There is a new fantasy baseball blog I believe will provide valuable intel as we enter the drafting period and throughout the season and is worth visiting daily. It is Waiver Wire.
To sum up what you can expect, straight from the header:
Alex took some time to answer three questions, and I did the same for him. Head over and check the site out.
Q1. Which key pitching stats do you watch?
WW: The two main ones I look at are K/9 and K/BB. Those are the most consistent
from year to year and the best indicators of everything else...ERA, WHIP,
and even Wins. There's a TON of other good stuff to look at...GB/FB rates,
HR rates, home park factor, etc...but really you can't go too far wrong
looking at K/9 and K/BB.
Q2. Can you give us one fantasy pitching sleeper?
WW: I'm going to go with Ted Lilly. He's always lurked right around the fringes
of being a good pitcher, but in my opinion moving from the AL to the NL is
huge. Not only will he benefit from getting to pitch to other pitchers, but
I think there's just a really big skill difference between the two leagues
that past few years. Also (and I don't have any really statistical evidence
for this) I feel like with his excellent K rate, he's right at a 'tipping
point' where a relatively small reduction in his BB rate could make a huge
difference in his overall results.
Q3. Preference: Draft or Auction?
WW: Well my answer to this will make me look like a bit of an idiot for agreeing
on this as one of the questions. Its been years since I've done an auction,
but that's only because I rarely have 10-12 hours in a row available. I
play in online leagues with 'snake drafts'. That said, clearly auction
involves more skill and there aren't many things in life that are more fun
for a real baseball stats geek.
Thank you, Alex.