I am up in the air going forward on which is better, the 4 or 5 man rotation. if you plan on spending 35-40 mil on the rotation then 4 is probably best. looking at the 5 day pitchers there seems to be some good discounts built in. greinke and gray have consistently had some of the lowest eras in the leagues I've gone thru. next time I think i'll try to find the best 5 day pitchers and give it a whirl.
I am not sure of the exact criteria, but it has something to do with averaging about 200 innings a year. I don't know if that is just for the years shown on their card. Also, I mainly play the 60s and 70s decades so I don't know what the criteria is for single season--simply about 200 innings?
CrustyCrab53 is my new username, I don't know why forum still shows Bandit442.
It is a combination of innings and starts with 200 and 30 being the general guidelines. Historically if a pitcher met both they are going to get the *. If they miss on one it is a judgement call by the game company.
As to whether a 4 or 5 man rotation is best either strategy can be effective. There is a price for having the *. So if going with a 5 man rotation keep that in mind. As a general rule I think it is best to go all the way one or the other. Mixing them just ends up wasting some money. Either you will pay for a 40 start guy but not get it or you will use that * guy 40 games and end up shorting all your 5 game guys and overpaying for them.
One key to success for 5 man rotation is if other teams are also trying it. If everyone is going 4 man rotation you have almost exclusive selection among the non * starters. But if another team is going for 5 man rotation then competition for those pitchers in autodraft goes up. If you get unlucky and 2 others are going that route you can get shut out on the best non * starters and be left scrambling because after the autodraft the * starters will be pretty much picked over as well.