Fantasy Strategy Thread

[handyandy86 2,451]

16 hours ago, Gambino said:

Shouldn’t have used the word punt. In deep league, with limited bench spots only...I’ve occasionally dropped catcher for half the season so far. Suzuki and Barnes streaming has been fun, but a luxury.

 

Roster spots for gleybar, Acuna, etc stashing streaming sp’s and focusing on the sp/rp dudes for max holds 

 

I also got lucky with a good auction. 

 

Does your roto league not have an IP max for the year?  It's 'nice' to have an extra bench spot for prospects and streaming, but a prospect sitting on your bench all week is giving you zero roto stats to make up for what you're losing in catcher production.

 

And funny you mention Suzuki, he's the prime example of a catcher that a savvy owner can pick up for free and ride the gravy train.  He's the #3 catcher in fantasy, and those are actual stats in your standings.  I highly doubt that extra bench spot would have generated you 11R-4HR-11RBI so far this year, and if he ends up with 25-30 HR this year, where will you find that production that's been lost by not holding onto him?  

 

It's nice to have good bench bats, but at the end of the day you don't get much if you don't use them much.  And if the league has limited bench spots that means the replacement level player on the WW is likely pretty good, so even less reason to have to carry bench bats on your roster.

[All rise for Albies 20]

In a deep (16 player league)   My catcher Hedges is on the D/L    Is it a viable strategy to keep a useless closer on D/L

and use his spot for an extra pitcher?   Some of those weak catchers bring negative returns in roto.   

[turner46 873]

31 minutes ago, All rise for Albies said:

In a deep (16 player league)   My catcher Hedges is on the D/L    Is it a viable strategy to keep a useless closer on D/L

and use his spot for an extra pitcher?   Some of those weak catchers bring negative returns in roto.   

 

Depends on your league settings, if you can add at will, use that spot for streaming a starter or hopefully a good ratio RP and add C's with good matchups when they start. If it's a weekly league or one with limited moves 0's in the counting cats could start to add up, if only short term though I'm sure you can get by.

[CrypTviLL 838]

Speaking H2H redraft standard leagues....

 

There's just no reason to pay for pitching in drafts.

Look at what we got from the wire so far...

 

Tyler Skaggs, Marco Gonzales, Caleb Smith, Fernado Remaro, Mike Sokora (sp), Walker Buehler, Sean Newcomb, Joey Luchessi.... list goes on...

 

Then you have the voltaility of SP's... Morton/Cole kicking a** who were worth ~10-~15 dollars in auctions only...

And the amount of top SP ****ting the bed/ not making a big enough impact on your squad.

 

 

 

 

[GriffeySwag 1,142]

1 hour ago, CrypTviLL said:

Speaking H2H redraft standard leagues....

 

There's just no reason to pay for pitching in drafts.

Look at what we got from the wire so far...

 

Tyler Skaggs, Marco Gonzales, Caleb Smith, Fernado Remaro, Mike Sokora (sp), Walker Buehler, Sean Newcomb, Joey Luchessi.... list goes on...

 

Then you have the voltaility of SP's... Morton/Cole kicking a** who were worth ~10-~15 dollars in auctions only...

And the amount of top SP ****ting the bed/ not making a big enough impact on your squad.

 

 

 

 

Would've been a stronger post had you not mentioned Marco Gonzales.

 

But I mean, you could make the same argument for bats.

 

Lowrie, Solarte, Dickerson, Villanueva, Escobar, Davidson, etc...

 

 

[jstep13 2,433]

2 hours ago, CrypTviLL said:

Speaking H2H redraft standard leagues....

 

There's just no reason to pay for pitching in drafts.

Look at what we got from the wire so far...

 

Tyler Skaggs, Marco Gonzales, Caleb Smith, Fernado Remaro, Mike Sokora (sp), Walker Buehler, Sean Newcomb, Joey Luchessi.... list goes on...

 

Then you have the voltaility of SP's... Morton/Cole kicking a** who were worth ~10-~15 dollars in auctions only...

And the amount of top SP ****ting the bed/ not making a big enough impact on your squad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[handyandy86 2,451]

8 hours ago, GriffeySwag said:

Would've been a stronger post had you not mentioned Marco Gonzales.

 

But I mean, you could make the same argument for bats.

 

Lowrie, Solarte, Dickerson, Villanueva, Escobar, Davidson, etc...

 

 

 

Exactly, every year there are surprise pitchers and surprise bats. You can fill holes anywhere if you're diligent early in the year. 

 

And at the same time, unless you play in a league with a bunch of stiffs, you can't count on getting every breakout player off the wire. The rest of the league isn't going to just sit there while you pick up an entire pitching staff. 

[Members_Only_76 7,283]

Just a roto early season thought. It’s a looong season. Don’t bail yet on good players. Have to have some patience and faith. Ebbs and flows. Sorry if that’s obvious, just a reminder. For a friend. 

[handyandy86 2,451]

So we're getting to that part of the H2H season where if your record and team is underwhelming, it might be time to start thinking about making some changes, tanking some categories, loading up in others, etc.

 

Anyone have any thoughts/experiences on the easiest categories to stack up on in-season?  Looking at most waiver wires, it looks like for hitting you can either get some pop at the expense of AVG/OBP, or the complete reverse.  Pitching, as always, looks like volume is all you can really count on with the WW.

[colepenhagen 3,564]

14 hours ago, handyandy86 said:

So we're getting to that part of the H2H season where if your record and team is underwhelming, it might be time to start thinking about making some changes, tanking some categories, loading up in others, etc.

 

Anyone have any thoughts/experiences on the easiest categories to stack up on in-season?  Looking at most waiver wires, it looks like for hitting you can either get some pop at the expense of AVG/OBP, or the complete reverse.  Pitching, as always, looks like volume is all you can really count on with the WW.

most standard 12 teamers f/a pool is pretty trash  and i dont think searching for production on f/a is going to help save/turn your season around. trades are where you can turn your team around.

f/a pool is useful for catching a player during a hot streak to help you out for a week or 2 but relying on any type consistent production usually doesnt work

if im sitting in 9-12th place i would not want to be counting on picking up healy/adams/yonder as some sort of guarantee 

 

i rather take the power bat and sacrifice some avg/obp as avg is fluky week 2 week. plus you get a run, rbi, hr, and a hit for a hr. nothing worst than empty avg

[ktierne3 203]

I'm in a daily h2h standard league and found that using middle relievers has been enormously effective. 

 

My two "aces" are Archer and Tanaka (luckily I also have Bundy and Stripling).

 

If I'm a little light on K's for my weekly matchup then I just stream. On paper my staff looks sucky but I've actually had one of the best performing staffs in the league. By rostering six middle relievers I am top 3 in my league in: ERA, WHIP, Wins, and I am top 5 in Strikeouts. 

 

My offense has been pretty good because I spent almost all of my high draft picks on hitters. Thought I would try it this year but I've been surprised that it's worked THIS well. 

[colepenhagen 3,564]

i need this tattooed on my 4head. dont take draft day value picks early if you dont trust or believe in that player just because the majority said so. probably been said over and over but just want to give it one more time.

 

never wanted any of these players on draft day this year (bryant, harper, votto, bellinger,) and i ended up with all of them because they slide in the draft or got in a trade for what everyone would of thought was cheap.

 

************ missed on benintendi and jdm everywhere because of rank and not willing to reach (more so with benintendi) SHAME

[jstep13 2,433]

I try my darndest to stay away from NL hitters as much as I stay away from AL pitchers. I dont think it's any coincidence you named all NL hitters while wishing you had AL hitters. Always exceptions but that's my philosophy. 

[kidtwentytwo 5,508]

2 hours ago, colepenhagen said:

 i need this tattooed on my 4head. dont take draft day value picks early if you dont trust or believe in that player just because the majority said so. probably been said over and over but just want to give it one more time.

 

never wanted any of these players on draft day this year (bryant, harper, votto, bellinger,) and i ended up with all of them because they slide in the draft or got in a trade for what everyone would of thought was cheap.

 

************ missed on benintendi and jdm everywhere because of rank and not willing to reach (more so with benintendi) SHAME

 

Everyone gets caught in that trap.  I grabbed a few guys because they were “great value”’ and regretting it.  Did some drafts without looking at adp and they went well, but still always seemed to be a few picks late on some guys

[turner46 873]

20 hours ago, colepenhagen said:

i need this tattooed on my 4head. dont take draft day value picks early if you dont trust or believe in that player just because the majority said so. probably been said over and over but just want to give it one more time.

 

never wanted any of these players on draft day this year (bryant, harper, votto, bellinger,) and i ended up with all of them because they slide in the draft or got in a trade for what everyone would of thought was cheap.

 

************ missed on benintendi and jdm everywhere because of rank and not willing to reach (more so with benintendi) SHAME

 

Agree completely none of the following 3 players were truly on my radar yet I thought I was getting great value so Votto in rnd 3 how can I pass, Donaldson in rnd 4 how do I pass, rnd 5 Edwin you can keep these old guys company, lesson learned never count on multiple aging players. I have 3 other teams doing well, this team however barring a miracle is out of it, drafted Sano like the day or next day after it was revealed he wouldnt be suspended not really based on research just hype from here and also what appeared like a possible huge steal.

[GriffeySwag 1,142]

If you went pitching heavy and were able to get a few of these bats, you're probably doing pretty good right now:

 

C: Gattis/Ramos probably were available at some point on your WW. If not, Grandal.

1B: Aguilar

2B: Gennett/Lowrie

3B: Muncy

SS: Cabrera, Peraza, Simmons, Profar

OF: Markakis, Brantley, Kemp, Choo

 

 

[Gumbo_Ghost 1,141]

I went all-in on offense

I'm just like 12-2 across the board H2H categories on all hitting: AVG, OPS, HR, R, SB, RBI

I thought I could just 2-start teams and rack up Ks and sometimes get QS and Wins through volume.

 

Hasn't really happened... Since I'm rostering the Clayton Richards, Mike Leakes, and Daniel Rodriguez of the world. They don't K anyone and they don't go deep.

 

So, I dropped 9 SPs this week and went with Bettances, David Roberston, Barraclough, etc and am transitioning to trying to get ERA and WHIP

[Flyman75 5,077]

6 hours ago, GriffeySwag said:

If you went pitching heavy and were able to get a few of these bats, you're probably doing pretty good right now:

 

C: Gattis/Ramos probably were available at some point on your WW. If not, Grandal.

1B: Aguilar

2B: Gennett/Lowrie

3B: Muncy

SS: Cabrera, Peraza, Simmons, Profar

OF: Markakis, Brantley, Kemp, Choo

 

It works both ways really. 

 

I went offense-heavy, as I always do, and am doing well so far. I picked up FA SPs like Stripling, Peralta, Pivetta, CSmith and super-late round SPs like EdRod, Heaney. I paired them up with Nola, and I used my excess offense to buy low on Paxton (right after his blowup on 4/21 @Texas) and Carrasco (when he hit the DL). 

 

That combined with FAs like Aguilar, Muncy, Nimmo, and JHicks, and I'm doing well to this point. 

 

But that's long been my strategy in 12-teamers, and it seems to work well for me. I go heavy on the offense, and then try to carefully piece together a pitching staff through good draft picks and timely FA pickups. People usually look at my staff and think little of it...but cumulatively, I usually end up with a staff that finishes in the top 3 in pitching points (5x5 roto). 

 

That said, I tried this strategy in a 14-team weekly keeper league with 28-man rosters (my first year in this league)...doesn't work nearly as well, lol. I'm going to have to come up with a different strategy for that league next year. 

[MireLurker 285]

I'm just noticing now how drastic some of my players Day / Night splits are... I'm thinking we need to pay more attention to this. We're always looking at Home/Away and RHP/LHP, but I don't think we value Day/Night equally... the sample size is the same.

[duke of queens 1,063]

33 minutes ago, MireLurker said:

I'm just noticing now how drastic some of my players Day / Night splits are... I'm thinking we need to pay more attention to this. We're always looking at Home/Away and RHP/LHP, but I don't think we value Day/Night equally... the sample size is the same.

I remember reading something about blue-eyed players don't play as well during the day do to the glare of the sun. I think Josh Hamilton had a big issue with this.

[Cmilne23 10,559]

Not sure where this is suppose to go so I figure strategy thread is probably best spot.  As the trade deadline approaches for most of our fantasy leagues is anyone doing anything outside the box?  As an owner of a few Red Sox, with them severely distancing themselves from pack I’m very nervous they’ll be sitting guys left and right.  Xander getting treated with kid gloves and owners losing stats, and why not?  They are slaughtering their competition without him.  I’m just worried that in September when we need three guys the most they’ll find every reason to give them multiple days off with any goosebump that pops up.  Anyone recall other teams who’ve completely distanced themselves in past years and what they’ve done with stars?  Obviously MVP races and what not should factor into equation, at least for guys like Mookie/Trout etc we they approach late september with nothing to play for.  

[Baur10 2,153]

13 minutes ago, Cmilne23 said:

Not sure where this is suppose to go so I figure strategy thread is probably best spot.  As the trade deadline approaches for most of our fantasy leagues is anyone doing anything outside the box?  As an owner of a few Red Sox, with them severely distancing themselves from pack I’m very nervous they’ll be sitting guys left and right.  Xander getting treated with kid gloves and owners losing stats, and why not?  They are slaughtering their competition without him.  I’m just worried that in September when we need three guys the most they’ll find every reason to give them multiple days off with any goosebump that pops up.  Anyone recall other teams who’ve completely distanced themselves in past years and what they’ve done with stars?  Obviously MVP races and what not should factor into equation, at least for guys like Mookie/Trout etc we they approach late september with nothing to play for.  

 

I got screwed by this last year with a few Nationals and Astros players. Pitchers too as they only went a few innings to stay warm in the 1-2 weeks prior to playoffs it seemed. This year the Sox, Indians and to a slightly lesser degree Astros seem as if they could end up in similar situations. If you can make a lateral move for a player on a team that is still fighting I'd consider it (eg  Nats, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Braves, Phillies or even Rockies/Athletics).  I'd say Dodgers since they're tied with Arizona too but I think they'll pull away from the pack over the next few weeks. 

[mavsfan23 1,244]

In AL only leagues the playoff race is going to have a big affect. I’d load up on yankees, A’s, Mariners, Astros, and trade Indians and Red Sox. Indians look like they are going to cruise into the playoffs in that cupcake division. 

[shakestreet 4,103]

1 minute ago, mavsfan23 said:

In AL only leagues the playoff race is going to have a big affect. I’d load up on yankees, A’s, Mariners, Astros, and trade Indians and Red Sox. Indians look like they are going to cruise into the playoffs in that cupcake division. 

Do you like that  “only” league? 

I enjoyed the heck out of it when I was in one.

 

In one AL “only” league the LM set it up when the player was traded to the NL he got to keep said player and reap the awards. In another league it was se5 up different got traded to a different league you lost player. If I was LM you lose player, that is how it should happen. 

How is your league set up?

[mavsfan23 1,244]

1 hour ago, shakestreet said:

Do you like that  “only” league? 

I enjoyed the heck out of it when I was in one.

 

In one AL “only” league the LM set it up when the player was traded to the NL he got to keep said player and reap the awards. In another league it was se5 up different got traded to a different league you lost player. If I was LM you lose player, that is how it should happen. 

How is your league set up?

I love my NL only league. Ours is set that if he gets traded, he’s gone. It’s a keeper, and I’ve tried for many years to get some sort of compensation if you lose a guy, even an extra minor league pick at the end, but I’m fighting a losing battle. There’s no perfect solution unfortunately, but I love the depth of the league and how much closer it reflects a real baseball team.