I finally gave in and I’m going to give daily fantasy sports (DFS) a shot this year. This is my first year playing so there will be bumps in the road, but if you read my fantasy guide you know I am going to be overly prepared before I do something.

I’m playing at Draft Kings so all of my analysis and picks will be based on their scoring system.

My Strategy

To maximize your scoring potential you need to find pitchers who throw a lot of innings, strikeout a lot of batters and have a good chance for a win. Since you also lose points for hitters reaching base (hits, walks, hits batsmen) you want to avoid high strikeout, high walk pitchers (Francisco Liriano for example). Also, if they’re walking a lot of batters their pitch counts will be high, which means they won’t pitch deep into games.

With hitters you want players who will hit for extra bases because the scoring increases progressively for extra base hit type. Also, there are no penalties for hitters making outs so you can draft a Mike Zunino and not worry so much if he goes 0-4 with three strikeouts. Power is emphasized in the scoring so it’s imperative to find players who are going to hit home runs and make hard contact.

Speed is another way to find easy points at a low cost, but you want to make sure you grab players who have a high stolen base success rate because you lost points for every caught stealing.

Last Note

This is the most obvious thing, but it has to be said. You are responsible for your own lineup. It is your decision to play or not play a specific player or in general. I’m giving the best analysis I can and if you agree then, that’s great. I’m going to be wrong sometimes. In fact I’ll probably be wrong a lot because like I said at the start I am a beginner there’s going to be a learning curve.

My Lineup

• P: Clayton Kershaw (LAD) vs. K. Kendrick (COL) — $12,600
  
• P: Max Scherzer (WSH) vs. S. O’Sullivan (PHI) — $11,700
  
• C: Yasmani Grandal (LAD) vs. K. Kendrick (COL) — $3,400 F. Cervelli (PIT)
  
• 1B: C.J. Cron (LAA) vs. R. Hernandez (HOU) — $3,400 P. Alvarez (PIT)
  
• 2B: Martin Prado (MIA) vs. B. Colon (NYM) — $3,200
  
• 3B: Alberto Callaspo (ATL) vs. D. Hutchsison (TOR) — $3,000
  
• SS: Hidden
  
• OF: Gregory Polanco (PIT) vs. J. Nelson (MIL) — $3,200
• OF: Hidden
  
• OF: Hidden

If you’ve read my earlier work you know I’m new to DFS and I’m looking to try new things. So, for Friday I’m going to load up on pitching with Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. I thought about using Corey Kluber, but the Indians offense doesn’t look that good anymore after the loss of Yan Gomes. Another pitcher I really liked was Sonny Gray. I’m not buying the Royals offense and the Kaufman Stadium is still a pitchers paradise. With my hitters there obviously isn’t a lot of money left, but my strategy was to get hitters who should hit atop the lineup, are low cost and have at least a neutral matchup.