Advice?

Hello,

I'm a relatively young strat-o-matic player, going on 17 next month. I've wet my feet with 365, but all 4 of my teams were 2018-2022. I'm wondering if anyone has any strategic advice beyond the basics regarding ATG and just strat in general that could help a new player out.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts,
KIC

(Also, this is a team that I just recently drafted, if you want to critique it, go ahead)
https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1688651

You are going to want to stream line some of your payroll. Your bench is a little on the pricey side. There are some decent values under a buck for your backups. You don't need the fifth starter and I would not recommend Verlander in that park. Take that money and upgrade some of your hitters. A few of those guys are not going to be great values--you are in a power park--so lean hard into the power hitters. Might want to upgrade the defense up the middle.

You are going to want to stream line some of your payroll. Your bench is a little on the pricey side. There are some decent values under a buck for your backups. You don't need the fifth starter and I would not recommend Verlander in that park. Take that money and upgrade some of your hitters. A few of those guys are not going to be great values--you are in a power park--so lean hard into the power hitters. Might want to upgrade the defense up the middle.

Replying to each piece of advice in order:
1. Great idea, I'll get to work on it. Could you drop me some ideas as far as cheap backups? PMing me is fine.
2. I plan on dropping Verlander. Waivers will run this afternoon and I will cycle those guys out.
3. I honestly didn't get any of the power guys I put up for so I will definitely be following that advice.
4. Wrestling with the balance between hitting and defense is one of the most difficult things in SOM. Ill try to make it easier to move guys around with some waiver additions.

Thanks so much for your help!
KIC

Another guy asked for advice on a recent thread, if you want to check out some of the answers that he got.

http://forum.365.strat-o-matic.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=651647&sid=207407c626bbde09fa7f86578d9f8f64

There are some good points from that thread though I was looking for more strategy advice than specific team critiquing.

Strat atg will generally not allow all of your catchers to get hurt regardless of injury risk. The IRod card you have is great, but injury prone. Still, you don't need 2 backups.

I often use a cheaper backup who can hit. I can give you some of my favorites if you wish.

Strat atg will generally not allow all of your catchers to get hurt regardless of injury risk. The IRod card you have is great, but injury prone. Still, you don't need 2 backups.

I often use a cheaper backup who can hit. I can give you some of my favorites if you wish.

Sure, I’m open to ideas. I actually have four catcher able players now haha. The reason I haven’t dropped them yet is because due to roster requirements I would have to replace them with another guy and the 1M I get from the drop wouldn’t be helping me out much.

Also here is my team after waivers, I tried to follow everyone’s advice:
https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1688651

A couple more thoughts.

Use the diamonddope.com card reader. I find the BR (Batting Runs) calculation helpful.

Typically you face RHP at about a 3:1 ration. So Cozart can use a platoon partner that can hit right-handed pitching.

Collins is overpriced. I assume many will disagree. Great D, good speed, but he does not hit as well as one would think. He is a safe 2B option, but there are better for less money. "Dope" a few.

Get rid of Whitney. You have committed to a 5 pitcher strategy. Look for value in the non-* pitchers. Fernandez at 7.77M is better. Probably others too.

Radatz is average. Is Carleton, Gordon, Percival, Wagner, or Lidge available? If so, get one of them.

You can do better than Cecil for less $. I assume that you are making him your LH specialist. Try Agosto instead. Tomlin. DiPino. Again Dope away and save a few dollars for elsewhere.

I-Rod will go down due to injury. You have the money, upgrade to a better backup. Drop Archer. The better Boone card or Sandburg are good choices. Strong D and can hit RHP better. In a pinch, King Kelly can catch.

Finally, study the best teams in your leagues. Look at what players bring value (good production for the price). See if platoons are working for them. Pitching strategies are always tough...study the best pitching teams in your league. But remember, great hitting = wins.

A couple more thoughts.

Use the diamonddope.com card reader. I find the BR (Batting Runs) calculation helpful.

Typically you face RHP at about a 3:1 ration. So Cozart can use a platoon partner that can hit right-handed pitching.

Collins is overpriced. I assume many will disagree. Great D, good speed, but he does not hit as well as one would think. He is a safe 2B option, but there are better for less money. "Dope" a few.

Get rid of Whitney. You have committed to a 5 pitcher strategy. Look for value in the non-* pitchers. Fernandez at 7.77M is better. Probably others too.

Radatz is average. Is Carleton, Gordon, Percival, Wagner, or Lidge available? If so, get one of them.

You can do better than Cecil for less $. I assume that you are making him your LH specialist. Try Agosto instead. Tomlin. DiPino. Again Dope away and save a few dollars for elsewhere.

I-Rod will go down due to injury. You have the money, upgrade to a better backup. Drop Archer. The better Boone card or Sandburg are good choices. Strong D and can hit RHP better. In a pinch, King Kelly can catch.

Finally, study the best teams in your leagues. Look at what players bring value (good production for the price). See if platoons are working for them. Pitching strategies are always tough...study the best pitching teams in your league. But remember, great hitting = wins.

Great advice, everything you said was true. I have used dope in the past but am not sure how to go about scouting for good players. I’ll get to work on tweaking everything.

Thanks

On using Diamond Dope, I like the "Batted Runs" metric. As with everything I do, I try to keep it simple. BR gives me a good and consistent comparison. The Diamond Dope Help on BR:

"BR (BATTING RUNS) = .47 * SINGLES + .78 * DOUBLES + 1.09 * TRIPLES + 1.4 * HOME RUNS + .33 * (WALKS + HBP) - .25 * OUTS"

"When applied to a Strat-o-matic card, the above formula yields a continuum from -27 to 151.2. In real life, there cannot be negative Batting Runs. However, the metric is accurate relative to itself and, in my opinion, is a better measure of card values than Runs Created."

Model for the park you are playing in. For everyday position players, I try to get hitters in the +25 or above range. Platoon players in the +35 or above. As a point of comparison, Babe's most expensive card is +40ish from both sides of the plate (ignoring ballpark effects). I like pitchers -17 or lower. Salary cap, team strategy and draft skill / luck will play havoc with your intentions.