Ok, guys, we are going to try something new today based on what YOU want to see. I see requests for more explanation of player picks and whatnot to help you get better. This is my attempt at doing that. I will mix things up here, so it’s likely more of a blog (by the way, we have member’s blogs for anyone. DM me if you want to start one of your own.). However, it’s for you….the VIPs. So, hush up. Let’s keep this one secret. You will get my thoughts, strategies, key plays, maybe some results from time to time, experiments I’m playing around with, just a generic brain dump. I do my best teaching when I think out loud and you guys interact with me. So, let’s try that…..making this interactive. Feed me ideas, suggestions, things you want to see and I’ll try my best to work some answers up for you. Fair enough?
Split Slate Earns You Split Keys
Key #1
Your options are rather yuck on the Early slate for pitching. All our good stuff is on the Main. This will be the tale of two slates today. Early on, you might focus on bats. Later, you might focus on pitching. Remember, though, Coors is still dodging rain so it that ballpark carries risk. On small slates like the Early, I like being more contrarian. With fewer options, there are fewer choices in players. So, get a little creative. A game stack of SEA/PHI might be what the doctor ordered.
Key #2
On smaller slates, there is a noticeable shortage of large tourneys. This leads us back into my favorite little spot…..leagues. Remember, you don’t need to do stupid shit to beat 20 people. You don’t need to do stupid shit to even beat 100 people. Let the other noobs take those crazy stacks and chances. Play smart, keep your head about you, and focus more on getting into the top 20%. Doing that takes fundamentals of building and spreading around a little rather than focusing on a single offense and overexposing yourself. You will be amazed at how little it can take to beat 20 players and win 10X your money. If you follow me, you know already that getting that 10X return requires a better than top 1% lineup in GPPs. It’s much easier to beat 20 people than 8000 for the same 10X return. Change your thinking.
Focus On The Main Slate
Key #3
Catcher is abnormally deep today. Names like Iannetta, Martinez, Chirinos, Grandal, Leon, and Weiters are all in play. When you have 6 or more catchers to choose from, you can save that spot for last in your lineup building. Just take one of them after you’ve filled out more important things. The edges between them are small right now anyway. Focus elsewhere. Come back to catcher tonight.
Key #4
That said, 2B is pretty shallow. I have 3 options (Wong, Odor, PEDROIA). Of them, if you look at who is running best lately, it’s Pedroia by quite a margin. That means, I really have only one option I love and two others I can live with. I will be building around them first tonight. I will lock in Pedroia in most of what I do, bounce around ministacks and whatnot, and complete my lines. After building about 3 or 4 lineups, I will start diversifying off Pedroia by starting off with a likely even split of Wong and Odor and see where that takes my construction. Finding your starting point shouldn’t always be with value, or catcher, or stacks, or anything. You need to learn to look at the slate, find it’s weak point, and fill those needs first…….then branch out from there.
Key #5
I like writing everything down on paper as I go through research. I have it all “at a glance” for later. In Chin Music, you can follow along that process. I start with pitchers, move to high SIERA pitchers, then implied run totals, then specific bats. The funny thing is the high SIERA pitchers don’t often match the high implied run total teams. That’s odd to me, but it honestly comes down to Vegas valuing big offenses and ballparks. Personally, I will circle the teams that are high in both spots. For example, the Dodgers tonight. They are facing Kuhl (PIT) who ranks 5th in high SIERA. The Dodgers rank 5th in implied run total. I like that a lot! If you look at DET, they rank high in implied run total but their opposing pitcher will be down the list a ways. That’s purely a ballpark boost out of Vegas. It warrants considering, but when I look for specific hot bats in the Tigers’ offense, I’m not finding a lot. So, that detracts from my excitement, too. All this shit adds up to playing or fading teams or players. It’s honestly just an experience thing you will learn as you grow.
Honestly, it’s why you chose the Army. I hope you felt you would learn more stuff like this and learn to apply it. If you have any other questions, or need something explained a little better, I will do my best to help out. Hit me up in the main room or DM and we can work through things and shorten your growth curve! Later, homies!