Holds

[uharchmajor]

The debate goes both ways on the value of Holds, and probably even further in the value of Holds in fantasy leagues. Any thought to projecting them? I play in a points league that awards 4.5 points for a hold (9 for a save) so the MR guys retain some value. Last year I had Marmol and the first 2.5 months into the season he was a top 30 pitcher. He ended up ranked as the 68th best pitcher while only recording 7 saves and nailing down 30 holds. Points wise, he was right around Lackey, Fuentes, Garza, Jered Weaver, Guthrie and Jenks.

[cwk1963]

This is the definition of a hold from MLB.com:

The "Hold":
The hold is not an official statistic, but it was created as a way to credit middle relief pitchers for a job well done. Starting pitchers get wins, and closers -- the relief pitchers who come in at the end of the game -- get saves, but the guys who pitch in between the two rarely get either statistic. So what's the most important thing one of these middle relievers can do? "Hold" a lead. If a reliever comes into a game to protect a lead, gets at least one out and leaves without giving up that lead, he gets a hold. But you can't get a save and a hold at the same time.

According to this definition, there can be multiple holds awarded for a team in a single game. So I would say there really is no reliable way to 'project' how many a player will get. I'd say don't worry about projections and grab as many 8th inning guys as you can 'hold' on your team.

[Guest]

Yeah, we thought about it. And we truthfully wanted to put our names on projections we trusted and felt we could back up.

We know there are many holds leagues out there but frankly, as cwk said, you're much better off grabbing skilled MR types than worrying about projecting it with any certainty.

[rotonut]

IMO, holds are the worst stat ever. Take this scenario (one that is not all that uncommon... if you're a Mets fan, you may not want to read any further). Reliever A comes into a game with a 2 run lead. He proceeds to get one out, but in the mean time, he's given up 1 run and leaves the bases loaded. According to the definition, Reliever A gets a hold.

Taking the scenario one step further, Reliever B is called in to bail out Reliever A. Reliever B strikes out the next hitter leaving two outs and the bases loaded. Reliever B then induces a ground ball to SS who precedes to boot the ball allowing the tying run to score. Reliever B then strikes out the next hitter to retire the side. In this scenario, Reliever B gets a blown save.

Reliever A pitches like any Mets reliever from last year and gets a hold. Reliever B gets two Ks but gets a blown save. That sounds about right!

So, check that. While holds is an awful stat, the blown save is the worse stat ever.

Either way, they are very difficult to project and much of it depends on defense. If all else fails, target high K/BB and K/9 middle relievers and late inning lefty specialists and hope for the best.

[viper]

It may be a lousy stat but there are leagues that have it. If you join one of them, Holds becomes as valuable as Saves.

[rotonut]

It may be a lousy stat but there are leagues that have it. If you join one of them, Holds becomes as valuable as Saves.

I can't agree with you more. I used to be a 6x6 straight draft league where holds was a stat and "net" saves (Sv - BS) was another stat. My strategy was to let the closers go and focus on the high skilled set up guys that would (a) get holds, and (b) be converted into closers by mid season. Since the "top" holds guys went much later in the draft, I was able to amass a dominant hitting team, got decent starting pitching, dominated the holds category, and did okay in saves since this position is so volatile. The strategy worked out swimmingly!

However, because of the lousiness of the stat categories themselves, I cannot envision myself participating in another league with these categories. JUST SAY NO TO HOLDS!!!

[brooklyn49]

My strategy was to....

and I think this is the what any category is all about. The categories effect the strategy you have to employ to win your league. There is nothing particularly sacred about Daniel Okrent's original 4 x 4 categories. The scenario presented regarding whether or not a pitcher gets credit for a hold and deserves it doesn't address the fact that a pitcher who is ineffective may get a hold, but the damage to the ERA and WHIP is a consequence. To me, the question is am I going to chase holds, or saves, and at what cost and what is my strategy to get there.