Dear RotoRob: Final Week Strategy
Yovani Gallardo is closing in on a second straight 200-strikeout season.
Dear RotoRob,
Thanks to your advice last week, going with my two starters was worth losing a few points in hitting. I moved into a tie for third where $1,300 awaits.
If I don’t give you more than one set of adjacent stats, then I am locked into that category.
HR: 259, 258 (me)
RBI: 1,000 (me), 999
R: ten behind
SB: 162, 160 (me), 157
Doubles & Triples: 456, 455 (me)
Ks: +30 ahead, then1,161 (me), 1,151
ERA: 3.581 (me), 3.583, 3.586
WHIP: 1.2264, 1.2282, 1.2335, 1.2387 (me), 1.2844, 1.2897
Wins: 95, 91, 91, 90 (me), 89, 87, 85
Saves: 74, 71, 68, 68 (me), 65
The rules are we must use seven to ten pitchers and 12-to-15 hitters with no more than 22 actives total per week (that starts Monday).
My rostered pitchers:
Yovani Gallardo, Mat Latos, Max Scherzer, Tim Stauffer, Justin Verlander, C.J. Wilson, John Axford, Clay Hensley, Joakim Soria, Scott Baker, Dallas Braden, Carlos Carrasco, Philip Hughes and Koji Uehara.
Hitters:
Buster Posey, Adrian Gonzalez, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Yuniesky Betancourt, J.J. Hardy, Alex Gordon, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Nate McLouth, Colby Rasmus, Delmon Young, Angel Pagan, Hanley Ramirez, Desmond Jennings and Jay Gibbons.
These are the key free agents with their schedules for the week:
Carlos Ruiz @WAS @WAS @WAS @ATL @ATL @ATL
Chris Davis SEA SEA SEA ANA ANA ANA ANA
Todd Helton LA LA LA @STL @STL @STL @STL
Dan Johnson BAL BAL @KC @KC @KC @KC
Mark Ellis @ANA @ANA @ANA @SEA @SEA @SEA @SEA
Will Rhymes @CLE @CLE @CLE @BAL @BAL @BAL @BAL
Freddy Sanchez ARI ARI ARI SD SD SD
Emilio Bonifacio @ATL @ATL @ATL PIT PIT PIT PIT
Brandon Inge @CLE @CLE @CLE @BAL @BAL @BAL @BAL
Melvin Mora LA LA LA @STL @STL @STL @STL
Cliff Pennington @ANA @ANA @ANA @SEA @SEA @SEA @SEA
Omar Vizquel BOS BOS BOS BOS CLE CLE CLE
Gregor Blanco MIN MIN MIN TB TB TB TB
Lorenzo Cain @NYM @NYM @NYM @NYM @CIN @CIN @CIN
Aaron Cunningham CHC CHC CHC CHC @SF @SF @SF
Jack Cust @ANA @ANA @ANA @SEA @SEA @SEA @SEA
Jarrod Dyson MIN MIN MIN TB TB TB TB
Mitch Moreland SEA SEA SEA ANA ANA ANA ANA
Gerrardo Parra @SF @SF @SF @LA @LA @LA
Michael Saunders @TEX @TEX @TEX OAK OAK OAK OAK
Seth Smith LA LA LA @STL @STL @STL @STL
Ryan Spilborghs LA LA LA @STL @STL @STL @STL
Marcus Thames @TOR @TOR @TOR @BOS @BOS @BOS
Travis Hafner DET DET DET @CHW @CHW @CHW
Kila Ka’aihue MIN MIN MIN TB TB TB TB
Overall Standings (top four finish in the money):
109.00, 102.50, 93.50 (me), 93.00, 84.00
So, how many hitters should I start? Who will get the at-bats? Overall, there is not as much to lose or gain in hitting as pitching it seems.
Would you recommend any free agents over the rostered guys I now have? Do my starters appear “safe” from a beating? Will they get the projected two starts?
I have lots of supposedly two-start pitchers, but cannot afford a blow-up Ryan Dempster-style considering the very tight standings in WHIP and ERA.
Should I go with one, two, three or even four closers?
This is it — last decision of the year…whew and thanks for your valuable time.
Paul
Hi Paul,
I think your answer is a very simple one. You have to go with a pitching-dominant plan heading into this week. You need both wins and saves to protect your current situation and at the same time at least decent strikeout numbers to hold off your competition. My suggestion is to use the flex in your roster allocation to go heavy on the pitching. You have the closers available to make that sort of move and the points are there for the taking. On offense, you have very little to both gain or lose at this stage, so focus on your pitching. You need those save points badly and at the same time it is essential that you maintain some K numbers and potential wins.
Good fortunes heading into Week 26 for your Fantasy squad.
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