Getting Ready for the MLB Grind
Pitchers and Catchers have already started to report and Baseball is now firmly on the DFS radar. We see the “What does it take to win at insert sport here?” posts on the forums all of the time. This article is geared to give you a solid base of things to do for a successful grind of MLB.
Know the Team Structure and Scoring System
Sure this one isn’t new, but you would be shocked how many people simply dive right into a new sport and have no clue what the rules are. Each site has a different roster structure and point system. I will be doing a follow up article to dive into the specifics of each site and what a general winning strategy looks like per site.
Know your Lineups, Weather, and Park Factors
Lineups: You would think this is an obvious one, but too many times I find myself in a head to head and my opponent is rostering someone out of the lineup. Do yourself a favor and don’t just assume guys are in the lineup. Fortunately for you RotoGrinders has a lineups page that is updated in near real time when the information drops.
Weather: Most people would think weather is solely a rain issue in fantasy baseball. If you are not factoring in wind and in some cases temperature then you could find yourself behind the curve. The lineups page on RG also contains all the weather info you need.
Park Factor: One of the most overlooked parts of baseball is park factor. It’s very common for most traditional fantasy baseball players trying out the DFS version to miss the importance of park factor. It stands to reason that you want players in parks where more runs, triples, HR, etc. occur. It may not be the end all be all metric, but you should be factoring it in without a doubt.
Know Your Resources
RotoGrinders: The beautiful thing about RG’s growth is that they have kept up with the demand and for the most part have EVERY tool/resource you need in a single place. If you decide to sign up for a new site do yourself a favor and join through a RotoGrinders link. Not only do you often receive a higher deposit bonus, but you gain access to incentives across all sports for that site for an entire year! I have been on some of the sites before RG existed and only wish I had the Incentives access for those sites. You WILL regret not having Incentives at RG if you join without clicking through their links.
Twitter: The social media giant is essentially a news hub that you tailor to suit your needs. If you are not on Twitter I HIGHLY recommend it. This is an edge for lineups and late breaking news. Utilize Tweetdeck to keep your timeline organized.
Fangraphs: As far as stats are concerned Fangraphs.com is one of the best baseball references on the planet. Not only do they have just about any stat you could want, but there are some brilliant baseball minds that contribute there. Sure not all of the articles translate to the DFS brand of fantasy but a lot of it helps complete the puzzle.
Jonathan Bales: Have you checked out what GrindersU has to offer yet? Well the man behind it all is none other than Jonathan Bales and he happens to be the author of a great read in “Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for smart people.” I encourage you to read the book where you will find some great numbers in regards to DFS baseball.
Find the Stats That Matter
This is THE most important piece to the puzzle in my opinion. Baseball is a highly analytical game and we have more available to us than most of the other sites. It can be a blessing and a curse to have so much data. The key to utilizing stats is make sure you don’t use overall as your base instead key in on L/R splits both for offensive players and pitchers.
Batting Stats:
BvP – This is something that I almost never use. Simply put the sample size of relevant at bats (timeframe of said ABs) versus an opposing pitcher is almost never big enough for me to factor it in.
wOBA – Last year I adjusted my approach slightly with regards to weighing certain stats. I found that raising the importance of wOBA directly correlated to more predictable results. If you are not familiar with wOBA now might be a good time to read up on it.
OPS – So most of us are familiar with OPS which is simply a players on base percentage + slugging percentage. OPS has it’s flaws but is one of the metrics that translates to DFS production better than others.
Pitching Stats:
wOBA – Just like you would with a position player use wOBA against to help you determine how well a pitcher might handle certain teams.
K% – Across most of the daily sites your pitchers ability to strikeout the opposition is key. K% at a basic level will give you a decent look of what to expect.
OBP – I like to use OBP to help determine some of the negative points my pitcher might accumulate which helps me with my total points projections.
Separate Yourself from “Your” Team/Player
I will keep this one short. Don’t get stuck playing your favorite players without solid stats/value to back it up. If I play a Cardinal it is because they have a plus matchup for that particular day AND there is value. It’s key to separate being a fan and being a DFS player. Basically don’t be a homer.
Stick to What Works for You
It can be argued the variance levels between sports, but Baseball to me is the obvious choice for most variance. When you find a system that works just know you will run cold even playing the plus matchups. The worst thing you can do is scrap your game plan.
I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions you can send me a PM here on RG or send them via (your new) twitter account to @louiescards. Be on the look out for my article breaking down strategy site by site.