HOW TO: Lineup changes

Ever wish BaseHit had a cheat sheet? Some place you could go for advice on how to evaluate players or build a winning team? Maybe you’re thinking about making some major changes to your roster and aren’t sure how to go about it. Well you’re in luck, because all of that and more is explained in the new 'How To' pages.

Tips on Lineup Changes

Every BaseHit user, from newbie to veteran finds themselves asking the following questions:

Do players get hot or cold? When should I bench a player?

At times it does feel like a player is hot or cold, but over the long term you can expect their performance to be close to what their ratings suggest. Now there are times where guys have down years or career years, but for the most part the numbers and ratings are as they appear. There is also no visible clutch gene to be concerned about.

• Deciding when to bench a player can be a bit trickier. Overreacting to a small sample size is very common among new owners who are unfamiliar with how ratings impact performance. Players need time for their numbers to regress to their career mean or true skill level.

• If you have a player who is in the midst of his prime but has started slow, give him 400+ AB before you decide to bench him. Pitchers can sometimes take 20 or more starts before their numbers began to correct themselves.

• Players that you are unsure about, or have a similarly skilled backup can be benched sooner. You may only need to see about 200 AB or 8 games started to know that they don’t belong in the lineup. This includes players who are starting to see their ratings drop aggressively because of age.

• The bullpen is the most difficult place to sort out bad luck and bad skills. The small sample size here means you should really focus purely on their actual ratings. Get guys with excellent PO, FI, CO, or SY in high leverage roles, not a middle relief guy who happens to have an ERA under 3.

• When trading for a player who has seen limited playing time, go ahead and check his situational stats to see if he has been in a weak side platoon (against LHP). You can’t trust stats generated from limited exposure. So if someone is selling you a guy based on his performance rather than his ratings, you should really do your homework.