trade? Any input is most appreciated!
which side do we like in this deal?
Carlos Lee and Michael Bourn
or
Ike Davis and Alex Rios
@grapejelly: Your glaring hole on offense is that you focused too much on speed. I always recommend focusing on R/HR/RBI/AVG in 5×5 leagues and just having enough speed to be in the middle of the pack. But a 6×6 with OPS devalues speed that much more. With Stubbs, Reyes, and Fowler, you’re set. You don’t need Pierre’s speed as much as the HR/RBI/OPS that he’s going to cost you. If you can trade him for someone with 20/80/.280, you’re better off. I’d look to trade Theriot as well if you can find a team lacking speed that has some power or a decent arm to trade.
@Salty Balty: I’m not overly concerned on O’Day or Motte.
@Neidecker: You have 7 starters who are generally above average in Ks – why would you feel the need to get another? I like your team except for the lack of closers. I’d drop Montero for a guy who might steal saves like David Hernandez, Sergio Romo, Hong Chih-Kuo, etc.
@chris: assuming your team isn’t awful in SB, prefer Ike and Alex.
@Rudy Gamble: Thanks Rudy, I had Stubbs and Reyes as keepers and was trying to bid up Pierre and got stuck with him.
I’ll see if I can get rid of Juan for some power.
Im in a 12-team keeper league, I took over some guys team and have a couple trades on the table. This team has Votto and Miggy so I put Votto on the trade block and now have 2 offers on the table.
I get: C. Rasmus/ M. Scherzer/ B. Butler
I give: J. Votto/ M. Ramirez
or
I get: V. Martinez/ D. Pedroia
I give: J. Votto/ M. Montero
Already accepted the second offer, but would love some opinions. I took the second offer because I need a 2b (h. kendrick currently) and c needed the upgrade. Rasmus/Butler/Scherzer seemed great for a keeper league, but I went with the positions I needed rather than pure youth/upside.
@Rudy Gamble: So maybe drop Minor for DLR? My offensive bench spots are Bay and Raburn, both of whom I’d like to hold onto. And I’d like to stay with my other pitchers for now too.
@Rudy Gamble: And I have to know…is YOUR name actually Rudy? Don’t let me down.
@High Upside: The 2nd trade isn’t bad but I would’ve just held onto Votto assuming there’s a corner infielder spot in your league.
@Hennessey: Nah, stick with Minor, Bay, and Raburn over DLR for now.
@Rudy Gamble: Thanks, Rudy! I’m a bit jammed with RP selections – Romo and Hernandez were both taken in the draft, as were most of the other major setup guys (Sale, etc), but I’ll take a look around.
I’m ashamed – Gregerson was not a good pick (hangs head, hears Vince Guaraldi piano music) but I thought he’d at least give me Krazy Ks from the RP slot and had a better-than-your-average-Mike Adams’ chance at sliding into the closer role if Heath Bell is shipped out of PetCo.
@ Rudy Gamble: RE: $59 for Adrian Gonzalez. A lot of owners had a lot of money to spend and there weren’t a lot of premium 1B available (Pujols went for $73!). Plus, the league is all Red Sox fans. You’re right; I need to get rid of Nyjer Morgan. Especially in a 6X6 where his lousy AVG and OPS will doubly hurt me. I’ll put him on the Trading Block and see if anyone bites.
Thanks Rudy. Yeah no CI/MI spots, 2 utils though. I always get antsy before the season starts and just want to start makin some deals! haha At least the team feels a little more my own now.
@VinWins: Thanks for the link. The information appears to be relatively updated. The one team that stood out for me was Atlanta:
Are they really hitting McClouth 2nd, Chipper 3rd, Uggla 5th, and Heyward 6th? I’d rather go:
Prado
Heyward
McCann
Uggla
Chipper
McClouth
What do you guys think?
@Rudy: That’s a very solid team. Definitely will be competetive. Some very good bargains on there. Especially like Swisher, Abreu and Kelly Johnson at those prices. Though the waver wire will eventually be pretty bare, it’s amazing the number of useful starting pitchers that surface in the first few months even very deep formats. If you guys manage to snag one or two of them, you’ll be in great shape.
This is my 10 team head to head keeper
c posey
1 agonz
2 kelly johnson
3 longo
ss ian desmond
of jay bruce
of rasmus
of mccutchin
util nelson cruz
b tabata
b travis snider
sp gallardo
sp haren
sp billingsly
rp joakim
rp broxton
p r romero
p madbum
b shields
b jay z
b drew storen
b fransisco rodriguez
How did I do?
thanks for the help as always
@Rudy Gamble: Interesting take on pitching in H2H – I also try to maximise starts without resorting to streaming – which just takes too much work.
Anyway, drafted a 12-team H2H team at the weekend, would be interested in your thoughts on my rotation. Normal 5 pitching categories plus Holds, though I won’t bother you with my relievers. My take is that Scherzer isn’t an ideal #2 (took him in the 9th, Liriano, Oswalt, Weaver and Haren had all been taken in the 8th) and I have some WHIP risks, but in H2H that’s not such a problem:
Gallardo
Scherzer
Wandy
Kuroda
Kennedy
Volquez
Jackson
De La Rosa
@Charles: i agree. Heyward’s great OBP is best suited for 1st/2nd/3rd. I’d move McLouth to 6th or 7th and utilize his speed. Prado isn’t a typical leadoff guy but I like his OBP as well.
McCann/Uggla/Chipper are all pretty interchangeable but I’d only put Uggla 4th if you want to avoid putting up 2-3 lefties in a row.
for the record, i do not trust any mock lineups at this point.
@OaktownSteve: thanks. yeah, i think we ended up with an offense closer to a 12-team vs. 14-team because of all those bargains. i imagine we will need 1-2 good FA SPs since it’s likely at least that many of our SPs will be busts (that’s just the way it goes).
@Cincinnasty: seems pretty good. hard to say for sure since 10 team H2H with 3 OF, no CI/MI, and 7 pitchers is super shallow. I like that you have some speed (McCutchen, Cruz, Desmond) without sacrificing R/HR/RBI.
Hola Rudy, thanks for the info! We’re having a draft on Saturday for a 14-team weekly H2H, so it was nice to see what a reasonable team looks like for this setup. I think I might need to lower my expectations for my own team, because I was thinking I could get a top 1B, 3B, SS, OF, and the highly touted pitchers you guys are always talking about, but I’ll need to not overspend too early.
My question is, do you have the homepage link for this league that you could share with us? I remember checking in last season and it was fun to track your progress against the Yahoo guys. Thanks!
@Rudy: as an A’s fan, I can also say I think Suzuki is due for a serious rebound. He had a lat strain last year and was really never right even when he came off the DL. He’s legit though and I’m hoping (guessing) something closer to 2009 than 2010
Hey Rudy,
Would you mind giving me your opinion of my h2h team. Grey dubbed my offense “Figgy and the Thunder Thighs”
14 team h2h 7×7 (counting traditional 5×5 plus OBP and XBH for batters, K/BB and Holds for pitchers):
C- Santana
1B- Cabrera
2B- Figgins
3B- Sandoval (lost connection at this point, and autopicked him)
SS- Drew
IF- Dunn
OF- Choo
OF- Heyward
OF-Manny
OF- McLouth
UTIL- Smoak
BN- Nishioka
BN- Crisp
BN- Smith (if waiver goes through)
SP- Liriano
SP- Anderson
RP- Street
RP- Kimbrel
RP- Storen
RP- Hanrahan
P-Bumgarner
P- Zimmermann
P- Vazquez
BN-Baker
BN- McDonald
BN- Dotel (if waiver goes through)
Do you intend on doing more Kitchen Snark articles? That Beatles one was excellent. I’ve been having drunken debates about it for months.
@Rudy: Thanks for the input! You’re time and effort to dish out great advice is awesome!
12 team nl-only
Hamels $10 last year for Belt $10 for 3 years. No brainer?
Asking both the gallery and the pros here:
Assuming a 7×6 keeper league (full MLB, 12 teams, 25-man rosters, 7×6 roto scoring (5×5 categories plus OBP, SLG, HLD), I’m looking for a little BA boost.
Which of these guys currently on my waiver wire have the BEST CHANCE of EXCEEDING their current AVG projections and perhaps give me a chance at least a little power (.450 SLG or 12+ HR?) or speed (15+ SB) without killing my OBP?
2B
Lowrie (over/under 525 PA)?
Sean Rodriguez
Espinosa
Eric Young, Jr. (over/under 525 PA)?
SS
Yunel Escobar
Desmond
Lowrie
Alicides Escobar
Pennington
3B
Encarnacion
Freese
OF – because of my team setup, I’d prefer to get the help here, if possible.
Seth Smith
JD Drew
Coco Crisp
Fukudome
Byrd
H. Matsui
Matt Joyce
B. Boesch
Cust
Damon
Carlos Gomez
@Amigo Miguel: I don’t think Andy @ RotoArcade has made it public – here’s the URL I have: http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/1205. I’ll ask Andy if he can make it public…
@OaktownSteve: i hadn’t heard about the injury last year – i just know he didn’t help my AL-only team very much. my concern on him this year is that he’s going to move down in the lineup which would affect his R/RBI.
@royce!: the team looks good. i don’t like figgins at all for this format as i’m not convinced he’ll rebound on OBP. i’d just start Nishioka and look for a 2B upgrade in free agency.
@royce!: Thanks! I’ll post again on KitchenSnark but probably in the offseason. Only have so many hours in the day.
@Neidecker: You’re welcome!
@Shippity: If you’re not going to win this year, then yes.
@Nuke LaLoosh: I hear Marlon Byrd might hit 3rd for the Cubs which will definitely boost his RBIs. Seth Smith has potential but will fight for ABs. I think Yunel is being written off too quickly and, with Dwayne Murphy as his batting coach, might be able to hit 15 HRs.
@Rudy: he’ll move down in the line up, but said line up will be a much better one.
I still wanted to have a conversation about point shares with you some time, but not sure it’s worth clogging up this space. Kind of a theory sort of thing.
@Rudy Gamble: Sorry to be a pest, but would appreciate your thoughts on my 12-team H2H rotation at comment #37.
Thanks!
@Steve: Sorry – must’ve missed that one. Looks like a solid, deep staff. Should be able to do well by playing the matchups. Biggest weakness is WHIP but it’s easier (as in cheaper) to focus on Wins and Ks
@Rudy Gamble: Thanks! I’m that annoying little kid that always has his hand up.
Yeah, unfortunately all my WHIP mitigators went before I was ready to take them!
Also helping overcome WHIP issues, is the fact that my hitting is loaded
@Rudy Gamble: Thanks again, Rudy. I’ll buy you guys a drink when I get home!
Is this the same as the Y! friends and family league? im confused
Rudy, had a question about my Commenter league team. Grey said it was short on power, which could be a big issue, but that was the only glaring hole. Being that you guys disagree on some things, what do you think?
C – Wieters
1B – Dunn
2B – Zobrist
SS – Hanley
3B – Young
1B/3B – Pedro
2B/SS – Espinosa
OF – McCutchen
OF – Rasmus
OF – Markakis
OF – Raburn
OF – Torres
UTIL – Ibanez
BN – Brandon Allen
P – Kershaw
P – Gallardo
P – D. Hudson
P – Vazquez
P – Zambrano
P – Axford
P – Lyon
P – Rodney
P – Madson
BN – Cecil
BN – Niese
This is more a theory question than a practice question, but I just want to throw it out there.
What’s the best way to win shallow leagues?
I completed a 10 team league draft last night with 10 hitter and 8 pitcher slots. The owners in the league are decent, so all the rosters look like they could be competitive.
How do I break away from the pack? Do I aggressively try and consolidate depth into elite talent? Do I gamble on a lot of high upside players? How do I get an edge? Other than reading Razzball everyday, of course (emoticon)
@OaktownSteve: Probably best to handle it in the forums. Just give me a heads-up once you’ve posted the question.
@charlie batch: Nope. Yahoo sponsors three leagues that we’re a part of: Roto Arcade Pro-Am H2H (14 team H2H), ‘hero sandwich’ (12 teams roto), and Friends & Family (14 or 15 teams roto). The Friends & Family draft is tomorrow night…
@Wilsonian: I think the team looks pretty good. The OF is a little light on power but it could surprise. Solid balance of speed and average. Like the starts a lot. You’ll obviously need to be fishing for closers though….
@LMack: In a shallow league, drafting becomes less important since free agency provides so many reinforcements. There’s no secret to drafting other than pick the best available players with some balance for position scarcity (don’t draft 3 OFs in the first 5 rounds as it hampers flexibility in later rounds). Shallow leagues generally reward waiver wire aggressiveness but your starters will be so strong that it’s tough to pull the trigger. If you’ve got a bench/reserves, be ruthless in dropping guys that seemed nice on draft day for players who have playing time and upside. Ideally, you have a mix of upside and steady performance on your roster – betting too heavily on upside is taking an unnecessary risk in my opinion.
Not sure if that helps but not sure what else to suggest…
@Rudy Gamble: thanks man, I really appreciate the input from both of you guys. I really tried to go for the overall well-rounded team approach and ended up relatively happy with my results.
FYI – I had 2nd pick and obviously went Hanley which is why I ended up without a top tier 1b or 3b. I had to reach for Dunn in the 3rd.
Also did some math against a few other teams based n ESPN’s projections and I was the highest projected in HRs at 279.
Who do you think will get the most saves on the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers with both closing jobs in the air at the moment?
@Grey/Rudy Do you build your offense differently for a H2H league? I like the pitching strategy and this pitching staff specifically. I agree that getting 7 pretty decent pitchers is the way to go for H2H rather than splurge on a couple aces.
Hi Rudy,
I am being offered Marcum and Ian Desmond for Alexei Ramirez in a 12 team 5×6 league. The guy really likes Alexei. Should I accept this? Due to an error during the draft (yahoo) I ended up wasting an early pick and ended up with a pretty weak staff.
Should I do it? Or is Marcum too risky given the injury.
@Rudy
Is the strategy any different for a league that counts L’s as well as W’s in terms of quantity vs. quality? Can I really build a staff without an ace? Also around how many closers do you try to draft in a daily head 2 head league? Thanks
@Rudy
Does it make sense to draft a stronger infield than outfield in a daily H2H league that employs FOUR outfielders because it is much easier to often pick up and drop a couple of outfielders than it is to fill in specific infield positions?
@OaktownSteve:
@Rudy Gamble:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/20/SPIT1IF3AR.DTL&feed=rss.athletics
@Wilsonian: cool.
@MrHappyTime: hard to say right now. i’d say maybe a 50/50 split between Farnsworth and McGee. Still betting on Feliz to close in Texas.
@Public Enemy #1: Thanks. Other than discounting SBs, I don’t do anything special when drafting H2H vs. Roto.
@Daniel: Seems like a fair offer. It’s worth taking. Marcum has some risk given his past injuries and the spring training issues but it’s worth the risk.
@ModestYahoo: The strategy doesn’t change if Losses are counted. I try to draft an average # of closers for the league – so 3 in a 10 team, 2 in a 15 team…but we’ll sometimes splurge on an extra closer if the price is right.
@ilikeike: So it’s 4 OFs but has a CI and MI? That wouldn’t change much. I would just spread out your OF picks if it’s a draft so you’re trying to pick only 1 OF per 6 rounds.
@chata: thanks. yeah, i think i read that in the morning – hence the suzuki hitting lower in the lineup was fresh in my head.
hey rudy this is my team in a 20 h2h with lots of extra stats CS hlds BS TB ( on both sides ) among many others its 15×15
18th pick what do you think
1. (18) Prince Fielder 1B
2. (23) Matt Kemp CF
3. (58) Justin Verlander SP
4. (63) Yovani Gallardo SP
5. (98) Aaron Hill 2B
6. (103) Adam Lind 1B,LF
7. (138) Jonathan Broxton RP
8. (143) Ángel Pagán LF,CF,RF
9. (178) Michael Cuddyer 1B,3B,RF
10. (183) Tim Hudson SP
11. (218) Manny Ramírez LF
12. (223) Kevin Gregg RP
13. (258) Reid Brignac 2B,SS
14. (263)John Buck C
15. (298) Carl Pavano SP
16. (303) Mike Minor SP
17. (338) Dan Johnson 1B,3B
18. (343) Michael Pineda SP
19. (378) Danny Espinosa 2B
20. (383) Kevin Jepsen RP
21. (418) Peter Moylan RP
22. (423) Sergio Santos RP
23. (458) Ryan Perry RP
24. (463) Brad Penny SP
25. (498) Matt Domínguez 3B
26. (503) Andrew Cashner
Rudy, what do you think of these first 15 picks for a 12 team h2h draft?
1: Votto
2: Kemp
3: McCutchen
4: Heyward
5: Verlander
6: Gallardo
7: Liriano
8: Haren
9: Mcgehee
10: Anderson
11: Weiters
12: Beckham
13: Storen
14: C. Perez
15: J. Sanchez
@Rudy Gamble
I want all infield early and as a result ss this team too weak in the outfield or pitching? And was Reyes too early for the 7th pick of the second round (12 team league)?
C- Brian McCann
1B- Miguel Cabrera
2B- Dan Uggla
3B- Brandon Phillips
SS- Jose Reyes
OF- Curtis Granderson
OF- Austin Jackson
OF- Dexter Fowler
Util- Manny Ramirez
SP- Yovanni Gallardo
SP- Fransisco Liriano
P- Max Scherzer
P- Clay Buchholz
P- Gio Gonzalez
P- Daniel Hudson
RP- John Axford
RP- Chris Perez
Should I completely ignore speed guys like Juan Pierre when filling out my outfield and focus on home run upside guys like Travis Snider in a H2H league if i am supposed to be ignoring steals? Also about how many starts would you look to have in a week. Around 10? The minimum innings in a week for my league is 25 so will some teams be using only around 5 starts a week? Thanks for your help.
RUDY, a few pickems if you don’t mind…
Josh Hamilton or Matt Kemp
Dan Uggla or Brandon Phillips
B.J. Upton or Jacoby Ellsbury
Brett Anderson or Max Scherzer
Gio Gonzalez or Shaun Marcum
Matt Weiters or Geovanny Soto
Chris Perez or Drew Storen
@Rudy: A bunch of questions for you… do you advise against taking Felix in the second round and/or Kershaw in the third? what do you think of McCutchen in the third round? Lastly, what are your thoughts on Adrian Beltre. I actually like him over Heyward as a fourth rounder, am I nuts? and finally what are your thoughts on Vlad Guerrero. Why isn’t he valued higher, he is ALWAYS good!
@barker: a 20 team league with 15×15? How did you find 19 other people to go along with that format? i guess the team looks good. you found some bargains in Minor and Espinosa.
@maddogrusso: It seems pretty good but why pick 3 OFs in the first 4 rounds and then 4 straight SPs? Seems like you could distribute the picks a little better.
@MikeAruzione: I can’t believe I’m talking with the BU hockey legend himself! I would ignore spending any serious $ on speed-only guys. I would rather have Snider than Pierre. But I like speed guys who: 1) are likely to hit 1st or 2nd (hence runs) and 2) are at least solid on AVG. So Tabata and Span for a sum of $11 as 5th/6th OFs gives us the flexibility to add speed in case we’re crushing someone in HR/RBI. But I’d avoid the guys that are more expensive like Bourn, Figgins, Ichiro, etc.
@Win1forthegifter: I’m pretty predictable since I’m almost always going to go with the Point Share results (http://razzball.com/2011-razzball-point-shares-12-team-mlb/)
Josh Hamilton ($29) over Matt Kemp ($27)
Dan Uggla ($21) over Brandon Phillips ($19) – push comes to shove, i’d probably take phillips only b/c I haven’t owned him and have owned uggla on a zillion teams the last 2 years
Jacoby Ellsbury ($20) over B.J. Upton ($19)
Max Scherzer ($12) over Brett Anderson ($5)
Shaun Marcum ($12) over Gio Gonzalez ($1) – although $1 seems way too cheap for Gio…guess there’s something in his stats that the projection systems don’t like
Geovanny Soto ($8) over Matt Weiters ($4)
Chris Perez ($9) over Drew Storen ($8) – the spring training troubles probably knock Storen down to $5 or $6
@larrylegend: Two Boston legends commenting on the post! I think F-Her is a fine mid-to-late 2nd round pick (Point Share Rank – 21) . I think Kershaw in the 3rd round is a reach. Like him better in the 4th (Point Share Rank – 56). McCutchen in 3rd round is solid value (Point Share Rank – 26). I think you’re reaching way too hard for Beltre in the 4th round (Point Share Rank – 104). He’s too unpredictable. I’d rather have Heyward at that pick. I have Vlad at #103. He definitely was a bargain last year. I think everyone’s waiting for the other zapato to drop…
Just testing…..
Testing IE8
@BookieBob: Did it crash?