This year, I'm in four main leagues: a standard 5x5 roto league, a non-standard 7x7 (the usual plus doubles/Ks for hitters and QS/HR allowed for pitchers) keeper league, a head-to-head points league with weekly lineups, and a head-to-head (each) category league with daily lineups. This allows me to try out strategies and analysis on a more-than-theoretical level, and see how the leagues differ (the better to write about them).
So a few times a month, I'll post updates on how the leagues are going. To start, though, I'll post my teams and preseason strategies for each league. Here we go:
Head-to-head points league
League Name: Bernie's Bombers, 10 teams
My Team: Waveland and Clark
The details: I detailed the scoring elsewhere, but I'll repeat it here: +1 point per hit, walk, total bases (a single is then 2pts, a triple 4pts, etc), steal, run or RBI, -1 point for a strikeout or error; 3 points per inning pitched (or 1pt per out), 6 for a win, 5 for a save, -3 for a loss, 1 per strikeout, -1 per hit or walk issued, 4 per complete game, 2 per shutout, 10 points for a no-hitter. No start limits, 11 matchup acquisitions per week, no other transaction limits, weekly lineup changes.
Roster Composition: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 4OF, Util, 5SP, 2RP, 6 Bench, 1 DL.
My Roster: Victor Martinez, Billy Butler, Robinson Cano, Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Drew, Andrew McCutchen, Shane Victorino, Nick Markakis, Denard Span, Adrian Beltre (starting hitters); Jered Weaver, Francisco Liriano, Daniel Hudson, Tim Hudson, Jhoulys Chacin, Jonathan Paplebon, Chris Perez (starting pitchers); Brian Roberts, Logan Morrison, Jason Bay, Miguel Tejada, Jake Peavy, Carlos Zambrano (bench).
The Plan: I targeted hitters early, since every week they'll play five to seven games as opposed to one or two for a starter. By maximizing my edge there, I can get just enough pitching between who I currently have and whatever good looking two-start pitcher is available to win most weeks. I made sure to target players who are better in points leagues than most roto leauges, especially Butler and Markakis. I also made sure that I had the ability to exploit some of the roster quirks, like Zambrano's RP eligibility (since he'll get more points than a closer if he starts twice in a matchup).
I drafted Garret Jones as a backup 1B, but the news that he'll platoon led me to drop him. I picked up Tejada because a) if he has any kind of a season he'll be OK for points, and b) with the uncertainty around Drew's opening-week availability I needed someone I could slide in at SS, and the 3B eligibility is just gravy. Instead of dropping Peavy, I'm hanging onto him so I can stash him when he becomes DL-eligible. I don't need the space this week, and there's no sense in dropping him until he becomes a burden on my roster (or proves worthless).
Standard(5x5) roto league
League Name: cp, 10 teams
Team Name: Cubbie Blues
The Details: Standard categories: Runs, RBI, Home Runs, Steals, Average for hitters; Wins, Saves, Ks, ERA, WHIP for pitchers. No acquisition/transaction limits, no hitter start limits, 200 start season limit for pitchers.
Roster Composition: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, 5OF, Util, 9 pitchers (undifferentiated), 3 Bench, 1 DL.
My Roster: Joe Mauer, Adrian Gonzales, Dan Uggla, Martin Prado, Jimmy Rollins, Neil Walker, Billy Butler, Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Brett Gardner, Chris Coghlan, Jose Tabata (starting hitters); Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Tim Hudson, Jonathan Sanchez, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Hudson, Francisco Cordero, Leo Nunez, Brandon Lyong (starting pitchers), Ryan Dempster, Josh Beckett, Tsuyoshi Nishioka (bench).
The Plan: There isn't one. By the second round of the draft, it looked like amateur hour (one team took Stephen Strasburg and Ike Davis first and second). I've got plenty in each category- Mauer/Gonzales/Prado/Braun are .300+ hitters, I have eight 90+ run hitters, six 20+ home run hitters, three 100+ RBI hitters, and a projected 135 stolen bases from five guys. None of my pitchers are necessarily anchors in ERA/WHIP (as in under 3.00/1.20), but they're all solid for the most part. I can certainly afford to swing a trade, especially since I have an excess of above-average pitching and a stellar lineup. Saves may be a problem, but they can be found. If I don't win this league, I either had rotten luck or screwed something up royally. Just for fun, I may try and never make a (non-DL-related) transaction during the season.
I find the trick with a starts cap is to have two or three pitchers who you can throw out every week regardless of matchup (last year I never had fewer than two of Wainwright, Cain, Verlander, and Josh Johnson on my roster at once). Right now I only have Verlander, but many of the remaining starters all have to potential to be that guy as well. I'll possibly have to trade for one more such pitcher, but it shouldn't be a problem to pull off.
Head-to-Head Each Category
League Name: Cubs Fans Fantasy Baseball, 10 teams
Team Name: Cubs Expatriot
The Details: Standard 5x5 Categories, weekly matchups, 11 matchup acquisitions, no transaction or start limits, daily lineup changes, 10 IP/week minimum.
Roster Composition: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, 5OF, Util, 9 pitchers (undifferentiated), 3 bench, 1DL
My Roster: Victor Martinez, Joey Votto, Dustin Pedroia, Martin Prado, Rafael Furcal, Erick Aybar, Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun, Andre Ethier, BJ Upton, Colby Rasmus, Juan Pierre, Jose Tabata (starting hitters); Jered Weaver, Francisco Liriano, Daniel Hudson, Brandon Morrow, Jonathan Paplebon, JJ Putz, Huston Street, Ryan Franklin, Rafael Soriano (starting pitchers); Jordan Zimmerman, Michael Pineda, Chris Coghlan (bench).
The Plan: I drafted to dominate pitching in this one. I stocked up on average-to-good relievers so I can win saves and anchor my ERA/WHIP each week. This allows me to throw out starters based on K/Win potential as I see fit, especially with daily lineup changes. I should win no fewer than three and quite possibly up to five pitching categories per week this way, in addition to having trade chips. For hitters, I went with roster flexibility. I have 2 eligible at 1B, 2 at 2B, 2 at SS, 2 at 3B (once Youkilis gains eligibility), 3 at CI, and 4 at MI. This allows me to put basically any infielder on the trading block without having to scramble too hard for a replacement if I need to make a move. In general, I should win average and runs most weeks, be ultra-competitive for home runs, and do OK in steals/RBI. Essentially, my roster is tailored to win at least five categories most weeks, with the ability to win eight pretty easily and ten never out of the question.
Non-standard (7x7) Roto League
League Name: Fantasy All-Stars, 10 teams
Team Name: Cubbie Blues (again).
The Details: Standard 5x5 categories plus doubles and Ks for hitters, QS and HR allowed for pitchers. No acquisition/transaction limits, no hitter start limits, 250 starts cap, daily lineup changes. Keeper league, can keep five players for an unlimited time with each keeper taking a pick off the top of the draft (e.g. 1 keeper loses a first round, 5 loses your first five picks).
Roster Composition: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, 4OF, 2Util, 4SP, 2RP, 2 Pitcher (undifferentiated), 4 Bench, 2 DL.
My Roster: Brian McCann, Billy Butler, Brandon Phillips, Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes, Aaron Hill, Gaby Sanchez, Matt Kemp, Josh Hamilton, Brett Gardner, Nick Markakis, Denard Span, Luke Scott (starting hitters); Matt Cain, Francisco Liriano, Shaun Marcum, Jordan Zimmerman, Jonathan Paplebon, Andrew Baily, Wandy Rodriguez, Joel Hanrahan (starting pitchers); Anibal Sanchez, Mitch MOreland, Michael Cuddyer, Chris Coghlan (bench).
The Plan: Since I took over this team for a vacated owner, I was already at a disadvantage. I ended up keeping McCann, Bautista, Kemp, Hamilton, and Butler from the prior year. Butler isn't great, but this is about as ideal a roto team for him as exists since he hits doubles and doesn't strike out much. For the most part, I was left to plug holes; it's hard to draft well when one team can keep Albert Pujols, Ryan Zimmerman, Hanley Ramirez, Justin Upton and Felix Hernandez (or for that matter Ryan Braun, Joe Mauer, Robinson Cano, CarGo, and Joey Votto).
Saves were going to be an issue for me even before Bailey got hurt, and there isn't much to choose from when I can move him to the DL. I need to hope Cain/Liriano/Marcum can be those "every start" guys you need when there's a starts cap. I also managed to limit the number of fly-ball pitchers to account for HR allowed, though not as much as I might hope. I did manage to get some value plays given the extra categories- on top of Butler, Markakis, Gaby Sanchez, McCann, Phillips and Reyes all gain value from the league settings. What I really need to do are pick up some high-end relievers to put in the undifferentiated pitcher spots to help anchor WHIP/ERA, since pretty much everyone is 3.20+/1.20+ in those categories; at this point though that might be antithetical to picking up saves.
In general, I should be good in average, doubles, and maybe Ks for hitters, with the chance to be decent in HR/R/Steals. I don't have anyone who's great in any of those (except Bautista for HR and Gardner for Steals), but I have plenty of above-average guys. RBIs will likely be a big hole. Pitching could get ugly, but I should be good in HR allowed and Ks, decent in QS/Wins, and I can readily improve my roster for ERA/WHIP. I'm not ready to give up on the season before it starts, but I think I might have to start thinking about next year by the end of June. If I look out of it, I'll punt saves entirely to try and get some good keepers out of the trades. Of the four leagues, this is the one I have the least certainty about in terms of future performance. The only way this season will be a bust, though, is if I'm essentially stuck with the same five keepers as I had going into the season.
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