My first team 'Roto Stars' is not doing very well (it is only 4 games into the season) the hitters get KO'ed at an alaming rate and only have 4 walks in 4 games. I have the feeling they are going to be awful for the rest of the season.

Patience has never been one of my better qualities. I am starting to build another team. I read in the forum that it is possible to just use scrubs and AAA guys at 1st base and save money for better players elsewhere.

Looking at everyone elses team I noticed none of them did it (accept me). Is this something anybody does regularly here? If so, are you successful with it? (am I asking for taboo trade secrets?)

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Doesn't necessarily have to be 1B, though 1B and RF are the two positions where you can sometimes get away with a D+/D/D- fielder and not get killed (Babe Ruth & Gavvy Cravath, I'm talking to you). Remember that the key to using scrubs or AAA players as regular position players is stamina. If they can't give you close to 600 PA's for the season, you'll wind up with a huge hole in your lineup.

I usually don't like to gamble on AAA players blindly right from the start of the season, but that's just me. If I have a AAA player with "A" stamina and he seems to be able to hit above some arbitrary Mendoza line like a .200 BA, I'll drop the position player at that position early in the season for waiver wire upgrades. I usually do better when I drop him for a couple decent upgrades rather than one flashy stud.

In other words, I'll drop a $5 MM position player for 2 upgrades of $2-$2.5 MM apiece at other positions. Remember that you're paying a 10% penalty tax for using the waiver wire, so use it sparingly and be patient. Don't make your add/drops until a player you REALLY want appears on the waiver wire.

Always make sure you have scrubs with the highest PA (e.g., Hughie Jennings) available so you have the roster flexibility to use the waiver wire (SIM won't let you make add/drops unless you're keeping your roster above a minimum 4800 PA's).

Try to avoid judging players by raw stats -- because of normalization, different ballparks, lineup configurations, etc., they're usually misleading. Try to rely more on the SIM performance histories of each player, but also use your own common sense.

Those are all the trade secrets you get free of charge.

I did it at the beginning because I too come for a roto background and I understand where you are coming from. I felt it did not work, but I can not remember why as it was a couple of years ago, when I first started.

I don't do it now.

It is funny, I remember reading that thread a week ago or so and I too have been thinking about giving it another go.

i dont punt an entire position but I'll play several positons with part timers and fill in with AAA. AAA are free players you might as well use them so you can draft better starters. you never know which positions will be your best AAA so I'll draft a couple part-time players who can play multiple positions, an OF/1B and a utility infielder.

I'll often draft a couple of players who are solid at two positions (SS-2B, 1B-3B) so I can make the best use of whatever AAA players are most valuable. Off the top of my head players like Bobby Grich, Kevin Youkilis, Lou Boudreau, Chone Figgins, etc. I'll also leave a total of 300-400 PA in OF or 1B for a AAA guy to take.

I will really only punt 1B or RF... any of your AAA guys can play there. What if you punt SS and your AAA SS is awful? You can't play your 1B there, but you could play your AAA SS at 1B.

I agree with jfranco. If you're going to punt any position from day one, it should be 1B or RF. And I think his results speak for themselves.

I know this was mentioned in another thread, but I could use a refresher.

Why is LF so much more important than RF?

I have often punted at 2b, because I've frequently gotten at least two AAA players who have decent ratings for 2b (because low-cost shortstops often double at 2b).

In an O.L. I recently joined, I got only one AAA 2bman. When I looked over the other rosters, so many of the owners had punted at 2b that I had a hard time finding a team I could make a trade with to acquire an extra guy at 2b.

I'm aware that the AAA distribution often provides 1b with decent numbers, but I hate to take a chance at that position. There are so many good hitters to draft there, and many of them are not expensive, that I think it's a bad gamble. I feel much the same about RF, including the fact that AAA outfielders rarely use gloves.

I used to punt catcher....sorta. I would take 3 or 4 200kish catchers that could do something and they would have a combined 300ish PA for 700k to a million. I would then use the AAA guy for the remaining 300.

I don't know if you can still do that now that fielding now effects PB and arms are very expensive.

I just won a world series using '96 Luis Sojo (~800k) as my "starting" 3B. I also used 2 200k players and my AAA 2B and 3B.

Quote: Originally Posted By Jtpsops on 2/11/2010I know this was mentioned in another thread, but I could use a refresher.

Why is LF so much more important than RF

Generally, LF gets more chances than RF (because more batters are right handed and the sim assumes that all batters are basically pull hitters); however, there isn't a ton of difference in the amount of chances. As far as punting/tanking a position, I think the easiest thing to do is tank 1B and use ur best AAA players to platoon 1B.