Roto Pacing - Hitters

[fbc_fan]

How do the seasoned roto veterans handle their hitters throughout the year? I understand that very few players will play 162 games in any given year, so what is the best way to make up games when you have fallen behind for hitters? Is it to have a few dedicated subs, or to stream players to fix the positions you need in bursts?

as a seasoned h2h guy, i need some help for roto.

[ILoveBush]

It depends on how many bench spots you have and how deep your league is. I know that is a generic answer, but it is really important in this case. I own Stephen Drew, but I'm not going to have Betancourt on my bench just to play once a week when Drew sits.

I would guess that most Roto players don't try to get 162 games from each position, but rather make sure their OF and Util positions use up the 162 games.

I am currently not even carrying a C in my 12 team league, so don't listen to me.

[fbc_fan]

yeah, generic is fine. i was trying to intentionally leave it vague since i think it would benefit others and not just me.

[Yanks_Baby]

I don't worry about it. In fact, in Roto, if there's no IP limit, it makes waaay more sense to carry a ton of pitcher and only 1 or 2 hitters on the bench, if any. Generally i keep 1 hitter on my bench, sometimes 2. In cases like Hawpe, who sits verses lefties, anmd happens to be in a slump, I plan to platoon him with
Jaun Pierre, but that's a special case. In general if your player misses 10 games a year, it's not really worth wasting the bench spot on them. My hitting bench is usuallly filled with trade bait anyway.

[great gretzky]

well, sometimes you leave games in the tank, which stinks. when I know my average stinks, which it frequently does, then I figure out how much slack I have, and how many guys I can cut for the cause. then, if I am willing to roll with whatever average I end up with, I make sure I rotate two hitters in so they can play mondays and thursdays. If the get squat, well then, who cares, your average is in the tank. If they get counting stats, then there you go. Not perfect, and certainly situational, but what can you do?

[horatio]

In my roto where I have very few bench spots I usually just spot start hitting when I start to fall a few games back in the games played count. I've got Carlos Pena on my bench but I prefer to use my open bench spots to hold onto relief pitchers who have a glimmer of hope for taking over a closer role.

[DaShiz23]

I go on a team by team basis. If my whole team is hot, I could give a crap about being over 2 or 5 starts. If my O needs help, I'll WW it or sit tight and wait for some heat.

[AllDay]

I try to stay on or slighly ahead of pace thru most of the season at all positions except C. C is the lowest priority to max out.

I usually try to have 1 or 2 spots that I can 'turnover' to start IF/OF players off the FA pool on Mondays and Thursadays - or whenever your regulars have an off day. You can't really carry a back-up at every position unless you draft some good multi-positional back-ups. If my bench doesn't have a guy I would drop - then it is time to offer a 2-1 around the league top open up a roster spot.

It does end up making a difference. A dedicated player who manages his games played wisely will usually make up ground at the end of the year. Sometimes it can be quite significant.