In my CBS free league

[Brees#1]

with the fourth pick I ended up with Trout!

Trout
Fielder
Beltre
Greinke
Kipnis
Jones
Chapman
Cueto
Fister
Molina
top ten picks, finished off the batting with Marte(11), Hamilton(12) and Hardy(14) and got two reserves who are big prospects(Taveras and Springer).

My pitching consists of one stud in Greinke and a bunch of potential studs in Cueto(who is already one really), Fister(with a pitching team), Matt Moore, Burnett, Archer, and Masterson. I also drafted two more closers in Soriano and Jones. When Trout happened to me I had to change my strategy to batting heavy.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

4th pick and got trout... what kind of league is this... Pitching dominant league??

 

[tlance]

4th pick and got trout... what kind of league is this... Pitching dominant league??

CBS points leagues have 10 teams and start 3 OFs. Assuming this is the format, Trout lasting to 4 makes sense. OFs are a dime a dozen here and it is really important to get starting pitching early.

 

[Brees#1]

Yes it is a 10 team league and Trout was ranked third behind Kershaw and Wainwright. The guy drafting ahead of me took Cabrera who was fifth. Had the guy in 2nd showed up in the draft I more than likely would have been left to pick Wainwright, Verlander, or Gonzolez. Had that happened I would have went Felix. Yeah a good sp is required and with all those studs I have, if I need to trade for one I could. But I saw what happened last year in another CBS league when one guy took Trout, Votto, Fielder first three and another guy autodrafted Kershaw, Greinke, Lee, and Gallardo first five. That guy showed up after the draft and won the whole thing. He had Choo, Holliday, Ortiz to help him out but he got Craig off FA when I dropped him(slow start and I overreacted) and that probably helped him win the league. The first guy though was highest scoring in league and had a top 2 seed with him but lost in divisional round.

I saw how stacking up on one side had a benefit, it minimizes bust draft potentials on both sides. Braun and Hamilton last year stunk for me and Cain and Cueto also bombed. In Cain and Cueto's places I could have gotten two additional top batters and would not have been scrambling so hard in FA to find pieces on both sides. I wanted to see to it I had a top player on every batting position and did except Hardy. It took until July for my team to play better because Myers came on, Brown was playing like a stud, Morneau turned it up, but Braun got suspended and then Burnett got hurt. It was too late for me though as I couldnt stay consistent. There's going to be minor players that come on and tear the league up, and players that finally arrive(like Brown last year). If I have issues with one or two players and I have healthy guys I have leverage to make trades.

I'm actually thinking of making a trade now such as Beltre for Carpenter. With Fielder on the rangers now, its possible he won't be as valuable. I also thought thought about trading for Reyes But need that 3b and do have Peralta and Lowrie in case the Hardy experiement doesnt continue.

 

[tlance]

I think you did pretty well, all things considered, but here are a couple thoughts:

-Don't force a trade for an SS. Hardy will be fine, and if not there are plenty of waiver options in a league this shallow.

-Trading Beltre for Carpenter is not a good idea. Fielder's presence will only help Beltre. Why would it be bad?

- Absolutely no reason to hold Taveras and Springer here. Waste of roster space. Your team is already hitter dominant, where will they play when they come up? Will you bench Jones or Marte? They might eventually be better than Hamilton, but you can make better use of that bench spot. There are literally tons of good FA OFs in your league, I guarantee it.

- Your pitching staff is weak, yet your bench is comprised mostly of hitters. Why? You need to stack your bench with pitchers so you can take advantage of weekly match-ups and 2 start weeks. While you have some decent options, I promise your team will not win consistently unless you use your bench to bolster your starting pitching. There are at least 3 hitters that need to be dropped ASAP- Taveras, Springer and Peralta.

-Also, as a general rule, 1 pick should not completely alter your draft strategy. Balance is preferable to completely stacking 1 side. There are many ways to achieve that.

 

[Microwahevo]

When Trout happened to me I had to change my strategy to batting heavy

Ehh, not really IMO. I just had a re-draft last night and held the 5th pick. Was targeting Kershaw(prospects leaguers will understand) but he went 3rd. So I picked up Goldy and still went with my "pitcher heavy" approach. It still worked out ok as I simply went and got the guys I wanted.

I think u still could've kept ur draft strategy, but hopefully, like tlance said, u stock ur bench with more pitching. U can never have enough starters IMO.

 

[Brees#1]

Thats what I'm considering doing, I did drop Springer and Tavarez for Lowrie and Eaton last week. I planned to stream one or two pitchers a week. Or wait for the "Mike Leake" to emerge and pounce on him.

 

[tlance]

Thats what I'm considering doing, I did drop Springer and Tavarez for Lowrie and Eaton last week. I planned to stream one or two pitchers a week. Or wait for the "Mike Leake" to emerge and pounce on him.

That is okay, but you are still missing the point.

The fact that hitters like Lowrie and Eaton were sitting on the waiver wire is exactly why you don't need hitters on your bench.

They are both good hitters, but there are plenty more where they came from should you need an injury replacement. It is foolish to waste bench spots on hitters in these shallow leagues. Grab some pitchers, and then stream also for the 2 start guys.

 

[Brees#1]

Wait I have 8 pitchers now, picked up Beachy who has forearm issues not elbow, and five of them start each week. So I have three on the bench. But Greinke did well last season, Fister is going to the NL(though Haren is on this team as well), Burnett is always underrated, Moore is a rising pitcher, Cueto is a ace when healthy. The bench consists of Archer, Masterson, and Beachy who all will have their upsides.

And I could do it but Kolten Wong was the other person I picked up last week, I had dropped a third closer. I don't want to let him go because of what he could possibly do this year. He's hot in spring training right now.

 

[Brees#1]

And now I'm at a dillema with Chapman. I added Mike Leake and dropped Beachy who is officially undergoing TJ surgery. But now I'm thinking about trading Kipnis or Hamilton. I can put Wong in the 2b or u spot. Btw, the Hamilton I own is Billy, not Josh.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Draft with the deaf and blind or something?

 

[Brees#1]

No there are some strong owners in this league. I picked up Hoover, then dropped for Broxton, then dropped for Grilli. Jansen, Papp, and Jones are on FA too in case pirates win less games early.

 

[tlance]

No there are some strong owners in this league. I picked up Hoover, then dropped for Broxton, then dropped for Grilli. Jansen, Papp, and Jones are on FA too in case pirates win less games early.

Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. Regardless of what happens early on, if Grilli is healthy he is a top 10 closer. Any of those other closers could get off to a better start, but the Pirates are still the best bet of the group to win games and Grilli is the best pitcher of the lot when healthy.

Don't rush a decision based on a small sample size during early season play. After all, when you pick up a player, you don't get the numbers he put up last week. All decisions should be based on the talent and the situation of the players involved.

 

[Microwahevo]

No there are some strong owners in this league. I picked up Hoover, then dropped for Broxton, then dropped for Grilli. Jansen, Papp, and Jones are on FA too in case pirates win less games early.

If Grilli is still on waivers I have too wonder, how many teams is this league?

 

[tlance]

If Grilli is still on waivers I have too wonder, how many teams is this league?

It is CBS default.

10 teams, Starting 9 total hitters, 5 SPs and 3 RPs.

Since starter eligible relievers outscore all but the super elite closers, many teams won't have any closers.

Every team in this format looks stacked because the pool is so shallow. I know some have commented on how good this team looks, but again, after you factor in that players like Jed Lowrie and Jason Grilli were not even drafted you can see that some of the other teams are going to look amazing too.

I think this team could make the playoffs if the pitching staff is managed well, but if not you will be on the outside looking in. If the OP posted some of the other rosters for teams in his league, I think everyone would see what I am talking about.

CBS uses a very quirky format.

 

[Brees#1]

Well CBS's leagues are private so they only allow members to see a matchup. But here's one this week if anyone has CBS..........

Sign In - CBSSports.com

The opponent had way more pitching starts than me, getting Alex Wood on FA to go along with Felix, Lee, Lester. All of those had eight starts combined. In addition to having Richards, Gonzolez, and Miller. Total he had 11 starts but no closers. I had 8 and two closers. I'm considering trying to move Fielder. Although I know he just played a NL team and a pitching AL team. But if I could get a Darvish for Fielder and trade Greinke for a 1b in 5th/6th round range(Davis?) I might do it.

 

[Brees#1]

Here you go. I list five teams here plus the picture of my pending offers. Each two represents one team.

Okay I can only list four teams here I'll add the other three pictures in the next post.

 

[Brees#1]

The other three(one more team plus the trade offers). TLance and TRok know my hitters.

 

[Brees#1]

And these were turned down recently
Trout for Felix
Cueto for Wacha and Kazmir(I did not list that guy because he needs pitching)
Cueto for Kluber and Fister

 

[da55bums]

are you trying to get hitting or pitching? your offers are all over the place, did you trade Fister away?