How many pitchers should you have? Topic

cwillis802
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Just wondering how some of the successful players in this game have set up their pitching staffs.  How many starters do you typically go with?

Thus far, I tend to go with 3 starters and I usually like to take ones with over 300 IP and prefer old timers from the early part of the 1900s.  If I can take one guy who has pitched over 400 IP, that is a big plus. I then like to go with two long relievers who are starters from the 1940s to present that had 200 IP. I can use these guys for spot starts as well and I usually like taking a lefty and a righty.  The rest of my bullpen consists of 7 relievers.  Is 11 pitchers enough?  Or do many of you go with more? Or less? Just curious. 

2/20/2011 12:04 AM
boogerlips
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Quantity of pitchers means nothing except in determining your ability to manage them (when they come in) and also in appearance fatigue. Understanding appearance fatigue is important. Always plan out how many pitchers will appear in your games. As a general rule, pitchers can't pitch in back to back games, so another general rule is that no more than 40% of your relief pitchers should appear in a normal game.
2/20/2011 12:15 AM
cbaltz_ca
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Valid points by Boog - it really doesn't matter it depends on how you want to manage the staff.  You could have 8 and be successful but I wouldn't want to manage that.  Everytime I have less than 11 I run into fatigue issues.  Even if you manage them well you will run into a couple 15-13 games back to back that burn up your staff or consecutive extra inning games.  I usually have room for 11 as I only need 14 hitters, 8 position and a backup C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS and OF.  A couple of times I've gone 15/10 But I've never tried 9 for more than a couple weeks.  Too much work. 
2/20/2011 11:17 AM
jfranco77
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It depends on your offense. Do you have platoons? How many bench players do you need? If there's no dh then you need guys to pinch hit. I wouldn't want to go less than 8 deep regardless but if you have a 2-man rotation then 7 or 8 might be enough.
2/20/2011 1:18 PM
GregNLFan
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I've always used 4-man rotations, so starter fatigue has rarely been a problem.  I generally pick at least 3 horses, and the other starter also has 200 innings or more.   With the starters going deep into almost every game, I have gotten by with a 5-man bullpen, though I generally have 6 or 7 guys.
2/20/2011 4:34 PM
cwillis802
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Really great stuff here on this thread. I appreciate the info.  It gives me a lot to think about and mull over. 
2/20/2011 7:23 PM
rbow923
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Total IP is more important than how many pitchers you have. If you have enough total innings your pitchers can stay healthy enough if you use all of them. following up on what booger said, you need more pitchers if their pitch counts are low and if you drafted too few innings.
I normally draft 12 or 13 pitchers but that's because I find it more cost effective not because I need that many. I've been in themes where I only drafted 6 or 7 pitchers and they did fine because total IP and ip/g were adequate.
2/20/2011 9:07 PM (edited)
zubinsum
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I would recomend at least your rotation + 1 quality long and 4 quality short guys.  Any fewer could likely lead to fatigue problems in the playoffs.  

2/20/2011 9:36 PM
Trentonjoe
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Posted by rbow923 on 2/20/2011 9:07:00 PM (view original):
Total IP is more important than how many pitchers you have. If you have enough total innings your pitchers can stay healthy enough if you use all of them. following up on what booger said, you need more pitchers if their pitch counts are low and if you drafted too few innings.
I normally draft 12 or 13 pitchers but that's because I find it more cost effective not because I need that many. I've been in themes where I only drafted 6 or 7 pitchers and they did fine because total IP and ip/g were adequate.
I agree with this 100%.  
2/21/2011 5:07 AM
boogerlips
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I agree with Trentonjoe.
2/21/2011 12:45 PM
mixtroy
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Wow, I had no idea you guys (Cbaltz and rbow923) drafted so many relievers when I usually get by with 7 or 8 (2-3 30 inning closers, 2-3 50-60 inning middle guys and a couple of cheap 60-70 inning long guys), depending on who my starting pitchers are.  I'd probably lose my mind micro managing 11-13 relievers. lol
2/27/2011 12:42 AM
boogerlips
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I usually draft 16 hitters , 9 pitchers.
2/27/2011 2:40 AM
How many pitchers should you have? Topic
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