Six man rotations...anybody using them?
 

I just started using 6 man rotations about 3 seasons ago and I have no hard results yet but get the general impression that it might be worth pursuing. The problem with locking down what affect it is having is difficult due to injury reducing to 5 man for periods of time and of course the short span of time I have been running with a 6 man. The other down side is that it is slot taken away from a valuable backup, platoon or utility player.

Is there anybody else with experience running a six man rotation for an extended period of time? Has it helped with injuries or more consistent starter performance during the season or late season?

As a general rule I use a 6 man rotation with 4 or 5 in the bullpen and "Use starters as relievers" set to Yes.

I enjoy the strategies this requires me to strategically strategize with during strategic play. Sort of turns me in to someone like Admiral Akbar in Return of the Jedi. Minus the squid head of course.

I occasionally go with 6-man in leagues with larger rosters.

You need a 30+ man roster to make it really work, but six-man rotations can be feasible. The hard part is finding six decent starters.

I use one level of minors so my roster is a 28 man team with 13 pitchers I do 5 man rotation and go down to a 4 man during the playoffs I never pitch a guy on 3 days rest

I've used them in the low minors with no issues but no stunning positive results. I just want to develop a sixth pitcher as a starter on those teams with larger rosters.

I have an 18-team fictional league on which I use a 6-man rotation with the major league team because I have a dual player who DH's and plays center when he doesn't pitch. The 6-man rotation builds in an extra day of rest for him, which allows me to put him in the lineup four times every six games -- one at pitcher and three as DH/CF. I've had a lot of success with that.

Experimented with them a bit during my online league's last season; short pitch counts and use starters as relievers. Results were mixed. I think they can be helpful but 7 day lineups might be more effective.

I've gone with them for rookie league/low A (on occasion) for large rosters. I tried it in the majors once when I had a surplus of starting pitchers and it didn't work very well for some reason...

I use a 6 man static rotation often, mostly to give my prospects playing time. I am lazy and I dont like frequently switching people manually. I also use 6 mans to keep starters under control, stat wise, making them cheaper to sign in the long run. The only time I change to 5 man or less is when a starter gets injured, which is often, or during playoffs.

I have done tests on this and most of the time, the league with 6 man rotations has a batting average of about 5 points higher than with 5 men rotations.

I would never do this unless you top starter is never getting to 100% rested before starts. I just don't see the advantage. you are taking away 5 stars from your ace and 10 from your 1 and 2 pitchers combined for a player that would not normally make a 5 man rotation.

IF my starting staff has poor stamina then I will go 6 man rotation but if stamina is great then I go 5 with emergency starter IF needed.

Haven't been because I try to "mimic" reality as much as possible....but if I were a GM....is is something I would seriously consider....but really, I'd also look at using two or three man "tandems" with less rest (fewer pitch counts)

The only time I have used the six-man rotation is after the roster expands and I either have a big lead or I am out of it. I use it to try out my youngsters out to see if I can replace my higher priced free agents or have some good trade bait. I guess I play a small market, profit first model.

Every now and then I will call up a 6th starter during the regular part of the season but I do this mostly to set up my rotation for an upcoming big series. With an expanded roster I will use a 6th starter to give my other starters a break before the play offs. All of my minor leagues use a 6th starter but I don't have any roster limits in my minors and I have a surplus of pitching available.

I only use 6 man rotations during spring training. I sim half of spring training then replace those 6 with 6 more pitchers so I can get a look at extra pitchers.

This.

If you are using a 25-man roster, then six starting pitchers constitute too much dead meat dangling off your bandwagon.