Arms versus Bats

[ROC AllStars]

There may be another thread on this, and if there is I apologize. I've been wondering what everyone things, is it better to build a team around arms or bats? Conventional fantasy wisdom seems contrary to conventional baseball wisdom here. I've found that pitchers are harder to project, but that just like in the real world, you can't win without strong pitching. Any thoughts?

[Mugrila]

I think a good team centers around good hitting. Pitchers are so up and down from year to year there are always gems to be found on the wire as the season goes along. This is not to say pitching should be disregarded in the draft, but there are always more arms around near the end than good solid bats.

[TBG]

I've had the best staff in our league going on two years and all it has gotten me is a place in the bottom third of the league. You can always find spot starters on the WW but finding good hitting is a lot harder IMO. I'm going with bats next year...

[05worldserieschamps]

Has to be Bats over Arms. Arms are inconsistent, they get injured too easily. Think about it, a fantasy owner could have one of the Best Staffs ever assembled this year and still probably be destined for last place:

SP- Johan Santana
SP- Roy Halladay
SP- Chris Carpenter

RP- Mariano Rivera
RP- BJ Ryan

That is one of the Best possible staffs someone could have, and that person is more than likely destined for the bottom of the league.

[RyeWhiskey]

Disregard posts which demand that you pick on over the other. Balance is the key to fantasy baseball. You need solid hitting (which is your first priority), then a stud or two in your staff (second priority). Then you need balance in terms of stats.
So always think balance, if you have Pujols, Utley, Wright, and Reyes, your IF is stacked, but if you have no stud SPs, you are still going to lose against a balanced team.

Balance between hitters and pitchers + balance in terms of stats (5X5 categories) = victory.

[GetCaught1469]

What about trade value? Is a top SP worth a top Bat? In my league we have SV's and SVOP. Are Closer worth there high price for 2 categories. I have benitez and weather and ive pretty much lost every week in that department. i could probely trade them and get a upgraded bat. is it worth sacrifing 2 categories like that if im going to lose them anyways?

[RyeWhiskey]

No, punting categories is never a smart move. Having 2-3 closer on your squad will (a. in roto leagues) boost you into the middle of the pack in those cats and (b. in H2H leagues) give you the possibility of snagging a cat or two each week.
And no, top pitchers do not merit top hitters in trade value. It always depends on the team (ex: a team with Peavy and Hamels will value the best pitcher, Johan Santana, less than one with Owings and Greinke) and the current activity of the player (hot/cold, injured, etc...).

[jealousblues]

I like to build around bats.
But you still have to get good pitching...but it seems every year there are good value pitchers to be found on the WW/FA pile.

I usually draft one or two decent closers later (fuentes, Saito?)
and add closers from WW/FA when they shake loose (just my way I guess)
It seems pitchers get injured way more than hitters too.

BUT I usually keep a very small hitting bench in favor of having more pitchers.


It also seems to me that every year there are one or two good pitching prospects that come up and they seem to do better than hitters called up.


I dont know how this would work in super competitive leagues but it does in mine

[RyeWhiskey]

My general strategy is similar. I tend to draft closers later than most (Saito, Fuentes, Valverde, etc...), usually about 3 closers is perfect. I then swoop up two top-notch mid-relievers (Neshek, Broxton, Otsuka) for ERA, WHIP and K bonuses to fill the P spots.
I like to have 1-2 great starters to bolster my staff, then I go for the late picks (Snell, Bush, Hill, etc...).

Hitting needs to be solid, but don't sacrifice pitching for hitting. I also keep a small hitting bench in favor of more SPs.

Remember there are an even number of hitting and pitching stat categories to win, and if you want to win your league, you need most of them.

[ravensjohnny]

i usually use the approach of building with some solid bats and not carrying more than 1 or 2 bench bats and bulking up on decent sp and pretty good rp, works well for me i never lose in k's or wins, win in sv quite a bit and era and whip are 50/50 b/c i have so many starters pitching but in order to do this you have to have made a pretty solid list of bats that your happy to start day after day