We participated for the 3rd year in a row in Yahoo’s Friends & Family draft – a melange of 6 Yahoos, 3 Rotowire peeps, 1 Baseball Prospectus writer (Baseball Prospector?), 1 HardballTimes.com guy, a WSJournalist and us. Count ‘em up – it’s 13 people this year. Anyone can play 12 or 14 team leagues but only ‘perts can manage 13.
After a promising 3rd place finish in our rookie campaign, last year’s team stunk of sophomore jinx – finishing 10th out of 14th. Contributing factors include drafting Justin Morneau/Pedro “Ceranno” Alvarez with our 5th/6th round picks and putrid SAGNOF bets (Lyon and Rodney!).
The most unique aspect of this league is the 1,250 IP cap. For comparison’s sake, the average team in our 2011 Razzball Commenter Leagues had 1,341 IP. This ~100 IP difference leads most teams to roster one less SP in favor of an MR. Other ‘non-expert’ aspects of the league are: daily roster changes (vs. weekly), snake draft (vs. auction), and unlimited FA pickups (no Free Agent $ limit). This tends to play into Grey’s hands as he’s the Tony La Russa to my Jim Leyland.
Below is our team and here are the full draft results.
| Position | Player | Round/Pick |
| C | Russell Martin | R25 Pick 319 |
| 1B | Joey Votto | R1 Pick 7 |
| 2B | Neil Walker | R14 Pick 176 |
| SS | Alexei Ramirez | R10 Pick 124 |
| 3B | Mike Moustakas | R12 Pick 150 |
| OF | Andrew McCutchen | R2 Pick 20 |
| OF | Adam Jones | R5 Pick 59 |
| OF | Shin-Soo Choo | R6 Pick 72 |
| OF | Colby Rasmus | R16 Pick 202 |
| OF | Michael Brantley | R17 Pick 215 |
| 1B/3B | Lance Berkman | R8 Pick 96 |
| 2B/SS | Gordon Beckham | R23 Pick 293 |
| UTIL | Alex Presley | R19 Pick 241 |
| SP | Cliff Lee | R3 Pick 33 |
| SP | CC Sabathia | R4 Pick 46 |
| SP | Brandon Beachy | R7 Pick 85 |
| SP | Tommy Hanson | R13 Pick 163 |
| SP | Colby Lewis | R20 Pick 254 |
| SP | Hiroki Kuroda | R24 Pick 306 |
| RP | Carlos Marmol | R9 Pick 111 |
| RP | Jason Motte | R11 Pick 137 |
| RP | David Robertson | R15 Pick 189 |
| Bench RP | Mike Adams | R18 Pick 228 |
| Bench RP | David Hernandez | R21 Pick 267 |
| Bench SS | Stephen Drew | R22 Pick 280 |
Draft notes:
- Picks 1-2: This was my third snake draft of the year (15-team LABR, Razzball Expert league) and 7th was the earliest pick I’ve had (Grey got 7th in the Razzball expert league, I had 10th). This position had worked out well for me by nabbing a 1B (Votto/A-Gonz) and Longoria on the turn. We got the 1B we were hoping for (Votto edging out A-Gonz by a hair) but the 20th pick put us in a rough position as Longoria was long gone (pick #15) and our last OF target (Giancarlo) was picked at #19. After last year’s 2nd round SP (F-Her) worked out only okay (and seemed to put Grey on tilt), we ended up settling for Andrew McCutchen. No doubt he’s a reach but I’ll take bets that he works out better than all but maybe one of the next 5 position players taken (Reyes, M-Teix, Wright, Beltre, and Castro).
- Picks 3-4: We had the 3rd draft pick slotted for SP and I had delusional hopes that one of the big three – Verlander/Kershaw/Halladay – would make it back. With all three + Lincecum off the board, it was a coin flip between Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez and Grey pushed hard for Cliff Lee. After a slew of position players came off the board with the next couple of picks, I pushed hard for us to draft another SP in the 4th round (vs. wait for the 5th/6th round). My preferred choice was taken 3 picks ahead (Greinke) so settled for Sabathia. Doubting myself now whether Hamels would’ve been a better call but the strategy proved smart as 4 more SPs went before our 5th pick.
- General Hitting – Nothing very exciting about our offense after those top picks. Speed in the MI positions went at a premium (Andrus, Gordon, Jemile Weeks) so we focused on R/HR/RBI value in the middle infield and got some speed (Choo, Brantley, Presley) in our OF. This definitely isn’t a dominant offense but there’s some upside and hopefully it can keep us at least middle of the pack on offense because….
- General Pitching – ….if we’re going to succeed in this league, our pitching has to dominate. This team has top 2 potential across W/K/ERA/WHIP. The low IP cap gave us (or at least me) the courage to reach a little on Beachy and take the risk with Hanson – both have so much promise. Lewis and Kuroda are more matchup plays at least in the beginning of the season. The IP cap really drove our MR quality + quantity – we’re expecting high K/9 and strong ERA/WHIP from K-Rob and Mike Adams. With daily changes, we’ll able to slot them in every day. Hopefully b/w them and David Hernandez, one ends up getting the closer job before year end – otherwise, we should stay middle of the pack as long as Marmol and Motte stay healthy.
Say you drafted Volquez in the last round. Are you starting him opening day against the Dodgers at Petco? (1450 IP limit)
@Alcesto, If you’re not starting him there, no reason to keep him on the roster.
@Rudy Gamble, So you don’t give any Credence to the opening day hoodoo?
Don’t you want to see if Volquez can manage less than a walk per inning before you hand him your ratios in a little pink box with a bow on top?
@Alcesto, it’s hard to ever feel safe with Volquez…i
Maybe you’ll get lucky right away with the pickup of Rauch.
@VinWins, Maybe. Wish the ‘Backs would’ve DL’d Drew already to save us from dropping a player to pick him up.
Funston snatched up Kendrick with the 62nd pick… he must read Razzball.
@Pops, Ha! Yeah, we were going to draft him in this league (forgot what pick) and we’re pissed/surprised at how early he went. He picked him in the Razzball Expert league too (with the 78th pick).
@Rudy Gamble, I own him in a couple of leagues. That eligibility and lineup spot is so sweet.
@Pops, In fairness, Funston has been predicting Kendrick to win a batting title for like 5 years.
I can see the logic given your draft slot/options, but Mike Moustakas at 3B is exactly the kind of nightmare scenario I was absolutely hell-bent on avoiding this year.
Though hard to see how you sidestep it — Beltre at #15 is just too much of a reach, and everyone good was gone after you took Lee in the third.
Any discussion of foregoing Lee and taking Sandovar or Lawrie? One of those, plus CC as your ace, seems like reasonable alternate reality.
@Baron Von Vulturewins, we were talking about Lawrie for the 4th round pick but he was snagged. we just assumed anyone with a lot of hype would be snagged too early based on past experience w/ this league. would’ve liked lawrie on one team though….
Whoops — meant to say Beltre a reach at #20; wherever you took McCutchen. Though not as much of a reach there.
@Baron Von Vulturewins, my zips/steamer projections for beltre look awful. i think there may be more risk to beltre given his age/position than people realize. 3Bs age bad…
Also nice to see you guys going all-in on Adam Jones, despite the lack of nether-tingles.
Last year might have been the only year that Funston didn’t draft Kendrick. Kendrick is his white whale.
@Jeff Erickson, Ha. Good to know. At least he’s 2B eligible – unlike KC’s white whale (Billy Butler).
Brandon Morrow or Gio Gonzalez in a weekly H2H league?
@El Famous Burrito, Gio b/c of easier division/league.
Does anyone know when I’ll be able to put Utley on the disgraceful list? I’m not proud to say that I wound up with him on every team this year.
@DP, b/w now and opening day. not sure why it takes so damn long…
@DP, I am guessing he is going 60 day, so they aren’t in a rush. I could use the roster spot too.
I’m in a OPS league and need more power. been offered Uggla + Minor for Cuddyer + Romero.
as far as SP – tbis would leave me with Lester, Anibal, Zimmerman, Minor, Cueto, Jair Jurrens, and Jonathan Sanchez.
Would you bite?
@kingadrock, I don’t make the trade. Uggla doesn’t have good OBP which minimizes any gains you get from SLG. And I like Romero more than Minor.
@Rudy Gamble, Thx Rudy!
Offense looks pretty rough, even for a 13 teamer. Gonna need some guys like Moose tacos and Rasmus to step up big time. Pitching does look very nice though.
@Jake, Agreed – the pitching staff is stronger than the hitting. We’ll need some guys like Rasmus and Moose to step up or find something on the waiver wire.
Did you guys already make your picks for awards? Mine are:
NL CY- Clayton Kershaw, Bumgarner second
AL CY- David Price, Felix second
AL ROY- Matt Moore
NL ROY- Brandon Belt
AL MVP- Evan Longoria
NL MVP- Justin Upton
Interesting how just one more than a standard 12 team league impacted your targets . Missed G-lo by one and Zack too. I enjoyed the last spot in the snake this year. Never thought votto/upton would be an option.
Drafted yesterday (12 team 5×5):
C – J Montero (already qualifies)
1B – Votto
2B – Uggla
SS – Andrus
3B – Pablo
CI – Butler
MI – Desmond
MI – K Johnson
OF – Upton, Upton, Markakis, Boesch, AJax
SP – MadBum, Garza, Beachy, Luebke, Holland, Cahill, Niese, Hochevar, Santos, Motte
I’m curious how many rosters you’ve evaluated this year…more than 2,000? Any way to estimate on a per day or per post basis?
@jimbo, Grey’s reviewed more than me – he has to be in the hundreds at least. Solid draft – assuming this is H2H (otherwise light o relivers). Don’t love the OF – would drop Desmond for another OF to potentially replace AJax (unless it’s 4 OF).
Team is terribly light on power. Puma is ur only player to hit over 30 hr last season and it’s a safe bet he won’t reach 29 hr this season. I’d try to package away ThEDreadPirate for some pop ie Bruuuce. Donkey went at value (I think early 100s right?) which is odd given how managers chased pop early in the draft. Surprised to see Kelley Johnson going so early.
This is obviously a top 4 team but it’s 2 moves away from being atop of the league pre opening day. How about choo for Reynolds + someone else? He would give u for sure production at 3b, sending moose to a utility role or potential trade target.
@Rennan, Agreed that power is our biggest weakness right now but I don’t see us swinging a big move for a few weeks. We invested in power upside with Rasmus, McCutchen, and Moose. If they start showing solid power, I think we can be middle of the pack.
@Rudy Gamble, according to your calculations do you think your strength in pitching will make up for your weakness in power… how well have you done in the past taking 2 SP’s within the first 4 rounds… and did grey hate you after the draft…
@beardcrabs, I haven’t done any calcs on this league (you’ll see why in tomorrow’s post). hrs is one category and i don’t think our team is that far below average. not sure the last time i went with 2 pitchers in the first 4 rounds. but i’d rather take a worthy pitcher in the 4th round vs overpay for a hitter. look at the hitters b/w sabathia and our 5th round pick (konerko, zobrist, uggla, santana, youk, asdrubal, dee gordon). i like our next pick (adam jones) and our 6th round pick (choo) better than these picks.
@Rudy Gamble, HR’s supplement R and RBI as well… this year i targeted my first SP in the 5th round, but in the RCL i wanted a somewhat strong rotation so i took grienke in the fourth… i see your point though, really depends on what hitters are there… I remember last season you liked Uggla, not so much this year? The only reason I commented is because I was picturing you and Grey during this draft, probably a funny scene…
@beardcrabs, I don’t like uggla in the 4th round. i think neil walker matches him across the board except 15 less HR. i Think i got uggla in the 7th round of an NL-only league a couple years ago! but peeps are less afraid of AVG now. i think grey was campaigning for uggla though…
Aroldis Chapman news from the mouth of Dusty Baker:
“He’s [Chapman] a starter, a very good starter. But Billy Bray isn’t ready to be late-inning lefty right now,” Baker said
Translation: He’s a very good starter. We love him as a starter but we need him more to get one out a couple of times a week.
Dumbest.
Manager.
Ever.
In the history of idiotic managerial statements, this might take the cake. The guy we had planned to get one or two outs a week isn’t ready so we’ll take a “very good starter” and make him do that instead?
Idiot.
@Hawk, Sounds like Sean Marshall is the closer based on that statement
@Rennan,
It’s a Dusty-induced mess. Not the starter. Not the closer. He’ll be the LOOGY. Because somehow, that’s the most valuable combination of players he can come up with.
Insanity.
Hawk, agreed completely. Dusty is horrific.
AL MVP: Cano
NL MVP: Justin Upton
AL Cy: Verlander
NL Cy: Greinke
AL ROY: Jesus Montero
NL ROY: Yonder Alonso
all off-season , we’ve been told to wait and start our staffs
with the likes of bumgarner .
now you guys go and draft 2 aces in the 1st 4 rounds .
what gives ?
@chata, This draft had more of a Rudy fingerprint That SP advice sounds like Grey. One other note is that expert leagues draft pitchers earlier.
@Rudy Gamble, Pianowski certainly zagged on SP, drafting only Wilson and Volquez. You’d think that by so doing he could have ended up with at least a top 1B.
@royce!, He clearly sees the 1250 IP cap as a good reason to punt SP, stock up on MR/Closers, and pick up SPs advantageously throughout the year from waivers and trades. I understand the strategy but don’t think it’s a winning one.
@Rudy Gamble,
i certainly don’t want to cause a rift between you and Grey ,
but if experts are drafting pitchers earlier , shouldn’t i ?
@chata, Every league is different. The 1250 IP cap has a big impact because it nullifies the strategy of winning Wins and K’s through a quantity vs. quality approach. With very good starters and solid MR/Relief, you could dominate four categories. The only strategy play I see is Pianowski’s ‘beef up on MRs’ but MRs are valued high enough in this league that I don’t think he’ll get enough advantage out of it.
Our RCL draft is a better gauge for our strategies – http://razzball.com/grey-rudys-drafts-in-the-2012-razzball-expert-league/. Grey went lower on SP investment (Bumgarner in the 5th, Latos in the 9th) than me (Greinke in 3rd, Lester in 5th, Beachy in 9th). I think that’s more indicative of our styles…
Hanson at 163 is insane value! With innings caps, I have to believe that injuries shouldn’t concern you as much. It’s more about quality innings. A JJ or Hanson can give you 100 quality innings and you can fill in the rest with spot starts/middle relievers.
@Griff, Exactly. No concerns for SP injuries (in fantasy – I care about their health from a humanitarian point of view). Josh Johnson would’ve been another pitcher we considered in this vein.
Big Braves fan in my league. Would you give up Heyward and Bedard for Morrow and Boesch? I actually think Boesch may end up with better numbers this year than Heyward. Thanks!
@Mike, do it
@Mike, No brainer, Mike.
@Mike, It’s a fair trade either way. I think Bedard is near worthless given his injury concerns. I like Heyward more than Boesch but would do the trade to upgrade to a slightly surer thing at SP.
@Rudy Gamble,
some of us …. (ok , maybe just me) … believe that bedard is in better health , today , than at any time since leaving baltimore .
age has probably cost him a few mph on his fastball , but “back in the day” he was a crafty pitcher who worked the outside edges of the plate
and then come inside and bust you , down low , and at an angle to the right-hand batter that was near impossible to hit without bailing out of the batter’s box .
for lefties . it was away , away , away .
the guy could certainly hit his spots , and i don’t think that has changed any … except for the fastball velocity , perhaps .
injury should not prevent him from making his starts , but maybe age will .
i’m expecting 24 starts , and hoping for more .
as such , i’m anticipating 165-175 K’s … but for ‘old time sake” , i’m
hoping for 185 .
he may not have the best team behind him , but he has a doggedness
about him that will make him battle into 7th and sometimes beyond .
he never wanted to come out of the game … maybe because he had a shitty oriole pen behind him .. (i like a pitcher who prefers his OWN chances) .
given the ‘double’ appearances against that division , he seems to be on a par with , if not better than , your esteemed anibal sanchez .
i like his chances .
and i like his draft position/value .
worthless ??
hell , no .
@ Rudy :
i’m willing to make a small wager that bedard will make owners ,
who overlooked him and vested in gio gonzalez , instead ,
feel like a bunch of patzers , by season’s end .
@chata, If you told me Bedard will pitch 180 IP and be completely healthy, he’s not worthless. But in 12 team with the Pirates….eh, I wouldn’t fall in love with him. Sounds like you’re an Oriole fan so you might have some bias….Ha on Anibal…that’s Grey’s love. I’m so-so on him this year….
What do you think of this staff in a 10 team H2H? Thanks
Bumgarner
Wainwright
G. Gonzalez
Scherzer
Marcum
Liriano
Bedard
It’s okay – I think you’ll lose more, though, than win on W/ERA/WHIP. Tougher call on K’s.
H2H, 6 hitting cats (standard 5 + TB). Because of the extra power cat, I loaded up on pop and didn’t worry about SB or, to a lesser extent, AVG. Now I’m sitting on a team that should win 4/6 cats every week, but is weak in steals and has some AVG risk (Uggla, Cozart, Bruce). Would you deal Swisher for Ichiro in that format? What about for Gardner?
@Steve Stevenson, yeah on swisher for ichiro. no on gardner (not good on avg)
Rudy – How concerned should I be about Ubaldo at this point? I have an excess of speed so would it be worth it to flip him and Bonifacio for Tommy Hanson?
@Big Nate, i’m not a fan of ubaldo this year…don’t like boneface…make the trade.
You sure do love you some Colby Lewis. Was Grey in the bathroom?
@Steve, Ha. In 20th round, even Grey would like that pick.
@Rudy Gamble
There’s a possibility that Andrew Bailey needs surgery on his thumb. What are your thoughts on Alfredo Aceves and Mark Melancon? Also, do you think whichever is the favorite for saves is a must own?
@Richie, melancon is the favorite. i think he’ll be below average.
In a vacuum, which side do you like more? 20 teams but shallow benches so decent talent as free agents.
Team a: braun, altuve
Team b: kinsler, cc, and maybin
I would be giving up braun but feel like I need another ace. Enough in return to give up braun?
10 keepers so its hard giving up braun in a keeper
Can you give your thoughts on my 10 team H2H points draft? Thank you.
C M.Montero
1B Votto
2B Phillips
3B Zimmerman
SS Jeter
1B/3B Youkilis
2B/SS Kendrick
OF J. Upton
OF Stanton
OF Cruz
OF Heyward
OF Belt
UTIL Goldschmidt
BN Gamel
BN Espinosa
SP Bumgarner
SP Wainwright
SP G. Gonzalez
SP Scherzer
SP Marcum
SP Liriano
SP Bedard
RP Santos
RP Street
RP Walden
RP Marshall
Hey guys, had my 12 team H2H points league draft yesterday, how does it look? Any areas that need improvement?:
C Wieters (10)
1B Votto (1)
2B Kendrick (7)
SS Aybar (13)
3B Longoria (2)
MI Cozart (22)
CI Sandoval (6)
OF Bruce (4)
OF C. Young (9)
OF Stubbs (14)
OF Duda (16)
U Gamel (20)
SP Greinke (3)
SP Lester (5)
SP Garza (8)
SP A. Sanchez (11)
SP McCarthy (15)
RP Street (12)
RP S. Marshall (17)
RP Addison Reed (19)
P Worley (18)
B G. Holland (21)
B M. Adams (23)
B Niese (24)
Thanks, as always!
@exactly,
i’ve got you at 90 SB’s .
maybe lose a pitcher for a back-up bat that qualifies at dual eligibility .
Word from Sox sources is that Bailey will need hand surgery. Am presuming that Melancon is the add here.
@Rob, yup
What are the main differences between Ackley and Barney — besides the Ackl and the Barn? They look pretty similar except Ackley plays in SEA (yet seems to be higher valued.)
@@hHuskyRump, no way. ackley has 10 more HR, 5 more SB, and better AVG.
Lets say you were in a 14 team roto league and had Brandon Belt on your team, and the Giants were to do something stupid like send him to the minors for an indeterminate period of time while they start Nate Schierholtz in his place. You really like Brandon Belt and don’t necessarily need the extra bench bat but the waiver wire is already looking pretty thin, the only intriguing players being Mat Gamel on waivers and Nolan Reimold as a FA, with the rest consisting of Willingham, Daniel Murphy and after that pure dreck (not that Willingham and Murphy aren’t dreck, they’re only like 95% dreck). You figure you have 3 choices: a) grab Gamel or Reimold, b) hold onto Belt and see who gets hot a week or two into the season and hope to grab them, or c) hold Belt and hope the Giants are giving him regular at bats by May. What do you do (general opinions welcome) on what I like to term the “Brandon Belt Situation”.
@Ralph, i don’t think belt will deliver much this year. drop him and pick up reimold.
Here’s my 10-team league. I think I lucked out a lot early on.
1. (6) Ryan Braun LF
2. (19) Evan Longoria 3B
3. (30) Tim Lincecum SP
4. (43) Jered Weaver SP
5. (54) Jay Bruce RF
6. (67) Eric Hosmer 1B
7. (78) Madison Bumgarner SP
8. (91) Brian McCann C
9. (102) Drew Storen RP
10. (115) Derek Jeter SS
11. (126) Jordan Zimmermann SP
12. (139) Anibal Sanchez SP
13. (150) Sergio Santos RP
14. (163) Yoenis Cespedes CF
15. (174) Kenley Jansen RP
16. (187) Jemile Weeks 2B
17. (198) Neftali Feliz RP
18. (211) Jhoulys Chacin SP
19. (222) Francisco Cordero RP
20. (235) Danny Espinosa 2B
21. (246) Torii Hunter RF
22. (259) Chase Utley 2B
23. (270) Mark Melancon RP
24. (283) Jonathan Sanchez SP
25. (294) Roy Oswalt SP
@Denys,
i stand corrected, 12 team league!
Hey guys, I really need some help on evaluating a trade. I’m in a 12 team H2H keeper league. Cats are runs, hr, rbi, avg, slg, BB and NS, pitching cats are QS, BB’s, K’s, ERA, Whip, holds and NS. My current roster is:
C: J. Montero (5)
1b Votto (6)
2b Uggla (3)
3b Wright (2)
ss Aybar
of Granderson (3)
of Bruce (2)
of Stubbs (1)
util Morneau/cain
P Lee (2)
P Strasburg (3)
P D. Hudson (3)
P Romero (2)
P Ubaldo (2)
P Marcum (1)
In parenthesis are the amount of years i can keep them.
Trade proposed would be my votto, bruce, granderson, lee, and d hudson for his fielder (3), braun (4), victorino (1), kershaw (3) and weaver (3).
I love bruce, but is this worth it? I could also probably put in my stras and get back josh hamilton. Is this a smart move for me?
@Jarred,
act quickly .
but , maybe offer him ubaldo or marcum , instead of hudson , 1st .
@chata,
Would you do the strasburg/hamilton side of the deal? or hold on to strasburg?
@Jarred, I’d make that trade.
Do HR hitters have less volatility in runs and RBIs? That would make them inherently more valuable, right?
@Charles, Based on this, HR are more reliable than most other stats (inc. R/RBI) – http://www.insiderbaseball.com/blog/2012/03/roto_advanced_scoring_weights.html#more.
In some drafts/leagues, we go heavy in power. This league’s draft board just didn’t line up as nicely. There are 10 categories….you don’t get any prizes for winning HRs…
@Rudy Gamble, Sorry, I wasn’t really commenting on this team in particular. I guess I was trying to ask whether volatility in runs and RBIs decreases as you increase HRs. Intuitively it makes sense since the player would be less dependent on his teammates. In this sense, not only are the extra HRs valuable, but there would be more accurate predictions of runs and RBIs.
@Charles, No prob. I don’t think you remove much in volatility from HRs. It’s all due to batting order.
Runs go in descending order from leadoff position to 8th with a slight bump at 9th – http://razzball.com/lineup-position-impact-on-runs-rbi/.
RBIs should correlate pretty well since 3rd/4th/5th hitters have the highest RBIs and typically have a lot of power.
I find that middle of the lineup hitters with moderate power get underrated in drafts – examples are Neil Walker and JD Martinez.
Wow. I was able to draft 9 guys who went in the 1st 5 rounds: Votto, Upton, Hamels, Price, Bumgarner, Lawrie, Andrus, Cruz, and Cuddyer (i’m guessing his 2B pushed him up ridiculously).
So I’m feeling pretty good about my team now.
That being said, trade Votto-Werth for Braun-McCutchen-Swisher in H2H points 12-team CBS? Or am I just getting greedy trying to collect early rounders?
Thanks for the great draft write-up.
@Jef, i’d trade Votto-Werth for Braun-McCutchen in a heartbeat.
Yahoo strategy question. Only have 6 bench spots, how do I best utilize them? (15 team roto, 2000 innings max, 36 acquisitions max (33 left) Right now my bench is JD Martinez/M Trout/Niese/Danks/Cahill/FFransciso.
Holding onto Trout because I need to keep 7. (Possible keepers would be 7 of Pujols/Kemp/Bruce/Choo/VMart/Rollins/ARamTrout/DHudson/Latos). Maybe I should let Trout go?
@nightpandas, I think you have a solid mix. With that IP cap, I definitely want a couple of SPs to throw when their matchup is good. I’d think 1-2 MR/low-end closers and 1-2 bats. I like Trout but it does hurt some flexibility in the short-run if there’s an injury. JD is a solid bench bat given he’s a middle of the lineup hitter (albeit an awful lineup). Would be ideal if you had a little more position flexibility but hopefully you’ve got someone on your team with 1B/OF or something like that since it’s Yahoo’s liberal position rule. Good job!
Question for strategy in a 12 team weekly league. We start 4 OF and 4 UTIL, 6 SP and 3 RP.
My team is as follows:
C: Ramos
1B: Berkman
2B: Kinsler
3B: Longoria
SS: Castro
OF: Bruce, Heyward, Bourjos, Duda
UTIL: Lawrie, Lind, Morales, Span
SP: Darvish, Hanson, Zimmermann, Beachy, Buchholz
RP: Motte, Street, Myers
Obviously this team is lacking on pitching, my question is should I deal for an ace (since it’s a weekly league) using one of my big bats, or should I do a smaller deal to get more depth.
Two offers I have on table:
Bruce for Greinke
Duda for Minor
Thanks!
@BostonEagle5, I’d roll the dice with your pitching staff. It’s got some potential. Use waiver wire/free agency to pick up another SP with potentially friendly home matchups (i like Mariner, A’s and Padre pitchers). I’d usually suggest using MRs but the 3 RP limit squashes that.
Grey… Opinion on my team?
10 Team Standard Mixed
C: Russell Martin
1B: Mark Reynolds
2B: Dan Uggla
3B: Evan Longoria
OF: Jose Bautista
OF Jay Bruce
OF: Michael Bourn
UTIL: Jayson Werth
SP: Cliff Lee
SP: Zack Greinke
SP: Mat Latos
SP: Rickey Romero
SP: Adam Wainwright
SP: Wandy Rodriquez
SP: Francisco Liriano
SP: Edison Volquez
RP: Huston Street
RP: Brandon League
RP: Carlos Marmal
RP: Rafael Betancourt
Obvious average is gonna be terrible but do I have enough HR, Steals, RBIs and Runs to compete on offense to complement what I think is a good staff?
Thanks in advance Grey.