Roster Advice for a Newbie

[xerplastic]

I've never really played fantasy baseball before and I'm sure I didnt draft the best team I could have. I'm in a 10 team head to head league with these stat categories: R, H, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP, SLG, W, L, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP. If anyone has any advice on ways I can adjust my roster makeup or unknown players that may be better then some of the players I have, then that would be great. I appreciate the help in advance.

1. Derek Lee 1B
2. Jason Bay OF
4. Victor Martinez C
5. Jorge Cantu 3B 2B
7. Rafael Furcal SS
10. Pat Burrell OF
11. Iguchi 2B
12. Cliff Floyd OF
14. Jeremy Hermida OF
15. Shea Hillenbrand 1B, 3B
18. Michael Barret C
20. Edwin Encarnacion 3B
22. Austin Kearns OF

Pitchers
3. Rich Harden SP
21. Aaron Harang SP
16. Zach Duke SP
19. Cliff Politte RP
17. Chris Reitsma RP
13. Fransico Cordero RP
6. Bartolo Colon SP
8. B.J. Ryan RP
9. Cliff Lee SP

[Red Leader]

Hmmm, let's look at a depth chart:

C: V. Martinez, Barrett.
1B: D. Lee, Hllenbrand
2B: Cantu, Iguchi
SS: Furcal
3B: Cantu, Hillenbrand, Encarnacion
OF: Bay, Burrell, Floyd, Hermida, Kearns

SP: Harden, Colon, Lee, Harang, Duke
RP: Ryan, Cordero, Reitsma, Politte.

Ok, first problem is 2B/3B. Cantu is your best 2nd baseman and best 3rd baseman. If forced, I'd go with Cantu at 3B and Iguchi at 2B. Wat positions do you play? That's a big factor.

I think your team is pretty good for a first time player. Letting me know what positions you start will determine what extra players you have to trade or cut to pick up other players.

Let me know what positions you start, and then what 2B / 3B are available on the waiver wire. We'll start with the offense first. You're not in too bad of shape here.

[xerplastic]

Thanks a lot for the help.

In the league you start, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util. And then 2 SP, 2 RP, and 3 Utility Pitchers.

Players on the wire include:
Second : Polanco 2B, 3B; Luis Castillo, Craig Counsell, Bill Hall, Jose Vidro, Ray Durham, Rich Aurilla (2B, 3B, SS), Cuddyer (2B, 3B, OF).

Third: Pedro Feliz, Casey Blake (3B, OF), Brad Inge, Vinny Castilla, Bill Mueller (2B, 3B), Joe Crede, Corey Koskie, Grafanino, Mackowiak.

We also added walks to the hitting categories and K/9 to the pitching categories.

[Redsnake]

You will be dead last in Holds if you don't add a pitcher or two. Two solid setup many will put you in the middle of the pack at the very least. Polittle is a good start. Try finding 2 more who will give you close to 80 k's or higher.

Look for: Farnsworth, D.Sanchez, Baez, Looper, Timlin, R.Soriano, Linebrink. These guys might even give you saves and more trade bait.

Also I am keeping a very close eye on Ian Kinsler as my favorite sleeper. The Rangers specifically getting rid of A.Soriano for Ian. He isn't being drafted in any of my leagues. Ian is also SS eligible.

I would consider dropping Kearns, Hermida, Hillenbrand.

[Red Leader]

Originally Posted by xerplastic

Thanks a lot for the help.

In the league you start, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util. And then 2 SP, 2 RP, and 3 Utility Pitchers.

Players on the wire include:
Second : Polanco 2B, 3B; Luis Castillo, Craig Counsell, Bill Hall, Jose Vidro, Ray Durham, Rich Aurilla (2B, 3B, SS), Cuddyer (2B, 3B, OF).

Third: Pedro Feliz, Casey Blake (3B, OF), Brad Inge, Vinny Castilla, Bill Mueller (2B, 3B), Joe Crede, Corey Koskie, Grafanino, Mackowiak.

We also added walks to the hitting categories and K/9 to the pitching categories.

Ok, new depth chart:

C: V. Martinez
1B: D. Lee
2B: T. Iguchi
3B: J. Cantu
SS: Furcal
IF: Hillenbrand (currently)
OF (4): Bay, Burrell, Floyd, Kearns
UTIL: Hermida

Players left over that you can drop: Barrett, Encarnacion.

Doesn't look very good at 2B/3B on your waiver wire. What about OF's who qualify at 1B (or any other INF spot) anyone like that out there? Someone like Wilkerson...

BTW, I agree with Redsnake on the holds, but I'm working on your offense first. We can tackle pitching next.

[xerplastic]

Dmitri Young, Jay Gibbons, Pedro Feliz, Matt Stairs, Kevin Millar are all 1B, OF; and then Casey Blake is OF, 3B. Wilkerson is someone I wanted, who got picked right before me. You don't think Rich Aurilla would be a good pick up?.......................... Just kidding.

[xerplastic]

Also, I'm worried about Narron destroying him, but I think it would be fairly easy to get Freel in a trade, if you think it may be worth it.

[Red Leader]

Yikes! Your offensive waiver wire looks like mine. A lot of owners in your league must know what they're doing... not many good options there either.

[Red Leader]

OK. let's look at the pitching:

SP (2): Harden, Lee.
RP (2): Ryan, Cordero
UP (3): Colon, Reitsma, Harang / Politte.


Getting back to what Redsnake said,

Look for: Farnsworth, D.Sanchez, Baez, Looper, Timlin, R.Soriano, Linebrink. These guys might even give you saves and more trade bait.

do you have any one of the players he listed on the waiver wire? If so, drop Barrett and pick one of them up. Also, is F. Liriano (MIN) available?

[xerplastic]

Sanchez, Looper, Soriano, and Liriano are all available. Also I was looking at Scott Eyre, he had about 30 holds last year, he k/9 took a big jump from his previous season and that led his WHIP to fall. Looper will probably have the most chances, playing for St. Louis, but his other stats from last year don't look that hot.

Also, I really like Aaron Harang but feel that there might be some better options out there and my vision is a clouded red a little. Do you think he deserves a roster spot over starters such as Chris Young, Eric Bedard, etc.

[Red Leader]

Eric Bedard, IMO, is a MUST pickup. He was arguably the best SP in the American league in the 1st half before being injured. He's now healthy and has Leo Mazzone to work with. I'd drop Barrett to pickup Bedard. *You may also drop someone else and ask around to see if you can get anything in return for Barrett, who has some value as a decent catcher.

I'd drop Encarnacion and pick up Liriano. He should help in every category, and if he ever gets a starting gig in MIN, he'll be worth a mint in trade.

I'd also drop Pollitte and pick up Sanchez, Looper, or Soriano, who IMO are all better. I'm not that high on Scott Eyre.

That leaves you with no offensive bench players, but that's ok. Your pitchers are the ones your going to have to make everyday moves with to pick up holds and saves on days when your SP's aren't starting.

[Redsnake]

Red Leader is right, Bedard is a must pickup and Liriano is as well.

Sanchez will back up B.Wagner, which means who could also close with Wagner being injury prone. Looper is going to get the must chances. LaRussa is notorious for his rock solid setup man. Soriano is the closer by the end of the year for the Mariners, take that to the bank! Eyre, Qualls are also good choices. Your goal for total Holds in a season should be around 80. That could win you the league or do no worse than 4th place.

Do you have a min./max. innings pitched?

[xerplastic]

No max innings pitched, just a minimum of 10.

I now have
C: V. Martinez, M. Barrett
1B: D. Lee, S. Hillenbrand
2B: T. Iguchi, J. Cantu
3B: J. Cantu, S. Hillenbrand
SS: R. Furcal
OF: J. Bay, P. Burrell, C. Floyd, A. Kearns
IF: S. Hillenbrand
Util: J. Hermida

SP (2) : R. Harden, B. Colon
RP (2) : B. Ryan, F. Cordero
UP (3): C. Lee, C. Reitsma, E. Bedard
F. Liriano, Z. Duke, A. Harang

I think I can swing Barrett for at least Freel, to give me more depth in the infield, along with speed which I don't have that much of. I'm gonna drop one of the starters to pick up a setup man for holds. I'm leaning towards Soriano but think that Sanchez may be the safer pick.

[Red Leader]

What about someone like Curtis Granderson? Is he available? Furcal and Hermida should give you some SB's. Lee, Iguchi, and Bay should contribute 10-20 each as well, so I think you're ok there. I'd pick up Granderson over Freel since Granderson is guaranteed a lot more playing time.

[xerplastic]

Granderson was drafted. I don't think there's too much help out there on the waiver wire. At least when it comes to hitting. I'm unsure about starting pitchers. Do most people keep 5? I'm reluctant to drop Duke because I want to give him a chance to back up his numbers from last year but I do need more relievers I think.