Confessions of an MLB Contract League addict

[BK METS]

Year 2, for me, of the MLBC contract salary league and the draft is over, before it even started. Those of you who have never been a part of KJ Duke's contract leagues, you don't know what you are missing. Or maybe you do and you are smart, as the addiction to this format is not even funny.

To summarize the format, the draft is a 30 round snake "slow" draft with 23 starters, 7 reserves, same as standard NFBC leagues. But, the big difference is, the league fee that you pay is based upon the actual salaries of the MLB players you draft. For example, drafting Miguel Cabrera, with his $21 million salary in 2013, means you must pay $210 real dollars to have him on your team. Drafting Mike Trout, with his $500K salary, means it will cost you $5 real money. Who would you take first?

So, the strategy. Well, there are 2 strategies: Try to win the league the conventional way, or try to be the Manager of the Year. In order to win this league conventionally, you most likely need to spend big money, upwards of $2,000 or more, and if you win, you will collect between $6,000-8,000. 2nd place $3,000-4,500. 3rd place, $2,000-$2,500 or pretty much break even, depending upon the total amount spent by all teams. The other way to win money is to win the Manager of the Year. In short, you need to spend your money wisely and have the best team, at the end of the year, based upon a dollars spent vs total points ratio. Sorry KJ if I am not explaining this right, but a total team salary of $400-600 can win you $3,000-5,000. This takes a lot of research on good, young, cheap players who will have an impact in 2013. The competition for this prize is high, but the ROI is second to none and if your team is good enough, you can cash in on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place prize as well. Another twist, if you draft the ultimate team, and score a sweep of all of the categories, you win 1st place AND the Manager of the year, or $9,000-12,000!

So, the draft... Well, this is tricky. You might be going in with the strategy of trying to win the league and change it mid draft. All depends. What you don't know, going in is, how many guys are going to spend low and how many are going to spend high. I think we all have an idea of who is spending, but there is no way to be sure. If spending high, you want to make sure that you at least get your money back by finishing 3rd. But, in this year's case, there were 5 owners who spent high. The other 10 owners were going for Manager of the year, and maybe an outside shot at 3rd place.

My draft this year started out amazing. It was a fantasy baseball owner's dream to have my top 3 players. I won the lottery for the top pick, having to spend $250 of my FAAB dollars to get the #1 draft position. I obviously chose Mike Trout and his $5 cost. Waiting the next 28 picks until my next pick, I was contemplating going towards the MOY strategy and spending wisely. Then, as my pick approached, and all of the top young cheap talent was going off the board, I saw the dream. What awaited me was the opportunity to pick up Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Cano, with their $210 and $150 cost and no one willing to spend that much while $5 studs were available. I took both guys and with $365 spent, I had 3 of the top 5 fantasy baseball studs, in a 15 team league. Trout, Miggy, Cano.

From that point, I was all in. I couldn't turn back. I still needed to be smart and not spend $4,000, which is possible, with all of the high salary guys out there. I was aggressive. I made mistakes along the way, with waiting too long on closers and wasting a large amount of my FAAB, in the post draft auction for high priced, average players, but I think I will compete and after spending $2,641, and finishing this "slow" draft in less than a week, it was over and I was itching to do another one. Here is my team, with an obvious weakness:

C - M Montero, Salty
1B - Edwin Encarnacion, A Dunn
2B - Cano
3B - Miguel Cabrera
SS - Jeter, A Escobar, A Ramirez
OF - Trout, J Hamilton, Pagan, Swisher, Kubel, Willingham, Ethier
SP - Felix, J Weaver, CC Sabathia, Niese, A Sanchez, Pettitte, AJ Burnett, Z Wheeler
RP - Jim Johnson, Kyuji Fujikawa, Veras, Robertson, Marshall

Only $254 left in FAAB, out of $1,000. It will be a challenging year. Thanks KJ for running this league. Best. Draft. Ever.

[Gekko]

Thanks for the write-up. Good read.

[KJ Duke]

Thanks for the endorsement Alan. You probably had the greatest start to any fantasy baseball league this season, anywhere on the planet, with those 3 picks.

This was MLBC VII, and I do think it was the best one yet. We blew away the record for most money spent, with 5 high-salary teams, 8 low-salary teams and one mid-hi and one mid-lo. I decided to jump into a regular slow after this, and while I'm enjoying it, it's nothing close to the rush or banter of that league. We had a great group of guys as usual. We even had a conversation about a possible "Keeper" Contract league for next season, which would take it to a whole new level of unpredictability.

[rockitsauce]

Nice write-up Alan, and I agree, once you get in this League there's no turning back....you're hooked

This is my 3rd yr and I've always taken the MOY (Manager of the Year) path...aka the Billy Beane

We did 2 of these bad boys last yr (FAAB & DC) I took Panda in both and never looked back

KJ is too modest (and perhaps still too pissed off) to tell this story. In last yr's DC Lge he came one Ian Kinsler error away from winning MOY AND 3rd place. After Kinsler's error his pitcher was removed and poor KJ ended up 1/3 of an inning shy of the necessary 900 IP req. Keep in mind this was a DC Lge so he couldn't pick up any SP to help get there and injuries had depleted his staff. I thought his strategy was brilliant. He put together a strong offense, as many closers and would-be closers, along w/ SP w/ good ratio's. Unfortunately he came up just short. But a blueprint had been made

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery and it was my plan to copy KJ's from a yr ago. I had the 3rd pk (which would cost me $100 FAAB dollars) and 2 yr's worth of experience to help me implement that strategy. I also knew that w/ this being a FAAB Lge I could make adjustments on the fly w/ regard to gettng the required IP. Alan won the Trout sweepstakes and I assumed Glenn would take the next best $5 OF on the board, Giancarlo Stanton. I was sure of it. I just couldn't make up my mind b/w Buster Posey ($6) and Stephen Strasburg ($39). After talking it over w/ my brother, he convinced me that Stras was the way to go. Every SP at his level was in the $200 range (sure Kershaw & Price were each abit over $100, but you catch my drift).

Glenn fooled me for sure when he took Andrew McCutcheon ($47), so I decided to take a chance on that young monster Stanton. I took some ribbing that he'll hit 45 hr's and have 45 RBI's, but we'll see. There's still hope that he gets traded Last yr I got burned by spending early pks on pitchers who got injured or underperformed (Pineda, Storen, Fister, Ubaldo, Neftali, & League) so I was not unhappy to start out w/ a heavyweight like Iron Mike. Seems like every yr I struggle in the power cat's so this yr I said to hell w/ BA, give me POWER....and some speed.

Anyways, I ended up as one of 8 teams vying for MOY (5 of us spent over $600, 1 over $500, 1 about $300, 1 about $200). You certainly can win MOY w/ a superlow payroll, but it's VERY hard. I believe you must spend enough to get right at the 40 (lowest benchmark there is) level, b/c even if you spend less you are still at 40, despite in actuality being far below that benchmark. Some teams went pitching & speed, others strong hitting aka the Massotto approach, I tried to be balanced. W/ regard to hitting I wanted guys who could deliver some power AND speed. BA will probably be an issue, but like W's ya never know. The balanced plan isn't easy, but I think I did ok.

Here it is round by round:

1 - Stanton $5 OF (BANG for your buck)
2 - Wieters $5 C (hoping this time the breakout is ALL season)
3 - Jennings $5 OF (my mantra - power & speed)
4 - Rosario $5 C (now I have 2 strong C's, hoping for 50 hr's out of this pos.)
5 - Yovani $80 SP (strongly considered Axford w/ his $5 pricetag, but SP was FLYING by and Gallardo seemed best value)
6 - Parker $5 SP (another good CHEAP SP, can't emphasize how fast the SP was going here)
7 - Espinosa $5 2B (seems like 2B is pretty shallow, so I grabbed a guy who should provide, say it w/ me - power & speed...he's also SS elig.)
8 - Cishek $5 RP (cheap and hoping he gets the saves all yr, maybe that adds up to 30 )
9 - Frazier $5 1B/3B (age 27 breakout yr right ? go retire Rolen ya bastage)
10 - Stubbs $5 OF (power & speed, hopefully bats at least .220 )
11 - Hanson $5 SP (well the Angels took a shot why not me)
12 - JRoll $110 SS (hoping the old man got 1 more good yr left, seems like some of the guys didn't like seeing Jimmy go off the board at this time so maybe it was a good pk, 2 yrs in a row he's been one of my highest priced players)
13 - Janssen $39 RP (my brother Joe gets credit for this one, closers were really becoming scarce and this was one of the last relatively cheap ones left)
14 - Doumit $35 C/OF (like his pos. elig. & since he'll DH he should stay healthy)
15 - Fowler $24 OG (like Stubbs, except I expect a much better BA...I hope)
16 - Colvin $5 OF/1B (2 Rockies in a row, Helton can't possibly stay upright all yr so hoping Tyler builds on last yr)
17 - Holland $32 SP (makes me nervous, but he was a cheap SP at this pt in the draft, hoping he gets his shit together)
18 - Ludwick $20 OF (surprised this cleanup hitter was still around, gladly added him to the squad)
19 - Hernandez $14 RP (excellent SU man, Putz not exactly an iron man, hope Gibson goes w/ him instead of Bell when Putz goes down)
20 - Garza $95 SP (needed another SP who misses bats, can't count on W's, but what the hell)
21 - Moreland $5 1B (fingers crossed that he keeps his job and cranks out 30 hr's, not too much to ask for rt? )
22 - Hardy $74 SS (last big expense, more power at MI, Tucson boy...hope he's the last piece of the puzzle)
23 - Niemann $28 SP (Joey talked me into this guy too, he had good #'s last yr til he got hurt, so w/ spot in Tampa rotation seemingly secured he could be a sleeper in my rotation)
24 - 30 - these were the reserve rd's and since I knew we had an auction after the draft I figured some of these guys would be dropped. So I just chose who I felt was the best $5 player available. I ended up w/ RP Josh Fields, who could possibly end up closing in Houston. Then I got Brett Wallace, slated as the #3 hitter for those same mighty Astros. Another 3B who came on strong at the end of the yr, Josh Donaldson was next. Finally I finished the draft w/ 4 SP - Pomeranz, Pineda, Rubby De LaRosa, and Wade Leblanc.

The auction is almost as much fun as the draft itself, and this yr was no exception. There were cameo appearances by some NFBC celebrities until the start and I ended up winning 3 players. I was hoping for Michael Young or Mark Reynolds, but decided they were going for more than I wanted to part w/. Andy Saxton was a Massotto disciple and as such his pitching staff was horrendous, maybe it will be good in 2017 So he spent alot on SP in the auction. I got in a bidding war w/ him for the great Ervin Santana and I "won" him for $333. I wish I'd have let Andy get him at $325, but maybe he'll be better in KC

Someone threw out Carlos Lee's name for a $1 and I threw out a $10 bid which no one decided to challenge. Oh well, $10 isn't much to lose even if El Cabayo retires. My last winning bid was a player I threw out for a buck, Jake Westbrook. He didn't attract anyone's attention so he was mine oh mine. Great. He must be better than LaBlanc so I'm not too upset about that.

Here is my final roster -
C - Wieters/Rosario
1B - Moreland
2B - Espinosa
3B - Frazier
SS - JRoll
MI - Hardy
CI - Wallace
OF - Stanton/Desmond/Stubbs/Ludwick/Fowler
U - Doumit

SP - Yovani/Garza/Parker/Hanson/Holland/Niemann/E. Santana
RP - Cishek/Janssen

Bench - 3B Donaldson, 1B/OF C. Lee, 1B/OF Colvin, SP R. De LaRosa, SP Pineda, SP Westbrook, RP D. Hernandez

Well there it is. I know I have no shot at winnng this lge. My goal is MOY. My brother Joe was my co-pilot during this draft. He probably would've increased the budget if it was his team, but he was invaluable in helping me navigate through the treacherous waters filled w/ SHARKS It's always a blast. Thanks again to KJ for creating this one-of-a-kind league.

[uky]

Great stuff guys. I played in the inaugural event and the year after and I totally agree this is the best drafting format ever connived for the fantasy baseball fan. The strategy is mind-boggling especially if your on the fence of which way to go. Steinbrenner or Beane? Steinbrenner or Beane? Steinbrenner or Beane? KJ does a helluva job with this and all leagues he runs. The contract keeper idea is awesome. Just how close to being a real-time Baseball GM do you want to get?

[76erfan]

this is an awesome league. The key is to know what you want between MOY or League Champ and go for it. Dont spend alot of coin but leave yourself in the middle with a bench mark of 70 or so. I made that mistake last year. I spent $525 this year and as Dave so eloquently stated.....didnt pay attention to SP in the draft. That was my plan. I did acquire some mediocre talent at SP in FAAB and spent $602. I am obviously going after manager of the year..but my bench is 40 which was the goal.

here is the team:
c Jason Castro
c Erik Kratz
1b Freddie Freeman
2b Dustin Ackley
ss Ben Zobrist
3b Chase Headley
of Jason Heyward
of Austin Jackson
of Nori Aoki
of Starling Marte
of Emilio Bonifacio
ci Darin Ruf
mi Donovan Solano
u Dayan Viciedo

p Paul Maholm
p Edwin Jackson (acquired in FAAB)
p Gavin Floyd (acquired in FAAB)
p Mark Buehrle (acquired in FAAB)
p Clayton Richard
p Wei Chen
p Mike Adams (acquired in FAAB)
p Jonathan Broxton
p Bruce Rondon

b Carlos Ruiz
b Lonnie Chisenhall
b Scott Hairston
b Joe Blanton (acquired in FAAB)
b Dylan Bundy
b Bud Norris
b Jacob Turner

[Baseball Furies]

Nice write-up Alan, and I agree, once you get in this League there's no turning back....you're hooked

This is my 3rd yr and I've always taken the MOY (Manager of the Year) path...aka the Billy Beane

We did 2 of these bad boys last yr (FAAB & DC) I took Panda in both and never looked back

KJ is too modest (and perhaps still too pissed off) to tell this story. In last yr's DC Lge he came one Ian Kinsler error away from winning MOY AND 3rd place. After Kinsler's error his pitcher was removed and poor KJ ended up 1/3 of an inning shy of the necessary 900 IP req. Keep in mind this was a DC Lge so he couldn't pick up any SP to help get there and injuries had depleted his staff. I thought his strategy was brilliant. He put together a strong offense, as many closers and would-be closers, along w/ SP w/ good ratio's. Unfortunately he came up just short. But a blueprint had been made

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery and it was my plan to copy KJ's from a yr ago. I had the 3rd pk (which would cost me $100 FAAB dollars) and 2 yr's worth of experience to help me implement that strategy. I also knew that w/ this being a FAAB Lge I could make adjustments on the fly w/ regard to gettng the required IP. Alan won the Trout sweepstakes and I assumed Glenn would take the next best $5 OF on the board, Giancarlo Stanton. I was sure of it. I just couldn't make up my mind b/w Buster Posey ($6) and Stephen Strasburg ($39). After talking it over w/ my brother, he convinced me that Stras was the way to go. Every SP at his level was in the $200 range (sure Kershaw & Price were each abit over $100, but you catch my drift).

Glenn fooled me for sure when he took Andrew McCutcheon ($47), so I decided to take a chance on that young monster Stanton. I took some ribbing that he'll hit 45 hr's and have 45 RBI's, but we'll see. There's still hope that he gets traded Last yr I got burned by spending early pks on pitchers who got injured or underperformed (Pineda, Storen, Fister, Ubaldo, Neftali, & League) so I was not unhappy to start out w/ a heavyweight like Iron Mike. Seems like every yr I struggle in the power cat's so this yr I said to hell w/ BA, give me POWER....and some speed.

Anyways, I ended up as one of 8 teams vying for MOY (5 of us spent over $600, 1 over $500, 1 about $300, 1 about $200). You certainly can win MOY w/ a superlow payroll, but it's VERY hard. I believe you must spend enough to get right at the 40 (lowest benchmark there is) level, b/c even if you spend less you are still at 40, despite in actuality being far below that benchmark. Some teams went pitching & speed, others strong hitting aka the Massotto approach, I tried to be balanced. W/ regard to hitting I wanted guys who could deliver some power AND speed. BA will probably be an issue, but like W's ya never know. The balanced plan isn't easy, but I think I did ok.

Here it is round by round:

1 - Stanton $5 OF (BANG for your buck)
2 - Wieters $5 C (hoping this time the breakout is ALL season)
3 - Jennings $5 OF (my mantra - power & speed)
4 - Rosario $5 C (now I have 2 strong C's, hoping for 50 hr's out of this pos.)
5 - Yovani $80 SP (strongly considered Axford w/ his $5 pricetag, but SP was FLYING by and Gallardo seemed best value)
6 - Parker $5 SP (another good CHEAP SP, can't emphasize how fast the SP was going here)
7 - Espinosa $5 2B (seems like 2B is pretty shallow, so I grabbed a guy who should provide, say it w/ me - power & speed...he's also SS elig.)
8 - Cishek $5 RP (cheap and hoping he gets the saves all yr, maybe that adds up to 30 )
9 - Frazier $5 1B/3B (age 27 breakout yr right ? go retire Rolen ya bastage)
10 - Stubbs $5 OF (power & speed, hopefully bats at least .220 )
11 - Hanson $5 SP (well the Angels took a shot why not me)
12 - JRoll $110 SS (hoping the old man got 1 more good yr left, seems like some of the guys didn't like seeing Jimmy go off the board at this time so maybe it was a good pk, 2 yrs in a row he's been one of my highest priced players)
13 - Janssen $39 RP (my brother Joe gets credit for this one, closers were really becoming scarce and this was one of the last relatively cheap ones left)
14 - Doumit $35 C/OF (like his pos. elig. & since he'll DH he should stay healthy)
15 - Fowler $24 OG (like Stubbs, except I expect a much better BA...I hope)
16 - Colvin $5 OF/1B (2 Rockies in a row, Helton can't possibly stay upright all yr so hoping Tyler builds on last yr)
17 - Holland $32 SP (makes me nervous, but he was a cheap SP at this pt in the draft, hoping he gets his shit together)
18 - Ludwick $20 OF (surprised this cleanup hitter was still around, gladly added him to the squad)
19 - Hernandez $14 RP (excellent SU man, Putz not exactly an iron man, hope Gibson goes w/ him instead of Bell when Putz goes down)
20 - Garza $95 SP (needed another SP who misses bats, can't count on W's, but what the hell)
21 - Moreland $5 1B (fingers crossed that he keeps his job and cranks out 30 hr's, not too much to ask for rt? )
22 - Hardy $74 SS (last big expense, more power at MI, Tucson boy...hope he's the last piece of the puzzle)
23 - Niemann $28 SP (Joey talked me into this guy too, he had good #'s last yr til he got hurt, so w/ spot in Tampa rotation seemingly secured he could be a sleeper in my rotation)
24 - 30 - these were the reserve rd's and since I knew we had an auction after the draft I figured some of these guys would be dropped. So I just chose who I felt was the best $5 player available. I ended up w/ RP Josh Fields, who could possibly end up closing in Houston. Then I got Brett Wallace, slated as the #3 hitter for those same mighty Astros. Another 3B who came on strong at the end of the yr, Josh Donaldson was next. Finally I finished the draft w/ 4 SP - Pomeranz, Pineda, Rubby De LaRosa, and Wade Leblanc.

The auction is almost as much fun as the draft itself, and this yr was no exception. There were cameo appearances by some NFBC celebrities until the start and I ended up winning 3 players. I was hoping for Michael Young or Mark Reynolds, but decided they were going for more than I wanted to part w/. Andy Saxton was a Massotto disciple and as such his pitching staff was horrendous, maybe it will be good in 2017 So he spent alot on SP in the auction. I got in a bidding war w/ him for the great Ervin Santana and I "won" him for $333. I wish I'd have let Andy get him at $325, but maybe he'll be better in KC

Someone threw out Carlos Lee's name for a $1 and I threw out a $10 bid which no one decided to challenge. Oh well, $10 isn't much to lose even if El Cabayo retires. My last winning bid was a player I threw out for a buck, Jake Westbrook. He didn't attract anyone's attention so he was mine oh mine. Great. He must be better than LaBlanc so I'm not too upset about that.

Here is my final roster -
C - Wieters/Rosario
1B - Moreland
2B - Espinosa
3B - Frazier
SS - JRoll
MI - Hardy
CI - Wallace
OF - Stanton/Desmond/Stubbs/Ludwick/Fowler
U - Doumit

SP - Yovani/Garza/Parker/Hanson/Holland/Niemann/E. Santana
RP - Cishek/Janssen

Bench - 3B Donaldson, 1B/OF C. Lee, 1B/OF Colvin, SP R. De LaRosa, SP Pineda, SP Westbrook, RP D. Hernandez

Well there it is. I know I have no shot at winnng this lge. My goal is MOY. My brother Joe was my co-pilot during this draft. He probably would've increased the budget if it was his team, but he was invaluable in helping me navigate through the treacherous waters filled w/ SHARKS It's always a blast. Thanks again to KJ for creating this one-of-a-kind league.

Just reviewed Saxton's roster, and hate to break the news to you, but my pitching comes nowhere close to being that bad...ever! There's a big difference between drafting good pitching late, and crap pitching period.

Enjoy, guys. Wish I could have joined you, but I am maxed out for this year with draft commitments. I appreciated KJ's invite. He's definitely a pioneer when it comes to these leagues.

[Likewhat17]

Everything that these guys have said in this thread is 100% true. This is hands-down, my favorite draft of every season. The first year that KJ ran these leagues, I won Manager of the Year honors while also finishing in second place in one of these leagues. From then on, I was hooked as a low-market squad.

As the years have gone on, and the already high-quality owners became educated in this phenomenal format, styles and strategies have definitely adjusted. While the dream for many small market clubs is to draft a well-balanced team, unless you hit the lottery and nail every pick, it's extremely difficult to compete in that fashion. That leaves some of the gimmick strategies to the low-ball players. Two such strategies seem to be in fashion right now. The first of which, is to punt starting pitching. Draft a killer offense with the money you have, get a few lock-down closers, and forget about starting pitching. You'll take your 1's or 2's in wins and strikeouts, but should do enough on offense, and in ratios+saves to finish with around 90 league points and compete for MOY. In doing so, you just have to make sure that you hit the minimum innings requirement, or the entire season could go for naught. Bill Fearon employed this strategy brilliantly and took home MOY honors last season, with 95 league points. Had he not hit on fantasy phenom Mike Trout, or stolen Ryan Braun while there was still some fear that he would've been suspended, it could have been a very different season.

Coming in right behind Bill last year, were the two teams that employed the other gimmick strategy. Our team finished with 91 league points, and Shawn Childs' squad with 87. Each of us decided to use the punt power strategy, choosing instead to load up on a killer pitching staff and then nothing but high-average speedsters. The theory being to garner around 55 points in the pitching categories, and getting your 35+ in hitting by dominating steals and average, and trying to be middle of the pack in runs scored.

The strategy went off as planned last year, and the 91 league points that we finished with were directly in line with what we thought we needed to win MOY honors. Unfortunately, that was not the case though. We still believed that the strategy was sound though, and even that we executed it effectively enough to achieve our final goal. Hence, we used the same strategy again this season, and are hoping for around the same result, 90 or so league points, which puts us again at the forefront of MOY discussion.

So, without further ado, I present what I believe to be your preseason favorite for Manager of the Year honors. Critiques welcome and appreciated.

C - Rob Brantly ($5), Chris Iannetta (FAAB Auction)
1B - Brandon Belt ($5)
2B - Daniel Murphy ($5), Brian Roberts (FAAB Auction)
SS - Jean Segura ($5), Rafael Furcal (FAAB Auction)
3B - Martin Prado ($48)
MI - Hiroyuki Nakajima ($29)
CI - Jedd Gyorko ($5)
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury ($81), Juan Pierre ($16), Brett Gardner ($29), Denard Span ($48), Andy Dirks ($5), David DeJesus ($43), Franklin Gutierrez (FAAB Auction)
UTIL - Nate McLouth ($20)

SP - Kris Medlen ($5), Mat Latos ($6), RA Dickey ($53), Michael Fiers ($5), Hisashi Iwakuma ($65), Brandon McCarthy ($53), Wade Davis ($28), Mark Rogers ($5), Bartolo Colon (FAAB Auction)
RP - Greg Holland ($5), Joel Hanrahan ($41), Ryan Madson ($35)

[BK METS]

Everything that these guys have said in this thread is 100% true. This is hands-down, my favorite draft of every season. The first year that KJ ran these leagues, I won Manager of the Year honors while also finishing in second place in one of these leagues. From then on, I was hooked as a low-market squad.

As the years have gone on, and the already high-quality owners became educated in this phenomenal format, styles and strategies have definitely adjusted. While the dream for many small market clubs is to draft a well-balanced team, unless you hit the lottery and nail every pick, it's extremely difficult to compete in that fashion. That leaves some of the gimmick strategies to the low-ball players. Two such strategies seem to be in fashion right now. The first of which, is to punt starting pitching. Draft a killer offense with the money you have, get a few lock-down closers, and forget about starting pitching. You'll take your 1's or 2's in wins and strikeouts, but should do enough on offense, and in ratios+saves to finish with around 90 league points and compete for MOY. In doing so, you just have to make sure that you hit the minimum innings requirement, or the entire season could go for naught. Bill Fearon employed this strategy brilliantly and took home MOY honors last season, with 95 league points. Had he not hit on fantasy phenom Mike Trout, or stolen Ryan Braun while there was still some fear that he would've been suspended, it could have been a very different season.

Coming in right behind Bill last year, were the two teams that employed the other gimmick strategy. Our team finished with 91 league points, and Shawn Childs' squad with 87. Each of us decided to use the punt power strategy, choosing instead to load up on a killer pitching staff and then nothing but high-average speedsters. The theory being to garner around 55 points in the pitching categories, and getting your 35+ in hitting by dominating steals and average, and trying to be middle of the pack in runs scored.

The strategy went off as planned last year, and the 91 league points that we finished with were directly in line with what we thought we needed to win MOY honors. Unfortunately, that was not the case though. We still believed that the strategy was sound though, and even that we executed it effectively enough to achieve our final goal. Hence, we used the same strategy again this season, and are hoping for around the same result, 90 or so league points, which puts us again at the forefront of MOY discussion.

So, without further ado, I present what I believe to be your preseason favorite for Manager of the Year honors. Critiques welcome and appreciated.

C - Rob Brantly ($5), Chris Iannetta (FAAB Auction)
1B - Brandon Belt ($5)
2B - Daniel Murphy ($5), Brian Roberts (FAAB Auction)
SS - Jean Segura ($5), Rafael Furcal (FAAB Auction)
3B - Martin Prado ($48)
MI - Hiroyuki Nakajima ($29)
CI - Jedd Gyorko ($5)
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury ($81), Juan Pierre ($16), Brett Gardner ($29), Denard Span ($48), Andy Dirks ($5), David DeJesus ($43), Franklin Gutierrez (FAAB Auction)
UTIL - Nate McLouth ($20)

SP - Kris Medlen ($5), Mat Latos ($6), RA Dickey ($53), Michael Fiers ($5), Hisashi Iwakuma ($65), Brandon McCarthy ($53), Wade Davis ($28), Mark Rogers ($5), Bartolo Colon (FAAB Auction)
RP - Greg Holland ($5), Joel Hanrahan ($41), Ryan Madson ($35)

Dave, I like your top 3 pitchers, but I think Shawn's top 3 are slightly better.. But your hitters are a little more proven. I don't think outsiders really understand the dynamics of this league and how incredibly challenging it is. The owners are some of the best in the business. So many ways to win. The pitching/speed strategy, the Hitting/RP/Ratio strategy, and of course, the less thought out strategy of just spending money. I think the fact that 5 guys went big money this year makes this league so much more up in the air. You would think that it would mean more separation between the top 5 and the rest, but what it could mean is, a lower tier team with 8 strong categories, has a greater chance to sneak into the top 3, with the top teams watered down a little. Cannot stress enough how incredible this format is and next year's contract keeper league is going to be even greater.