OK, math question from an English major:

In general, in this SIM, given x amount of money, is it better to draft a larger number of innings of relatively lower quality pitchers who will normally pitch at 100%, or draft fewer innings of higher quality pitchers who will typically pitch at, say, 80-90%?

I realize that there may just be too many variables to answer this, but was hoping someone may have also pondered it to a point that it influenced their drafting strategy.

Thanks

Depending on the sort of league you're in, you can draft fewer innings without having to play the good pitchers tired. I often go for a sort of split squad approach, drafting about 1200 really good innings, and about 100 innings of trash. The trash can pitch tired in interleague/non-crucial games. Same applies to my batters -- skimp on PA a bit for the starters, and let the 200K backups play tired in interleague/non-crucial games. This allows you to draft better quality innings/PA for your frontline players.

In nearly every league, 90 wins will get you into the playoffs. With this type of setup, you should be able to win 90 out of the 130-140 games your "A-team" is starting (and if you're lucky a game or two started by your scrubs).

The one drawback is that this approach requires a lot of hands-on managing, as you always have to check the schedule to determine which opponents get your stars and which get your scrubs.

it's not an easy question to answer. but i can think of 2 things that might help.

first, it's important to try to match the leverage of the situations the pitchers are being used in to their ability (and their cost). you don't want '90 Eck pitching in a 13-4 loss. but you also don't want your 200k mop-up guy pitching with a 1-run lead in the 9th. so the key is not only to draft the right mix of pitchers but also to get sparky to use them in the right situations.

crazystengel is advocating that entire games can also be defined in terms of leverage. that's true, if you're willing to micromanage as he describes.

second, i do believe that the decline in performance is faster than the decline in stamina. in other words, a 99% pitcher might be 99% effective, but i'm not sure an 85% pitcher is 85% effective - i'd guess more like 70-80%. if it was perfectly linear then it wouldn't matter if you drafted higher quality and wore them out, or drafted lower quality and kept them at 100%. i believe there is an incentive to keeping your pitchers mostly rested.

Thanks for your thoughts! Before the last update, I usually did fine in a pitchers' park with around 1200 innings, but that's no longer true. Not complaining; there's nothing wrong with evolution.

definitely plan to have your best pitchers throwing at 100%. it's not a disaster if they pitch in the 90s but I never plan for that to happen.

i only let them go in the 90's if its late in a playoff push or in the playoffs

Again, thanks. I've been watching the pitchers on my current teams and see that you're right.