NFBC Weekly Profile - Ryan Struve

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:57 am

When it came to strategy this year in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, Ryan Struve had a simple motto:

Quantity.

Lots and lots of quantity.

That was especially true in the NFBC’s Double Play event. Struve drafted six separate teams in that event, hoping the cumulative effect of having that many teams would pay off at the end of the season.

Literally.

So far, the strategy has been working out. Of Struve’s six Double Play teams, five are currently in the Top 3 of their respective leagues and best of all, one of those teams is sitting atop the entire national event entering play on Friday.

So far so good, right Ryan?

“That team has a real shot to win the overall championship in my opinion,” Struve said. “It has a nice balance of power and speed as well as some stud starting pitching that I picked up fairly late in the draft.

“That team has overcome a lot of injuries so far this year with Tulowitzki, Ethier, Choo, Gallardo, Magglio and now Strasburg all seeing some time on the shelf due to injuries. Despite those issues, I’ve had other players significantly outperform to held tide me over until I’m now getting roughly full strength. Assuming I don’t have any other major injuries and Teixeira turns it on toward the end of the year as he always seems to do I fancy my chances to bring home the gold.”

As a first-time player in the NFBC, Struve’s success may come as a surprise to some of the hard-core vets. But he’s no stranger to fantasy baseball, having played extensively for the past decade.

“I've cycled through numerous friendly leagues over the years, and three years ago I joined a fairly deep 4x4 auction league that has daily changes and deep farm teams,” he said. “That has helped me keep on top of everything going on in baseball on a daily basis. As of right now, that's my only non-NFBC league in which I participate. I've never participated in a weekly league, which has forced a significant change in my strategy this year.”

Despite his proven experience, Struve admits the talent on display in the NFBC has been impressive. It’s something he’s had to contend with throughout the season.

“I've honestly been blown away by the level of competition,” he said. “My leagues are littered with players who have multiple teams and are performing very well throughout various NFBC formats. I feel I can hold my own with most owners as far as draft strategy and preseason projections are concerned, but I'm light years behind the majority of the NFBC owners I've encountered in terms of in season roster management, especially FAAB usage. That's a skill I'm going to have to improve on significantly for next year if I want to have success.”

Next year can wait, however. For now the focus is entirely on this year and hopefully bringing home the $60,000 grand prize. Helping him head in that direction was what Struve described as a “straight forward” approach on Draft Day.

“I like to load up on hitters early and rarely draft a pitcher before the eighth or ninth round and almost never more than one,” he said. “I felt coming into this year – especially in 12-team leagues – that starting pitching would provide value.

“That strategy has worked fairly well this year, as a bunch of middle- and late-round pitchers have really exploded, including Price, Latos, Marcum, Weaver and until his injury, Strasburg. I was lucky enough to get all of those pitchers onto one of my teams.”

While those Draft Day additions have proven to be extremely beneficial, no team is competing for a national title in the NFBC without the aid of some savvy free-agent pickups. Struve’s Double Play team is no different.

Among the key pickups he’s made so far have been Starlin Castro, Jonathan Herrera and Carl Pavano. Those moves have helped offset the one thing he admits he did not do during his draft.

“Because I’m taking sluggers early, I’m always lagging behind in the steals department,” Struve said. “This year is no different and I have not shown much ability to grab the guys who are racking up steals for many of the leading teams.”

The 30-year-old Struve is single and works as a government attorney in Washington, D.C. He said the key for the stretch run is to adapt to how his team is performing and make whatever adjustments are necessary.

“I think you have to change your approach as the season progresses based on the texture of your team and how injuries plague you,” he said. “On my best team, at one point I had so many injured or quasi-injured pitchers that I ran four closers out there for several weeks, because I was so high in wins and so low in saves that each additional save was worth more to me than a win. It worked, and I racked up a ton of saves quickly which helped move me through the standings.”

whipsaw · Post by **whipsaw** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 2:25 am

Thanks for the writeup Tom, I really appreciate it. Even more injury fun for my team now that Bailey is out.

Dub · Post by **Dub** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:08 am

Nice Job Whip.

Dub · Post by **Dub** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:14 am

Originally posted by Dub:

Nice Job Whip. Kerry Wood has 8 saves, a 6.3 ERA and 1.6 Whip. For you he has 7 saves, 3.6 ERA and 1.2 Whip

Now that is running between the rain drops!

[ July 31, 2010, 09:15 AM: Message edited by: Dub ]

whipsaw · Post by **whipsaw** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:15 am

Originally posted by Dub:

quote:Originally posted by Dub:

Nice Job Whip. Kerry Wood has 8 save, a 6.3 ERA and 1.6 Whip. For you he 7 save, 3.6 ERA and 1.2 Whip

Now that is running between the ran drops! [/QUOTE]He's a stud!!!

Thanks

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:50 am

Good job, Ryan.

Hope the next two months are short ones for you.

Government Attorney...explains a lot

Navel Lint · Post by **Navel Lint** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 5:19 am

Great job as a rookie in the league!

Good Luck the rest of the way.

Sack · Post by **Sack** » Sat Jul 31, 2010 7:19 am

Nice write up, helluva team you've put together in

the Double Play.

Good luck the rest of the way. Well, kinda sorta!

whipsaw · Post by **whipsaw** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:34 am

thanks for the kind words guys, it means a lot to me. more than anything i hope the next two months are injury free for my team, if that happens i think i have a good shot at the bacon.

best of luck to everyone else as well!