Ballywood
Yahoo started auction leagues for 2011 and I got in on the first day. I was able to populate my draft queue starting at 8:30, a half hour early.
My 2011 Bill James handbook arrived Wednesday November 3. I am an off-season fan of Rotoworld, where I subscribe to their on-line draft guide. I read the Sporting News guide looking for sleepers, and am involved in a CBS keeper league and their site too.
MLB Trade Rumors and especially Razzball have been helpful this year. Razzball rankings can be very different from Rotoworld rankings. (Rotoworld under-rates power. Razzball under-rates AVG.)
Strategy depends greatly on the precise league settings. League settings for my draft today were one catcher, three outfielders, two utility slots, 2SP, 2RP, 4P, 5 bench and one DL. There is one of each infield position. Last year, they added a utility and extra pitcher slot and raised the IP limit from 1250 IP to 1400 IP. Otherwise, these are the same Yahoo league settings I have played since I drafted Albert Pujols as rookie. As this is now an auction league, the standard $260 limit is used. Assuming you are in a similar roto league, here are the keys to a successful draft:
1) Don't spend it all in one place. Forget stars and scrubs; this is built in to the Yahoo rankings. Ordinarily, drafting a few top dollar players and filling out a lineup with leftovers is a viable strategy, but Yahoo labels the $40 players as $50 players. So, if you try to draft Albert, Hanley, Ryan and Robinson then you are out of money. People seem willing to pay full list price whether it is correct or too high. If you can obtain Albert, Hanley, Ryan OR Robinson for $52 then fine. Money Where My Mouth is: my most expensive players were $42,$41,$34 and $25. Update: There was a team in my league that went stars and scrubs, and by getting strength at 1B and 3B didn't do too badly. They certainly have trade bait if they want more balance: Black Knight
2) Spend on corner infield. There are a dozen respectable players for 1B and maybe six or seven for 3B. You need a good player for each and if the price is right you need two of each, and that way the utility slots are covered. I put my money where my mouth is. My four most expensive players are Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard, Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn.
3) Don't spend on outfield. You have three slots to fill, but there will always be three good choices on the waiver wire. I would love to have Jay Bruce and both Uptons on my team and if their price were $20 or so I might. I would also get Ryan Braun or Carl Crawford if they were going for $40. It is also tempting to spend $26 on Andrew McCutchen, but Hunter Pence went for $17 and he was next in line on the Razzball cheat. Some new version of Drew Stubbs will be free on the waiver wire. MWMMI: my OFers were obtained for $9,$4,$4 and $2.
4)You only need four or five starting pitchers at any given time and this is the era of the pitcher, so be selective. Innings eaters need not apply for leagues with an IP limit. I bid $17 on Liriano and Gallardo. Someone else bid $18. Frankly, I would prefer to have Liriano or Gallardo on my team. Instead, I ended up with Hamels, Oswalt, Carpenter, Hughes and Hudson for $14, $11,$10, $6 and $1. (I got Dan Hudson, but Tim was also $1.) This combines to solid WHIP and Ks. They even play on teams that might win some games. The bargains are out there. Hellickson went for $3. Jaime Garcia went for $1.
5) Load up on closers. First, you might as well win the saves category. Second, most closers will give solid K/IP and low ratios. Third, they can be traded. I love players like Chris Sale and Aroldis Chapman and I bet both close this year, but I found Brian Wilson for $9 and five other closers who appear to have jobs for $5, $3, $2, $1, $1. One of them is Fernando Rodney, who had terrible ratios last year, but Octavio Dotel had terrible ratios the year before and it didn't stop him from putting up numbers. You are right, I should have got Chapman (and would have, but Yahoo confused me by suggesting I had two more picks when I only had one. Five closers this time of year would have been plenty.) Note: if you violate suggestion 1, all of your closers are coming off the waiver wire. Not the worst strategy, but I view the list price for closers this year as cheap.
6) Wait out the catcher position. There are twelve solid catchers. You might as well spend $1. MWMMI: I spent $4.
7) Let players come to you. Item 4 was for pitchers. But, there are Karma checks elsewhere, too. Will Brandon Phillips offer himself for $23 after Ian Kinsler went for $29 and Dustin Pedroia went for $33? Might happen. No one wants two at 2B in this format of Yahoo league.
8) Good Teams Punt on Fourth Down. So what do you do when your Karma is bad or you you overspent and everyone is bidding $1 more than you can afford? Punt! J. P. Arenciba might be the best catcher out there. Get him for $1 if your favorite is gone. Second base? Too many sleepers to count. Shortstop? Fewer sleepers, but someone has to play the position for the Red Sox and doesn't Tampa Bay have a prospect league of them? First base? He might not start at the beginning of the year, but then again Brandon Belt might, and he could be as good as Buster $30 Posey. Some times bad Karma turns out to be good Karma in disguise.
Grab your cheat sheets. Yahoo auction leagues are open for business!
My 2011 Bill James handbook arrived Wednesday November 3. I am an off-season fan of Rotoworld, where I subscribe to their on-line draft guide. I read the Sporting News guide looking for sleepers, and am involved in a CBS keeper league and their site too.
MLB Trade Rumors and especially Razzball have been helpful this year. Razzball rankings can be very different from Rotoworld rankings. (Rotoworld under-rates power. Razzball under-rates AVG.)
Strategy depends greatly on the precise league settings. League settings for my draft today were one catcher, three outfielders, two utility slots, 2SP, 2RP, 4P, 5 bench and one DL. There is one of each infield position. Last year, they added a utility and extra pitcher slot and raised the IP limit from 1250 IP to 1400 IP. Otherwise, these are the same Yahoo league settings I have played since I drafted Albert Pujols as rookie. As this is now an auction league, the standard $260 limit is used. Assuming you are in a similar roto league, here are the keys to a successful draft:
1) Don't spend it all in one place. Forget stars and scrubs; this is built in to the Yahoo rankings. Ordinarily, drafting a few top dollar players and filling out a lineup with leftovers is a viable strategy, but Yahoo labels the $40 players as $50 players. So, if you try to draft Albert, Hanley, Ryan and Robinson then you are out of money. People seem willing to pay full list price whether it is correct or too high. If you can obtain Albert, Hanley, Ryan OR Robinson for $52 then fine. Money Where My Mouth is: my most expensive players were $42,$41,$34 and $25. Update: There was a team in my league that went stars and scrubs, and by getting strength at 1B and 3B didn't do too badly. They certainly have trade bait if they want more balance: Black Knight
2) Spend on corner infield. There are a dozen respectable players for 1B and maybe six or seven for 3B. You need a good player for each and if the price is right you need two of each, and that way the utility slots are covered. I put my money where my mouth is. My four most expensive players are Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard, Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn.
3) Don't spend on outfield. You have three slots to fill, but there will always be three good choices on the waiver wire. I would love to have Jay Bruce and both Uptons on my team and if their price were $20 or so I might. I would also get Ryan Braun or Carl Crawford if they were going for $40. It is also tempting to spend $26 on Andrew McCutchen, but Hunter Pence went for $17 and he was next in line on the Razzball cheat. Some new version of Drew Stubbs will be free on the waiver wire. MWMMI: my OFers were obtained for $9,$4,$4 and $2.
4)You only need four or five starting pitchers at any given time and this is the era of the pitcher, so be selective. Innings eaters need not apply for leagues with an IP limit. I bid $17 on Liriano and Gallardo. Someone else bid $18. Frankly, I would prefer to have Liriano or Gallardo on my team. Instead, I ended up with Hamels, Oswalt, Carpenter, Hughes and Hudson for $14, $11,$10, $6 and $1. (I got Dan Hudson, but Tim was also $1.) This combines to solid WHIP and Ks. They even play on teams that might win some games. The bargains are out there. Hellickson went for $3. Jaime Garcia went for $1.
5) Load up on closers. First, you might as well win the saves category. Second, most closers will give solid K/IP and low ratios. Third, they can be traded. I love players like Chris Sale and Aroldis Chapman and I bet both close this year, but I found Brian Wilson for $9 and five other closers who appear to have jobs for $5, $3, $2, $1, $1. One of them is Fernando Rodney, who had terrible ratios last year, but Octavio Dotel had terrible ratios the year before and it didn't stop him from putting up numbers. You are right, I should have got Chapman (and would have, but Yahoo confused me by suggesting I had two more picks when I only had one. Five closers this time of year would have been plenty.) Note: if you violate suggestion 1, all of your closers are coming off the waiver wire. Not the worst strategy, but I view the list price for closers this year as cheap.
6) Wait out the catcher position. There are twelve solid catchers. You might as well spend $1. MWMMI: I spent $4.
7) Let players come to you. Item 4 was for pitchers. But, there are Karma checks elsewhere, too. Will Brandon Phillips offer himself for $23 after Ian Kinsler went for $29 and Dustin Pedroia went for $33? Might happen. No one wants two at 2B in this format of Yahoo league.
8) Good Teams Punt on Fourth Down. So what do you do when your Karma is bad or you you overspent and everyone is bidding $1 more than you can afford? Punt! J. P. Arenciba might be the best catcher out there. Get him for $1 if your favorite is gone. Second base? Too many sleepers to count. Shortstop? Fewer sleepers, but someone has to play the position for the Red Sox and doesn't Tampa Bay have a prospect league of them? First base? He might not start at the beginning of the year, but then again Brandon Belt might, and he could be as good as Buster $30 Posey. Some times bad Karma turns out to be good Karma in disguise.
Grab your cheat sheets. Yahoo auction leagues are open for business!
posted by David Rasmussen at 3:34 PM
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