One of the best things about points leagues as compared to roto or head-to-head category leagues is that any player with a regular role on a big-league team can provide value. That's particularly true for pitchers, and understanding the rules of your league is key in close matchups.
Depending on exact league settings, the ability to use starting pitchers is typically limited in some form. That can be through a limit of starting pitchers that can be rostered, numbers of starts allowed per week, or starting pitching slots available in weekly lineup leagues. The pool of relievers that are relevant is also larger because saves are devalued.
The factors surrounding both starters and relievers combine to create some edges for those who make smart adds late in matchups or good lineup decisions early in the week. This article will look slightly different than most in this series, because the primary goal is to think about archetypes of useful pitchers in points leagues rather than specific pitchers.
Strategic Use of SP/RP Eligible Pitchers
Rostering starting pitchers who are also eligible at relief pitcher is the most commonly discussed advantage in points league analysis. The most obvious advantage provided by a starter that also has relief pitcher eligibility is in weekly lineup leagues that require a certain number of RP-eligible players to be active. However, there is still a line to be drawn regarding the quality of such pitchers, because high-leverage relievers are still likely to score significant positive points every
One of the best things about points leagues as compared to roto or head-to-head category leagues is that any player with a regular role on a big-league team can provide value. That's particularly true for pitchers, and understanding the rules of your league is key in close matchups.
Depending on exact league settings, the ability to use starting pitchers is typically limited in some form. That can be through a limit of starting pitchers that can be rostered, numbers of starts allowed per week, or starting pitching slots available in weekly lineup leagues. The pool of relievers that are relevant is also larger because saves are devalued.
The factors surrounding both starters and relievers combine to create some edges for those who make smart adds late in matchups or good lineup decisions early in the week. This article will look slightly different than most in this series, because the primary goal is to think about archetypes of useful pitchers in points leagues rather than specific pitchers.
Strategic Use of SP/RP Eligible Pitchers
Rostering starting pitchers who are also eligible at relief pitcher is the most commonly discussed advantage in points league analysis. The most obvious advantage provided by a starter that also has relief pitcher eligibility is in weekly lineup leagues that require a certain number of RP-eligible players to be active. However, there is still a line to be drawn regarding the quality of such pitchers, because high-leverage relievers are still likely to score significant positive points every week.
The other context in which SP/RPs are useful are leagues where the number of starting pitchers that can be rostered are limited, and where they are counted toward the relief pitcher total rather than a starting pitcher. This is probably applicable in a very limited number of leagues, but it's worth confirming yours isn't one of them.
Let's look at some examples of SP/RP pitchers that could be both useful and detrimental in this context.
Matthew Liberatore 
- 58% CBS
Liberatore was covered in last week's article to highlight strikeout risers, so we don't need to give a deep analysis of him here. He's a perfect example of the advantage that an SP/RP eligible pitcher can provide, and he should be rostered in nearly any points league that allows him to be used as a relief pitcher.
Luis L. Ortiz 
- 34% CBS
Ortiz has a significant control problem, but he also has a 10.13 K/9 and a K% of 25.7 percent. The control issues will prevent him from working deep into games consistently, but there's upside here that isn't easy to find on the wire, or in all but the elite true relief pitchers.
Shane Smith 
- 38% CBS
Smith is a borderline case, somewhere in between Liberatore and some options better left on waiver wires. He's shown sporadic strikeout upside (six or more strikeouts in two of six starts). However, he also has only two quality starts and his chances of earning wins are minimal with the White Sox. Smith might be useful on occasion, but he's the type of SP/RP to stream on and off of rosters.
Jackson Jobe 
- 52% Yahoo
Jobe is already nearly universally rostered on CBS and will not be available in most keeper or dynasty leagues. A slow start to the season has kept his roster rate in redraft leagues deflated, and they have stayed that way after some signs of him delivering on his prospect pedigree.
Despite the signs of promise, he's an example of a SP/RP that fantasy managers are likely better off bypassing in favor of a top-end reliever. The Tigers are managing his workload and skipped his most recent scheduled turn through the rotation, resulting in him not appearing in any game action for 12 days. He also remains inconsistent, which we saw in his start Wednesday as he failed to complete five innings to qualify for a win despite being staked to a seven-run lead.
Bowden Francis 
- 50% Yahoo
Francis looked to be one of the premier SP/RP options to begin the season, but his skills have regressed in every way. The obvious problem is his home run rate (3.45HR/9), but his K-BB% has also fallen to just 10.9 percent. Francis has only two quality starts in six chances, though he does have two wins on a mediocre Blue Jays team. In his current form, you're better off starting a traditional reliever who can pile up strikeouts.
Find out which projected starters are going and when with RotoWire's Probable Pitchers page!
Maximizing Value with Bulk Relievers
The advantage of rostering a long reliever or bulk reliever is that they have the opportunity to earn wins and record more than three outs but will not count against a weekly starts limit. They are best suited for daily lineup leagues while being used late in a matchup to secure a win before being dumped back to the waiver wire. We'll list a couple of current examples, but beware because this type of player's fantasy value can shift quickly.
Ben Casparius 
- 11% CBS
The Dodgers' rotation has been in flux all season due to injuries, most recently to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, and the recent return of Tony Gonsolin. Where Casparius fits in exactly is unclear, but he's recorded more than three outs in each of his last eight appearances and eight of 11 this season overall. He's also never gone more than four days without making an appearance and generally pitches no more often than every three days, making it fairly straightforward to estimate when he'll take the mound and provide some valuable streaming points.
Brant Hurter - 2% CBS
The Tigers bullpen has been a headache to predict for those in traditional roto leagues that value saves, but it offers an example of how the player pool opens up in points leagues. Hurter isn't in the mix for traditional saves – he has two three-inning saves this season-- but he had delivered 56.5 points measured by CBS' standard scoring through Wednesday's games. That was 0.5 points less than Ortiz and more than high-profile closers such as Felix Bautista, Ryan Helsley and Jhoan Duran.
He's accomplished that due to his role rather than skills, as he's worked exclusively in multi-inning stints out of the bullpen and has just a 17.2 percent strikeout rate. However, his longer stints with a mix of wins and saves (two apiece) make him valuable in points leagues. He is an example of the archetype of a pitcher to stream during matchups, not a player to hold week after week.
Utilizing this type of player takes more hands-on management, but adding a long reliever as a team is beginning a new series should be a decent way to time reliever appearances. Other relievers in similar roles include:
Mitch Spence 
Kyle Leahy
Max Kranick 
Leveraging Top Setup Relievers
Most points leagues reward holds in some form, even if they result in fewer points than saves. That makes high-leverage relievers or setup men useful in leagues that require a certain number of relievers to be deployed, or to stream at the end of matchups in daily lineup leagues to secure a matchup win. There are many examples of widely available players in this category, including:
Hunter Gaddis
Fernando Cruz
Garrett Cleavinger 
Yuki Matsui
Brendon Little
Gabe Speier 
Randy Rodriguez
Jeremiah Estrada 
These pitchers should be more stable than long relievers, because the focus is on their skills rather than role.
