There is a strategy for fantasy baseball that RIGHT NOW can help you win your league. This strategy is for any head to head league whether its points base or categories. ” Have as many starting pitchers as possible”. It sounds simple, but most people don’t do it. Let me break it down for ya remix style.
In a league where daily changes are made then having more than 1 position player is a waste of space. It makes sense to have a guy on your bench who is either a speedster, versatile, or power hitter who can fill in on days off or if you’re trying to win stolen bases for the week, but it doesn’t make sense to a position player sit on your bench and never play. Instead, have pitchers that will start at least once a week or at least contribute to the team. Its better to have a guy like Shawn Marshall get his 3 -4 innings, 4ks, and possible win for a week, then it is to have Jack Cust sit on your bench and possibly start 1 game a week. To be completely honest. The best way to go about this: no position player on the bench. If im facing an opponent who has 2 position players on his bench, then im guaranteed 2 more starts against him before the week even starts. Also, it allows freedom to sit certain pitchers against bad matchups. Right now, if you pick up 1 starting pitcher for 1 deadwood position players sitting on your bench. Then you have improved your team by at least 5K’s a week and a possible win plus better ERA and WHIP. Now, who doesn’t want that.
Moving on to leagues with weekly changes, where this strategy works best. I’m in 3 leagues with weekly changes. The only bench player I have in those 3 leagues combined is Chase Utley b/c there is no DL spot ( will touch on that next). In any league, you want to have more SP than the opponent, but it is even more important to have that in weekly leagues. Think about this… Team A has Josh Johnson, Roy Halladay, Ubaldo, Waino, and Carpenter. Let’s say they avg 25 points a start, but are only starting once this week. That totals to 125 points. Team B has Gavin “don’t quit on me ” Floyd, Ted Lilly, Wandy, Ervin Santana, and Colby Lewis. Now, let’s say these guy average 15 pts a start, but they each start twice a week. Thats 150 points total, which means Team B has outscored the better Team A by 25 points. Your not always going to have pitchers who can start twice a week, but you increase your odds of having a two-start pitcher by having more SP on the bench. By making your bench only Pitchers means that every week your choosing from a group of 10 pitchers for 5 slots. Its better to start the decent pitcher who starts twice than a great pitcher who starts once. Put it this way my odds of winning pitching for a week is a lot better if I have 8 starters vs 6 starters.
The DL spot. “If you have a DL spot in your league than it should be filled”. Why not have a guy like Jordan Zimmerman ( He is about to come back and is going to be nasty when that happens) or Brandon Webb in your DL slot. It is an extra person to have your roster that can make an impact. I would rather have a quality player like Zimmerman filed away on my team who can make an impact when he returns, than having no one at that spot.
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