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 50/50 Double Up Lineup
- P: Stephen Strasburg (WSH) vs. D. Duffy (KC) — $10,000
- P: Jake Arrieta (CHC) vs. A. DeSclafani (CIN) — $9,300
- C: Jason Castro (HOU) vs. K. Gravemen (OAK) — $3,600
- 1B: Anthony Rizzo (CHC) vs. A. DeSclafani (CIN) — $5,200
- 2B: Luis Valbuena (HOU) vs. K. Gravemen (OAK) — $4,300
- 3B: Evan Longoria (TB) vs. D. Norris (TOR) — $4,000
- SS: Hidden
- OF: Michael Cuddyer (NYM) vs. CC Sabathia (NYY) — $4,200
- OF: Hidden
- OF: Hidden
Without a lot of good pitching available I decided to go with a pitcher heavy lineup. I almost used Anthony DeSclafani, but I didn’t like he facing Jake Arrieta and how the Cubs offense has gotten much better since Kris Bryant was called up (fifth in runs scored entering Friday).
Kenall Gravemen has struggled against lefties his entire career in the majors, which is why I went with Luis Valbuena and Jason Castro. I used the same strategy with Michael Cuddyer and Evan Longoria; over their careers they’ve fared much better against lefties than righties.
