What round do you start drafting SP's?

[Euclid]

i agree with the masses on taking it at the right value

I took santana the other day at the end of the first round and i have no regrets, i just adjusted my next rounds accordingly. The biggest thing is not falling victim to runs, when a lot of one position is being taken and you feel you have to join the bandwagon.

[RedSoxNation04]

Okay, so drafted in my 12 team h2h money league last night and pitchers were flying off the board rediculously early. Now, my league is an 11X11 and traditionally pitching has gone early in drafts but here were some surprises:

Peavy 16th pick
Sabathia 24th pick
Webb 26th pick
Verlander 30th pick
Hamels 37th pick
Haren 44th pick

Anyway, I was a little nervous that I was going to have to reach early for someone as I was hoping to grab one of Verlander or Hamels in the 5th. But, I kept this thread in the back of my mind and stuck with my strategy of going hitting heavy and taking pitching when the value was there. I had the 11th overall pick and was able to grab hitting in the first 6 rounds in this order: Holliday, Ortiz, Granderson, Atkins, Hart, Guillen and then went Smoltz, Shields, Gallardo 7th, 8th and 9th. I went back to hitting 10th and 11th with Francouer and Hamilton and then took Billingsley 12th, Mariano Rivera 13th (couldn't believe he fell that low) and Ian Snell 14th. To fill out some bench spots, I also took Soria in the 17th (he was the closer I was targeting all along, but with Rivera there in the 13th....) and Carpenter in the 20th. We have a DL spot so I figured I would stash him there until he comes back after the break.

So, basically, a lot of my league mates spent early picks on pitching and their lineups are pretty soft. I'm glad I waited until I did and I think my rotation, barring injuries or setbacks, should do okay. I'm a little nervous about Gallardo's injury but pre-injury, he was one of my top targets along with Lincecum. So, we'll see how it goes.

[bigh0rt]

Now, my league is an 11X11

[RedSoxNation04]

Now, my league is an 11X11

Yeah, it gets a little crazy but we've done it for 5 years now and I really like it. You really have to consider a lot of things, and player value is obviously very different than from 5X5. We're looking into making some changes for next year by weighting the categories, i.e. 1 point for singles, 2 points for doubles, etc and also getting rid of a few categories in favor of others.

Hits
Runs
Singles
Doubles
Triples
Home Runs
RBI
BB
K's
AVG
Stolen Bases

Wins
Losses
Saves
CG
Shutouts
K's
Hits Allowed
Runs Allowed
BB's
WHIP
ERA

[J.C.Fighter]

Now, my league is an 11X11

Yeah, it gets a little crazy but we've done it for 5 years now and I really like it. You really have to consider a lot of things, and player value is obviously very different than from 5X5. We're looking into making some changes for next year by weighting the categories, i.e. 1 point for singles, 2 points for doubles, etc and also getting rid of a few categories in favor of others.

Hits
Runs
Singles
Doubles
Triples
Home Runs
RBI
BB
K's
AVG
Stolen Bases

Wins
Losses
Saves
CG
Shutouts
K's
Hits Allowed
Runs Allowed
BB's
WHIP
ERA

CG and shutouts are useless to me. holds or k/9 are better

[bigh0rt]

Now, my league is an 11X11

Yeah, it gets a little crazy but we've done it for 5 years now and I really like it. You really have to consider a lot of things, and player value is obviously very different than from 5X5. We're looking into making some changes for next year by weighting the categories, i.e. 1 point for singles, 2 points for doubles, etc and also getting rid of a few categories in favor of others.

Hits
Runs
Singles
Doubles
Triples
Home Runs
RBI
BB
K's
AVG
Stolen Bases

Wins
Losses
Saves
CG
Shutouts
K's
Hits Allowed
Runs Allowed
BB's
WHIP
ERA

Triples, CG, and Shutouts would definitely be the first to go. Terrible, terrible categories, IMO. Also Hits, if you're counting Singles, Doubles, HR...

[Matthias]

You really have to consider a lot of things, and player value is obviously very different than from 5X5.

But, I kept this thread in the back of my mind and stuck with my strategy of going hitting heavy and taking pitching when the value was there.

If your league varies significantly from 5x5, then you shouldn't be applying advice from a thread that is premised on a 5x5. I'm not going to bother to run the numbers, but it looks like Juan Pierre could almost be a deadly hitter in your league: you count hits AND singles equal to HRs. So you throw on top his SBs and things change drastically. Whereas risky pitchers can kill you: they accumulate L's instead of W's, they issue BB's, they have virtually no chance of getting a CG or a SO... your settings are kind of a mess, frankly. But your leaguemates were much wiser grabbing pitching than you were to stockpile on traditionally good hitters early.

This is one of the problems with having these broad rules of, "I won't do X before Y" ... you buy the kool-aid and don't work out the #s of what it is that actually has value.

[RedSoxNation04]

You really have to consider a lot of things, and player value is obviously very different than from 5X5.

But, I kept this thread in the back of my mind and stuck with my strategy of going hitting heavy and taking pitching when the value was there.

If your league varies significantly from 5x5, then you shouldn't be applying advice from a thread that is premised on a 5x5. I'm not going to bother to run the numbers, but it looks like Juan Pierre could almost be a deadly hitter in your league: you count hits AND singles equal to HRs. So you throw on top his SBs and things change drastically. Whereas risky pitchers can kill you: they accumulate L's instead of W's, they issue BB's, they have virtually no chance of getting a CG or a SO... your settings are kind of a mess, frankly. But your leaguemates were much wiser grabbing pitching than you were to stockpile on traditionally good hitters early.

This is one of the problems with having these broad rules of, "I won't do X before Y" ... you buy the kool-aid and don't work out the #s of what it is that actually has value.

Well, I appreciate your opinion but not sure I get the kool-aid comment. I've spent plenty of time working on the numbers and regardless of the league format, I wasn't taking pitching early on. Too much good hitting to grab and a lot of pitching value available later on. I was hoping for Verlander or Hamels in the 5th to anchor my rotation on and unfortunately the draft dictated otherwise. If I was drinking kool-aid, I would have joined the pitching run and would have played catch-up for the rest of the draft.

Also, your comment about the CG and SO is laughable. That category is so unpredictable that to strategize for it is stupid, in my opinion. But, like you said, I'm just an unwise man in a messy league drinkin' my Kool-Aid...Cheers!

[bigh0rt]

Also, your comment about the CG and SO is laughable. That category is so unpredictable that to strategize for it is stupid, in my opinion. But, like you said, I'm just an unwise man in a messy league drinkin' my Kool-Aid...Cheers!

This is generally a sign that a category has no business being scored in a league.

[BronXBombers51]

Also, your comment about the CG and SO is laughable. That category is so unpredictable that to strategize for it is stupid, in my opinion. But, like you said, I'm just an unwise man in a messy league drinkin' my Kool-Aid...Cheers!

This is generally a sign that a category has no business being scored in a league.

Agreed.