Roster doctor

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League Rules: 12-team keeper league (5 keepers), rosters set weekly, head-to-head, 6×6 (HR, RBI, BA, OPS, SB, R and W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB), mixed league

Roster:
C – Brian McCann
1B – Russell Branyan
2B – Brian Roberts
3B – Mark Reynolds
SS – Elvis Andrus
OF – Grady Sizemore
OF – Josh Hamilton
OF – Curtis Granderson
UT – J.D. Drew
UT – Adam Lind
Bench – Andruw Jones
Bench – Adam LaRoche
Bench – Jordan Schafer
Bench – Gordon Beckham
DL – Edwin Encarnacion
DL – Alex Gordon

SP – Zack Greinke
SP – Chad Billingsley
RP – Scott Downs
RP – C.J. Wilson
P – Ryan Perry
P – Yovani Gallardo
P – Sean Marshall (for this week, two starts)
Bench – Clayton Kershaw
Bench – Ross Detwiler
Bench – Tommy Hanson
Bench – Ubaldo Jimenez
DL – Scott Kazmir
DL – Joakim Soria

Notes: Right now, I’m using the best FA pitcher available with two starts for the week (hence Detweiler and then Marshall) or Kershaw. My biggest concern is whether I should try to trade Greinke for a SP and OF/CI upgrade.

Andrew, you have a nice trio of starting pitchers in Greinke, Billingsley and Gallardo. Given that you have an extra rate stat as a scoring stat (K/BB), I would be judicious about playing the revolving two-starter strategy. Typically the tradeoff faced with the double starter strategy is extra shots at wins and strikeouts, but a higher ERA and WHIP. In this case, you’d also risk a higher K/BB ratio – though both Marshall and Detwiler have pretty good ratios.

I’m glad you’re preparing for a rainy day with respect to Branyan and Reynolds. Reynolds is having a good year but his home run to fly ball rate, at 26.7 percent, is going to drop. Branyan’s numbers, particularly his batting average, are not going to last. Fortunately, you have a decent backup in LaRoche, whose skills are better than his current luck. Nevertheless, it is tough to be top of the league offensively when you have no likely first-rank players at your corner infield or utility spots.

There’s two places that potential upgrades could come from: your bench (through free agency) or a trade. I think you’ve used the bench spots that you’ve allocated to pitching well. I’m not sure that that’s the case with your batting bench spots. Beckham may be interesting long-term but isn’t likely to help you this year. Schafer and Jones are mirror opposites. The former’s been getting lots of playing time with little to show for it, while the latter has done remarkably well with limited at-bats. Neither of these guys is going to help you at the corner infield spots. I would look for players with potential upside there instead: Mat Gamel, Gary Sheffield (depending on eligibility requirements) or Nick Johnson (if you’re lucky) or Jake Fox and Chris Coghlan (if you’re forced to go deeper).

Lastly, I have no problem with you sending out feelers for a trade. I’m not going to take the easy route and tell you to “sell high” on Greinke, since I’m not going to insult your league mates by calling them fools. However, fair value for Greinke is still pretty darn high and you may get what you’re looking for in a trade. However, with only seven active pitching spots, there may not be as much demand for starting pitching as you’re expecting (i.e. the replacement level starting pitcher is probably pretty good in this league). So, don’t force a trade if you don’t get enough.