Pitcher Management (Franchise)

[callmetaternuts]

How do you guys decide when to pull a starter? What factors do you consider and when do you shorten/lengthen the leash?

I always err in leaving someone in too long and it usually kills me, but I'll have a starter cruising along, green energy still, under 100 pitch count, and then wham, he gets lit up.

[milldaddy35]

I usually make it match up based. I run a fantasy draft franchise, so I'll use that for an example. Also, I have a bullpen that consists of Andrew Miller, Felipe Rivero, and Carl Edwards Jr, which probably doesn't hurt.

If I have an ace like Chris Archer going I am going to give him a longer leash no matter what. I need my front end starters to eat innings. However, if it is a backend guy like Ivan Nova, I am usually going to give him 2 time through the order and see how things are going. If he is pitching a shutout, or only given up a run or two, then he is probably going to get a chance to go through the order again, or at least attempt to. However, the moment a baserunner gets on the third time through, I am warming someone up and bringing them in (I always have someone on "stretch out" or whatever it is called when a SP begins his 3rd time through).

Hope this helps you. Always better to make a move early than give too long of a leash and get burnt, imo.

Also, use your bullpen smartly. Don't save your closer for the 9th inning. If you're in the 6th inning and need out of a jam, bring him in. Use your best pitchers in your tightest spots.

[callmetaternuts]

I get through the first 5-6 innings in 60-70 pitches sometimes and see no reason to yank my starter. At that point, its usually 4-6 hits, 0-2 runs, and then he gets lit up. I can't imagine bringing a reliever in after only 65ish pitches. I get it if Im around 100 pitches.

[milldaddy35]

Another tip to save your bullpen.

If you are up (or down) big, use your long reliever. Have 3 or 4 guys that you can alternate through as your long reliever. Maybe you have a young spect that isn't ready to start, a journeymen, an AAAA SP, and a washed up starter. When you use one, send him down immediately, and call up another. Basically have it as a revolving door. There is 0 reason to keep a LR on the roster that is out of stamina. It is very important to save your good arms for when needed, and even your middle relievers.

[mrsaito]

As soon as they go from green to yellow the lease shortens up for me, as others have already indicated I'll give a top quality starter more benefit of the doubt.

Another thing I do which is closely related to the OP topic is that near the end of a start I'll stop using any pitch or pitches that the pitcher's confidence has deteriorated for. I'll monitor this early in the game and try and use those pitches in low leverage counts and situations to try and build confidence for that pitch back up but sometimes a pitch just isn't getting good results that day and I'll abandon it. If I'm going to get beat it's going to be with a high confidence pitch.

[Caulfield]

Plenty of factors but what I hope to get is 80-90 pitches & 6 innings. If my starter can go that far & hold the other team to 3-4 runs, I can manage 3 innings from the 'pen.If my starter makes it to the 7th with 2 or fewer runs I'll push him to 100-110 pitches if at all possible.

[Cycloniac]

Usually, I try to get 6 innings out of my starters.
-6IP, 3 ER? I'm taking him out and turning it over to the pen, good start.

If my bullpen is tired or overused, I might let my starter go through 6 if he has 4 ER, but never more than that.

If my starter is pitching well (2 ER or less) by the 7th, I'll shoot for 7 IP, but it's usualy batter to batter. If a runner gets on base, I'm warming up a middle reliever and letting a setup man stretch.

If it's a blowout, I may give my starter a longer leash than normal. I let Tanaka pitch a CG last night. He had a shutout and lost it in the 9th, but it was a 6-1 game, so I let him finish. He finished the start with 105 pitches.

[Unlucky 13]

Well, #1 I always play NL rules, so that adds some more strategy to it. There are plenty of times that my starter is pitching well, but I'm in the 6th inning with a guy on base, and I have to make the choice whether to pinch hit or not.

Obviously, whether he's pitching well has to be the next thing. I don't want to pull a guy early ever, but if he's getting knocked around each inning to start, I might bite the bullett and put a long reliever into the game in the 4th.

BTW - slightly off topic, does anyone else feel that there are days when a given pitcher might just "not have it". Where he's more difficult to control, and the opposition just knocks him around a lot more? And then you'll bring in a RP and suddenly things are back to normal?

Generally speaking, I'm content if my starter is averaging 15 or fewer pitches an inning. I usually do closer to 10. If I can get through six innings at 75 or less, I'm happy.

However, I often find that once the game reaches the 7th inning, NO MATTER the pitch count, the rules sometimes change and the CPU starts to hit a guy that they've been helpless against all day up to that point. I always, always have a reliever warm to start the 7th just in case. No matter the score and no matter how big a lead I may have, if the CPU gets two men on base vs my starter in the 7th, I pull him. End of story.

And some pitchers are just more able to dominate all day long than others. Playing as the Cubs, I've set ridiculous records with Jake Arrieta over the last few years. I could throw a complete game with him almost every single time out if I put my mind to it. But most aren't that way.