What direction to go in with this team? (Need Help)

[tybs]

12 team, 5X5, non HTH roto league with daily lineup changes. Can start 1 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SS, 3 OF, 2 UTIL (can be any position), 2 SP, 2 RP, 4 Any P. Currently in 2nd place with 79 points (leader has 100.5), 2 point lead over 3rd, 3 point lead over 4th. Individual categories: 11-runs, 2.5-HR, 1.5-RBI, 11-SB, 9-AVG, 11-wins, 4-saves, 11-K, 10-ERA, 8-WHIP. Hitters: Posey, Freeman, Cano, Reynolds, Reyes, Choo, Jennings, Boesch, Pagan, Viciedo, Aviles, Seager, Au. Jackson. Pitchers: Lee, Greinke, Beachy, Cueto, McDonald, Capuano, Vogelsong, Harrison, Garcia (DL), Putz, A. Reed, Ry. Cook. I know I have too many OF's. I have to cut a player to activate Jackson (left him inactive one day too long and I paid for it yesterday). Before the weekend it was going to be Boesch, but I was high on him on draft night and he seems to have discovered his stroke after supposedly correcting a mechanical flaw.

Let's assume the first place team regresses. My goal is to finish in the top 6 in each category. I expect to be able to do that in runs, average and steals. If my SP holds up, I should be OK in wins, K's, ERA and WHIP. Obviously my biggest deficiencies are in HR, RBI and saves. I have 69 HR to date (top 6 have 98, 97, 93, 91, 86 and 82). I have 281 RBI to date (top 6 have 341, 325, 325, 317, 316 and 302). I have 31 saves to date (top 6 have 47, 47, 46, 44, 38, 35). I hope that picking up Cook after the latest Fuentes implosion will help with saves, but that all depends on how Melvin uses him. I tried on numerous occasions to trade SP for power, but no one has bitten. I have tried to avoid trading Lee and Greinke, but they seem to be the pitchers that others want, but they are also my top strikeout pitchers. I would like to avoid robbing Peter to pay Paul, if possible. I have also offered Reyes to no avail.

If anybody has any advice on a strategy, I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to practice patience, but the spreads in the power categories have gotten worse as the season has progressed and I don't want to fall any further behind if I can help it. Sorry this post is so long winded, but i thought it was necessary to present the entire picture. Thanks for reading.

[Todd Zola]

1. Your goal should not be to finish top-6 in each category but to look where you can gain the most points while losing the least -- that is your goal should be to attain the most points

2. What are the rules with waivers/FAAB and how many reserve spots do you have? One of the best ways to pump up counting stats in daily leagues is to have as many active players on Monday and Thursday as possible.


3. Is there an innings limit for pitching? This ties in with reserve and free agents, but in a league with daily moves, the ability to keep starting pitchers on the bench and daily free agent pickup (or even weekly) you should have a bunch of high-K solid middle relievers active the days your starters are not scheduled. Again, this is completely dependent on roster availability and maneuverability, but you may be able to deal Lee or Greinke if you can do this.

[tybs]

Todd: Waiver rules are when a player is dropped, he is put on waivers for 24 hours and if not claimed, he becomes a FA. Waiver order is reverse order of draft and waiver claims are rarely made (none used this year). We are limited to 45 moves for the season (I've already used 13), so I don't have the luxury of constantly adding and dropping players. I like to save some moves for the end of the season to pick up SP's for streaming purposes. This practice has worked well in the past.

We have 5 bench/reserve spots and 2 DL spots and I currently have 2 reserve hitters (3 counting A-Jax who I have to activate necessitating the drop of a hitter) and 3 reserve SP's. There is no innings limit for pitchers.

I understand your logic in having as many active players on Monday and Thursday, but having too many rostered hitters often causes me to make the wrong lineup decisions on the other 5 days which I can't afford to do (e.g. I had Freeman on my bench and A-Jax still inactive yesterday due to their recent issues/inactivity).

Thanks in advance for any follow up.

[Todd Zola]

before I follow up -- is the 45 moves limited to pickups or also activations/reservations

That is, say on a Monday, if you activate a guy with a game and reserve a guy without one, does that count against your 45?

[tybs]

The 45 moves is limited to pickups and trades, which also count against that number.

[deansdaddy]

Hey tybs,

Ryan Carey here - I'll throw my two cents in here, and I think this is a good question - because it speaks to approach rather than to specific questions.

Not really knowing all the rules (is this a keeper or redraft? and can you make trades?) leaves a little left to guess, but I will frame my advice under the assumption this is a redraft league where trades are allowed. Todd kind of hints at what my first target would be when he mentions NOT trying to shoot for the Top-6 in every category plan. The first thing you want to do is identify your weakness and strengths, and if you can make a deal or two by trading from strength to make a big move in a category or two, then that's what you try to do. While Hr's and RBI's clearly stand out as your weak spots, the place to start for you should be saves. If you can make a deal that gives you a closer and a decent bat for an elite player, you do it. You have built a nice cushion in R's, SB's and AVG. You have plenty of speed to deal. With Mike Aviles on board, I would personally try to deal Jose Reyes and see what I could get. Maybe an upgrade in the OF along with a closer. It is hard to deal a stud like Reyes, but he will net you the greatest haul I think. He would definitely likely be the best chance for you to get another stud bat in return, which is what you will need if you really plan to make a run in those cats. You have two many Judy's in this lineup, and in a 12 teamer balance is better.
If not Reyes, you could step down a notch to Jennings or Choo or even Jackson.

IF you can't make deals to improve your lot - all you can do is hit the wire, maximize ABS and add more power and run-production to your lineup.

[Todd Zola]

With no innings limit, I would pick up some solid middle relievers to support ratios, bump up K's and get vulture wins while my starters are on the bench.

Agree with Ryan about moving steals for pop, but I still play matchups on Mon and Thurs -- guys like Aviles and Seager are great for that since they can be moved around and the best player available can be used.

When choosing hitters, ignore "hot and cold" and focus on L-R and R-L matchups -- look for guys at home or in a strong lineup.