For years, fantasy managers in Points leagues have treated the RP slot like a loophole, finding ways to use starting pitchers with relief pitcher eligibility, or SPARPS (starting pitchers as relief pitchers) to chase volume. After seeing how starting pitchers in general are so susceptible to a negative scoring start, I’m seeing a shift in my philosophy on the whole thing. This week, I really wanted to test this strategy, as I’m in a position with nothing to lose, and it may have saved my season.

There has been this long standing idea in fantasy baseball points leagues that you get the most out of a RP slot if you are able to use a RP eligible starting pitcher in their place instead. There is a small difference worth mentioning in my more competitive league where a fab budget exists, as we only have one true RP slot instead of the standard two in a free CBS points league, and then 2 pitcher slots where you can use a reliever or starter, where both RP and SP are eligible. So you can use 6 starting pitchers, or zag the other way and use 3 closers if you want to. The concept and logic has existed since using starters in RP spots means more innings, and their production seems more bankable, but is that actually true? Could it potentially be more valuable to get cheap closer points when all they need are 3 outs in each outing? It’s a clear way to mitigate risk and minimize the heartache of starting pitchers, whether they are fringy or not. I’m finding myself seeing how much safer it is to use reliable closers, and they are so undervalued that you don’t even have to draft the reliable ones and can add them all off the waiver wire. There is also such an abundance of SPARPS at this point as well that it’s harder to stand out unless the pitcher is virtually elite. Now that I’ve outlined the potential points, let’s get into it and dig a little deeper.

Putting this very idea into action this week has given me a good example, and has allowed me to get a good “feel” on the difference between leaning into the closer strategy as opposed to using a streamer, or even a one start week from a starter who’s better than that. I’m still fine tuning my strategy, as I always am, but I think I’ve now figured out the right balance after what you could classify as “trial and error.” The advantages to using this strategy are quickly becoming clear to me, so let’s start there. This week I’ve started three closers, and I’ve noticed a clear difference in never really feeling like I’m out of it. It hasn’t happened yet, but any given day there is a chance they’ll all get a save and combine for around 30 points. If I get 10 points or more from a closer, I’ll take that. If you can bank on that, it’s way better than using a starting pitcher. You’d ideally want more than 10 points in a week from your closer, but if that’s the floor of what I’m getting I will take that each time. When I only had 1 pitcher this week with two starts, it was really my only shot at winning against a good team who has 10 pitching starts. Going into today, I’m only down 30 with only 1 less pitching start than my opponent, with 3 closers that can all still contribute for 4 more games this week. I’m not in a perfect spot, but it’s a position I’ll take being in, since going into the matchup my opponent had double the pitching starts that I did. My strategy has kept my team within striking distance, and looking at the flip side of this, if I was in this same position with no closers I’d have no shot at winning. It’s one real way to mitigate your opponent having many more pitching starts than you. 

Looking at the specifics, the strategy has mostly worked out but has not been perfect. Will Vest, the Tigers closer, came through for me in a big way yesterday, pitching two perfect innings and earning the win. He only got 6 outs and scored 14.5 points, and kept me within striking distance just like I needed, Robert Suarez actually did the same thing Monday, going two innings as well and earning the win.The only way it hasn’t worked is when Camilo Doval blew a save, but it wasn’t disastrous since he only scored -2. I’d argue it’s still not an overall argument against my strategy, as Vest and Suarez have more opportunities to potentially add on, and Doval can make up for his bad outing with another save chance. Right now I don’t feel out of it all, and have a real shot at winning still. That’s a clear difference compared to how I’ve felt other weeks, when I’m trailing without the pitching starts advantage and am only using one closer. It’s the best way to give yourself a shot at winning all the way into Sunday afternoon.

On the other hand, I want to get into why using a SPARP isn’t the given that you may think, and that it’s usually only worth it in specific circumstances. A fringe starter or any starter for that matter only gets one shot per week most of the time, while they get a two-start week roughly 20-25% of the time. If that one start goes badly, you are stuck with negative points for the week, with no opportunity for him to make up for those lost points for your team. I even went through this with Aaron Nola, who is supposed to be as steady as they come. His very last start, he scored -15 and it turned out to be all I got from him. I would actually say a 30 point week from a closer is more likely than most starting pitchers scoring that in a single start week. It can happen, but it’s rare for even the very best starting pitchers. I’m not saying to start a closer over a single start pitcher every time, but I’m finding that I only do that with the most reliable SPARPS, like Kris Bubic. There is always one each season where the clear use is to put them at RP, like Spencer Strider in 2023 and Cole Ragans in 2024. Bubic isn’t as electric as those two, but he’s been just as productive. I’m finding that with the more experience I gain doing fantasy baseball, the more I want to raise the floor of my team and mitigate risk on a week to week basis. Too often a starter having a disaster start and getting big negative points has ruined my chances at winning in a weekly points league, and there is clear value in avoiding negative points in any way possible.

My final point on the topic is that it’s a great strategy for dealing with injuries to starting pitchers, and buy yourself time and stay in contention until they hopefully return. It’s a predicament I’m currently in, and is why I’m in a position with nothing to lose. So I thought I’d try something new, and I already see all the ways it’s paying off. I’ve battled a lot of injuries from starting pitchers this season, and this has become a great option to buy time and still be competitive. It’s a lot easier when I only need to start 4 or 5 starting pitchers instead of starting 6 or 7 and hoping nobody has a bad start. I have a lot of high upside young starting pitchers, but I only want to use them in good matchups or two start weeks. The ones I leave in my lineup are either my ace like Bryan Woo, or reliable high volume arms like Merrill Kelly.

In the end, the bottom line here is that you can have a clear advantage going against the grain here and taking advantage of how the majority of fantasy baseball managers operate in a points league. I love finding ways I can zag and use an opportunity like this to gain a competitive advantage over everyone else. I’m finding how much I like the door being left open all week for a closer to score points compared to a starter who only gets 1 shot that may turn into a disaster. This strategy is a great way to avoid risk, and will take the opportunity for 6-12 points every other day over a streaming option. I only go for that sort of thing if the pitcher has good matchups in a two-start week. I prefer the strategy that gives me a shot at winning all the way up until Sunday.