a few ??s

[ZachShalack420]

This is like the 5th forum ive signed up, so hopefully i can get some answers here.



Normal a fantasy football guy, but finally gonna give Yahoo fantasy baseball this year.

Its standard $20 Yahoo Rotisserie League: Normal $20 scoring

Batting - C, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, Util.
Pitching - SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, P.
Bench - 5 bench spots.


Should I try to draft my team with at least 2 of each position, or is it possible to win just 1 of any position??

And what ratio(batter to pitcher) should I do in the earlier rounds?

Also, what is with the "Maximum games" this year?? I've play free fantasy BB and have never seen this before. If you can only play a position 162-161 times this year, should I not play my bench players on my starter's days off??



Thanks for helpin a noob guys!

[dgrogs]

Hey
I know what your going through. I was originally a Fantasy football guy that converted over. I must say, the statistics in Baseball make it alot of fun.

There are obviously alot of different strategies on how to draft. Here is some tips I've picked up along the way:

This year, there are 3 top pitchers that will go in the first two rounds. Therefore in a standard 10 team leagues, the remaining 17 will be batters. When I draft, I usually focus on batters first and sprinkle in pitchers. In terms of a ratio, You'll be fine with a 3:1 hitter to pitcher ratio in early rounds.

There are certain positions that there are harder to fill with good players than others (i.e., 3rd, SS, 2nd and C; in that order, IMO). This doesn't mean to fill these positions first, but don't leave them till the end or you'll get scraps.

In terms of Relief pitchers, get at least two closers to obtain saves. Here is the current closer list:
http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseb ... erorgchart
Nearly all closers are drafted between pick 80-150.

In regards to your other questions:

You will not be able to draft 2 players for every position. This ties in to your last question, in that each position slot is limited to 162 games. That means if a player is able to start every game the team plays, then he will fulfill the full potential of that position slot. For the bench slots, I usually get 3 or 2 batters, and 2 or 3 pitchers. Consider the batter bench players as subs or replacements to weaker players that are starting in a slot on your team. Therefore you should not start your bench players in place of your best players who plays every day, even if he has a day off.

I think you'll pick up how it works as you go through the season. Don't worry too much about how good you draft players (versus Fantasy Football) because the season is long and the waiver wire can be your best friend.

I hope this helped. Good luck buddy, and have fun!

Dgrogs

[CyboNinja]

Just a little advice, try to be a little be more clear. It helps a lot when folks try to give you their honest advice. It sounds like you're in a 5x5 roto league (scoring stats being... R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP). Also I'm assuming this is not a keeper or you would have mentioned it. I do have to ask, where the hell does 4B play?

Generally there are no "maximum games". Usually there is an innings limit for your pitchers. I advise trying to get to whatever that limit is before the season ends. Its in your best interest to (more Ks, and Wins). Now there are a lot of different strategies but what I would do with 5 bench spots is 1-2 hitters and 3-4 Starters depending on your leagues inning limit. Also pay attention to the news when it comes to players you're targeting. If you're considering a guy it would behoove you to do a quick google news search on him to make sure he is healthy. Don't waste a valuable pick on a Michael Pineda or a Drew Storen just to put that guy right on the DL cause you didn't do your research. Other then that just try to draft a nice balanced team and you should do alright. Good luck.

[Element]

Should I try to draft my team with at least 2 of each position, or is it possible to win just 1 of any position?? -- No. draft for value. Draft the best player available. Obviously, if you have 2 OF's on your bench already you wouldn't really need another, but you get what I'm saying.

And what ratio(batter to pitcher) should I do in the earlier rounds? -- I usually go with offense for the first 4-5 rounds, but it's really a matter of personally preference. I like to go after the starters in the 2nd/3rd tiers. I would be perfectly content with guys like Gallardo & Bumgarner as my 1-2 with guys like Zimmermann/Beachy/Fister/Morrow/Holland rounding things out. Most of those guys you could probably get once your offensive spots are mostly filled.

Also, what is with the "Maximum games" this year?? I've play free fantasy BB and have never seen this before. If you can only play a position 162-161 times this year, should I not play my bench players on my starter's days off?? -- Yahoo has always used the Max Games thing. Keep track of games where your starter's team plays, but your player gets the day off. Then you can play one of your bench guys on a 'day off'. I also like to have some players that can play at multiple positions. This helps a lot too when it comes to maximizing your games played. Don't take one of them at the expense of a more valuable player, but if the opportunity presents itself ... fine. Also, this is a fairly shallow league. You can wait to draft your starting catcher. You don't need to roster a backup there.

[MaudDib]

Should I try to draft my team with at least 2 of each position, or is it possible to win just 1 of any position?? -- No. draft for value. Draft the best player available. Obviously, if you have 2 OF's on your bench already you wouldn't really need another, but you get what I'm saying.

And what ratio(batter to pitcher) should I do in the earlier rounds? -- I usually go with offense for the first 4-5 rounds, but it's really a matter of personally preference. I like to go after the starters in the 2nd/3rd tiers. I would be perfectly content with guys like Gallardo & Bumgarner as my 1-2 with guys like Zimmermann/Beachy/Fister/Morrow/Holland rounding things out. Most of those guys you could probably get once your offensive spots are mostly filled.

Also, what is with the "Maximum games" this year?? I've play free fantasy BB and have never seen this before. If you can only play a position 162-161 times this year, should I not play my bench players on my starter's days off?? -- Yahoo has always used the Max Games thing. Keep track of games where your starter's team plays, but your player gets the day off. Then you can play one of your bench guys on a 'day off'. I also like to have some players that can play at multiple positions. This helps a lot too when it comes to maximizing your games played. Don't take one of them at the expense of a more valuable player, but if the opportunity presents itself ... fine. Also, this is a fairly shallow league. You can wait to draft your starting catcher. You don't need to roster a backup there.

Agree with a lot of this. Most people prefer to draft hitters first and then fill SP later. Don't worry too much about backups as you can use the WW if there is an injury but hopefully this doesn't happen enough to really worry about.

In shallow leagues there is a technique called "streaming pitchers" where you look at what pitchers are on the WW and then you start whichever ones are playing good matchups. For instance if a guy is pitching at San Diego then it is a decent chance he will pitch well because SD doesn't have much offense and it is very much a pitchers park. Where as if you have a pitcher starting against the Rangers or at Colorado then you would probably want to look somewhere else.

Keep this place as a resource. There are a lot of smart fantasy baseball guys here and all are friendly and willing to help newbies with any questions. Even if you want help in your draft, we can all help. Post questions about rankings and the like and we can help tell you who we like and why.

[ZachShalack420]

Thanks everyone for the responses, they were verrrrrry helpful.

DRAFT TIME!

[MadDog36]

Go with bats first pitching is very deep. Good luck.
viewtopic.php?t=443076

[ZachShalack420]

Thanks for all the advice guys, i think it helped alot.

Heres the team, what do you think?? Decent???






Batting

C: Joe Mauer-MIN(C,1B)

1B: Micheal Moorse-WAS(1B,OF)

2B: Ben Zobrist-TB(2B,OF)

3B: Evan Longoria-TB

SS: Troy Tuluwitzki-COL

OF: Giancarlo Stanton-MIA

OF: Drew Stubs-CIN

OF: Chris Young-ARI

Util: David Wright-NYM(3B)

Util: Derek Jeter-NYY(SS)

Bench: Jose Altuve-HOU

Bench: Carlos Lee-HOU(1st,OF)






Pitching

SP: Matt Cain

SP: Ricky Romero

RP: Sergio Santos

P: Brandon Morrow(SP)

P: Max Scherzer(SP)

P: Hiroki Kuroda(SP)

P: Chris Sale(RP)

Bench: Justin Masterson(SP)

Bench: Vinnie Pestano(RP)

Bench: Brandon McCarthy(SP)








Any Advice on any screw ups I made would be GREATLY appreicated lol


Thanks again guys!

[MaudDib]

Roster looks pretty good. You might need more SB but you have some depth at 3B and 1B that you should be able to trade for help later. I wouldn't do anything just yet though.

I do think you could find a better SP than Kuroda. I don't think he is going to have a very good year in New York and in the American League. Anything better on the WW?

[ZachShalack420]

Roster looks pretty good. You might need more SB but you have some depth at 3B and 1B that you should be able to trade for help later. I wouldn't do anything just yet though.

I do think you could find a better SP than Kuroda. I don't think he is going to have a very good year in New York and in the American League. Anything better on the WW?

By SB do you mean stolen bases??


And with Kuroda, im a die hard Yanks fan , also Jardi and camp are saying good things. Although I can drop/trade him if I gotta.

Thanks for the help man!