I'm in a 12-team keeper league with 10 offensive spots, 7 P spots, and 7 bench spots. Over the past 3 seasons, its taken 1800+ Ks to be tops in that category in our league. We keep 4 hitters and 4 pitchers, and I'm keeping 4 SP:
Kershaw
Verlander
Lee
Kuroda
I typically like to draft 8-9 SPs, 2-3 CL and only a couple offensive bench players. Here's what my draft ususally looks like:
10 offense starters
2 offense bench
9 SP
3 CL
_____
24 total
I'm considering changing it up this year and instead of drafting those late SPs, drafting 2-3 middle relievers instead. Here's an example of what it might look like (conservative estimates):
3 late SP: 450 K, 24 wins, 4.00+ ERA
3 late RP: 200 K, 12 wins, 2.50 ERA (and maybe a few cheap saves)
The approximate drop in Ks, over the course of a season, would drop me 4-6 spots in that category. No use in chasing wins, although there would be a drop there too.
So is the nice ERA I'd get from relievers (vs. a SP blowing up for 5-6 ER) worth the loss of Ks and wins? Am I thinking about this correctly, or is there something I'm missing?
Thanks, WHIR