How are NL only leagues adjusting rosters for 2013?

[MagSeven]

Yes, I know 2012 is not over, yet I'm trying to get my owners to think ahead while they still have interest in baseball. I've actually had a few questions about it anyway. We're an 11 team keeper league with a 25 man roster (15 position and 10 pitcher). With the Astros leaving for the AL and the possibility of adding a 12th to our league, does going back to the original 23 man roster make sense? An 11 team league will use 253 NL players and a 12 team will utilize 276 out of a NL player pool of 375. Thanks for your input.

[Fresno Bob]

we are 12 team, 23 man rosters, and since I've been pushing for keeping things exactly the same

[Judge Jude]

The problem is basically just on the hitting side.
If we say that each NL team uses 13 hitters and 12 pitchers at a time, then we're talking about 15 teams so 195 active hitters (of course there are DLd guys too).
If you go to 12 teams and keep 15 hitting slots, that's 180.
If we say that each of your teams only wants 2 catchers and that each NL team has 2 (close to true), then there are six catchers and 9 non-catchers available in the entire free agent pool at a given time.

None of those lines is going to be exactly right, but close enough for you to decide if you're comfortable with that amount of availability.

Meanwhile, by the 12-pitcher assumption, that's 180 active NL pitchers - and you guys are only taking 120 of them if you have 12 teams. So you'd be scooping up nearly every single hitter on NL rosters, but leaving one-third of the pitchers on the market...

[Don Quixote]

The problem is basically just on the hitting side.
If we say that each NL team uses 13 hitters and 12 pitchers at a time, then we're talking about 15 teams so 195 active hitters (of course there are DLd guys too).
If you go to 12 teams and keep 15 hitting slots, that's 180.
If we say that each of your teams only wants 2 catchers and that each NL team has 2 (close to true), then there are six catchers and 9 non-catchers available in the entire free agent pool at a given time.

None of those lines is going to be exactly right, but close enough for you to decide if you're comfortable with that amount of availability.

Meanwhile, by the 12-pitcher assumption, that's 180 active NL pitchers - and you guys are only taking 120 of them if you have 12 teams. So you'd be scooping up nearly every single hitter on NL rosters, but leaving one-third of the pitchers on the market...

The problem in all leagues, but particularly in deep leagues, is the composition of the fantasy roster. Using 14 hitters and 9 pitchers made some sense when the typical MLB roster had 14-15 hitters and 10-11 pitchers, but with most teams carrying 12 or even 13 pitchers now, some adjustment is necessary. Personally, I favor dropping either the second catcher or 2nd DH/UT, whichever way you play now, and adding a 10th pitcher.

I play in deep leagues, and with the rosters as currently constituted, getting hitting help off the waiver wire is usually a futile endeavor.