Crazy Draft Strategy I Just Witnessed (1 Viewer)

[Buckfast 1]

I'm in a standard 5x5 14-person keeper league, and one of the owners did not draft a single starting pitcher.

He kept 3 closers, drafted a few more closers, and then filled in the rest of his pitchers with setup guys or middle relievers with good ERA and WHIP stats (J.P. Howell, J.J. Putz, Hong-Chih Kuo).

So, he is basically punting wins and strikeouts, in hopes of leading the league in saves, ERA, and WHIP.

Has anyone ever seen this strategy employed? Was it a total disaster? I can't imagine this strategy working out for him.

 

[Buckfast 1]

I guess the best case scenario is that you would get 14 points in saves, ERA, and WHIP, and 1 point in wins and strikeouts. That would give you an average of 8.8 per category across the pitching categories, which is an above average pitching total.

Do leagues generally have minimum innings pitched rules to prevent this?

 

[Eephus]

I've seen people combine three MRs to provide a SP's worth (180 IP or so) of output. Ks aren't actually being punted because most good RPs have higher K/9 rates than any but the top SPs.

The biggest problem with extending this strategy to cover more than a couple SP slots is getting in enough IPs. If you have nine pitcher slots filled with RPs on a daily basis, you'll top out at around 800 IP. If everybody else is getting 1250 IP from theirs, that's going to be a problem.

 

[jfranco77]

It could work if he has the great offense to go with it.

 

[Buckfast 1]

I've seen people combine three MRs to provide a SP's worth (180 IP or so) of output. Ks aren't actually being punted because most good RPs have higher K/9 rates than any but the top SPs.The biggest problem with extending this strategy to cover more than a couple SP slots is getting in enough IPs. If you have nine pitcher slots filled with RPs on a daily basis, you'll top out at around 800 IP. If everybody else is getting 1250 IP from theirs, that's going to be a problem.

He doesn't have a single starting pitcher on his roster. Just 9 relief pitchers, pitching in 8 pitching spots. That's why I assumed that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the strikeout totals of the rest of the league.

 

[Buckfast 1]

It could work if he has the great offense to go with it.

He definitely doesn't have a great offense. It's not bad, but I wouldn't bank on him to finish anywhere near the top of the league in offense. He was one of the worst teams in the league last year, and kept 7 offensive players from that bunch.

 

[Eephus]

I've seen people combine three MRs to provide a SP's worth (180 IP or so) of output. Ks aren't actually being punted because most good RPs have higher K/9 rates than any but the top SPs.The biggest problem with extending this strategy to cover more than a couple SP slots is getting in enough IPs. If you have nine pitcher slots filled with RPs on a daily basis, you'll top out at around 800 IP. If everybody else is getting 1250 IP from theirs, that's going to be a problem.

He doesn't have a single starting pitcher on his roster. Just 9 relief pitchers, pitching in 8 pitching spots. That's why I assumed that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the strikeout totals of the rest of the league.

Then you're right. I don't see how he can possibly rack up enough IPs to compete in Ks and Ws unless the league has an unusually low IP limit.

 

[Mike Shanahan Fan]

He was one of the worst teams in the league last year, and kept 7 offensive players from that bunch.

I thought you were talking about me from another FBG-affiliated league until this point (ours is a redraft).

 

[pollardsvision]

It's also possible that, later in the season, he will start streaming in SP's to supplement his W/K totals. If he can build up a substantial lead in ERA and WHIP, that will work well for him. By that time, he'll know almost exactly what kind of damage he can take, as he'll have already uesd alot of innings.

The other issue is, does the league have enough P and RP spots to make it work? Our league doesn't use P spots (partially to prevent this), so in our league, he'd be able to play Howell, Buchholz and Chi-Kuo regularly, but that'd be it.

 

[Buckfast 1]

It's also possible that, later in the season, he will start streaming in SP's to supplement his W/K totals. If he can build up a substantial lead in ERA and WHIP, that will work well for him. By that time, he'll know almost exactly what kind of damage he can take, as he'll have already uesd alot of innings. The other issue is, does the league have enough P and RP spots to make it work? Our league doesn't use P spots (partially to prevent this), so in our league, he'd be able to play Howell, Buchholz and Chi-Kuo regularly, but that'd be it.

In this league, there is no differentiation between SP and RP spots. It's just 8 P spots, so he can start 8 relievers a day if he wants.

 

[Redwes25]

Seen it done once before but not to this extreme. They guy had only one SP who was clearly top 5. He ran away with Saves and did well in WHIP and ERA but punting two categories did not pan out. Also, need to have a huge offense to even think about this.

 

[Mike Shanahan Fan]

Seen it done once before but not to this extreme. They guy had only one SP who was clearly top 5. He ran away with Saves and did well in WHIP and ERA but punting two categories did not pan out. Also, need to have a huge offense to do even think about this.

The more hitters your league starts, the better this strategy works. Daily lineup changes are also helpful. Besides winning three categories and punting two, you also want to help out your offense by devoting more draft picks/roster spots to hitting. In a 9-hitter weekly lineup league, a big bench is a lot less effective than it is in a 13-14 hitter daily lineup league.

 

[Statorama]

It's also possible that, later in the season, he will start streaming in SP's to supplement his W/K totals.

I've seen this employed on a few occasions. All depends on the ability of the guy to pickup waiver wire pitchers.(I tried it and it blew up in my face bigtime...FU Livan Hernandez)

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I'm in a standard 5x5 14-person keeper league, and one of the owners did not draft a single starting pitcher. He kept 3 closers, drafted a few more closers, and then filled in the rest of his pitchers with setup guys or middle relievers with good ERA and WHIP stats (J.P. Howell, J.J. Putz, Hong-Chih Kuo). So, he is basically punting wins and strikeouts, in hopes of leading the league in saves, ERA, and WHIP.Has anyone ever seen this strategy employed? Was it a total disaster? I can't imagine this strategy working out for him.

Someone did it in LABR about 10 years ago, though LABR was 4x4 then. I think they finished in the top 3. Obviously it only works in leagues with no innings requirement. One year in an NL-only 5x5 I used to be in, a guy did the opposite -- punted ERA and WHIP. Drafted a bunch of Colorado pitchers and Kirk Reuter types for real cheap, then spent the rest on closers and offense. He finished fourth.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Someone did it in LABR about 10 years ago, though LABR was 4x4 then. I think they finished in the top 3. Obviously it only works in leagues with no innings requirement.

One year in an NL-only 5x5 I used to be in, a guy did the opposite -- punted ERA and WHIP. Drafted a bunch of Colorado pitchers and Kirk Reuter types for real cheap, then spent the rest on closers and offense. He finished fourth.

Double-punt strategies are a great way to finish third and fourth in leagues. They're not a good way to finish first.High finishes in eight categories will keep you near the top, but anyone who can put together a strong well-rounded team will beat you. To win that way, you need to execute your strategy perfectly AND have a lot of parity among the other teams in the league.

 

[guru_007]

This strategy also works a LOT better in auction than straight draft. I auction, if you spend 95+% of your budget on offense, the chances are that you will have the best offense in the league. You really need to come in 1st or 2nd in every offensive category and win WHIP/ERA and be competitive in saves to have a chance.

In straight drafts, I can't see this being nearly as effective.

 

[Eephus]

This strategy also works a LOT better in auction than straight draft. I auction, if you spend 95+% of your budget on offense, the chances are that you will have the best offense in the league. You really need to come in 1st or 2nd in every offensive category and win WHIP/ERA and be competitive in saves to have a chance.In straight drafts, I can't see this being nearly as effective.

If you can get six $1 MRs, that's a lot better value than say spending draft picks in rounds 19-24. I still think it's hard to win going all-in on this strategy but three solid MRs can more than substitute for a borderline SP.

 

[Mike Shanahan Fan]

To win that way, you need to execute your strategy perfectly AND have a lot of parity among the other teams in the league.

But that's true if you just play it "straight" as well. No matter what, you still need to hit.