- Posts: 171
- Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2021 5:42 am
For whatever reason my teams have been on a colossal losing streak lately. I generally win more than I lose (barely) but the last ten teams or so I've put together haven't done that at all, and I'm on a major ring drought, so I'm feeling like it's time to take a closer look at some of my general strategies and see what needs to be fixed. I figure this could also be informative for newer players to see how some other folks out there like to build their teams.
Here are some basic rules that I try to follow. I'd appreciate any feedback that might help me right the ship, as it were. Also, if you have some fundamental principles that you like to follow with your draft cards, post them here too, if they aren't trade secrets or whatnot.
Here are some things that I try to do, in no particular order:
*I generally try to do about a 65/35 mix between hitters and pitchers. More for pitchers the smaller the cap gets and vice versa for larger caps.
*Minimum 2 fielding range for middle infielders. Minimum three for corner infielders. (Defense is less important for pitching parks)
*Minimum range of 2 for LF/RF or 1 for CF. Prefer to have a -1 arm or better in RF.
*Catchers are the only position where I'm ok with a "2" injury rating. I try to keep their range at 3 or better, but I'm more concerned with errors, passed balls, and throwing errors. If it's a ballpark that's prone to singles, I want a catcher with a -1 or better arm. If it's a pitchers park that'll limit singles, I'm ok letting my money pay for their bat instead.
*Bullpen with DH is usually a closer and two decent relievers and one junkballer for mopup duties. I usually stay away from lefty/righty specialists (because it seems like Hal can never figure out how to use them correctlyi) but I do almost always make sure I have one righty and one lefty reliever. Sometimes when there's no DH I'll go with 4 decent relievers. ("Decent" meaning generally somewhere between $3-4m relievers for a $100m cap.)
*I usually try to have a balanced rotation instead of having one ace and one crappy starter and two guys somewhere in between the two of them. I'd prefer to have four middle-quality starters rather than have a weak spot at every fourth game in the rotation.
*If I can get one platoon in there, great. More than two platoons is counter-productive.
*I generally use *SPs unless I'm in super low cap leagues. If it's a DH league or if I'm in a tight pitchers park, then I'm trying to get guys that go 8+ innings. Otherwise I'm spending my money on guys that go 7 innings so my bullpen guys don't go to waste.
*I'll never spend more than $.6 on a bench player unless he's backing someone with high injury probability. And with those bench players I choose to prioritize their gloves over their bats.
*I generally prefer to emphasize OBP over SLG, unless it's a full on hitters' park. I still want to have guys with BPHRs when I have a hitters park, but by my observation they won't do me any good if they get on base 30% of the time. Add to this rule the fact that hits are way better than walks. I'll take a high batting average over any other hitting stat any time.
*Speaking of hitting, when I'm comparing players on Diamond Dope, I usually factor in their NERP score more than anything else, mostly because it also factors in Runners Batted Out.
That's pretty much what I can think of so far. Does any of this totally fly in the face of anyone else's rules? Any other feedback that comes to mind when you're reading this? I'm hoping some other folks will take a minute to put down their drafting guidelines too so I can see some other perspectives.
Cheers!
Here are some basic rules that I try to follow. I'd appreciate any feedback that might help me right the ship, as it were. Also, if you have some fundamental principles that you like to follow with your draft cards, post them here too, if they aren't trade secrets or whatnot.
Here are some things that I try to do, in no particular order:
*I generally try to do about a 65/35 mix between hitters and pitchers. More for pitchers the smaller the cap gets and vice versa for larger caps.
*Minimum 2 fielding range for middle infielders. Minimum three for corner infielders. (Defense is less important for pitching parks)
*Minimum range of 2 for LF/RF or 1 for CF. Prefer to have a -1 arm or better in RF.
*Catchers are the only position where I'm ok with a "2" injury rating. I try to keep their range at 3 or better, but I'm more concerned with errors, passed balls, and throwing errors. If it's a ballpark that's prone to singles, I want a catcher with a -1 or better arm. If it's a pitchers park that'll limit singles, I'm ok letting my money pay for their bat instead.
*Bullpen with DH is usually a closer and two decent relievers and one junkballer for mopup duties. I usually stay away from lefty/righty specialists (because it seems like Hal can never figure out how to use them correctlyi) but I do almost always make sure I have one righty and one lefty reliever. Sometimes when there's no DH I'll go with 4 decent relievers. ("Decent" meaning generally somewhere between $3-4m relievers for a $100m cap.)
*I usually try to have a balanced rotation instead of having one ace and one crappy starter and two guys somewhere in between the two of them. I'd prefer to have four middle-quality starters rather than have a weak spot at every fourth game in the rotation.
*If I can get one platoon in there, great. More than two platoons is counter-productive.
*I generally use *SPs unless I'm in super low cap leagues. If it's a DH league or if I'm in a tight pitchers park, then I'm trying to get guys that go 8+ innings. Otherwise I'm spending my money on guys that go 7 innings so my bullpen guys don't go to waste.
*I'll never spend more than $.6 on a bench player unless he's backing someone with high injury probability. And with those bench players I choose to prioritize their gloves over their bats.
*I generally prefer to emphasize OBP over SLG, unless it's a full on hitters' park. I still want to have guys with BPHRs when I have a hitters park, but by my observation they won't do me any good if they get on base 30% of the time. Add to this rule the fact that hits are way better than walks. I'll take a high batting average over any other hitting stat any time.
*Speaking of hitting, when I'm comparing players on Diamond Dope, I usually factor in their NERP score more than anything else, mostly because it also factors in Runners Batted Out.
That's pretty much what I can think of so far. Does any of this totally fly in the face of anyone else's rules? Any other feedback that comes to mind when you're reading this? I'm hoping some other folks will take a minute to put down their drafting guidelines too so I can see some other perspectives.
Cheers!