unconventional h2h strategy

[BillyMafia]

In 14 team 5x5 h2h/roto league. Start 5 P's (no min innings), 3 OF's and 1 at each other position. Teams have 22 players with 7 P, 5 OF's and a backup at each other position. Total team stats count toward roto where only starting lineup count towards h2h. Last year was my first and I got lucky and had a very good team. It was very balanced and I ran away with the roto portion. It was only worth $200 where the winner of h2h got $900. I only finished a couple games over .500. I want to put more emphasis on h2h this year. We have option to protect one player as your 1st round pick and am going to protect C Beltran.

If the goal of h2h is to win 6 of the categories each week then what is you guys opinion on the strategy of drafting closers and speed guys?

This strategy is to win SV, ERA and WHIP from pitching and AVG, R, and SB from hitting. One problem with this is that I will basically have no chance of winning W, SO, HR or RBI's. I do not know what pick I will have until the draft so will just speak in general terms regarding rounds and then guess that certain players will be available based on this leagues draft history and owners.

So to pull this off I would need to draft something like this:
Round 1: Beltran
Round 2: Gagne/Wagner
Round 3: Wagner/Foulke/Suzuki
Round 4: R Furcal/Peirre
Round 5: Furcal/Pierre/Crawford/Castillo
Round 6: Castillo
Round 7: Sweeney
Round 8: F Cordero/Benetiz
Round 9: R Winn/Kendell
Round 10: Hinske/Koskie
etc

So basically punting W, SO, HR, RBI but trying to get front of the lineup, run scoring, good avg, speed guys and starters/rp that won't hurt era and whip. Once I have starting lineup then I could take flyers on HR RBI guys like Burrell, Burnitz, Dunn to help roto stats.

I know it is more fun having power hitters and starting pitchers but if I cornered the market on the categories I targeted then I would think I would have a lot of h2h success. Another problem I could have is if/WHEN the other owners catch on to what I'm doing and follow with runs on my closers and speed guys.

What do you guys think? Am I way off base? Remember my goal is to win h2h.

[bucsfan04]

i don't think you should take castillo that early, and you might be able to find a better stealing second baseman than him.

[Guest]

I am using that same idea, but I did not go as extreme as you. You do not need to completely dominate those catagories, just make sure you are the best at them. You want to still be competitive in the other catagories as well because you will not do well if you have no chance at half the catagories. Remember winning a steal catagroy 11-2 SB still counts the same as a 4-2 SB win.

[BillyMafia]

Thanks. So it is not a crazy idea. You are right about over dominating. Once I feel securing enough in the categories that I'm trying to win then I can look for value elsewhere but I have to make sure I do win those categories because I will have very slim chance of winning the other categories. If I go Beltran in 1st and get a closer in 2nd, what are your thoughts on taking another stud closer in 3rd compared to Abreau or Suzuki?

[Pogotheostrich]

Here is the problems I see with it.

1. One bad outing from one of your closers and you could lose ERA and WHIP

2. Just because a guy is fast and leads off doesn't mean he will score a ton of runs. Top 10 runs scored last year had 8 sluggers and two leadoff hitters.

[bsdo4ever]

I agree, wait on castillo, or just get a better second baseman.

[9er Fan]

One problem with this is that I will basically have no chance of winning W, SO, HR or RBI's

If you persue this strategy, you have absolutely no chance of finishing in the top half of your league. era, avg, and whip are the toughest categories in H2H to control. You can't count on winning them every week, especially when your staff will pitch all of 10 innings.

The basic problem is that you will lose your bad categories 90-100% of the time, and win your good categories 60-70% of the time.