Using setup guys in a roto league

Hey guys, I was curious if any of you have ever won a roto league using good SP elig setup guys in place of low end SP. I've often seen this strategy discussed in places like Rotoworld, etc, but have never adopted this myself - nor know anyone who has actually done this and won.

Im thinking about doing this but dont know if it really is a solid strategy or just fools gold.

I've used it and won. Especially for half a season. There are some got set-up guys that will get 5 wins in the 2nd half which will be equal to or better than drek you might put out there as a SP. Plus, better ratios, etc. K's might be a problem, but again, it depends on how deep the SP is going.

I think it would be tough to do over a full season, as all be the worst SP will out win and out K a set up guy, so for a little bit of help in ratios (innings for RP), you are giving up counting stats.

The idea is to not look at the 8th inning guys (Broxton is great, but how many W's will he get?). I know - don't chase W's - but it a %ages thing (no strategy is perfect).

I would look for a guy who may have had 8 wins last year but may only have 1 or 2 so far this year and is filling the same role. RP W will go in streaks (or at least it seems that way), so if you hit it right, you can really reap some benefits.

Again, this is all predicated on how deep your SP goes in your league. If you're replacing decent #3 starters, this probably won't work. But, if you're looking at (most) teams' #4 or the bad team's 3's, I think you can do this.

After writing all this, I don't know how many SP eligible RP fill this criteria (you don't want to blow up your ratios). I haven't really looked at this, but if you do your research, you might be able to find a guy or 2.

I've done it for short amount of times, mainly when I've had a string of injuries and there is only like a Kenny Rogers on the WW.

Yeah, don't really go after setup guys like jam said, because most managers save them for hold situations. Go after a stud RP guy in a deep bullpen, someone who will give you great ratios without being a setup guy.

Kou is one guy that comes to mind from this year, but he's been pretty decent that he maybe gone in some leagues. Tyler Bucholz might be another guy, although if Fuentes gets traded, he'll either be a setup man or closer, which goes against you.

I don't know if you have IP limits, or transactions limit, but I've also tried streaming RP, with the general rule that 1IP means they won't pitch the next day, and 2 IP means they might not pitch for 2 days. And there are tons of RPs out there, so your options are better than streaming just starters. But this takes a lot of time, as you have to find someone who is actually good, hasn't pitched the day before, and has a good shot at pitching the day you have him.

But I haven't tried it for an extended period of time, mainly because it tends to get time consuming. For short spurts it can help you. But after awhile, you start to get lazy, and leave the RPs in without streaming, and it hurts you.

Thanks, it does feel a bit like fools gold. I have the roster spots to try this with Bucholz and Scherzer (Kuo is gone), and I could drop Guthrie/Liriano/ or a BN hitter, but I think Im not going to apply this strat.