Pitching is Power.

I am an overrated and overwhelmingly mediocre fantasy baseball player. This does not however mean that my methods cannot work, nor that I do not understand parts of the game. My problems arise entirely from disastrous preliminary picks. All of these early offensive picks truly turned out to be offensive... to me. The only reason that I find myself planted firmly in the upper half of my league was because of my ability to find pitching to fill stats and to trade away. Do not overlook pitching because it appears to have no rhyme or reason. In fact do the opposite. It could be where you win your league. Follow these simple rules and you will be well on your way:

1. Draft a workhorse that will anchor your staff. This must be a top tier pitcher that has continually proven himself. Make sure that you choose a pitcher that not only has good peripherals but also works late into games. These extra innings and proven durability could decide you match ups down the road.

2. The late rounds of the draft are all about upside. Begin the year with an over crowded pitching staff. You can dwindle down the number of starters that you own once they have earned a spot on your team. In these rounds draft solely on upside. If a few of your picks pan out you will find that they will more than make up for the misses that you will have.

3. Always be aware of minor league pitchers of pedigree. If a pitcher has been dominating competition in the minor leagues throughout his career he has a shot to do it in the majors as well. Hamels and the like tend to find their way to the majors after the all star break. Be on your toes.

4. Just as with batters, pitchers that have talent can slide off the charts for a few years and come back to help win championships. These come back years (think Kevin Millwood, old school Kevin Brown type) usually revolve around contract years. Do not waste your time drafting these pitchers but be aware of them on the waiver wire and snatch them quickly.

5. Young pitchers tend to tire more easily as the year progresses. Because these pitchers haven't seen a season as long as the major leagues they tend to fall off as the year comes to a close. With the exception of a few freaks out there, one notably, most will go the way of Chris Volstadt. Sell at the first signs of fatigue.

6. When scouting pitching look at the numbers and not at potential. This sounds contrary to what I said earlier but hear me out. When I spoke of potential I was speaking of pure numbers and not of velocity or break. Just because a pitcher can light up a gun does not mean he can get batters out. Pay more attention to his track record and how his club feels about him. Remember, there were pretty good carreers from Nagy, Maddux and Suppan without ever wowing with the fastball.

7. Pitchers will pitch to their averages. Just because Nick Blackburn, Ricky Nolasco, and Joe Blanton didn't start how you would have liked doesn't mean that they wont end that way. Patience is a virtue.

Now go my children and breathe this knowledge into your fantasy team and give it that life that it needs to make that money. Make it rain.