By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer
Is it too soon for my first baseball article of the year? Probably. But one can only talk about Kevin Durant and The Hills for so long. Without further ado…
Baseball is the most involved and complicated of all the fantasy sports, and the draft is no different. Picking what pitchers to draft where depends on a variety of factors and strategies. In fact, in my league, a few of the past winners have incorporated interesting drafting strategies to get to the top. Here are a few…
Heavy Investment in Pitchers – This strategy is advisable in leagues where the innings cap is relatively low compared with the number of starting position players. For example, in a league with 13 starting roster spots and an innings cap of 1800, Albert Pujols will account for approximately 1/13 of your team’s at-bats while Johan Santana will account for more than 1/8 of your team’s innings pitched. However, pitchers tend to be more unpredictable and injury prone than position players, making them riskier picks at the top of the draft.
No Starters Strategy – A rather unique strategy, the owner grabs lower level closers who still offer good ERA and WHIP and then load up on middle relievers at the end of the draft. While this owner has punted two categories (wins and strikeouts) they should win the other three pitching categories (ERA, WHIP and saves) and have a dominant lineup that should be in the top of most categories. Punting two categories, however, leaves little room for error and makes winning very difficult in leagues that lack balance.
Starting Pitching Late & Spot Starting Strategy – Unlike position players, it is an easy and worthwhile strategy to start your pitchers based on matchups. Finding pitchers late in your draft who can get you 120-140 favorable innings (pitchers with good home parks or who perform well at home) and then supplementing them with spot starters throughout the year can yield solid results with a minimal investment in pitching.
A few other pitching issues to consider…
– In a daily league with no innings cap, investing in starting pitching (or decent closers) is laughable; go ahead and grab some low-level closers and then spot start pitchers.
– Middle relievers are valuable commodities; the combined stats of two good MRs can equal or surpass those of a top-10 starter and come at a much cheaper price. The only downside is the extra roster spot that is used up. If you’re in a league with a deep bench, grab a few of these guys late (don’t worry about spending a mid-round pick on Joel Zumaya when you can still get a good MR at the end of your draft, or off waivers).
– Just like you don’t want to be the first person to draft a kicker, you don’t want to be the first person to draft a closer in your league. Saves are unpredictable, so go ahead and grab some solid guys a few rounds later.
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