Importance of Bench Hitters in a H2H league?

[AquaMan2342]

if someone like Taveras is available I'll occasionally add them to put in in the 2nd half of the week/the weekend if my offense has been kind enough to give me nice leads in HR and RBI to try to grab some more steals.

Otherwise, I use my bench spots on pitchers so I can get the awesome combos of guys like T. Buchholz + Kuo.

This is the same reason I use bench players. Fluctuating statistics like steals can be difficult to win in H2H unless you're stacked with speed, so if you're within striking distance there's definitely a need for a speedy bench sub to plug in on the weekend.

[The Artful Dodger]

The importance of bench hitters really depends on your league. All of my redrafts have the standard 5 bench spots and I prefer to have 4 of them dedicated to pitchers. In my dynasty league with 25-man rosters, I like stashing about an equal number of bats and pitchers (for some reason 5 of them are hitters).

Having a bench hitter helps if you need to play the hot bat or matchup or if you're deficient in a category that can be made up easier by one of your benchwarmer hitters.

[redstorm41]

I don't like a deep bench at all. I would go with one player on the bench at most and use the other bench slots on pitching. So far it has worked out for me and in one of my keeper leagues, the team has clearly improved since going to the strategy. As far as who I use, when it comes to the utility slot vs. the bench, I try to go with the hottest hand possible. Let's say I have Josh Willingham vs. Chris Davis for the final spot, I try to take a look at average numbers then power numbers. Rarely I would factor in strikeouts only because you never know and it's usually a variable stat. So, to me, keep the bench short and ride the hot hand.

[AKhomebrewer]

I'm keeping 2 bench hitters right now. J.Hairston has been a gem. Eligible almost everywhere, makes it easy to sub in if one of my guys gets a day off.

I'm with the crowd that likes to keep a single bench hitter in H2H ... and moose points out the main prerequisite — flexibility. In the past I've used a guy like Freel with his multi-position eligibility; currently it's Wiggington. Also useful when you get a starter dinged enough to miss several games but not move to the DL.
Using the rest of the bench for pitching — including high-K/solid-ratio MRs or the SP/RP guys mentioned above — allows for better manipulation of the pitching cats in a daily roster league.

[tinfoilxtouch]

I will only carry bench hitters if I have a situation where they will have trade value or are covering my butt for an injury-prone guy. I know there are lots of people who disagree and want to be able to insert a hot guy when their all-star starter gets cold, but I just would rather have options with my benched pitching instead. I do like picking up one hot prospect early in the season so I have the option of either using him if he works out or trading him away for value later on... but I generally don't draft anyone beyond my starting lineup.

[ukrneal]

In general, at the beginning of the year, I will carry 2-5 bench hitters (depending on various factors). If things go normal, I will drop 1-2 for playing poorly, drop 1-2 for injury, maybe trade 1, and pick up 1-2 who have a good year (like McClouth). As the year goes on, I would hope to reduce number of bench hitters, usually targeting 1-2 bench hitters.

I think it depends primarily on a few factors: 1) How deep the league is, 2) Why they are riding the bench or on FA, 3) The matchup, 4) opportunity cost of the pitcher that would replace him.

Comments on each:
1. In a deeper league, a good bench hitter may have more value.
2. If they are just cold, I might not want to drop them outright. Lots of players will get into a temporary funk, and I might just want to play someone else temporarily. Also, some will be injured for a few days and you want to stick them in as soon as they are back.
3. For some players, I might put them in if they against a particular pitcher or type of pitcher.
4. This one is probably the most important (and related to #1). If I could pick up a pitcher that would be a regular contributor, I would generally not hesitate to drop a hitter of marginal value. But as the season goes on, this gets harder to do (find pitchers who contribute on a daily basis). It is rare that in July, I will pick up a regular player who has so much value that I would go below 1-2 bench players. In most leagues, there will be some other pitcher you would rather get rid of then to deplete the bench entirely.

Keeping 1-2 bench players gives you near maximum output in pitching, while maintaining enough flexibility in case of injury, slumps, etc.