Roster Doctor - 4/3/09

Yes, who is the generous roster evaluator here? I am not impressed one bit by this team. David Wright is a STUD and both Carlos Lee and Berkman although declining are still pretty good. I also see a big rebound year for V-Mart but I’m not impressed by Rios or Cano and the rest of his guys are ok.

But how can you not be disappointed looking at that pitching staff?! I like two of his closers and Javy Vazquez is a good K guy but who else is going to contribute? Dees-gusting. This team will finish middle of the pack overall, if not worse.

I think the first two commenters are missing the fact that this is a H2H league with K/9 instead of K as a category. Depending on the minimum IP requirement in the league, I’d consider going solely with closers and not starting any starters. You’ll win SV, ERA, WHIP, and K/9 while losing W. That sounds like a sacrifice I’d be willing to make.

I’d try that for a few weeks, and if the strategy is working into May, I’d try to trade my starters for upgrades on offense.

Peter D,
I’d highly recommend this article I put together earlier in the off-season: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/fantasy/article/introducing-quality-of-opponent-adjustments-and-caps-for-pitchers/

This should explain the high expectations for Vazquez.  These are numbers very few others look at and really bode well for a good season.

I play in a league that uses K/9 as well. I employ the same strategy mentioned here about loading up on RPs. Usually I try to get one low-risk quality starter (like Haren this year) and pair him with 3-4 upside SPs (Harden, JJohnson, Joba, Slowey this year). You’ll be starting your Haren-type every week and sprinkle in maybe two-three starts from the others depending on matchups. Ideally, at least two of your “extra” SPs will perform well in the first half (I’m betting on Harden to be that lights-out trade chip this year), so you can cut the others and trade whichever you prefer for offensive help.
The trick is to find at least one SP-eligible reliever so you can keep as many slots stocked every day. With 5-6 RPs collecting around 2IP per week, you will often only need two starts from SPs per week.
And don’t forget that since relieving is much easier than starting you’ve got a built-in advantage in both ERA and WHIP, ERA as much as .4-.5 and WHIP .15. That’s a lot.
This also makes very cheap pitchers like Slowey or Sonnanstine or Kuroda much more valuable to you than your opponents, since you can easily absorb the K hit.
The last thing I’ll is to remember you probably don’t need more than 4 closers. Your other RPs should be middle-relief guys. Often, when a middle-reliever gives up a run, it’s charged to the guy who preceded him, while a closer who starts an inning won’t have that safety net.