Four-category hitter strategy

[duckbillgates]

I'd like to get some thoughts on this strategy ... it makes sense to me, but what do I know?

Basically, I'm looking at a system that devalues stolen bases and looking for draft bargains accordingly. I'm trying to filter out players that get a lot of their value from steals and boost players that deliver everything but steals.

I'm aiming to fill my team with as many guys that can reasonably deliver a line of:
.285-.300 average
25-30+ home runs
85-100 rbi
85-100 runs

I'm aiming to not overpay for stolen bases and to avoid guys who are deeply deficient in one of these categories (for example, an Andruw Jones or Adam Dunn type who will sink your average).

Here are some of the sort of guys I'm looking for

C
Joe Mauer
1B
Albert Pujols
Derrek Lee
Justin Morneau
2B
Chase Utley
Robinson Cano
3B
Miguel Cabrera
Chipper Jones
SS
Troy Tulowitki
Miguel Tejada
OF
Vladimir Guerrero
Magglio Ordonez
Manny Ramirez
Hideki Matsui

Obviously, there are some big stars there, but they all display the kind of four-category balance I'm looking for, and there isn't an elite base-stealer among them.

The idea is to find four-category balance rather than category specialists. In other words, you don't need 50 HR out of your 1B if you're getting 40 from your middle infield. You don't need a SS who scores 125 runs if you're getting 300 from your outfield.

I chose to devalue steals because, frankly, there is no such thing as a legitimate under-the-radar five-category threat. The plan isn't to punt the category, either. I could see a late-round flier or mid-season trade on a stolen-base specialist that could be plugged in only if there is a nice opportunity to gain a few points with a few steals.

So, can it work? And who are some good targets under such a strategy?

[bigh0rt]

Joe Mauer does not fit your criteria. Has never hit more than 13 HR, and has barely reached the minimums in your R and RBI criteria once. He will fill your AVG, though, and gets some added value in swiping some bags. It would seem that your style is more fitting for a C like Bengie Molina, who falls short in your AVG department, though not by much, but should reach your 20/85/85 marks this season if he stays in the heart of that lineup.

[Amazinz]

I think it's fine to devalue SB (not so much in roto) but I'm not sure this will highlight draft bargains. SBs are distributed among a small portion of the player pool so "4-cat hitters" make up the bulk of offensive players drafted.

[krunchyfrogg]

Sounds good to me.

Are you playing roto or HTH?

In either, it would be nice to get one of those SB guys (I'm thinking Bourne). If playing HTH, only play him when your opponent doesn't have steals either. It'll be an easy category win.


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[duckbillgates]

I realize that target stat line is lofty at some positions. In such cases, one would adjust a bit still with the aim being as much balance as possible.

For example, I'm keying in on middle infielders with decent HR and RBI projections, because most of my opponents won't be getting those numbers from that position. Likewise, I look at catchers who hit for average and score runs. (And for the record, Bengie Molina is my poster child this season.)

I guess it's the "little bit of everything but steals" approach. This strategy would have you drafting someone like Miguel Cabrera instead of David Wright or Vlad Guerrero instead of Grady Sizemore (try not to get too hung up on my specific examples).

And specifically, I am talking about roto. I am targeting finishing first or second in these four categories, content with just two or three points in steals.

[suppasonic]

If anything I think this would be a better H2H strategy than roto because you are giving yourself a better shot at the other 4 cats and only a ba d time in 1.

[bigh0rt]

If anything I think this would be a better H2H strategy than roto because you are giving yourself a better shot at the other 4 cats and only a ba d time in 1.

I agree.

Essentially you're punting steals, and limiting where you get your stats from in Roto. As long as the stats all add up, it doesn't matter how they get there. Furthermore, most of the players who are drafted early fit into these '4-cat' qualification. As the draft goes on, these players are more and more sparse.

[Ender]

I always devalue SB and to some extent AVG in H2H. I also devalue ERA/W in H2H. H2H you want to dominate a few stats and I like to go for HR/RBI/K for my dominant stats and compete in most of the others.

In roto it is all about balance in my opinion, you want to be above average in every single stat.