Anatomy of a First Place Team

Of my many fantasy baseball teams this year, the one that is doing the best is also the most surprising one. It's surprising in that when I look at the roster, I wonder how come I'm in first, let alone in first with such a commanding lead. So I've decided to take a look. (Note that its a standard rotisserie team).

My roster consists of the following:

C - Russell Martin - .299/12 HR/18 SB/59 runs/68 RBI
1B - Ryan Howard - .271/29 HR/0 SB/59 runs/ 88 RBI
2B - Brian Roberts - .317/9 HR/32 SB/72 runs/41 RBI
3B - Eric Chavez - .240/15 HR/4 SB/43 runs/46 RBI
SS - Hanley Ramirez - .338/17 HR/31 SB/81 runs/50 RBI
OF - Jason Bay - .263/16 HR/3 SB/55 runs/69 RBI
OF - Corey Hart - .283/18 HR/16 SB/57 runs/48 RBI
OF - Jermaine Dye - .238/21 HR/2 SB/52 runs/56 RBI
DH - David Ortiz - .320/18 HR/1 SB/70 runs/65 RBI

Bench

OF - Shane Victorino - .284/11 HR/32 SB/72 runs/42 RBI
SS - Troy Tulowitzki - .272/12 HR/5 SB/59 runs/47 RBI

My offence is being carried by Russell Martin, Ryan Howard, Brian Roberts, Hanley Ramirez and David Ortiz. They've provided me with an excellent blend of speed and power. All of my guys play either at the top of their line-ups (Ramirez, Roberts, Hart, Martin) which provide alot of runs or else in prime RBI spots (Howard, Ortiz, Dye, Bay). I've been able to complement my star players with the likes of Corey Hart and Shane Victorino (currently injured), to provide solid production. My 3B slot has been a rotation that is now probably going to use Alex Gordon with Chavez going on the DL. I've been lucky, too. I picked up Hart early in the season to replace the injured Dave Roberts in the outfield. When Hanley Ramirez was injured earlier, I picked up Troy Tulowitzki just as he went on a hot tear. And now, with the injury to Victorino, I picked up Dye and he's been on fire. This is a ridiculously balanced offence that only has a bit of a weak spot at third but I've managed to play that position effectively off the wire.

My rotation looks like:

Erik Bedard - 3.05/11 W/181 K/1.09 WHIP
Cole Hamels - 3.50/12 W/143 K/1.15 WHIP
Tim Lincecum - 3.75/ 6 W/105 K/1.19 WHIP
Javier Vazquez - 3.63/8 W/132 K/1.09 WHIP
Matt Cain - 4.02/3 W/96 K/1.40 WHIP
Jered Weaver - 4.00/7 W/71 K/1.47 WHIP
Billy Wagner - 1.36/1 W/57 K/0.86 WHIP/25 saves
Jonathan Papelbon - 2.09/0 W/56 K/0.88 WHIP/24 saves
Takashi Saito - 1.51/1 W/48K/0.72 WHIP/27 saves

DL - Rich Harden

My rotation looks unspectacular at first, especially coming into the season. However, Bedard/Hamels/Vazquez were three pitchers I was targeting at the start of the year in drafts. They are high strikeout pitchers that had great peripherals (good WHIP), which is usually a far better indication of a pitchers talent over ERA and wins, which are more team dependent. Bedard has really taken the next step, leading the majors in strikeouts by quite a bit. Hamels has done what I expected and Vazquez is quietly putting together a fantastic season. The thing about this rotation is I don't really have any WHIP killers pitching for me. Cain and Weaver have high WHIPs right now, but I've only been spot starting them against the most favorable of match-ups. Lincecum was a must add the moment he was called up and, despite the occasional rough start, he has not disappointed. I've also gotten excellent production from my three closers. All have been lights out (even adding a bunch of strike outs!) and have allowed me to avoid patching together some closers that would negatively affect my ERA and WHIP.

The thing to learn from this team is that in roto baseball, the key is to have a flexible, diverse and balanced line-up without players that kill you in average, ERA or WHIP. I have my elite studs in Howard/Ramirez/Ortiz and Bedard/Wagner/Papelbon/Saito and have filled in the rest with useful players that, as a whole, contribute to all categories. I think far too often people focus on the big run producers at each position or big name pitchers that rack up wins and undervalue players like Corey Hart, Shane Victorino, and Javier Vazquez. However, players like these are all EXTREMELY useful, as my team's success shows.