My first team, 'Roto Stars', is doing pretty good overall. I have a seriously underperforming 2003 Mark Prior. He is 3-7 with a 5.71 ERA after 69 innings.

Analyzing his starts, he does really well for about 3 innings, maybe four, then he seems to get shellacked.

Is this the time to find a replacement on the waiver wire? What do you guys do in this situation?

I understand there is a 10% hit, but I am thinking my sanity is worth the $700/k I would forfeit.

Do you know why he is doing poorly?

Is his PC to high and he suffer from in-game fatigue?

Is the home park negatively effecting him?

Has he had unusually tough opponents in hitter's parks?

If your other pitchers are doing okay, see what is different about him.

I don't normally cut players unless i can figure out why he is underperforming and I can't fix it.

Another thing to consider is who is available on the WW. There's little more frustrating than dropping someone and getting a WW replacement that's just as bad or worse. If an when you decide to drop Prior, don't just instantly pick the best guy available unless it's a really good deal. Give it a few days and see if someone better shows up - the WW is in constant flux.

Quote: Originally Posted By Trentonjoe on 3/01/2010Do you know why he is doing poorly?

Is his PC to high and he suffer from in-game fatigue?

Is the home park negatively effecting him?

Has he had unusually tough opponents in hitter's parks?

If your other pitchers are doing okay, see what is different about him.

I don't normally cut players unless i can figure out why he is underperforming and I can't fix it

He pitches as bad at his home (Wrigley) as on the road. He is part of a five man rotation and his pitch count is 80 pitches. I think he just is not very good at this SIM. I either keep him or try to find someone with 170-200+ innings pitched that goes for about $6.9 million off the waiver wire.

I have been advised when I started to rarely use the waiver wire because of the 10% penalty and that it was a common rookie mistake.

Looking at your team, I would check the WW daily and if there is good move to make, make it. You have three pitchers that are doing well and it looks like you are committed to using Frank Gilmore and your AAA guys. I think you can find somebody, even with fewer innings than Prior, and have a better team. But, considering that you do have three good pitchers right now, don't make a move on impulse. Check daily and be patient.

As soon as you mentioned you were in Wrigley, my first thought was there's the problem. After looking at your team and Prior's stats, I would say that does appear to be the culprit. Prior isn't well suited for Wrigley. His road stats, though the sample size is smaller than I'd prefer, are roughly halfway between his average and worst seasons in his performance history while his home stats are about that same difference worse than his worst season in his performance history. If you can keep Prior from pitching at home he'll put up poor, but respectable stats.

I'd only hit the WW to replace him if you found a significant upgrade (with fewer innings or a pitcher better suited for Wrigley).

Though, I would probably give Prior at least 4-6 more starts before I even began considering releasing him. It's still too early in the season, especially if you can manage your rotation to minimize his home starts.

That said, While your other three starters are doing well, the big difference is their OAV. Prior's OAV with his HR/9 is too much for Wrigley, and I personally would stay away from the other starters there, as well, due to their HR/9's, though their OAVs will help a bit. Peavy is the only one I'd consider at Wrigley, but he'd be my 4th/5th starter or one I try to start on the road more often.

I wouldnt use WW to replace him with another P of similar IP and cost. If he's a dog just ride out the season and get back at him by not drafting him again. only use WW if you're getting a clear upgrade, a clearly better pitcher with fewer IP and you dont need the extra innings.

I have salvaged a few seasons via the WW, but that came after I went from bad to worse many times by that same method. First, as stated above, make sure you can't use the player differently, and get more out of him. second, don't pick a player off the WW who you are not certain will be an upgrade...in other words, look for cookies. We all have stories of players who were horrible for X # of games, then turned it around. I am currently in a league in which '68 Yaz didn't have an RBI, batting 5th, 13 games into the season. Nevertheless, his final stats are pretty much what one would expect from him, .280, 25 HRs, 110 RBIs. Sometimes, we just have to fly by the seat of our pants, and hope for good things. If you go to the WW, just make sure, and I mean really sure, you are not making things worse. I never won a TOC, but i did get to the final four of one. During the regular season, '68 Gibson was by far my worst pitcher, but in the playoffs, WS, and TOC he was the '68 Gibson we would expect him to be. He lost game 7 of my final game in the TOC 1-0, on a dropped fly ball.

you really want to be better and use the WW to your advantage?.. look up your AAA position players and determine who they are. if you can move one of them to the starting lineup on an every day basis without sacrificing much drop both Prior and the position player and pick you up a real stud SP on the wire.