1.       Book 5 – The Free Agency Battle

1)       From the end of the draft to the last inning of your season, free agency will play a huge role in whether or not your team wins a championship.  Nothing you will do can have a bigger impact than the players you will find in free agency.

2)       Free agency is a saving grace for most teams.  It’s where you will look for help and solutions to nearly every kind of problem you will face in fantasy baseball.  Problems like injuries, match ups, days off, players just going sour, etc…  If there is a problem in fantasy baseball, it can normally be solved in free agency.

3)       The first thing you must understand about free agency is that it’s a science, not a freebie.  Most players that are available in free agency are there for a reason.  When a manager decides to go to the “well” he has to know exactly why he’s dipping into free agency and he must know exactly what he needs.  You cannot compromise on what you need, and if you compromise you may not achieve what you wanted to with free agency.

4)       In this book we will cover many of the top strategies associated with free agency and waivers.  The first strategy we will cover is how to know what you need.

5)       Next, we will cover waivers.  We will define what it is and how you should use it.

6)       Then, always make sure the player you are cutting is worth the player you are getting.

7)       Finally, the manager vs. manager battle.  Knowing the rules of engagement when battling other managers in free agency.
 

2.       Knowing the Players Needed

8)       This is probably a simple concept for most people, but when it actually happens many managers will grab the wrong player.  When a situation comes up and you need a key player you need to focus on what you need, and not what you want.  For instance, if you are in a head-to-head league and the weekend is coming up and you need to score pitching points in a hurry, but lack starts to do so.  At first thought, “I need a starting pitcher.”  That is correct, but it has to be more complex than that. 

9)       First, examine the kind of stats you need to points from.  In the H2H (head-to-head) league example we will assume you need strikeouts and wins.  So in free agency its not going to help much if you get a pitcher who doesn’t get strikeouts.  You’ll need to take your chances on the best available strikeout pitcher, and hopefully one on a winning team. 

10)   It would be the same for a rotisserie league.  Now, in a points league you must get the best pitcher available who can score the most points in one start.  This is where you first focus on the pitcher’s team.  A win is normally the highest scoring category for pitchers, so getting a pitcher on a team that wins like the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Indians,  or Angels is a must.  After you narrow your search to pitchers on winning teams, now get rid of the bad pitchers or unproven rookies.

11)   Next, find the pitchers who can score the most without a win. I say this cause whether the pitcher pitches well or not, a win is not guaranteed.  Look for pitchers who can strikeout, while limiting runs, walks, and hits.  This sounds obvious, but it’s often overlooked.  You should have a small group of pitchers to choose from now.  The final option to consider is consistency and winning.  Check out the pitchers game log.  Notice if the pitcher is hot and if he’s prone to winning, then losing.  If you have a pitcher who’s consistent and can win, grab him.  For example, a great free agent pitcher often overlooked who can help a team is Paul Byrd of the Cleveland Indians.  He wins and can almost always be found in free agency.

12)   Hot players are critical to scoring some quick free points on a pickup.  You can keep the guy till he cools down, and then cut him.  Players like Chris Shelton and Chris Duncan come to mind from the recent past as examples.  Ride the hot streak whenever possible, and be willing to bench or cut the player if he goes cold.

13)   On the hitting front, it’s the same strategy.  Know the position you must fill, and since may want to keep this new player, try finding players who can fill multiple positions.  Someone like Ryan Freel is great to have on your bench as a last resort.  Last season he played several positions (1B, 3B, and OF) and was a base stealing threat.  Just make sure that the hitter you grab will produce in the categories you need it in.  Getting Willy Mo Pena when you need to score more runs and stolen bases isn’t going to help. 

14)   By following the strategies presented you should be able to find good free agents when your back is against the wall.  There will always be players out there worth a roster spot, and if you find a player who is playing well at that time, you should pick him up.

15)   In previous books we explained who you should cut in these times.  Assuming you have a revolving roster spot as we suggested, that is your first choice.  If you don’t, you have to cut the least valuable player on your roster that you feel no one else will take off of waivers.  There isn’t a whole lot that can be done about another manager taking your player on waivers.  Your best bet is to make the move quickly, and do it late at night.  Don’t write any posts of “misdirection” saying, “This guy sucks”, or “He’s never on my team again”.  That will just get the other managers attention.  What you have to hope for is for the next few days mangers don’t pay attention to the ADD/DROP columns and you get your player back.

16)   By getting the right player you have done all you can to produce points.  Just remember not to panic when making critical choices for your fantasy team.  So many times mangers quit on a player and end up cutting the wrong guy.  Moves like that can haunt your entire season.  Free agency should never be taken for granted, and used only when needed.

3.       Understanding Waivers

17)   I have received so many emails from managers asking me exactly how a waiver works.  Waivers in all its glorious forms can be confusing, but when you get down to it the definition is simple.  For the examples below we will assume the league we are discussing is a 10-team league.

18)   The basic nature of waivers is each manager holds a waiver priority 1 thru 10 (replace with the number of teams in your league).  This priority is granted in one of a few ways throughout the season, but at the start of the season it’s normally the same for all leagues.  The waiver priority is granted at the beginning of the season based on your draft pick.  If you had the 1^st pick in the draft, you’ll get the 10^th overall waiver priority starting the season.  Same goes if you have the 3^rd draft pick you will start with the 8^th waiver priority. 

19)   Once the season has started, determining waiver priority changes depending on the league you are in.  Most leagues determine the priority by a manger making a pickup.  If you had the 3^rd waiver priority and you grab a player from waivers, you will automatically be set to the 10^th waiver priority.

20)   The other way to determine waiver priority is resetting waivers every week.  So on Monday the waiver priority is reset based on your league standings.  If you are in last place, you’ll get the #1 waiver priority.  If you are in 1^st place, you’ll get the 10^th waiver priority.

21)   Waivers are very important to each team and it’s absolutely necessary when trying to get players from free agency.  To start, prize your waiver priority.  The higher it gets the better position you will be in to grab a hot player, so use your pick only when you have to and use it wisely.  Even if your league does not put all the players of waivers at one point in the week (most leagues don’t) a waiver pick is extremely valuable when other managers drop players or a new player enters the league. 

22)   The best time for you to use your waiver pick is when another manager cuts a player he shouldn’t have.  Mangers panic, it’s a fact of life.  When they do cut players, they tend to cut a slumping player or an injured player who really should remain on the roster.  This is your opportunity to improve your team through waivers by trying to get that player.

23)   The waiver priority also proves useful against other managers.  A competing manager with a lesser waiver priority will certainly be in trouble if your waiver priority is higher then his.  Not only can you stop him from improving his team, but he may not even try knowing you will get the guy first.  Preventing the other team from scoring also helps you win.  We will get more into that in the last book of the bible.

24)   Using your waiver priority needs to be well thought out. You don’t want to waste it on a player that will just clear waivers the next day.  Examine the situation in your league and on your team.  If this is a player you must have or you want to keep away from another manager, then put in a waiver claim.  If the player is not a “must have” player, but you’d like to have him, let him clear waivers and get him in free agency.  No sense in wasting your waiver pick for a player you may cut later.   If he doesn’t clear then no harm and you still have high or higher waiver pick.

25)    The reason we tell you this is there will be times in the season when a good player is cut. Maybe because of injury or slumping and several teams will rush to grab him.  That is when you will have your high waiver priority and you can make your move.   
  

4.       More Tips on Cutting Players

26)   Cutting a player from your roster is always difficult.  Obviously, there are good reasons he was on your team.  Here are some tips on cutting players.

27)   First off, never panic and cut good players because they are injured or in a big slump.  You will regret it later I promise.  Last season a manager in one of my leagues cut Ichiro Suzuki in May.  He was slumping badly, and cut him.  Well, he got picked up and ended up having a great season, and the manager who cut him probably didn’t.  When a player is slumping place him on the bench and give him as much time as you can before you make the decision to cut him.  Many players in the league are streaky.  If they are hot, then ride them.  If they are cold, then bench them. 

28)   For inured players it’s a little different.  Players who go on the 15-Day DL should never be cut unless it’s a rotating roster spot or otherwise expendable player.  Players who go on the 60-Day DL are the real problem.  If it’s early in the season, then it’s a manager’s guess. If it’s later in the season then you might as well cut them because they probably will not be coming back or be ineffective in the short time they will have left. Most pitchers won’t be very effective with a 60-70 day stint on the disabled list, so cut them.  The great thing about the 60 DL is you can cut players, and keep an eye on their medical progress.  When they start to rehab pick them up again. 
 

5.       Manager Vs. Manager Battle
 

29)   There will be times when managers will battle managers for free agents.   It’s important that you pay attention to all the moves happening in your league.  For example, you notice a manager picking up and dropping lots of relief pitchers.  Looking at his roster he’s definitely weak in that position.  That’s a red flag not to cut any of your back up closers, unless you are ready to lose that player. 

30)   You will have the advantage in free agency if you can predict what the opposing manager is going to do.  If you can see his moves before he acts it will allow you to make far better decisions.  This technique can also work in baiting another manager.  Say a player was cut and you want him now.  He’s now on waivers and you have to have him, and so does another team with a higher waiver pick.  One way to bait him is to cut another player you know he would have interest in.  Then hope that he will pick up that player instead allowing you to get your player.  Of course the player you cut has to be an acceptable loss for the player you are receiving.  These are situations that are not that common, but you will run into one or more times during the season. 

31)   You can also pickup a player in the same position as the free agent on waivers.  This will signal to the other manager that you are not interested in the newly cut free agent and maybe he decides not to waste his high waiver pick.  Of course, you do keep your waiver pick active and probably do it by cutting the guy you just picked up.  All of these ideas normally work only when there are 2 or 3 managers involved.  There are very few instances I can remember when the entire league was scouring free agency.

32)   Finally, once you get to know the managers in the league you should learn their tendencies.  Watch for managers who cut a player and then pick them up quickly after that.  You can really mess with the psyche of another manager by taking a player he drops.  Even if you don’t want the player, do it and keep him for awhile.  Let him know that he cannot freely drop players and expect to get them back.  In the future he will hesitate to take a player maybe you want, and because of that hesitation you get your player.  Spot the managers revolving roster spot and you can seriously disrupt his free agency strategies.  Also note the players that managers tend to pick up and drop. They are normally solid players or prospects.  Keep a close eye on your free agent market.  

33)   Free agency is a battle.  It requires constant attention to detail, aggressive actions, and some easy mind reading.  Managers are always trying to improve their teams, and the fastest and easiest way is through free agency. 

34)   In review, do not panic.  Do not cut your good players unless you absolutely have too.  Know precisely what it is you are looking for before you start looking.  If you have to cut a valuable player, and want him back then cut the player when your league’s free agency is most active.  This could be early in the week or late at night.  Each league is different, no when your league is most active.  If the player can go into free agency under the radar he’s likely to stay longer.  

35)   Understanding how free agency and waivers works and how to use them to your advantage are keys to winning a championship. If you have any questions about your draft, email us at thetrueguru@fantasybaseballsearch.com.