WHIR Rate my 8-Teamer Alt Scoring League

[pvhawkeye]

I am mainly looking for advice on the balance of my roster. I'm not quite sure where I stand for offense, but I think I'm a little HR-heavy, and maybe a little lacking in Hits/SB/OPS. Keep in mind it's an 8 team league, so averages for each category will be better across the board.

8 team league (so plenty of talent on the wire)
H2H Wins/Losses by category ("H2H Each"?)
R, H, HR, RBI, SB, OPS
QS, Saves, Holds, ERA, WHIP, K/9

C Carlos Santana
1B Paul Konerko
2B Dustin Pedroia
3B Miguel Cabrera
SS Starlin Castro
OF Carlos Gonzalez
OF Giancarlo (wee) Stanton
OF Alex Gordon
Util David Ortiz
Util Cameron Maybin
Bench Corey Hart (OF)
Bench Ryan Roberts (2B, 3B)
Bench Mark Reynolds (1B, 3B)
Bench Marco Scutaro (SS)
Bench Angel Pagan (OF)

SP Greinke
SP Gallardo
SP Ian Kennedy
SP Bumgarner
SP Beachy
RP Rafael Betancourt
RP Jordan Walden
RP Tyler Clippard
RP Sergio Romo
RP Vinnie Pestano
P Kenley Jansen

To comment on my pitching, I grabbed kinda the "back end" of "elite" SP's, and went for more of the elite RP's. My strategy at the moment is to maybe skip some sketchy starts (almost "forfeit" QS cat) to ensure I have a very solid chance at ERA, Whip, and K/9 while meeting the 40 inning limit. Also, I have 4 setup men and 2 closers, while most of the other owners will use 3/3 or 4 closers to 2 setup men, meaning I have a better shot at holds but I'm usually behind in saves. I think a move I might make is to attempt to trade one of my elite setup men for a closer of similar ratios so I can keep RP balanced, and since there are more "holds guys" with great numbers than closers with great numbers (the difference usually being K/9). What are your thoughts on my pitching strategy? And, like I said earlier, thoughts on my roster as a whole? WHIR best I can, this is only my 3rd season. Thanks, guys! PS- Any team name suggestions based on my roster?

[medium_robin]

Thanks for the help on mine.

I think this team is well-suited for an OPS league. If it were straight AVG, not so much. I don't think you'll have any problems with R, though I am not overly familiar with an 8-team league.

Two things I don't like: hitting depth and your closers. Seems like you have too many insurance policies for your IF. They are all meh guys that should really only be rosters in deeper leagues (Ryan Roberts went undrafted in my 9-team league and most 10-team mocks I did, for example). There must be some decent guys on waivers. In an 8-teamer, you probably don't want Maybin as your every-day Util (until Hart is healthy, I know, but still). In a shallow league, you should be streaming hitters from your bench. You want quality guys to get lots of AB's for your squad.

As for closers, I like your strategy with pitching overall. I just don't love the guys that you got, especially Walden. If I'm going 2 CL, I'd hope for something more sure. As for the rest of your starters, they look actually really good. You will be able to carefully select starts (help QS). And those are stud MR's. Nice job there.

[pvhawkeye]

Thanks for the help! Yeah, my bench spots are mainly my last few picks of the draft. There's no limit to acquisitions over the season, and my main strategy when it comes to the bench is to stream batters as you suggested to keep those counting stats ahead of other teams that don't stream and leave spots open on tuesdays and thursdays. I tried to backup every position (except catcher at the moment) when picking my last few picks. However, I really like Roberts as a bench player with 2B and 3B eligibility. I picked him up off the free agents list 2nd half last year and maybe I have a little bias for him, but to most rankings I didn't reach for him on my 23rd or 24th pick. Thanks for your thoughts on my closer situation- I'll have to keep an eye on my needs as far as number of saves for sure.