Everyone is always trying to get an edge. Head to Head leagues, are ones that I do not like because,i n short. The best team doesnt always win. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in first place all season, and get bounced in the second round of the playoffs, because of an injury, or an unlucky chain of games.
However, for those of you competiting in head to head leagues, here is a trick that I have used very efficiently over the past four or five seasons. I try and draft hitter heavy, and wait to draft pitchers until my entire offense is filled. I then continue to draft pitchers until the draft is complete.
I am not very fond of having bench hitters. I find that more often then not, when making lineup decisions go with your best hitter. I cannot stand when a bench hitter has a banner day on my bench, so I try to limit my Offensive bench to 1 player.
Now, that leaves me with a stable of starting pitchers. When drafting I like to target young arms, and pitchers with upside. Obviously! Now, during the season, I do not have a true bonified ace, so I mix and match starts. If one of my better pitchers is throwing against the Yankees at home, I bench him, while my fourth or fifth arm could be scheduled to throw against the Nationals. This is very effective for daily lineup change leagues. Also, having a lot of options gives you a chance to steal a category on sunday. If you need a win or a few k', usually youll have someone starting, and dont have to stream anyone off waiver. You will find that throughout the week if you choose wisely you can have a very competitive ERA and WHIP while not using any high draft choices on pitchers. It works for me, It can work for you!