It's Time to Maximize Point Totals

Before you get deep into this article, it’s time to ditch your conventional reasoning. There are some things I'm going to suggest here that are going to challenge the way you think conventionally. And I think that's a great idea. Sometimes you need to scrap that old way of thinking. And so I'm going to tell you to put some players on your bench that you may even think have value under all circumstances. It's time to take a look at some of the counting categories and realize what is the maximum number of points your roster is capable of. There are only five weeks left in the fantasy baseball season. In the dynasty league, I find myself trailing the league leader in stolen bases by 17. That puts me at second place in the league in that category. On the flip side the team in 3rd place trails me by 34 stolen bases. With five weeks left I would have to gain three plus stolen bases a week to gain that one last point to bring me to a 12 and lead the league. However a 34 stolen base lead is just about impossible to lose. So watch what I'm about to suggest.

Esteury Ruiz at second base for the Fort Wayne Tin Caps (Low-A) during a game against the Bowling Green Hot Rods on June 27, 2018. Marshall Dunlap | Wikipedia

If you have players on your team that are one-dimensional, i.e. a guy that steals bases but doesn't hit for power, batting average or even a good on base percentage should be set and placed on your bench for the final five weeks of the season. And the player I'm talking about is Esteury Ruiz. Ruiz has stolen 49 bases this year and with five weeks left in the season wouldn't surprise me if he finishes with 55 to 60 steals. But guess what? I really don't need him to steal another base this season. Ruiz comes in with a grand total of two home runs on the season. The chances of him hitting another one in the final five weeks doesn't look very good, considering that in 20 weeks of play he has put up a grand total of two home runs. I would rather put almost anyone else in my left field spot for this year’s stretch run than him. The on base percentage inning is no different. He has put up a 298 on base percentage this season in 20 weeks. It would be foolish of me to think that he is going to produce a ton of walks in the final five weeks of the season. So a responsible owner will run the queries in his league database searching for home runs and reasonable on base percentage for a left field replacement. You may even have one in house on your bench.

There are other one-dimensional speed players that this could be applied to. Willi Castro, Myles Straw, Jon Berti, Jorge Mateo, Ji Hwan Bae and Travis Jankoski to name just a few. They should all be sat if you find yourself in this type of situation. And there are multiple sides to this coin. I once played in a league where the team that led the league in home runs had a total of home runs 100 higher than the nearest competitor. Yet he lacked team speed. With a lead of 100 home runs he could have sat one of those power hitters for a speedster. This is the type of balance you need to find across the categories.

It is not just applicable to the offense. In the same dynasty league I find myself tied with two other teams with 60 saves. The league leader has 67. Again there are five weeks left to the season. The league leader will get 12 points. The other three of us are tied with 10 as there are 30 points available for slots 11-10-9. As I was trying to get myself higher in the save totals I went to a split of five starting pitchers to three relief pitchers. Most teams in the league use a split of six starting pitchers to two relief pitchers. One of my three relievers however is having a very shaky month of August. Will Smith has blown several saves and has surrendered quite a few home runs. It may not be worth my while to continue to use him as one of my three relief pitchers. The team that trails me has two less saves than the three of us tied at 60. I have decided to go with the split of six to two. The team trailing me only uses two closers. One of the teams tied with me is only using one at the moment. Devin Williams and Adbert Alzolay are the current closers with their teams and pitching well currently. It looks like I will get the maximum number of points using this configuration. That's what it comes down to this time of year. Maximizing your totals.