Fantasy Baseball Cafe Forums

by **Farkin** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 2:51 pm

My league is a 10 team mixed H2H league non-keeper format. We are only allowed to keep Diamonds in the Rough in which 3 years ago i was lucky enough to get Prior. So he is my only return player. Point system is 1 point per week for the following cats: BA, OBA, TB, SB, runs, RBI, and HR. Pitching cats are 1.25 points for each of these cats: wins, ERA, WHIP, K, Sv, and Sv %. Been finishing between 3rd and 6th for 5 straight years and am looking for a draft strategy that will put me over the top. Help anybody.

by **stevelabny** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 5:07 pm

wtf is the definition of Diamond in the Rough?
It sounds really vague

Also..how many roster spots and what positions? this is very important also.

What strategies have gotten you to finish in the middle of the pack?

Points for TB and HR??? Get lots of hr hitters.
BA and OBA? Get lots of guys who specialize here.
solution: GET PUJOLS OR BONDS.

Pitching is overall worth .75 less of a point, which means if you sweep pitching and your opponent sweeps hitting... you lose.

But even though hitting is the priority, these pitching categories look exploitable. Is there a innings minimum? Because with WINS not being a category and Saves and save % both being categories.... all closers, and in particular ERIC GAGNE jump to the top of the list.

I think these rules are so wacky, I'd take Pujols/Bonds in the 1st round and Gagne in the 2nd round.

When I put these categories into the RotoTimes value ranker, (but without being able to weight the pitching cats to 1.25 pts) they came up with this list as best from last season

1> GAGNE (by a lot..even without the extra weight)
2> Pujols (then another big drop)
3> wagner
4> helton
5> smoltz
6> sheffield
7> foulke
8> bonds (another big drop after him)
9> arod
10> rivera
11> guardado
12> delgado
13> manny
14> vernon wells
15> beltran
16> soriano
17> renteria
18> bret boone
19> tim worrel
20> joe borowski

the first starter (jason schmidt) wouldnt show up for another 20 picks at least... now as i said, this doesnt include the extra .25 weight for the pitching catergoies, so you can bump all the pitchers up some. starters who get Ks might jump the closers who dont get ks in the process. but you STILL wouldnt see a starter break the top 20.

so the question is, how early does your league start drafting closers? if the dont start until at least round 2... take a stud offensive player first, then pile on the closers. If you dont think it will last that long, jump on Gagne immediately, then get an offensive guy, then pile on some more closers.

by **Farkin** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 5:33 pm

Thanks for the advice. Closers usually start to go in round 3 but that will most likely change this year because last year's winner had Wagner and Foulke. Diamond in the Rough is the last 3 picks in the draft, you have the option to keep these players on your roster as a keeper as long as they stay on the active roster all season. Funny quirk, buy it works in our league. Wins is a pitching category, along with K, era, whip, sv, and sv %. Total pitching is worth 7.5 points per week to 7 points for offense. My other strategies in the past included dominating pitching but always got burned on closers. Also went on best available strategy, but this always loaded my up on OF and 1B and very weak at catcher, 2B, and SS. We use 2 players at each position and 5 OF, 5 SP, and 2 closers. Does this change any of your advice?

by **stevelabny** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 6:14 pm

some how i missed that wins were listed. maybe im going blind.
and the positons definately change thing

if you have to have TWO ss and TWO 2b (instead of the usual 1 2b, 1 ss, 1 MI) then you almost have to snag one of the superstar MIs

throwing wins back in the mix, and having 5 starters and 2 closers and no pitching spots that can be either also puts the emphasis back on the starters. yes the ridiculous save % category will still make Gagne ridiculously valuable, the other great closers can always have an off year (see Foulke in 2002)

Luckily for you , you already have the best starting pitcher in the game. Thats a HUGE advantage.

heres my new opinion:

depedning on your draft pick, arod, pujols and bonds are your best choices. if theyre all gone, i would consider one of the other MIs or even gagne. Try to have a MI, SP, RP and 2 more offensive guys who fit your categories best by round 5. Again, the position scarcity is IMPORTANT but dont get crazy. If you've missed the top 3 SS, dont suddnely take Orlando Cabrera in round 4.

Basically pitching is worth more, but harder to predict. Its a little to early for me to single out the absolute best pitchers for next season. (and nobody ever gets it right, i avoided the HUGE busts and had prior, brown, schmidt and wolf but my staff still wasnt perfect) . If you can find other pitchers who you feel are sure to have a good season, try to add them.

Try to get two of the more reliable closers if you can, but you absolutely have to get one lock.

When you look for offense, dont just read standard websites and magazines, find a customized stat ranker and enter your seven offensive categories and see who shows up at the top. then alter that list to how you think players will perform NEXT season

Ive seen too many players in leagues with different-than-usual rules not take that into account when studying. Your league rules and scoring are the most important thing

by **shortsavage** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 7:22 pm

Not too familiar with the exact results of your scoring system, I am having trouble thinking of certain strategies that would be benificial to your success.

Fantasy baseball is like any business practicum. Ideally, you buy low and sell high. As long as you hold true to that philosophy you should be in good shape.

I think a draft, in a leauge with active owners, does not carry as much value as it may seem. Sure you can snatch up great picks, but I rarely see a team finishing in the top 3 unless they make some wise trades. So, your drafting strategies may not need much help, and trading could be a better area to focus on.

by **stevelabny** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 7:26 pm

i couldnt disagree with that more. a well-drafted team doesnt need to rely on trades to win. just tweak the team with waiver moves and one or two trades if absolutely necessary. but thats just my opinion.

i'm gonna go start a thread about this

by **shortsavage** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 7:38 pm

stevelabny wrote:i couldnt disagree with that more. a well-drafted team doesnt need to rely on trades to win. just tweak the team with waiver moves and one or two trades if absolutely necessary. but thats just my opinion.

i'm gonna go start a thread about this

Hehe, I am tired of argueing. Maybe you can start an agreement post, where each post must pick out an element from the previous post that they agree with? I think that would accomplish more in the long run.

And, for the record, I would put trades in a similar basket as waiver pick ups. I think trades will usually be more risky and impactful. But, there are many good moves to be made via the waiver wire.

However, I would certainly not bank on there being many, if any Posednics, Webbs and Dontrelles in 2004, this season was rare in that regard.

Perhaps you could center the premise of your new post around improving a team with free agents or trades? That would be a good debate.