How I am winning/ dominating my FSWA Experts Fantasy Baseball League? Currently I am in 1st in the standings with 98 points and the guy in 2nd place has 74 points. First let me explain the rules of the league. It is a 5×5 rotisserie league with the batting categories as runs, RBI’s, stolen bases, on base percentage ( which I think is a lot better than average), and slugging percentage. The pitching categories are the same as most leagues with wins, strikeouts, saves, ERA, and WHIP as the 5 pitching categories. The first thing I did was to look at all the little details of the rules of the league like its daily lineup changes, but more importantly there isn’t a pitching cap on innings pitched. Instead, you can only have 180 starts during the season. This stood out the most to me because it instantly changed the way I was going to draft and build my team for 2 reasons. First, I only needed about 4 starting pitchers that are considered must starts almost every time they start because those 4 pitchers will start about 120-130 of all my starts for the season. Second, I need to have 3-4 closers and 1 or 2 more elite bullpen guys to wins saves and elite bullpen guys lower my ERA and WHIP.
The first thing I do when trying to build a team for rotisserie is figure out what categories I want to win and which ones I want to be average in. Too many people try to win every category in rotisserie and that is the wrong way to go about it. Oh and NEVER punt a category. When it comes to the hitting categories I NEVER try to win stolen bases because it usually means you will lose RBI’s, batting average, and home runs or in this instance slugging percentage. Instead, I try to win RBI’s, Slugging, and most importantly OBP. Just like the “Money ball” theory, if you get on base then you score runs. Therefore, if you are in top 2 or 3 in OBP then odds are you are going to be in the upper tier of runs scored. When it comes to stolen bases I like to draft guys that get both HRs and SBs. Also, I will usually only have 1 guy that only contributes only in SBs and will never draft that guy high ( yes, I’m looking at you Michael Bourn). It’s time to get to my team.
Here is the list of my current team. I will give a reason why I drafted or picked up each player. Next to the player will be the round he was drafted and pick number or the date and how much money I spent on that player.
Hitters:
C- Yadier Molina (R-16, P181)- Has be awesome so far. I drafted him because he’s reliable/ would play almost every day, has a good OBP especially for his ADP, and would be in the heart of cardinals order.
C- Jonathon Lucroy (R-25, P-300)- Will be the first to admit that I didn’t see him being this awesome. The Brewers gave him a big contract and because they believed in him, I decided to believe in him. He was another catcher that I drafted late because I think people over value catchers. Knew he would be the ever day catcher for the Brew Crew and he has been one of the best catchers so far this season
1B- Adrian Gonzalez (R- 1, P-13)- Was the best available player at the time. He is an on-base and RBI machine. While he has struggled this season, the best has yet to come. Not worried one bit about his slow start to the season. He will be a top 15 player when the season ends.
2B- Jemile Weeks (R-15, P-180)- Have believed in this guy all season and he is finally starting to turn it around. He is the one guy I drafted purely for stolen bases. Think he will still finish with 30+ SBs and his OBP can only get better. I like guys that organizations consider their cornerstone, as the A’s said this guy was untouchable in trade talks. Seeing a trend here? That if the organizations believe/sign players to extensions, then you should believe in them too.
3B- Aramis Ramirez (R-6,P-61)- All Aramis does is hit and moving to a great lineup only helped his cause. His slow start didn’t bother me because this guy always seems to start slow, but he is one of the best hitting third basemen when he is hot. Can always count on him to get RBI’s and get on-base.
SS- Hanley Ramirez (R-2, P-13)- This is one of the easiest picks I made during the draft for multiple reasons. He is the best all around SS and possibly the best fantasy player that qualifies at SS in the majors, contributes in all 5 categories, and wouldn’t have to worry about the SS position the rest of the year. Also, he has been a top 5 pick the last couple of years so felt like last year was just a bad year and getting him at 13 was a steal.
2B/SS- Daniel “Murphdawg” Murphy, Mets (R-19, P-228)- The Price was right because I Just wanted someone that would help in OBP and anything else he gets me is a bonus. Where he was drafted made him a solid choice
1B/3B- Paul Konerko (R3-P-36)- This was a hard pick because I was debating between Pauly and Hosmer ( definitely made the right choice). His consistency, year in-year out, and OBP made me lean towards him over Hosmer. This pick made my 3 core players as A-Gon, Hanley, and Pauly. All 3 guys get a lot RBI’s, have excellent OBP/Slugging %, and are 3 high caliber players that I can count on throughout the season.
OF- Chris Young (R-10,P-109)- THIS GUY started out on fire to start the season, but the reason why I drafted him was I wanted a guy that could had a lot of upside and contribute in HRs and SBs as he had 20/22 in ‘11, 27/28 in ‘10, and a crazy 32/27 in 07. Plus, I needed an outfielder.
OF- Alex Gordon (R-5,P-60)- Probably drafted this guy a little to high, but I believed in him ( like so many have before me) and his numbers he put up last year. He is another guy that can put up numbers in all 5 categories as he had 101 runs, 23 HRs, 87 RBIs, 17 SBs, and had a .378 OBP last year. If he gets anywhere close to those numbers this year than it will a solid pick.
OF – Martin Prado (R-13,P-156)- His ADP was ludicrous compared to where it was the year before ( Probably was drafted around the 7th or 8th round in most drafts last year) that was the first reason why I drafted him. The second reason is he is just such a consistent hitter, could easily score 90 runs while batting in 60-70 runs with a high OBP and that is exactly what he has done all season.
OF- Lucas “The Duda Abides” Duda ( R-14, P-157)- Thought this guy was going to have a big year and still think that’s the case. Still think he could 20 HRs and drive in 100 RBIs with a good OBP.
OF-Yonder Alonso( 5/9, $1)- When I picked him up he his OBP was close to .400, but the RBI’s and runs weren’t there and that didn’t bother me because those would eventually come. He is a great hitter and his OBP has been outstanding in the last 30 days at .434 (.383 OBP on the year) and a slugging % of .505 (.418 on the year).
Util- Michael Young (R-9, P-108)-HAHAHA(that’s me laughing all the way to bank with this pick). Just an all around great hitter who will drive in 100 RBIs, hit 20 HRs, and have a great OBP as he is usually in top 5 in hits every year.
Bench- Brennan Boesch (R21- P252)- Is in a good lineup, got him late, and is a guy I play when other players have a day off.
Bench- Brett Gardner (5/24, $2)- picked him for 2 bucks, great deal as he could provide me with a BOOOOST of SBs when he gets healthy as a spot starter in my lineup.
DL/OF- Yoenis Cespedes (R-18, P-205) – The Cuban sensation, I got him late and thought he could be another guy that could go 20/20 but might hurt the OBP which I wasn’t worried about. Low risk vs high reward .
Currently im 4th in runs ( 9pts), 2nd in RBIs (11 pts) ,5th in SBs (8 pts), 3rd in OBP (10 pts and going back and forth with 2nd place), and 4th in Slugging (9 pts) good enough for 47 points out of 60.
part 2 Will deal with my pitchers and drops I have made.
Tags: Boston Red Sox, Cardinals, Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Sports, Miami Marlins, Sports
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