To a first-timer, compiling a 40-man roster for a fantasy baseball challenge can seem especially daunting. The most vital tip that can be given is to find a specific position to build on first. Both the paper and on-line challenges use a 5 x 5 rotisserie format, or five categories each for pitching and hitting. If unfamiliar with the format it is as follows...
HITTING
PITCHING
Scoring in the point-style game is as follows...
After close inspection, the most important need to address (in the roto games at least) is starting pitching. While starting pitchers compose of only six of your 28 starters, (21 percent of your team), they are responsible for nearly 40 percent of your teams production (W's, ERA, WHIP, K's). Also, while position players start nearly every day, SP's only start every fifth or sixth day, so during the course of the season they will only take to the hill 35-36 times. When you think about it, a start for a pitcher is nearly as big as a game in fantasy football.
So which six SP's do you go with in a given week??? There are several criteria to consider, including...
For obvious reasons, starting SP's slated to go twice in a week usually is a wise move, especially in the point-style game. Except for extraordinary circumstances (as in a close playoff race at the end of a season), pitchers ALWAYS get a minimum of four days between starts. A good rule of thumb is as follows - If a pitcher is slated to start on Monday or Tuesday, then he is a candidate to make a second start on Saturday or Sunday. During the weekend, keep close tabs on the pitching rotations for the following week. CDM keeps a list of potential two-start pitchers. The info CDM gets is subject to change during the weekend, so check the list often. Rotoworld and Yahoo are also good resources for this information. MLB teams generally employ a five man rotation, but the fifth starter is often skipped when his team has an off day. So if your starter is due to start on Tuesday, then there is a good chance that he will start on Sunday even if there is an off day or rainout between then. It also helps to pay attention to trends of certain managers. For example, last year Arizona's manager very often skipped the fifth starter, resulting in Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling receiving the ball every fifth day. Be alert however for pitchers battling tired arms etc. who may be rested an extra day. For example, St. Louis' manager was careful with his staff ace Matt Morris (who was coming off arm surgery) last season, using a fifth starter to get Morris an extra day of rest. Pay special attention to these managerial trends.
Historically, successful CDM owners tend to use the most expensive SP's on the board during the course of a season. The likes of Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Schilling, Kevin Brown, etc. make for very safe plays, as cheaper players can be found elsewhere. The fact that those pitchers get a lot of strikeouts also helps. Also be alert for cheap pitchers who appear to be headed for breakthrough seasons early on. Again, look for pitchers with a knack of getting strikeouts.
Another good thoery is the fact that National League pitchers historically have marginally lower ERA/WHIP. But don't discount qualily AL pitchers such as P. Martinez, Mike Mussina, Bartolo Colon, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito just to name a few. In the point-style games ERA and WHIP are not factors, making the AL studs just as valuable as the NL.
Often starting a pitcher in Colorado's Coors can often spell disaster for roto-style players. Even the better starting pitchers have left that venue with a disastrous line that could take weeks to recover from (for the pitcher himself and for your fantasy team). Don't be too scared to start R. Johnson there however due to his monster strikeouts. The homer prone Schilling could be a different story however. Houston's Enron Field is another bandbox that you may want your pitchers to avoid. Again, if playing the point-style game ERA/WHIP are not factors - so you need not worry about ballpark effects.
Common sense also dictates using pitchers slated with a favorable matchup. For the four days following the All-Star Game, simply go with your best pitching matchups, for all quality starters pitch once that weekend. I will also add one more piece of advice. Whether playing roto or point-style, be sure to start pitchers going against Milwaukee. The Brewers hitters had the dubious distinction of shattering the all-time team strikeout record last year, and all of their whiff-kings return intact.
RELIEF PITCHERS
The criteria for selecting Relief Pitchers differs from selecting starters. Basically the idea is to employ four relievers who (a) rack up a lot of saves and (b) are relatively inexpensive. Last season closers such as Billy Wagner (HOU) and Flash Gordon (CHC) fit that bill for much of the season. The fact that the duo had amazing strikeout to IP ratios also made them must-haves. Wagner and Gordon come in again this year at reasonable salaries. But also keep a keen eye for cheap RP's who are handed the closers role in Spring Training or early in the season. Getting a closer or two at a discount price can save valuable roster space that can be useed in other areas. But make sure you get save production from all four RP's - you do not want to fall behind in this category, for as the season wears on many teams will end up with the same four closers, meaning that making-up ground becomes very difficult.
An additional word of advice, keep a close eye on closer situations throughout baseball, as it is one of the most volitile jobs to hold in all of sports. Almost any closer is just a few consecutive blown saves away from being relegated to middle-relief. Don't believe me just ask John Rocker, or Byung-Hyun Kim.
THE FIFTH CLOSER - AND THE SEVENTH STARTER
There is one other situation for keen owners to be on the lookout for. That would be a pitcher listed as a starter by CDM becoming a closer. John Smoltz became very valuable in that role in the latter-stages of 2001. Flash Gordon was likewise listed as a starter when he was among the AL save leaders in 1998. The beauty of this scenerio is as follows, a listed SP who closes can still be used as one of your six SP's. The "fifth closer" then replaces the SP you would had been least confident in. The strategy, if used properly, results in an improvement in Saves/ERA/WHIP although K's and Wins would suffer somewhat. In other words, you benefit in three of five categories. As of this writing (January 2002) Kelvim Escobar, listed as a starter at 680, was projected as the Blue Jays closer this coming season. If true Escobar's saves and cheap salary would be a perfect compliment to your other five quality starters. Listed SP's who become closers are an item to consider, especially if you need saves to begin with.
Then there is the opposite scenerio. A listed RP who ends up starting. That would be a potential goldmine who owners desperate for Wins and K's. Not recommended though unless the listed RP starts at a consistant All-Star like level, as the potential risk of ERA/WHIP may be too-much by using a mediocre pitcher in that capacity.
And that closes Part 2, Part 3 deals with selecting hitters...