Isnt the point of roto to gain the most points in the most categories? It is. So, how can Mikey justify spending his firt four picks on all power guys? Wouldnt that leave him vulnerable in the speed department. The best justification i can use for "loading up" on a category is; NOTHING IS A SURE THING IN FANTASY BASEBALL!
Whatever your argument may be, the reality is that a stud power hitter will contribute to your team in 4 categories while Jose Reyes for example will only contribute heavily to 2. Think about it. What are you REALLY paying for in Jose Reyes. His 70 sb potential, thats what i thought. But the reality of the situation is that you can EASILY snag 2 35ish sb guys at the end of the draft. Who can be a potential 40 hr hitter at the end of the draft? The answer is noone.
Heres examples of speedsters you should be able to snag if you "load up" on power in the beginning of the draft and grab speed later:
Dave Roberts- Late pick, at least 30 sb
Brian Roberts- A GREAT 6th round pick because he will steal you 40 bags, hit for avg, and will have pop.
Victorino- 8-10th Round..Should be good for 40sb
Kaz Matusi- Should get 25-30
If you want to use an earlier middle round pick..Figgin and Pierre are almost locks for 50.
Eric Byrnes- 35-40
Jacoby Ellsbury<- If your not playing with Boston fans he should give you at least 30 sb in the middle rounds.
Willy Tavares- 40 sb capability
Rafael Furcal- My comeback player of the year. Should go for at least 30 and will contribute across the board.
Those are just a few. My point is that i could keep listing them off. You wont find that many power sources in the later rounds. Therefore spending your first few picks on hitting is an excellent strategy.
Also a shoutout to my friend dave who compiling a fantasy baseball magazine list on his blog..... http://www.brockforbroglio.com/2008/01/19/2008-fantasy-baseball-guides-books-and-magazines/
Thats a very useful tool!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Reflection of 07 Strategy AND Early 08 Strategy!!
Take The Fantasy Man League The Superior Mendoza Swingers for instance. Like thousands of other fantasy managers, i did my homework. I came up with a clear strategy. I knew the players i wanted to target. I got most of them. Again,like thousands of other fantasy players i wound up in 5th place. Out of the money. A less than desirable finishing.
In 2007 i used a variation of the BaseballHQ LIMA plan. I focussed on dominating the offense, and picked high skill (ERA/WHIP/K) pitchers in the later rounds. I did not focus on these pitchers current roles on their teams. I knew that they had good skills, and i just hoped that they would work out. Funny thing. They did.
Here is a look at my 2007 draft (keeper league)
1. Jose Reyes
2. Matt Holiday
3. Andruw Jones
4. Chone Figgins
5. Jim Thome
6. Adam Laroche
7. Delmon Young
8. Torri Hunter
9. Edgar Rentaria
10. Jeff Kent
11. Javier Vazquez
12. Jose VAlverde
13. Aj Burnett
14. Jonathan Broxton
15. Scott Shields
16. Kelvin Escobar
17. Ivan Rodriguez
18. Josh Willingham
19. Kenny Lofton
20. Taylor Tankersly
21. Manny Corpas
22. Mike Jacobs
23. Scott Linenbrink
24. Kiko Calero
25. Omar Vizquel
26. Rafael Soriano
27.Dutin Pedrioia
28. Jeremy Accardo
29.Manny Delcamen
30. Craig Bigio.
Let me point out a few things about my team in this draft that exemplify the strategy on waiting on high skill pitchers.
1. Without drafting a pitcher until round 11 i was able to have the 4th highest scoring pitching staff in an ultra competitive league.
2. While drafting one closer with a job (The overlooked Jose Valverde) and relying on the extremley undervalued guys who got oppurtunities (Accardo/Corpas)i scored 11 points in Saves.
3. Although i finished in the cellar of the wins category (Which i expected to) by only drafting 3 starters Vazquez Escobar and Burnett (Who all had great years)i gained 11 points in ERA and WHIP.
-- As far as pitching goes i would continue to endorse LIMA guys (High skills maybe not jobs)to make up the majority of your staff. Dont worry i will get to the LIMA guys for this year soon enough. As for closers go, i think my team in the Superior Mendoza Swingers perfectly exemplifies where you're team can go without spending a top pick on a closer. To be more competitive in W/K i realized that i need to get either a true staff anchor or a couple more starters.
So how did i finish in 5th place with this underrated pitching staff?
My Offense.
Although by implimenting my strategy i hoped to dominate the offensive categories, i most certainly did not. In fact for spending my first 10 picks on offense, it was atrocious.
To be fair, i will admit that i was wrong and was unlucky enough to have:
1. Andruw Jones
2. Adam Laroche
3. Chone Figgins
4. Delmon Young
5. Jeff Kent
produce less than i expected.
So you would think i would learn from my mistakes. Not at all! This year i will focus even harder on building an impenatrbale hitting unit and continue to focus on LIMA pitchers. With a year of this strategy under my belt, 08 is the year that i think i can get it to work the way i want it to.
In 2007 i used a variation of the BaseballHQ LIMA plan. I focussed on dominating the offense, and picked high skill (ERA/WHIP/K) pitchers in the later rounds. I did not focus on these pitchers current roles on their teams. I knew that they had good skills, and i just hoped that they would work out. Funny thing. They did.
Here is a look at my 2007 draft (keeper league)
1. Jose Reyes
2. Matt Holiday
3. Andruw Jones
4. Chone Figgins
5. Jim Thome
6. Adam Laroche
7. Delmon Young
8. Torri Hunter
9. Edgar Rentaria
10. Jeff Kent
11. Javier Vazquez
12. Jose VAlverde
13. Aj Burnett
14. Jonathan Broxton
15. Scott Shields
16. Kelvin Escobar
17. Ivan Rodriguez
18. Josh Willingham
19. Kenny Lofton
20. Taylor Tankersly
21. Manny Corpas
22. Mike Jacobs
23. Scott Linenbrink
24. Kiko Calero
25. Omar Vizquel
26. Rafael Soriano
27.Dutin Pedrioia
28. Jeremy Accardo
29.Manny Delcamen
30. Craig Bigio.
Let me point out a few things about my team in this draft that exemplify the strategy on waiting on high skill pitchers.
1. Without drafting a pitcher until round 11 i was able to have the 4th highest scoring pitching staff in an ultra competitive league.
2. While drafting one closer with a job (The overlooked Jose Valverde) and relying on the extremley undervalued guys who got oppurtunities (Accardo/Corpas)i scored 11 points in Saves.
3. Although i finished in the cellar of the wins category (Which i expected to) by only drafting 3 starters Vazquez Escobar and Burnett (Who all had great years)i gained 11 points in ERA and WHIP.
-- As far as pitching goes i would continue to endorse LIMA guys (High skills maybe not jobs)to make up the majority of your staff. Dont worry i will get to the LIMA guys for this year soon enough. As for closers go, i think my team in the Superior Mendoza Swingers perfectly exemplifies where you're team can go without spending a top pick on a closer. To be more competitive in W/K i realized that i need to get either a true staff anchor or a couple more starters.
So how did i finish in 5th place with this underrated pitching staff?
My Offense.
Although by implimenting my strategy i hoped to dominate the offensive categories, i most certainly did not. In fact for spending my first 10 picks on offense, it was atrocious.
To be fair, i will admit that i was wrong and was unlucky enough to have:
1. Andruw Jones
2. Adam Laroche
3. Chone Figgins
4. Delmon Young
5. Jeff Kent
produce less than i expected.
So you would think i would learn from my mistakes. Not at all! This year i will focus even harder on building an impenatrbale hitting unit and continue to focus on LIMA pitchers. With a year of this strategy under my belt, 08 is the year that i think i can get it to work the way i want it to.
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