Why wait to draft starting pitching?

Over the past few years I've tried many different strategies when it comes to starting pitching. Today I want to talk about a few reasons why waiting to draft your starting pitching can be a good way to approach your draft. I'm going to focus on a standard 12 team roto league with 10 categories. Obviously this might be tweaked depending on your league's size and rules.

I usually approach the draft with some basic objectives. I like to normally wait until at least round 7 to draft a pitcher and then at that point I usually go for my first closer. I usually target a closer who will get me K's and good ratios. Then I follow that up with either another closer or my first SP in the next 2 to 3 rounds. That gives me a good foundation for my staff. I might even wait until round 9 if there are still enough quality SPs left on the board. This allows me to build an offense that can dominate most leagues. I then look to add the core of my staff in rounds 11-15, when the other teams are filling out those missing holes in their offense.

So, why does this work and why should you try it? Well, for one thing it's much easier to predict the stats for hitters than it is for pitchers. Therefore hitters tend to be more consistent and less of a risk, especially in the early rounds. Hitters also can contribute in all 5 of the hitting categories, while even the best SPs can only help you in 4.

The next key to this strategy is watching the waiver wire. Just look back at least year to see what you can find off the wire. Cliff Lee, Joe Saunders, John Danks and Edison Volquez are just a few examples of the quality of SP that you could slip through the cracks and not get drafted. Then you can also look to the top last season's rankings to see some of the pitchers that didn't give you the value you were expecting like Erik Bedard, Justin Verlander, Carlos Zambrano, and even Johan Santana to some extent.

The last area I want to focus on is the idea of pitch or ditch. Basically it's just maximizing your IP by using one or two spots on your roster to grab SPs off the wire each week with easy matchups or who have shown flashes of brilliance in the recent past. This is how you can find those undrafted gems and really put you at an advantage. If they pitch well, you can give them 1 or 2 more starts and see if it was a fluke or the real deal.

I'd recommend giving this strategy a try this year, especially in some mock drafts. It can be tough to pass up the likes of Webb, Haren or Hamels, but if you can hold off and go for those 2nd tier guys, you'll have an advantage over your competition. Good luck.