Platooning FTW!

[motherscratcher]

I've recently become infatuated with platooning. I have a team that features my first platoon in RF.

Mark Brouhard and Irv Noren. This is not the disaster I envisioned as Brouhard Is performing well (as expected) and Noren is so far keeping up his end of the bargain, hitting .295 with a .355 OBP.

One good thing about a platoon is that is takes 2 roster spots, saving you from having to spend 500K on a shmoe you hope never has to play. Instead of signing one $8 mil player and a shmoe backup ($8.5 total), you can conceivable spend $7.5-8mil on a platoon and get as good or better results.

One thing i realized (after the Brouhard/Noren platoon) is that you should spend more on your lefty because he is going to get 75% of the playing time.

Here are a few platoons I'm kicking the tires on for future 9th place teams I'm constructing:

Catcher:
Bill Delancy - $4.2
Johnny Romano - $2.86. (or Buck Matrinez $0.97)

First Base:
Willie McCovey - $5.28. (or Ted Kluszewski $3.88)
Andres Galarraga - $3.29. (or Tony Phillips $0.90)

Right Field:
Jeff Heath - $4.79. (or Paul O'Neill $3.28)
Mark Brouhard - $1.44. (or Terry Harper $2.06)


Does anyone regularly use platoons or have any thoughts on what works and what doesn't?

any great platoons that worked well?

Any unmitigated disasters?

[Guynick]

I agree about a lot you have to say here. Two roster spots, usually more money spent on the guy who hits righties.

In some parks, the batters can hit from the same side if has a reverse platoon advantage. You can also platoon a guy for his glove instead of his bat. But I generally try to have them occupy the same lineup spot with similar production. And I'm more willing to platoon low in the lineup, to avoid a late-game dud in a key spot in the order.

[mrharryc]

I know there are some very skilled players who utilize platoons a great deal.

I employ them sometimes, but one I do most often that has worked well has been at 2B with Glenn Beckert (.80) and Jim Gantner (1.19). Decent defense and good average hitting are what you can expect, albeit with little power. The low cost does allow you to spend elsewhere.

I will say Beckert holds his end up more consistently of the two, but overall worth a look.

[Valen]

I user a lot of platoons and agree the LH side needs to be where the money is spent. Some additional thoughts.

One needs to be low injury risk and reasonably capable of playing every day if the partner gets injured. For example if using O'neil who is injury prone make sure your RH bat is low injury risk. Another thing I like to do to get move value from the RH side is to pick someone who plays good defense. That way you can use him as a defensive replacement for the LH side and gain more value. That way even though the atbats may be a 75/25 split it can make sense for the $ split to be closer to even.

And don't forget the cross position platoon. For example if you have a guy who is evenly balanced and plays every day but plays 2 positions you can use him to bridge a platoon between 2 positions. Say your bridge player plays both RF and LF. You can then use a big LH bat as your platoon in RF paired with a big RH bat in RF. The bridge alternates as needed to fill in. This can result in some very creative and effective platoons.

[bkeat23]

[url=http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/team/team_other.html?user_id=329239&stats=splits&onroster=1]not always 3-1 ratio on the R-L pitchers to be faced[/url]


Walling/McMullin
Covington/Alou
Mincher DJohnson

[PotKettleBlack]

3B - Walling/Ray Boone or Ray Knight.
1B/DH - Lee Mazzilli/Ken Smith (Ken Smiths vs. L card is obscene... 81 walks... 10-11 GBa. That's about it... Mazzilli's 30 walks travels really well).

I like platooning, but not in the heart of the lineup. HAL seems reluctant to sub for top half of the lineup guys, but more willing to do so towards the bottom.

Here's one that I used with Galaragga. (and a Walling/Boone)
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/team/team_other.html?user_id=315341

Briggs is his platoon-mate. 43 HR and 145 RBI from first base at 6.5M.
Team wasn't great, but really, if you take out games that were started by Nick Maddox, it looks a lot better.

[motherscratcher]

Seems like a lot of the same players keep coming up for platoons. I have a short list and it already has guys like Alou, Walling, and Beckert.

Another platoon I was thinking of is Thome/Galarraga. It would be a really nice platoon and Galarraga could be a good defensive replacement.

But, for what you'd spend you can have Lou Gehrig so...yeah...there's that.

[1787]

THREE PLATTONS THAT HAVE WORKED WELL FOR MY TEAMS ARE JIMMY HALL AND GARY REONOKE COMBINED UNDER 5 MIL AND BOTH GOOD DEFENSIVLY IN LF AND RF, MOOSE SKOWRON [5L] AND TED KLUZUSKI [5R] AT FIRST AND IN 80 MIL LEAGUES STEVE LAKE AND JOHN ROSEBORO COMBINED UNDER 3.5 MIL AND VERY STRONG DEFENSE . I AGREE A PLATOON WILL SAVE SOME MONEY AND STILL PRODUCE.

[PotKettleBlack]

[quote:100d143e1a="motherscratcher"]Seems like a lot of the same players keep coming up for platoons. I have a short list and it already has guys like Alou, Walling, and Beckert.

Another platoon I was thinking of is Thome/Galarraga. It would be a really nice platoon and Galarraga could be a good defensive replacement.

But, for what you'd spend you can have Lou Gehrig so...yeah...there's that.[/quote:100d143e1a]

In my analysis of platooning, generally, for the same price, in the absence of other teams (ie when assembling a draft list), you can have an equal player for the same money as the platoon. I like the Walling/Boone-Knight platoon because I don't really have a go to 3rd baseman in that price range that I like. I think it's a good way to get around the demand curve, but ATC, I'd rather have one guy with durability who can hit both sides.

[motherscratcher]

Yeah, the more I look at it, th more it only makes sense in the low price ranges. Once you start getting into the $5-6 mil total cost range, there is usually a good players that makes sense. But you do still have to spend 500k on a backup.

I'm trying to wrap my brain around Galarraga. The dude crushes leftys. But you can't really have him NOT in a platoon. Can you? And if you are already $3.29 mil on him, how do you justify the cost of that platoon?

I'm dying to get him into a lineup though. Just to see what happens.