1.) BALANCE – Building a solid fantasy rotation requires balance. Just like poker, an ace gets beat by four-of-a-kind. Grabbing Roy Halladay alone isn’t going to solidify your staff enough. Drafting in tiers is recommended. A fantasy staff shouldn’t be much different than a major league staff. You need a No. 1 guy that you can count on at top. Reliable options to fill out the middle and then some high-upside arms at the back end.

2.) KNOW YOUR SCORING SYSTEM – Every fantasy league is different. Whether you play in a true roto-style format that relies on certain categories or a head-to-head format that scores points directly for stats, understanding your scoring system fully is often the difference between winning and losing. Once you factor in all the parameters of your league you will more adequately be able to rank the value of players.

3.) STARTERS BEFORE RELIEVERS – Scoring formats always apply, but in general it is always better to have strength in your starting pitching than to have stud closers. In most drafts closers won’t start going off the board until the fourth or fifth round. I would lock up at least two to three starters before considering your relief pitching.

4.) ENVIROMENTAL INFLUENCES – Analyzing a pitcher’s ability is only part of prognosticating success. You also need to consider the league they play in. What do the other teams fare? Whether or not the pitcher’s home park is hitter friendly or pitcher friendly is a definite factor as well as the team they play on. Will they get run support? Is there gold glove caliber players behind them? When stuck between two pitchers these rules should settle all tiebreakers.

5.) BEWARE OF ROOKIES – There’s no doubt that young arms arise every fantasy season that make an impact. However, more often than not young pitchers have limited pitch counts and experience a fair share of growing pains. This results in low inning counts and some inconsistent efforts. It’s not bad to have a young arm or two in your rotation, just don’t bank them alone.

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