Last year I joined a very old AL-only 4 x 4 10 team auction keeper league. I quickly concluded that SP's like Scherezer & Morrow have little value because their high ERA & WHIP tend to offset the positive value of their W's. I went with mostly closers and middle relievers finishing at or near the top in 3 categories and next to last in Wins. Overall, I finished 2nd in my rookie season. Am I only one to think of this? Am I missing something?

My question in this format (no K's) is how much value to increase relievers and closers and how much value to decrease SP's like Darvish, Morrow, Scherzer, Price, etc.?

The $ saved on SP will be used to buy better hitters.

Any thoughts?

Off topic a bit: last year our league (small: 10 teams) went from a 6x6 (5x5 plus OPS and Appearances) to a 4x4 using the Roto500 scoring categories, OBP, HR, Runs Produced, SB on offense and ERA, K, Wins, and Net Relief on the pitching side. I will acknowledge it was just 1 year, but the change was an overwhelming success. As of the ASB we had a guy in 1st (who eventually coughed it up) and teams 2-9 were packed within a few points at any one time. It made for a very compelling stretch run, buy/sell decisions were harder, more owners had to make the finish in the money or rebuild decisions, etc. Less is sometimes more.

And on topic with no analysis: yes- valuation changes incredibly.

My league is 4x4 NL only. Most auction values out there are for 5x5 leagues. With the PFM tool, I can customize the settings to my league and get more accurate values.

Agree with Mike's theory that 4x4 lends better to the Stars & Scrubs method of roster building. I watched a guy be consistently good in my league for 6 straight years because of Stars & Scrubs. I adopted the strategy last year and tied for 1st.

Mike, any advice on a 6x6 mixed-league format? How does that change strategy your for the draft? How does that change auctions values? Our hitting categories are batting average, OBP, runs, RBIs,HRs,SBs, and pitching categories are ERA,whip,Innings pitched, saves,Ks and wins.

Thanks Mike. I appreciate it.

Yea it's a 12 team keeper league, with 40 player rosters. You can keep players up to 4 years.

Thanks for that blog post. Going to read it right now.

Mike,
Any thoughts on how values may change when in a league where changing rosters is difficult once the season begins?
I'm in a 4x4 NL league where there is no bench, very little trading, and you cannot get rid of a player unless he goes on the DL, or is sent down to AAA. Even if your player does go on the DL, then you have to wait in line at the end of the week to get his replacement (depending on where you sit in the standings.
I have found that having bad 4th, 5th or 6th starters can hurt you pretty badly. You have to sit there and bear it as they stink up your whip and era.
Any advice?

As a person who plays in both 4x4 and 5x5 leagues, this was a great piece to illustrate the variance in pitching values between the two formats. Thanks for continuing to put out great articles, Mike.

Can we get a list of players most likely to be traded this season: being in an only league when you lose your guy and gain the guys coming back is another aspect of my league. Which high and low dollar NL guys do you think will be traded? That's actually where some of those "out of options" guys and "final year of contract" guys become differently valued.

A bit more than 20 years ago, a guy in my league snagged one real good SP, 2 closers, ...and 6 1$ middle relievers. He spent his money wisely on offense and ran away with the league. Of course, since then there has been a minimum innings rule.