Greetings,

Curious about pitching rotations. I'm really lacking a decent 5th starter so am currently going with a 4-man rotation. As long as the guys are at 100% before their start, is it ok to go all season like this, or will they wear down over the course of the year?

Thanks for your help!

Nah. Just make sure they are recovering. You might need to tinker with pitch counts -- bring them down a bit if your starters aren't at 100%. You might come upon a stretch or two where, due to no days off, you need a fifth starter, but that is no big deal.

I just won a WS using a tandem 4 strategy. It required checking my staff daily, and tweaking multiple players in and out of the tandem roles, and a few occasions of using a SP5, but it worked well.

I do this all the time. Target DUR 27 or higher if possible. Set your pitch counts to about 20 pitches above their stamina. You're bullpen will pitch a little more but you can a ton of flexibility.

I almost always run a 4 man rotation. Most of the time with no tandems. I believe in in game fatigue affecting performance.

thanks gents!

You can also slot a guy 5th and just keep sliding him back as the schedule dictates.
Also check the box for long relief so he’s available. That way if something comes up and you can’t manipulate your staff during a long stretch without a day off it won’t bite you in the butt later.

that's a great suggestion, thanks!

4 man rotation. drop their pitch counts a bit. get in the habit of checking their % at every login. carry a 5th starter that you're comfortable using for 10-15 starts a year. make sure your bullpen are all guys that can get innings.

Basically just echoing sentiments here, but I only use 4-man rotations because I prefer the extra bat/pair of legs on the bench. I agree with rdierkers in terms of pitch count - I set my 4 starters at stamina+10 for target and stamina+20 for max. If a guy is 30+ durability, I up his max to stamina+25.

Add 2 guys you're comfortable picking up that 5th start (in case one is fatigued from bullpen duty) and have at least 1 guy (usually it's a mopup guy for me) that's just an innings eating machine when needed - 40 STA, 60+ DUR.

I've had good success with this strategy and have only gotten into fatigue trouble due to multiple, consecutive extra innings games or freak injuries.