As a Tout Mixed Noob, in the off-season, I wanted to get a sense of how returning members put together their teams. I took a look at the onRoto “league history” section, and saw that the auctions tended to be fairly “calm” – ie, the superstars were not going for significantly more than their value. I decided I could use a Stars and Scrubs strategy and grab some studs; I figured in a mixed 15-team format, I’d be able to get regular or favorable-platoon players in the end game for $1-2 each.
As often happens in life – reality sometimes departs from expectations! A few players into the auction, it became clear that to work Stars and Scrubs, I’d have to pay well over my projected values for the studs. I quickly switched to a Spread the Risk strategy, and put together what I thought was a solid team – a good pitching staff, and plenty of power.
The overwhelming majority of my Roto experience is in “only” leagues, so I’m used to having to have some low-expectation players at the end of my roster. In the Mixed 15-team format, my full team was made up of starters or guys expected to have plenty of playing time. Of course, it’s a perspective thing – pretty much every team leaves the auction with that feeling.
As the year progressed, and I dealt with the usual injuries, it became apparent that while I did have plenty of HR on the squad, I was lacking in many of the other categories – OBP, in particular. While I tried to shore that up throughout the year, I didn’t succeed. So while my pitching chalked up 62 points, I could only muster 26 on offense, ending up with a middle of the pack (7th) squad.
Lesson learned for 2025!