DSBC Preview Pt. 2: In-Depth DraftStreet Strategy
If there’s one tip you could give a struggling player for daily fantasy baseball, it would have to be to pay attention to the strategy used by the guys winning consistently. The strategy of the best players can be taken by smaller fish and used to their advantage. And who better to study than the 40 DSBC qualifiers thus far? These 40 qualifiers have mastered DraftStreet success for daily fantasy baseball and there’s still two months left in the MLB season for you to learn some new tips. So in this article we will answer the FAQ of DraftStreet daily fantasy baseball by studying the ins and outs of each qualifiers victories.
Now let’s take a look at some of the most common dilemmas for a DraftStreet daily fantasy player and give you some concrete answers based on the numbers of the DSBC Finalists. At the end there are a couple of tables breaking down all of the strategy choices for both hitters and pitchers by each DSBC Finalist.
NOTE: Only the first 38 qualifiers were looked at for this strategy study.
DraftStreet Strategy FAQ #1: Should I use 3 SP and 1 RP, or 2 SP and 2 RP?
The answer here actually turns out to be pretty straightforward. Sure there are points to both sides of the argument but in this case the numbers don’t lie. Of the 38 qualifiers reviewed, only 9 used 2 relief pitchers. That means that 76% of DSBC Finalists(29 players) so far have used a 3:1 Starting Pitcher to Relief Pitcher ratio. The answer to this quandary is that you should definitely try to get 3 SP and 1 RP in your lineup.
DraftStreet Strategy FAQ #2: When would using 2 RP be a good idea?
From looking at the percentage of salaries spent on pitchers vs. hitters, you can see that there are qualifiers who spent around 30% of their given salary cap space on pitching and still held 3 starters. Likewise, some of the finalists who chose 2 SP and 2 RP spent that same 30% on pitching overall. This would indicate that if you want to use just 2 starting pitchers, make sure they are two high quality aces and save money with the relievers.
DraftStreet Strategy FAQ #3: How much should I spend on Pitchers vs. Batters?
The numbers show that the average DSBC qualifier spent 67.13% on batters and 32.87% on pitchers overall. With the DS 100K salary cap, that would mean spending around $67,000 on hitters and $33,000 on pitchers. The lowest salary percentage spent on hitters among DSBC qualifiers was JackandSoda with 56.52% of his salary spent on batters but they managed to put up a whopping 86 points thanks to a White Sox stack. JackandSoda likewise spent the most on pitching, allocating 43.38% of his salary to hurlers. Determination spent the highest percentage of his salary on hitters, with 76.22% of his money allocated to batters and just 23.78% of his salary kept for pitching. Of the 9 DSBC qualifiers who chose 2 SP and 2 RP, 7 of them spent over 70% of their salary on hitters. The answer overall would be that you should try to spend between $60-70K on batters and $30-40K on pitchers.
DraftStreet Strategy FAQ #4: How do you define ‘value’ for MLB on DS?
The average DSBC qualifier received 1 fantasy point for each $1,103 spent on hitters and 1 fantasy point for each $1402 spent on pitchers. The average score of all qualifiers batters combined was 63.37 fantasy points and the average score of all pitchers combined for DSBC qualifiers was 25.21. Do a little math and you will find that a batter costing you $10,000 should score 9.07 fantasy points and a pitcher costing you $10,000 should score you 7.13 fantasy points. Likewise, a pitcher costing you $15,000 should score you 10.7 fantasy points and a batter costing you $7500 should score you 6.8 fantasy points to offer value.
DraftStreet Strategy FAQ #5: Should I stack or not on DS?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but after looking at all of the DSBC qualifiers there is still no true concrete answer to this question. But at the very least I can offer you some pointers on the different stack strategies that can do well on DraftStreet. Of the 38 qualifiers looked at, 10 of them did not use more than 2 players from 2 or more teams. I considered this to be an ‘assorted’ arrangement of hitters with no real stacking strategy. 17 players used the polar opposite strategy by having at least 5 players from one squad in their lineup. Of those 17, 5 players decided to stack at least 8 batters from a single team. Five qualifiers had at least two players from 3 or more teams, which is another popular method of “semi-stacking” and a few guys simply stacked 3-4 hitters from one lineup and used an assorted group to fill out the rest. Overall, the ‘heavy-stack’ of 5 or more players from one team accounted for 44% of the DSBC qualifier victories while the total ‘assorted’ picks accounted for 26% of the DSBC qualifiers. The rest used some sort of semi-stack method.
DraftStreet Strategy FAQ #6: What role does league size play in deciding whether or not to stack?
There have been 9 DSBC events with over 300 entrants and in 6 of those 9 tournaments, a stack of at least 5 players from one team has taken down the event. The other 3 winners were able to take home a victory behind an assorted lineup but for the most part, stacks were key in winning the huge leagues. In the ten events with just 60 entrants, only 5 of the winners have stacked at least 5 players from one team and the rest used a more balanced approach. Of those five finalists, only one used more than 6 players from one team to win these smaller field events. The point being, the bigger the field and the more likely you will need a stack to take first place. Below is a list of the winners along with number of entrants and how much(or how little) they used a stacking strategy.
Assorted implies a wide range of players across multiple teams.
Qualifier | Scoreboard(Winner) | Entrants | Stack Breakdown | Qualifier | Scoreboard(Winner) | Entrants | Stack Breakdown |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Daveinchi1975 | 200 | 7 PIT | 21 | Gelo24 | 100 | Assorted |
2 | Patricke33 | 60 | Assorted | 22 | jl9000 | 60 | 4 TEX, 3 TBR, 2 COL |
3 | Incu | 500 | Assorted | 23 | ShowMeTheMoney84 | 365 | 6 TEX |
4 | Notorious | 100 | 3 DET, 2 BAL | 24 | jshilling09 | 100 | 4 TOR, 2 LAA |
5 | Jlowery73 | 60 | 5 ATL | 25 | thatteamfromcle | 60 | Assorted |
6 | GPPBeast | 200 | Assorted | 26 | Muntradamus | 200 | 6 STL |
7 | Bab329 | 500 | Assorted | 27 | Beastin | 400 | 8 WAS, 2 LAA |
8 | Gopher | 100 | Assorted | 28 | Jackandsoda | 100 | 8 CWS, 2 TOR |
9 | Jshepler12 | 200 | 3 NYY | 29 | dinkpiece | 60 | 3 ATL |
10 | Determination | 60 | 2 COL, 2 MIL, 2 DET | 30 | vinegarstrokes | 500 | 9 CWS |
11 | WahooWarrior | 500 | 7 MIL, 2 DET | 31 | g123 | 100 | 3 MIA |
12 | Rickmilitar | 100 | Assorted | 32 | sprom | 200 | 7 ARI |
13 | Ronnymor2 | 60 | 5 TOR, 3 TEX | 33 | BeemImaJeep | 400 | 8 TOR |
14 | Pbarrese13 | 20 | 4 CIN | 34 | UncleLeo | 60 | 7 ARI, 2 CWS |
15 | Kamakazi | 500 | 6 SEA | 35 | jshilling09 | 100 | 5 MIL |
16 | Ronnymor2 | 100 | 2 COL, 2 TOR, 2 NYY | 36 | vesneska | 200 | 8 MIN |
17 | Beermakersfan | 200 | Assorted | 37 | leonem | 60 | 5 PIT, 2 NYY |
18 | Waveswebdesign | 60 | 5 ARI, 2 TEX, 2 LAA | 38 | rickmilitar | 100 | |
19 | Dpert002 | 450 | Assorted | 39 | Muntradamus | 400 | 4 DET, 4 SFG |
_. 20 | Jackandsoda | 200 | 4 CWS, 2 TOR, 2 NYY | _. 40 | BeepImaJeep | 200 | 9 BAL |
More DSBC Qualifier Tables
Below is a table breaking down all of the statistics I discussed above. There is one table for hitters and one table for pitchers based on the strategy and decision making for each DSBC qualifier.
CLICK ON ANY PLAYER’S NAME TO SEE THEIR SCOREBOARD FROM THEIR WINNING DSBC EVENT
The Pitchers Breakdown
Legend: - # of SP/RP – Number of starting pitchers/relief pitchers chosen
- Total P Points – Total points by all pitchers combined for that qualifiers lineup
- P Salaries – Total salary spent on all pitchers combined for each qualifier
- %Salary P – The percentage of total salary spent allocated to just pitchers
- P-Value($/FP) – Dollars spent to earn 1 Fantasy Point for all pitchers
Qualifier | Winner | # of SP | # of RP | Total P Points | P Salaries | %Salary P | P-Value($/FP) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Daveinchi1975 | 3 | 1 | 34.9 | $43,256 | 43.37% | $1,239.43 |
2 | Patricke33 | 3 | 1 | 22.15 | $36,837 | 36.85% | $1,663.07 |
3 | Incu | 3 | 1 | 32.45 | $28,140 | 28.14% | $867.18 |
4 | Notorious | 3 | 1 | 28.65 | $32,198 | 32.26% | $1,123.84 |
5 | Jlowery73 | 3 | 1 | 25.95 | $38,152 | 38.16% | $1,470.21 |
6 | GPPBeast | 3 | 1 | 23.1 | $38,382 | 39.09% | $1,661.56 |
7 | Bab329 | 3 | 1 | 24.6 | $35,452 | 35.49% | $1,441.14 |
8 | Gopher | 3 | 1 | 24.1 | $29,718 | 29.74% | $1,233.11 |
9 | Jshepler12 | 3 | 1 | 16 | $32,737 | 32.75% | $2,046.06 |
10 | Determination | 2 | 2 | 27.65 | $23,742 | 23.78% | $858.66 |
11 | WahooWarrior | 3 | 1 | 27.9 | $37,101 | 37.17% | $1,329.78 |
12 | Rickmilitar | 3 | 1 | 40.1 | $36,393 | 36.41% | $907.56 |
13 | Ronnymor2 | 2 | 2 | 23.25 | $23,787 | 23.79% | $1,023.10 |
14 | Pbarrese13 | 3 | 1 | 32.05 | $37,613 | 37.63% | $1,173.57 |
15 | Kamakazi | 3 | 1 | 22.45 | $31,773 | 31.82% | $1,415.28 |
16 | Ronnymor2 | 2 | 2 | 20.05 | $27,391 | 27.42% | $1,366.13 |
17 | Beermakersfan | 3 | 1 | 35.9 | $29,947 | 30.03% | $834.18 |
18 | Waveswebdesign | 2 | 2 | 14.65 | $27,732 | 27.75% | $1,892.97 |
19 | Dpert002 | 2 | 2 | 7.55 | $28,037 | 28.04% | $3,713.51 |
20 | Jackandsoda | 2 | 2 | 20.4 | $29,520 | 29.53% | $1,447.06 |
21 | Gelo24 | 3 | 1 | 19.6 | $34,650 | 34.67% | $1,767.86 |
22 | jl9000 | 2 | 2 | 22.8 | $31,710 | 31.75% | $1,390.79 |
23 | ShowMeTheMoney84 | 3 | 1 | 31.8 | $29,624 | 29.63% | $931.57 |
24 | jshilling09 | 3 | 1 | 27.1 | $28,233 | 28.25% | $1,041.81 |
25 | thatteamfromcle | 2 | 2 | 20.05 | $25,677 | 25.80% | $1,280.65 |
26 | Muntradamus | 3 | 1 | 25.05 | $26,436 | 26.50% | $1,055.33 |
27 | Beastin | 2 | 2 | 20.85 | $35,420 | 35.46% | $1,698.80 |
28 | Jackandsoda | 3 | 1 | 24.4 | $43,390 | 43.48% | $1,778.28 |
29 | dinkpiece | 3 | 1 | 24.65 | $40,907 | 40.94% | $1,659.51 |
30 | vinegarstrokes | 3 | 1 | 25.45 | $30,085 | 30.12% | $1,182.12 |
31 | g123 | 3 | 1 | 18.55 | $30,455 | 30.93% | $1,641.78 |
32 | sprom | 3 | 1 | 23.8 | $39,924 | 40.03% | $1,677.48 |
33 | BeemImaJeep | 3 | 1 | 20.5 | $34,922 | 35.12% | $1,703.51 |
34 | UncleLeo | 3 | 1 | 23.25 | $27,172 | 27.32% | $1,168.69 |
35 | jshilling09 | 3 | 1 | 34.65 | $33,877 | 33.89% | $977.69 |
36 | vesneska | 3 | 1 | 29.2 | $32,457 | 32.46% | $1,111.54 |
37 | leonem | 3 | 1 | 37.3 | $40,732 | 40.77% | $1,092.01 |
NA | AVERAGES | 25.21 | $32,799 | 32.87% | $1,401.81 |
The Batters Breakdown
Legend: - Stack Breakdown: Assorted=no stack
- Total H Pts: Total points scored by all hitters on each qualifiers lineup
- H Salaries: Total salary allocated to just hitters for each qualifiers lineup
- %Salary H: Percentage of salary allocated to hitters only
- H-Value($/FP): The average amount spent to score 1 Fantasy Point for each team’s batters only
Qualifier | Winner | Stack Breakdown(if any) | Total H Pts | H Salaries | %Salary H | H-Value($/FP) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Daveinchi1975 | 7 PIT | 51.5 | $56,491 | 56.63% | $1,096.91 |
2 | Patricke33 | Assorted | 57.25 | $63,130 | 63.15% | $1,102.71 |
3 | Incu | Assorted | 60 | $71,846 | 71.86% | $1,197.43 |
4 | Notorious | 3 DET, 2 BAL | 58 | $67,612 | 67.74% | $1,165.72 |
5 | Jlowery73 | 5 ATL | 58.5 | $61,829 | 61.84% | $1,056.91 |
6 | GPPBeast | Assorted | 82.75 | $59,802 | 60.91% | $722.68 |
7 | Bab329 | Assorted | 70.5 | $64,427 | 64.51% | $913.86 |
8 | Gopher | Assorted | 48.75 | $70,212 | 70.26% | $1,440.25 |
9 | Jshepler12 | 3 NYY | 55.75 | $67,232 | 67.25% | $1,205.96 |
10 | Determination | 2 COL, 2 MIL, 2 DET | 44.25 | $76,116 | 76.22% | $1,720.14 |
11 | WahooWarrior | 7 MIL, 2 DET | 81 | $62,703 | 62.83% | $774.11 |
12 | Rickmilitar | Assorted | 50 | $63,572 | 63.59% | $1,271.44 |
13 | Ronnymor2 | 5 TOR, 3 TEX | 64.5 | $76,183 | 76.21% | $1,181.13 |
14 | Pbarrese13 | 4 CIN | 71.5 | $62,332 | 62.37% | $871.78 |
15 | Kamakazi | 6 SEA | 74.5 | $68,068 | 68.18% | $913.66 |
16 | Ronnymor2 | 2 COL, 2 TOR, 2 NYY | 63.75 | $72,513 | 72.58% | $1,137.46 |
17 | Beermakersfan | Assorted | 44.25 | $69,783 | 69.97% | $1,577.02 |
18 | Waveswebdesign | 5 ARI, 2 TEX, 2 LAA | 67.75 | $72,192 | 72.25% | $1,065.56 |
19 | Dpert002 | Assorted | 87.5 | $71,945 | 71.96% | $822.23 |
20 | Jackandsoda | 4 CWS, 2 TOR, 2 NYY | 74.5 | $70,461 | 70.47% | $945.79 |
21 | Gelo24 | Assorted | 55.5 | $65,290 | 65.33% | $1,176.40 |
22 | jl9000 | 4 TEX, 3 TBR, 2 COL | 69.75 | $68,156 | 68.25% | $977.15 |
23 | ShowMeTheMoney84 | 6 TEX | 72.75 | $70,349 | 70.37% | $967.00 |
24 | jshilling09 | 4 TOR, 2 LAA | 77.25 | $71,720 | 71.75% | $928.41 |
25 | thatteamfromcle | Assorted | 44.25 | $73,854 | 74.20% | $1,669.02 |
26 | Muntradamus | 6 STL | 64 | $73,325 | 73.50% | $1,145.70 |
27 | Beastin | 8 WAS, 2 LAA | 84.75 | $64,472 | 64.54% | $760.73 |
28 | Jackandsoda | 8 CWS, 2 TOR | 86 | $56,407 | 56.52% | $655.90 |
29 | dinkpiece | 3 ATL | 59 | $59,008 | 59.06% | $1,000.14 |
30 | vinegarstrokes | 9 CWS | 60.5 | $69,787 | 69.88% | $1,153.50 |
31 | g123 | 3 MIA | 54.75 | $67,995 | 69.07% | $1,241.92 |
32 | sprom | 7 ARI | 70.25 | $59,814 | 59.97% | $851.44 |
33 | BeemImaJeep | 8 TOR | 76.5 | $64,526 | 64.88% | $843.48 |
34 | UncleLeo | 7 ARI, 2 CWS | 50 | $72,272 | 72.68% | $1,445.44 |
35 | jshilling09 | 5 MIL | 52.75 | $66,075 | 66.11% | $1,252.61 |
36 | vesneska | 8 MIN | 49 | $67,540 | 67.54% | $1,378.37 |
37 | leonem | 5 PIT, 2 NYY | 50 | $59,180 | 59.23% | $1,183.60 |
38 | AVERAGES | 63.34 | $66,979 | 67.13% | $1,103.07 |