Punting Wins and K's in a 5x5

[jlm53089]

I just tried this in a 12 team mock draft and here is the team I ended up with. Let me know if you would be happy with it. I was drafting from the 6th position:

C - Victor Martinez
1B - Todd Helton
2B - Robinson Cano
SS - Jose Reyes
3B - Chipper Jones
OF - Alfonso Soriano
OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Aaron Rowand
UTI - Jeff Kent / Michael Cuddyer / Jermain Dye

P - Carlos Zambrano
P - AJ Burnett
RP - JJ Putz
RP - Takashi Saito
RP - Mariano Rivera
RP - Jason Isringhause
RP - Jonathon Broxton

You failed since you drafted 2 starters.

The way to do it is get Relivers who qualify at SP, so you should trade both AJ and Carlos for decent hitters ASAP, then pick up someone with a SP and RP.

Kevin Gregg was quite a popular last year for the guy in my league.

[Diggs]

I just tried this in a 12 team mock draft and here is the team I ended up with. Let me know if you would be happy with it. I was drafting from the 6th position:

C - Victor Martinez
1B - Todd Helton
2B - Robinson Cano
SS - Jose Reyes
3B - Chipper Jones
OF - Alfonso Soriano
OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Aaron Rowand
UTI - Jeff Kent / Michael Cuddyer / Jermain Dye

P - Carlos Zambrano
P - AJ Burnett
RP - JJ Putz
RP - Takashi Saito
RP - Mariano Rivera
RP - Jason Isringhause
RP - Jonathon Broxton

You failed since you drafted 2 starters.

The way to do it is get Relivers who qualify at SP, so you should trade both AJ and Carlos for decent hitters ASAP, then pick up someone with a SP and RP.

Kevin Gregg was quite a popular last year for the guy in my league.

The reason I did that is because the OP stated he would be punting wins and SO in order to try and assure he wins SV, ERA, and WHIP. I picked up Zambrano and Burnett mainly for strikeouts and possible trade bait.

Both these pitchers should register 200+ Ks. With Putz, Saito, Rivera, Isringhause, and Broxton .... I think I will surely win the 3 categories I am supposed to secrure (SV, ERA, WHIP). I figured adding two K specialist like Zambrano and Burnett could help me avoid being absolutely last in Ks and maybe just second or 3rd to last gaining 2 or 3 more points then just absolutely punting them.

This of course was a test and the first time I did it. Would my strategy up top not make sense to try at all? Also, I like having them as potential throw-ins in trades since they have great value but would mean little-to-nothing to me. Lastly, when I drafted them, do you think I should have taken another closer/RP .... or another stick?

[rib217]

I have been thinking alot about this in my league as well. Mine is a little different though. pitching categories include Losses. So I could win L, SV, ERA, WHIP. 4 out of 6 pitching categories. Does anyone think it would be worth the strategy in my format.

I was also thinking of not completely punting W's and K's but just drafting maybe 2 pretty solid starters on good teams to be maybe middle of the batch in W's and K's.

Thoughts? Maybe even draft an ace with 1-2 other solid guys, and ride the year with 3 starters and great MR and closers.

[GotowarMissAgnes]

Unless you think Burnett is going to pitch 200+ innings, he's not likely to get 200 Ks. And CZam had a pretty big drop in his K rate last year. I'd be guessing more like 160-180 Ks for these two; much lower for Burnett if he has his typical injury prone year.

[one ton]

Plus, if your starters gets bombed here and there, you're screwed in ERA. That'll take a long time to chip away with mainly relievers going.

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

It couldn't work. In order to win WHIP, ERA, and saves, you would need to draft probably 3 closers in the first 7 or so rounds. With that in mind, there is no way you could get good enough hitting to win the league.

[kab21]

This could work, but it's very risky. Punting 18 points before you even start the season gives you very little room for error. And I don't think it would be alot of fun.

[MTUCache]

This could work, but it's very risky. Punting 18 points before you even start the season gives you very little room for error. And I don't think it would be alot of fun.

No... I don't think this could work.

As others have said, if you're going to get closers who do anything other than get saves (i.e., closers with stellar ERA/WHIP #s), you're going to have to get them early.

That takes away from the hitting you need in order to make up for those punted categories.

If you're not drafting three closers in the 7-11 round area, then you might as well punt saves too and just go after MR with good ERA/WHIP numbers, because you're not going to get good averaging scores with bottom-tier closers.

[Sensei]

It couldn't work. In order to win WHIP, ERA, and saves, you would need to draft probably 3 closers in the first 7 or so rounds. With that in mind, there is no way you could get good enough hitting to win the league.

You don't need 3 of the top 5 or so closers to do this strategy. You can focus on hitting initially, just have to carefully select your closers.

As others have said, if you're going to get closers who do anything other than get saves (i.e., closers with stellar ERA/WHIP #s), you're going to have to get them early.

That takes away from the hitting you need in order to make up for those punted categories.

If you're not drafting three closers in the 7-11 round area, then you might as well punt saves too and just go after MR with good ERA/WHIP numbers, because you're not going to get good averaging scores with bottom-tier closers.

In my attempt of this strategy this year, I took a closer in Rounds 7, 10, 13, 15, 16, and 19. I got Wagner in the 7th, Corpas in the 10th, and took guys like R. Soriano instead of Todd Jones/Joe Borowski type bottom-feeder closers. I then added some elite MR's to help my ratios, and I still managed a pretty kick-butt offense picking hitters while others grabbed SP's and other elite closers early on.

This said, I still say that it takes a lot of luck, and it's near impossible to beat a competent owner who drafts a balanced team. Plus, I almost always have to try to grab another stuperstar offensive stud via trade mid-season. Lots of other owners only use 1 early pick on an ace pitcher, so they're not that far behind in offense, and they're also not punting K's/W's.

[TheRock]

Yeah, punting one cat is a bad idea, punting two would never work (*disclaimer - Yahoo! public leagues don't count, anything works in those).

What you're talking about is more or less the LIMA plan, and most league now have innings limits in place to make it even more difficult to pull off. More of an auction strategy than a draft strategy anyway. In an auction you spend heavily on hitting and a couple of good closers, pick up some promising young pitchers for a couple bucks. In a serpentine draft you come out with a pretty sorry team. EVERYONE is getting hitters early, the only difference is when they start picking their studs, you load up on middle round hitters. Not a recipe for success.