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 GPP Lineup

• P: Jake Odorizzi (TB) vs. C. Whitley (NYY) — $7,300
  
• P: Michael Wacha (STL) vs. S. Gonzalez (PHI) — $8,300
  
• C: Wellington Castillo (CHC) vs. J. Locke (PIT) — $3,400
  
• 1B: Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) vs. K. Kendrick (COL) — $5,600
  
• 2B: Yangervis Solarte (SD) vs. R. Hernandez (HOU) — $3,100 Justin Turner (LAD)
  
• 3B: Miguel Cabrera (DET) vs. M. Pelfery (MIN) — $5,400
  
• SS: Hidden
  
• OF: Mark Trumbo (ARI) vs. K. Kendrick (COL) — $4,300
• OF: Hidden
  
• OF: Hidden

This is my first GPP tournament. I decided to give it a shot because I’m a big believer in my the two pitchers I choose. The Yankees are throwing an all lefties lineup against Jake Odorizzi, which actually benefits him. He strikes way more lefties out 29 percent compared to only 18 percent against righties (data from 2014-15). Last year lefties hit a lot of fly balls against him (46.7 percent), but this year the fly ball rate is only 40.6 percent. There’s risk with Odorizzi, but in a tournament I’m willing to take that gamble.

Michael Wacha has looked great this year and facing a bad Phillies lineup. My concern is he isn’t striking as many hitters out, but with a three game sample it’s hard to see that as a new trend. I’m starting Yangervis Solarte because his price point is extremely cheap, is batting second in the lineup and Roberto Hernandez struggles against lefties.