Many famous managers including Earl Weaver and Casey Stengel have utilized platoons during their careers in baseball, often with much success. Sometimes they used a hitter who had a good career line against a certain starter or a hitter who hit much better against RHP as opposed to pitchers who threw left handed. Then, there’s also the case of a hitter doing much better at home in a hitter’s park such as Fenway Park in 2008 or Coors Field in 2008.
A smart fantasy baseball manager can and will utilize such platoons at certain positions (catcher, second base, or short stop) that generally provide lower totals overall in comparison to power heavy hitting positions such as first base or the outfield. Here’s a list of players to keep an eye on during your respective drafts, whether they be in rotisserie leagues or head to head. Also be aware that it’s much easier to employ a platoon in a league where rosters are set daily (as opposed to weekly) and where there’s no position limit in terms of playing time.
2B Clint Barmes may not have many at bats during his career but he’s a very good platoon partner at a fairly weak position. In the three seasons where he received a lot of at bats (2005, 2006, and 2008), he has been a monster at Coors Field. He has a line of .294/.327/.474 (OPS .801) in 608 AB with 93 R, 18 HR, and 82 RBI. He also added 11 SB.
OF Ken Griffey Jr. may be old and trying to decide between Seattle and Atlanta as his new home for the 2009 season (as of this post), but a smart manager can grab him late and platoon him against RHP, where his age is making him a great player still. In the last three seasons, Griffey has hit .284/.407/.508 against RHP in 945 AB with 53 HR and 156 RBI. He’d make for a great utility platoon.
3B Mark Reynolds may have come out of nowhere last season but he’s best utilized against LHP if his two seasons are any indication. He’s hit .278/.367/.544 with 16 HR in only 248 AB compared to a line of .247/.318/.446 against RHP in that same time span.
Much like Ken Griffey Jr, 1B Carlos Delgado is a monster against RHP over the past three seasons despite his age. In 1115 AB he has a line of .270/.387/.535 with 77 HR and 212 RBI. He’d make a great platoon with Griffey at a utility spot as both players would get a majority of starts against RHP in general during the season.
2B Luis Castillo may not have much power but he sure knows how to pack a punch against RHP over the past three seasons in 1014 AB. He has a line of .299/.373/.342 but despite his 1 HR he has 47 SB to offset that number. If you’re in need of steals, you can grab Castillo late and platoon him with a guy like Clint Barmes, who displays more power.
2B Dan Uggla displays great pop and is a smart option to utilize against RHP. He has a line of .266/.343/.509 with 76 HR and 223 RBI in 1351 AB. Much better than his LHP line of .251/.333/.430.
Speaking of all around packages, 3B Chipper Jones is a great start during the whole year but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll see he’s far more of a monster when on the road. On the past three seasons, in a season’s worth of 745 AB he has a line of .326/.425/.566 with 39 HR and 129 RBI. He’s also tacked on 7 SB.
1B Jason Giambi recently signed with the Oakland Athletics and will be 38 years old but that doesn’t mean he won’t prove at all useful to the savvy fantasy baseball owner. He’s deadly against RHP over the past three years with a line of .255/.428/.522 in 830 AB. While the low BA may hurt some, the 61 HR and 177 RBI over that span won’t and he’s even thrown in 4 SB.
Although one may think I’m only targeting hitters, the pitchers themselves can be equally deadly in platoon arrangements and in some cases, are even better than hitters overall in terms of their total dominance.
SP Jake Peavy is a great pitcher and everybody knows that Petco Park is a pitcher’s park, so why not utilize them together? Over the past three years Peavy has only 20 W but with an ERA of 3.03 and a K/9 of 9.92.
In 2006 and 2008, CL B.J. Ryan combined his totals at home for 37 S with a 1.50 ERA in 73.2 IP and a K/9 of 10.94.
In the past two years with the Cubs, SP Ted Lilly has pitched much better on the road to the tune of 16 W and an ERA of 3.79 with a K/9 of 7.72.
CL Matt Capps may have bad overall totals for the Pittsburgh Pirates but is a stud at home. In 75 IP over the past two seasons, he has 25 S and an ERA of 2.04 with a K/9 of 6.96.
Speaking of the Pittsburgh Pirates, in his four year career, SP Paul Maholm has 19 W and an ERA of 3.57 at home with a K/9 of 5.21.
While most of the mentioned players are either old or poor overall to some extent, smart managers can utilize them in platoon arrangements after grabbing them late to the best of their ability (and their fantasy teams as well). A manager who can platoon Clint Barmes with Luis Castillo could pay higher dividends than another manager who uses Castillo for the season long duration. It’s all about maximizing potential and I hope some of these names will be on your radar during your fantasy drafts. The idea of platoons can also be used for even deeper players like C Mike Napoli with the Angels.
