One of our favorite preseason topics around here is, of course, the strategic deployment of elite middle relievers. In a roto league with a low innings cap -- like, for instance, a Yahoo! public format -- you can essentially construct an ace from the free agent pool, adding 2-3 of the best available non-closing relief pitchers. If you're an attentive fantasy manager, you still won't have much trouble hitting 1,400 total innings.
To illustrate that this particular piece of advice is NOT one of those things that experts routinely recommend but would never actually do, here's a (fuzzy) snapshot of my pitching staff in the Yahoo! Friends & Family League...
Just in case you can't quite make out all the tiny names (apologies), that's Vinnie Pestano, Mike Dunn, Jose Contreras and Ernesto Frieri in the final four active pitching slots. None of those guys are currently getting saves in the big leagues, but they're all piling up Ks, maintaining excellent fantasy ratios.
If they continue to do so (not a given), those four guys will give me the equivalent production of a top-tier starter. And, since we use an innings max of 1,250 in the F&F, I'll have no trouble hitting the cap. My rotation is 21 innings ahead of the pace at the moment.
As a public service to the Yahoo! community, here's a complete list of non-closing major league relievers who've posted a K/9 of 9.0 or better this season, over 15-plus innings:
It's like a buffet of Ks, basically. Hopefully there's enough information included for you to decide which names are too sketchy to roster, and which are appealing. Many, but not all, are next in line to close in their respective bullpens.
And Mike Adams' numbers are ridiculous ... just throwin' that out there.
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Photo via US Presswire
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