2007 SP vs 2008 SP

[The Cow]

Playoff pitches must count toward the total though, no? I agree with the point of Sabathia going all the way to 3900 pitches. Even if it only happened one year, it has to ring some sort of alarm.

Thats why if I were C.C. I would have taken the Tribe's offer of 5 year 90 0r 100 mil. Hard to leave 100 mil on the table. If C.C. gets hurt this year man will he kick himself. C.C. wants more than Johan so we will say 6 year 140 mil, Tribe offers 5 yr 100 mil. Seems kind of a risky move for C.C. IMO.

The Cow

[Yoda]

It's really about spreading your risk and drafting guys that are undervalued. Let me ask you a question. If you don't think Santana is a good value with the top 5 picks then what makes him a good value 5 picks later?

i don't think he is a good pick in the 1st round, I just think it is terrible in the first 5 picks. If you take Santana say #3 who are you getting back on the wrap around? The 20th best hitter or so is your #1 hitter or in my 14 team league it is the #24 hitter or so. The dropoff is just so huge that you are in a big hole in hitting.

I think Santana is a relatively safe pick compared to most pitchers, he hasn't had huge pitch counts and he obviously has a very stable skillset. However I still think he is as risky as say Ryan Braun or Albert Pujols because he is a pitcher. The chances of a season ending/disrupting injury are just so high with a pitcher, even one with no visible reason to be concerned. The fact that he is so absurdly good is the only reason I don't cringe at him going early 2nd round even though I agree he 'could' easily be a top 2 or 3 player value.

I hope that you will agree that we can pretty go back and forth forever.

Let's just use Mock Draft Central for instance. Instead of taking Hanley with your #2 overall, you take Santana. In a standard league your next picks would be: Santana, Upton, Berkman, Putz, Atkins. Now let's just say that you took Hanley #2 overall and then instead of Atkins, you took the next best pitcher available: Hanley, Upton, Berkman, Putz, Hamels. Honestly, I don't see a huge difference between them in terms of risk/reward.

[Ender]

I would take Hanley, Upton, Berkman, Some other hitter, Atkins and dominate hitting and make up the pitching later. In H2H pitching is devalued because you maximize IP and a single starter doesn't matter as much. In roto where you have an innings limit and can rotate in MR's and play matchups with more marginal pitchers I've still yet to see Santana 'dominate' a league I've been in.

I just don't like pitching in fantasy baseball. Last year in my expert league I didn't draft a starter until the 9th round and I still had the 2nd best overall pitching numbers at the end of the year. It just always seems like enough aces underperform each year that you can make up the pitching later.

[J.C.Fighter]

I would take Hanley, Upton, Berkman, Some other hitter, Atkins and dominate hitting and make up the pitching later. In H2H pitching is devalued because you maximize IP and a single starter doesn't matter as much. In roto where you have an innings limit and can rotate in MR's and play matchups with more marginal pitchers I've still yet to see Santana 'dominate' a league I've been in.

I just don't like pitching in fantasy baseball. Last year in my expert league I didn't draft a starter until the 9th round and I still had the 2nd best overall pitching numbers at the end of the year. It just always seems like enough aces underperform each year that you can make up the pitching later.

At what round did you begin to look for closers/relievers?

[Yoda]

I would take Hanley, Upton, Berkman, Some other hitter, Atkins and dominate hitting and make up the pitching later. In H2H pitching is devalued because you maximize IP and a single starter doesn't matter as much. In roto where you have an innings limit and can rotate in MR's and play matchups with more marginal pitchers I've still yet to see Santana 'dominate' a league I've been in.

I just don't like pitching in fantasy baseball. Last year in my expert league I didn't draft a starter until the 9th round and I still had the 2nd best overall pitching numbers at the end of the year. It just always seems like enough aces underperform each year that you can make up the pitching later.

Maybe it's just me but I draft players who I feel are the best value at the pick regardless of position. I feel comfortable taking a pitcher early if I have to because I know that I'll make good picks to mitigate the risk. If you don't feel comfortable or confident then I can see your point in not taking a pitcher early.

There are certain hitters/pitchers that are far above the rest of the group in terms of risk/reward. Santana is definitely one of those guys and I would take Santana/Upton/Berkman/Putz/Atkins over Hanley/Upton/Berkman/Putz/Hamels.