More Pitching Upgrades (landed Iwakuma, Pineda)

[Dobber]

My pitching was weak last year. It's not longer weak. I know have five SP in the Top 40 and seven SP in the Top 52


First, I acquired Hisashi Iwakuma plus an 11th rounder for a 2016 3rd. I have lots of picks so that's great.


Then I traded Nolan Arenado straight up for Michael Pineda


It's a Keep 12 (16 teams), and I have Bryant for 3B (and Chris Davis and Josh Harrison can also play 3B).


Now my pitching is as follows (need 5 SP and 3 RP, total bench is 8 spots, total minors is 5 spots):
1. Pineda
2. Richards (my keeper from last winter)
3. McHugh (another keeper from winter)
4. Wood (another keeper I acquired spring) (also RP)
5. Iwakuma (IR)
6. Liriano (my first round pick)
7. Kazmir (one of my second rounders)
8. Paxton
9. Peralta (IR)
10. Lohse
11. Frias (also RP)

Minors - Matz, De Leon, Gonzalez, Maeda

RP - Watson
RP - Benoit

Now we've got something!

[2014olympicgold]

I have Wood, and his production has killed my ERA and especially WHIP. But, I keep playing him because it can’t get worse. There’s no STUD on your staff, but by committee you’ll be well off. Garrett Richards should be doing better too. I’d be moving Chris Davis or Harrison plus a pitcher to get a stud plus a throw in. The Iwakuma deal is nice if you have the picks obviously, and he’s off the IR relatively soon, so all in all, solid group of guys.

[Dobber]

I can't even get a 12th round pick for Davis. In this league, the main things to understand are (i.e. 'quirks'):
1. SP have about 20% more value than most leagues
2. Hitter SO and Errors really pound their value - so Davis is marginal, and even Starlin Castro is 19th in points among SS

By committee I'm looking great - I'll have all five SP plus Wood at RP giving me two-start weeks next week. Gold!

[TheNugeCooge]

I think your staff is pretty decent for a 16 team league but some of the moves were a little risky:

1. I would have targeted a better starting pitcher than Pineda with Arenado. Arenado is legit and Pineda has never really put everything together health-wise since his rookie season.

2. I personally think Iwakuma is toast and wouldn`t touch him in any league. Just too many health issues to even bother for me but to each their own.

[Dobber]

I think your staff is pretty decent for a 16 team league but some of the moves were a little risky:

1. I would have targeted a better starting pitcher than Pineda with Arenado. Arenado is legit and Pineda has never really put everything together health-wise since his rookie season.

2. I personally think Iwakuma is toast and wouldn`t touch him in any league. Just too many health issues to even bother for me but to each their own.

See my note above (point No.1 about SP)

Iwakuma was practically free (that third rounder was my seventh best pick - and I got a late pick back), and won't be a keeper. I'd like to roll the dice on him for the stretch run

[TheNugeCooge]

You know the league better than I but I`m still a big fan of Arenado and not the biggest fan of Pineda. As for Iwakuma, I would take every pitcher on your team over him (including the minors)

[Dobber]

I'm with you on Arenado. Love him. Think very highly of him. I made over a dozen offers with him, and sifted through about two dozen offers from others, over the last two months. This was the best deal. Take the Top 15 stud SP's and remove them from your mind - any of them would cost me Bryant, Kazmir and a 1st just to start the discussion. So to get Pineda, who in a keeper is ranked 10th on DobberBaseball, was pretty good.

I should give credit here - I've been working with Cushard on a lot of my strategy this year (as well as here in the forum). Cushard is the guy who wins the ESPN fantasy championships and writes the guides.



My 12 keepers right now are:
Rizzo, Altuve, Bryant, Blackmon, CarGo, Yelich, Pineda, Richards, Wood, Liriano...and for the last 2 I'll choose between: Kazmir, McHugh, Paxton, Matz, Peralta, Peraza, Castro, De Leon, Gattis and Maeda

[TheNugeCooge]

I gotcha. I just take a different approach to acquiring high end pitching. I prefer to buy low on guys like Kluber and Sale; when they were struggling, rather than try to grab a younger keeper pitcher like Pineda having a career season.

I love the site and everything you guys offer. The forum and articles are great resources but those rankings just don't make sense to me. I don't see how he can rank Alex Wood over Gerrit Cole or even Pineda as a top 10 keeper if health is factored into the rankings like it says it is. Or Fiers over Arrieta, or how Dickey is still a top 50 pitcher but he can't even strikeout one guy in half his games and he's 40 years old.

[Dobber]

Since MacLii took over the rankings, I've been happy with how they've been. Cushard was telling me in the offseason that I shouldn't keep McHugh, but MacLii's rankings had him high and so I made him one of my 12 keepers. It sure paid off.


I was turned down, Arenado for Sale before I made the deal. And I tried for Kluber a month ago. They're part of the "Top 15" I need to put out of my mind. Untouchable. I can only get a stud SP by sneaking one through the backdoor - Richards, Liriano, McHugh were all high draft picks. Matz was a minor leaguer. Pineda isn't established yet and was an overpay. But a couple of these guys are bound to pull through for me.

I see that my Chi Chi Rodriguez is up now...who knows?