Rebuilding AND playing to WIN strategy debate

[MilkSpiller22]

@Chef99 HERE WE GO!!!!

This thread is only for big keeper leagues and Dynasty leagues...

When you are in rebuilding mode, what is best strategy??

When you are in Playing for NOW mode, what is best strategy??

Rebuilding mode-

It is common place for owners to go crazy on youth here, but is that really the best strategy?? Yes it is important to have a good minor league system(in leagues with minor leagues), but prospects are just that...

What i think is best strategy, is to only go for the elite prospects when available and then go BPA, Let other teams take the gambles on potential stars who are more likely to be never will BEs... Best way to rebuild is actually through trade and not through the draft... So veterans are much more valuable than NON elite prospects... Get the name value players, the teams playing for NOW will pay a lot for them, and give you better rebuilding players than you could ever draft...

Owning players like David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez are actually great for rebuilding teams, you can get them late in drafts, and if they continue playing like they have to any extent, they will fetch you a very nice haul... much better than you could have ever drafted instead of those players...



Play for Now mode-

This is the total opposite of the rebuilding mode, but is very similar... You of course take BPA, but sometimes you should take the risk on potential players, these are the players that will have value in trade, just like rebuilding teams want name value veterans because they have more trade value than the low end prospects, or the true gamble players, the same logic can be used for the Play for now teams... you can get the named value players you missed with the youth and draft picks(assuming league allows draft pick trades).



In keeper leagues and dynasties, trades are super important, and it is wise to have the players that will have the most value....

 

[tlance]

This is slightly off topic, but I have a somewhat unique strategy in dynasty head to head leagues.

Often times, teams act like MLB counterparts and will trade future assets for current Assets if their team is in contention. In head to head leagues, I think this is a rather large mistake. The reason I say this is because the best team does not always win the post season tournament. In fact, if you bet on the field more over the #1 seed, you will be right most of the time.

Head to head playoffs are too much of a crapshoot. Stud hitters slump, scrubs get hot, basically any team in the playoffs has a good chance to win. I am not interested in giving up future assets to marginally improve my team's chances of winning today. If my team is in contention, then they can win as is. I will keep my elite prospects and avoid the need to go trough a full rebuild in the future.

Now, if you can only keep 5-7 guys, then go for it. The prospect you are trading probably won't be a keeper for you anyhow.

 

[Chef99]

I can't disagree with what either of you guys have stated. Hanging onto your best prospects and using older vets that still have some value make perfect sense to me. And if it's a keeper with only 5-7 guys, it's pretty much a given that you are keeping what you perceive are your best players.

The discussion Milk and I were having in the 16 team dynasty league we are in (keep 20, minor league bench of 15, total roster of 40) was whether or not drafting A-Rod in the mid rounds as a trade chip was a great move because you didn't pay anything for him.

I didn't have any issues with making that move; in fact, I thought about it. On the other hand, it is my opinion that you did pay something for him. It's my position that those mid round picks carry great value potential, whether it be a prospect or a current major leaguer.

Not really a big issue, but it is a great idea to have a thread like this to discuss strategies and share opinions.