Fantasy baseball: how to close the gap in the standings

With Memorial Day in the rearview mirror, many fantasy owners are staring up at their rivals in the standings and feeling the pressure of falling behind. If you’re among them, here are some tips to help you close the gap.

Review the numbers

When looking at your roster, it isn’t always easy to tell where your strengths and weaknesses lie. For instance, you may have several players with high averages or double-digit home run totals, but if they did the bulk of their damage before landing on your roster, that isn’t going to be reflected in your team’s results. Using the tools available on each of the major platforms, you’ll be able to see the accumulated stats for your team (and every other one), as well as each individual player’s production while on the roster. Determine where your team isn’t getting it done, and focus your efforts on shoring up those areas. You can also look at where your rivals are vulnerable and use this as leverage. Perhaps you match up well with another team on a potential deal. Maybe multiple contenders have the same need and can be played off of one another in trade negotiations. You might even be able to anticipate a rival’s waiver or trade targets and head them off.

Scour the waver wire

The early-season breakouts (think guys like Jackie Bradley Jr. or Aaron Nola) are long gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find quality on the wire. You’ll just need to work a little harder. Use splits to uncover players who are playing well in recent weeks that might be buried in the rankings due to slow starts. Get creative if necessary; most players who are free to add have some sort of shortcoming, but pairing them with another guy or playing matchups can help you extract every bit of value from them. Don’t be afraid to keep a few spots at the back of your roster designated solely for streaming hitters on a hot streak or pitchers who are going against weak lineups.

Take risks

Making upgrades on the margins may not be enough to overcome the hole you’ve dug for yourself. If the situation is truly dire, you may need to enact some drastic measures. Trade for or pick up any underperforming stars you can. Throw caution to the wind and grab any player on a hot streak, even if it’s obvious that they can’t keep producing at that level. The further behind you are, the more risk you should be assuming. You’re going to need a lot to go right over the next few months to get back into the race, and the sooner you place your bets, the sooner you’ll be able to start climbing through the ranks.

Kyle Bishop is a lead MLB columnist at RotoBaller.com. His articles are your secret weapon for winning fantasy leagues.