1)       Now that there is a fundamental understanding of the scoring system and with that the rules that governor the league its time to work on your roster and positions.  Every league type will have a set roster size, certain number of starters, delegated positions you can start players in, and we will show you how best to approach handling those positions and roster options from start to finish.

2)       First, note the positions that are offered.  Normally you get a C, 1B, 2B, 3B, and SS.  After that you tend to have different outfielders.  Here’s the first focus of position power. 

3)       Are your outfielders just OF meaning any outfielder can play them or is the position earmarked for only a CF, RF, or LF?  Sometimes there is a RF/LF position.  They are critical to know come draft time.  Magglio Ordonez and Bobby Abreu can both play OF positions, but if you only have 1 RF position and a LF and CF then you are screwed because they are both limited to RF.  You have to know the outfield position layout for your league

4)       Next, Utility players.  These are the easiest positions to understand, but the hardest to fill throughout the season.  The reason they are the hardest is because ANY player can play in them and that can make it a tough decision.  We will cover the strategy of utility players later in the other books.

5)       Those in a nutshell are the offensive positions.  The pitching positions are a little easier to understand and there are only three of them.  Starting pitcher (SP), relief pitcher (RP), and a standard pitcher (P) slot.

6)       The starting pitcher slot can be filled with pitchers who are designated a starter.  The relief pitcher slot (of course) is for players designated as a relief pitcher.  The pitcher or (P) slot is the most interesting.  You can man this position with any type of pitcher you want to whether he is a starter or relief pitcher.

7)       Last, but not least are your bench players.  These are the guys on your roster whom you aren’t starting at that time.  The bench is key to winning and I’ve yet to see a championship one without a solid bench.

2.       Filling Roster Options

8)       When considering the type of players you want on your team based on the league roster rules and scoring system, you want to think about maximizing the number of players your roster can maintain in the maximum number of positions.  This is not to say trade quantity in for quality, meaning giving up a great SS for a SS/2B weaker player.  What we are saying is after studying your roster size, consider the following option.

9)       Start with deciding how many offensive players your roster will carry.  Base this on the scoring system.  In a points league if the scoring favors the pitcher, then maybe you swing more weight to pitching.  Either way, you’ll know if you need to focus on getting the best player available in each position and base the priority on the scoring system.

3.       Roster Balance

10)   Before we move on, we should cover how we think you should approach each position on your roster.  It is important to maximize your output, while keeping your team well balanced. 

11)   One of the more common strategies is just to POWER-UP your lineup and go after all the big-boppers you can get.  The problem with that is it leaves you exposed in certain categories, and it certainly hurts you a rotisserie league.  Plus power hitters are known for going into droughts big-time, and that could also damage you in a head-2-head league.  You have to carefully consider each position and based on the MLB players out there, who best fits that spot for you out of the choice you may have when the draft comes around.  We aren’t going to tell you for SS get Hanley Ramirez, but we will describe a player type you need to look for in the draft for a specific position.

12)   Roster balance is crucial to remaining consistent all season, and never falling far behind.  It’s a winning formula cause face it; there will be cold players, bad players, and injuries.  If your roster is balanced and your bench is deep, you will find success. 

4.       Position By Position Analysis Offense

13)   Here are my recommendations for the style players you should have at each position.  If you can get these types of players in each position, you should start the season in excellent shape. These players at their respective positions will work in all league types we have discussed.

14)    First Base – In MLB, first base is an historically powerful position.  Many first baseman can hit for power and three of the best are Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard. Since most of the teams you are playing will either go for or get power hitters for this position, you need to match that as best you can.  There is a full compliment of power hitting first basemen, so if you cannot get a top-notch first basemen there are many more you can chose from. 

15)   Second Base – This position should be reserved for hitting average and extra base hit players.  This position will be responsible for producing lots of runs, doubles, triples, and even some stolen bases and homeruns.  Most important it will keep your average solid.  When choosing a second basemen consider three factors; good average, lots of hits, and speed.  That is what you want and you will have plenty of choices like Brandon Phillips, Chase Utley, and Dan Uggla.  If you get a .300 hitter with 180 hits, and 55+ extra base hits you are in good shape.

16)   Shortstop – This is a key position on any team.  Primarily because there is such a drop off from the 1^st or even 2^nd tier of shortstops.  The key with shortstops is power. Normally the everyday shortstop is fast, and can normally hit for average.  Nowadays that has changed.  Nowadays that has changed with the emergence of more powerful shortstops like Jimmy Rollins and Hanley Ramirez.

17)   Third Base – In the old days this position was normally set for power, but in recent years not only has that changed, but it’s become a tough position to fill. Recently young players like Ryan Braun has surged the third base position back to a power position.  Obviously everyone is targeting AROD, but if you cannot get him look for other homerun potential third basemen like Braun, Atkins, or Ramirez.  It is important you pull a power hitter out of this position.  Try to get hitting average as well, but the priority is power.

18)   Catcher – Frankly, this is the most useless position on the roster and the least to be concerned about.  There is a horrific drop off from the 1^st tier catchers, to the next level.  Allot of thinkers out there say go high on a 1^st tier catcher because you will dominate that position, which is normally weak.  I disagree.  Catchers naturally will go in the mid to late rounds.  If you can secure a 1^st tier catch in the mid rounds go for it, otherwise don’t worry.  The big problems for catchers are they only play 4 out of 5 days, and near the end of the season they get tired and their offense will suffer.  Also, you almost never see them catch a double-header.  Our advice is don’t waste too much time or too high of a pick here.  You may get Russell Martin, but who would you pass up to get him?  A mid-level catcher will do.  Invest elsewhere.

19)    Outfield – This is where the money is made.  Normally 3 rosters spots go to the outfield and you can bet on that.  Now it does matter if your league requires LF, RF, and CF or just OF.  From the outfielders you must produce everything like hitting average, power, and speed.  Trust us, there is plenty out there.  For your CF look for a speedy threat with some power, but mostly hitting average and extra base potential.  Grady Sizemore is an awesome centerfielder. In RF and LF, look for average and mid-level power from one player, and from the other you need a monster power hitter.  Matt Holiday fits that bill.  Magglio Ordonez is a top-notch hitting average and mid-level power hitter.  If you can secure those types of players for your outfield you are looking sharp.

20)   Utility Players – The Holy Grail of the team.  This position and there is normally always one, is allot of fun to build on. Some leagues have up to 3 utility spots.   Here you must grab the best available players.  We will assume your league has only 1 spot.  If you have one spot, go Power with average.  David Ortiz fits this bill, and so does Travis Hafner.  Another strategy with the utility position is fill it with what your team needs are.  If you are in a 5x5 rotisserie league and you are falling behind in stolen bases, grab a speedy player from your bench and pump him in.  The great thing is you can fill this position with your bench, which we will discuss next.  That will help the teams who must fill more.  This position will be discussed quite a bit in the Fantasy Baseball Bible.

5.       Position By Position Analysis Pitching

21)   Pitchers are more than half the battle.  I’ve always said offense keeps you even, pitchers bring home the championship.  You will live and die with pitching.  We will now cover the pitching positions on the roster.

22)   Starting pitching is critical to your team.  Normally you will have 3-4 SP slots to fill.  Since pitchers pitch everyday it’s crucial to make sure each pitcher gets at least one start in that week and they all should.  One good thing about starting pitching is there are always guys in free agency and new pitchers spring up all the time.  Certainly you should invest one high pick and one medium-high pick to starting pitcher.  Just like in baseball you need a staff ace, and someone to back him up.  Of course, like we mentioned good pitchers come out of know where so the other pitchers aren’t as important.  Also note your rules, if you have limit innings or no inning limit that will affect your draft.  We will cover more on this in the drafting book of the FB Bible. 

23)   Relief pitching is the most important set of players on your team unless your league scoring system purposely works against them.  Whether you have RP or P slots fill them up with CLOSERS.  Get enough closers to fill all your RP and P slots.  If you can’t, find the best middle relief guys only IF your league awards for holds.

6.       The Bench Players

24)   No team will win with your starting roster on opening day.  You will need to carry a strong bench in order to win.  To carry a strong bench you must consider 3 factors; backing up certain positions, age of starters, and prospects.  If you have 10 bench spots (10 for easy percentages), we recommend 4 offensive players and 6 pitchers.  So 40% offense, 60% pitching.  Reverse those numbers if your league overwhelmingly favors offense.

25)   Backing up certain positions is vital.  Especially the hard ones like SS or 2B.  This is where the multi-position players rule.  These are the guys who can play 2-4 positions and are a tremendous asset to your team.  They may not always be the best hitters, but when you are in a pinch, you can slide them in where needed.  We recommend looking for several players like that and getting them on your bench or starting.  Always carry 1-2 outfielders on your bench.  The truth is there will be at least 4 outfield and utility positions to fill.  These guys are your bench, but they are also players who could very well start so invest.  NEVER backup a catcher; it’s just not worth it.  Allot of managers out there will try and make up for their catcher who is off one out of five days.  In most cases the backup catcher they plug in will put up a goose egg in four at bats or not even start because it’s his day off!

26)   The rest of the bench will be your pitchers.  If you can backup your closers, get at least 1.  After that it would probably be a waste, so it’s not bad to get 2 backups, but we don’t recommend it.  The other 5 slots belong to starting pitchers.  Get young ones, old ones, good, ones, but stay away from bad ones.  We will get into the types of pitchers you need to acquire in the draft and free agency portions of the FB Bible.

7.       In The End There Are 25 Spots

27)   Whatever the roster size of your league, that’s what you have and you have it all season.  It won’t shrink, it won’t grow.  Hopefully your league utilizes the DL (Disabled List) spot, and that will allow you to move injured players out of the main roster while they are on the DL.

28)   In order to manage the roster properly it’s key to knowing your team.  Know who your players are.  Like we mentioned in earlier verses, older players are injury prone, back them up.  Don’t worry about backing up AROD!  If you lose him, a backup from your bench won’t help much, but it would if you lost Roger Clemens.  Throughout the season your roster will go through big changes from injuries, slumps, trades, free agency and emerging prospects.  Your managing of what is important to you at the time is how you win championships.

29)   If it’s a rotisserie league and your are falling behind in HRs, maybe you load up guys from free agency who have potential to explode.  Vice-versa, homeruns are a lost cause, drop power hitting bench players and acquire base stealers or guys who will churn out the hits.

30)   Managing your roster is a chess match with the rest of the league.  In future books this will be much clearer to the naked eye that fantasy baseball is in-fact a big chess match where checkmate means championship, and the losing team crumbles on the bad moves of its manager.

31)   Understanding how managing your roster is a big part to building a championship team. If you have any questions about your roster or managing it, email us at thetrueguru@fantasybaseballsearch.com.