The draft is done. There is confidence that your high-stakes team is a good one. The blueprint has been set and it's time to begin the season. The work is only beginning.
While the draft is a big portion of the puzzle, in-season management is key. Drafting a good team is an excellent start, but there's a lot of work to make it a championship team. Injuries are going to occur. Players will underperform. There will be players that emerge out of nowhere to become key contributors.
People get very attached to the players they select on draft day. They become reluctant to move on early in the season, but churning the end of the roster is key in high stakes formats. There are going to be two-start pitchers to stream. There will be setup men taken in the reserve round that don't appear close to gaining saves a few weeks into the season.
Being able to decipher when to cut bait and pick up an emerging bat, a pitcher that shows a new pitch or increased velocity, or adding a reliever that looks like a path to saves has opened up for them is important.
Whether it's a 12-team or 15-team format, the seven-man bench is valuable. Setting the lineup each week and maximizing each lineup spot is integral. In the NFBC, lineup changes are made once a week for pitchers. They are locked in when the first pitch of that team's game starts for the week. For hitters, changes can be made on Friday for the weekend.
Managing the pitchers with two-start pitchers is a good strategy. In 15-team leagues, being ahead of the schedule is the way to go. Getting a two-start pitcher two weeks ahead of time will save a lot of FAAB dollars. Of course, it can backfire with postponements and the shuffling of pitcher starts, but more often than not it works.
Managing the hitters with the changes on Friday is also a way to gain an advantage. If you have a player with only two games from Monday-Thursday, it's best to find someone else with 3-4 games unless it's an elite player. If there's a player with three or four games in a favorable ballpark like Coors Field, he's a good stream. If there’s a player against top starters, you might want to find a replacement.
The same thing applies on the weekend slate from Friday-Sunday. There might be a fringe player that faces Walker Buehler , Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer . It's likely best to sit that player for someone with better matchups since they might struggle against top arms. This isn't a format where it's set and forget it. Even though it's weekly lineups, breaking down every matchup can gain you an advantage.
Don't get emotionally invested in a player. We all believe in our draft day buys, but emotion needs to be removed from decisions. There will be times when you cut a player that becomes valuable down the road, but aggressiveness on the waiver wire is usually rewarded. When you are churning roster spots, you are looking for upside. Once such player that I did this with in 2019 in the NFBC auction was Lucas Giolito . I saw one of his early outings and he looked different and the changeup was nasty. I was able to get him cheaply.
As the season goes along, pay attention to the categories. If you're first in power, but can gain several points in stolen bases, you might bench a power-only guy for someone that runs more. If you're first in saves and can gain points in strikeouts and wins, benching a closer for a starter makes sense.
The competition is difficult in the NFBC and gaining any advantage is key. Every decision becomes crucial. Get ready to work and hopefully the hard work will be rewarded with a championship.