Joining a League with a New Commish

[MTUCache]

Looks like a great forum here guys... so I thought I'd post a question I've got about a new league I'm joining to see what you guys think.

I'm joining a league (drafting Monday) that is relatively new. Details: Yahoo league, 10-12 teams (not decided yet), H2H Weekly Roto Scoring in 14 categories.

I'm a little confused/bewildered about the categories that the scoring is based on, particularly the pitching. I think the commish is relatively new, or doesn't have a very good grasp on how to set up the scoring.... which leaves some loopholes to be exploited.

Roster Spots: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL
(Note: Only 7 Pitcher spots and 9 Hitter spots + 5 Bench)

Hitting Scoring Categories: R, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SB, AVG
Pitching Scoring Catagories: W, CG, SHO, SV, K, ERA, WHIP
(to clarify, you get one "win" for each category you finish the week better than your opponent. Totals only count for that week, not for the whole season, and each "win" is worth the exact same... CG/SHO don't count for extra points, winning the triples counts the same as winning the doubles or HRs)

I'm used to a 5x5 scoring category, so I'm coming to you guys to see how much this scoring system could change my drafting strategy... It seems to me that this type of league is EXTREMELY exploitable. If having a triple-hitter on your team is just as valuable as having a home-run hitter, and having a pitcher get a complete game is more valuable than another one getting a crapload of strikeouts, it seems obvious that there's some MAJOR strategy to be put into my draft selections that most players aren't even going to think about.

Complete Games & Shutouts:
Frankly, these two categories seem pretty arbitrary to include in a weekly category. These two categories are likely to be rare to get any scoring in, with the exception of a couple of pitchers.

- Which handful of pitchers do you feel will perform the best in these two categories? Obviously there's only a half dozen pitchers in the entire league that will score in either of these two categories, and I'd like to have at least two of them.

- Also, now that two pitching categories count for nearly nil during the week, doesn't this make the Hitting Categories more valuable (7 categories hitting vs. 5 real categories pitching)?? Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it seems like this would increase the value of all position players, while decreasing the value of all pitching players.

- Does including these two categories making RPs less valuable, as they can't score in them? Should I be drafting as many starters as I can, looking for some guys to go late into games?

Triples/Stolen Bases
Obviously these categories aren't that rare... but they are exploitable in a league of new players. Speed is something that they're not going to value very highly, and they'll likely only take the top-tier speed players that are already high up in the auto-list draft.

- Any input on draft strategy for these players/categories? I can pretty easily pick out which players steal the most bases and hit the most triples, but how much earlier/later should I plan on taking them (assuming nobody else in the draft is considering these scoring categories)?

One last question about general strategy...
Multi-Position Players
Flexibility is obviously huge during the season, as injuries and slumps start effecting your roster. Being able to play a valuable starter in multiple spots is a large advantage.

- How much higher should I consider drafting players like Chone Figgins or Julio Lugo in this league (if only for bench spots)?

I'd like to get my hands on both of these guys if I can, but I don't want to take them too early just because they're multi-positional.

Anyway.... thanks for the input guys (in advance). Can't wait to see what you guys think of these particular scoring items.

[MTUCache]

Alright... so it's coming down to crunchtime on this draft, so I figured I'd post my ideas and hopefully you guys are able to give me some input before Monday evening.

I'm not sure where I pick in the first round yet, but I've got my Top 20 set up as:
1.) Pujols
2.) Reyes
3.) Soriano
4.) Santana
5.) ARod
6.) Howard
7.) Ortiz
8.) Cabrerra
9.) Crawford
10.) Utley
11.) Beltran
12.) Wright
13.) Guerrero
14.) Hafner
15.) Sizemore
16.) Teixera
17.) Carpenter
18.) ManRam
19.) Berkman
20.) Morneau

So, my ideal picks at this point would be to pick early, get Reyes, and hope that Sizemore falls to me in the 2nd, as I feel these guys are the strongest for my system (with multi-base hits being just as valuable as homeruns).

If I pick late, I'm looking at Crawford and Sizemore, as I'd like to dominate the speed and catch up on homers later in the draft.

If Sizemore gets taken way earlier than expected, I wouldn't be too upset to end up with Hafner in this spot.

Third round I'm keeping my head up for: Mauer, Carpenter, or Zambrano
Fourth round I'm looking at: Figgins, Peavy or Webb
Fifth round I'm looking at: Sabathia and/or Harang

By this point I should be looking at having at least two starters, if not three, and my speed/flexibility completely set. Then I'm going to start working on my RP and power hitters.

Too early with Mauer in the third?
Too much speed with Crawford/Sizemore/Figgins? (don't want to invest too much and end up wasting these SBs)
Maybe KRod, Nathan, or Abreu might fit better here in the fourth round? (to give either power or a top-shelf RP before worrying about SB/flexibility)

[MTUCache]

Also... probably looks like there's another wrinkle in this league that I hadn't anticipated. A couple of the guys have backed out, and it's now looking like it's going to be only 8 guys in the league.

Not much difference in strategy, but leaves a TON of stacked rosters to be made.