Five MLB DFS Tips for Beginners in Arizona (Plus Two Sign-Up Bonuses!)

by Sloan Piva (SloanPiva) Last Updated 2021-09-02 16:23:47

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Last weekend, Arizona became the 44th state in the U.S. to permit the operation of Daily Fantasy Sports. So we’d like to welcome new DFS players from Arizona—and anyone else new to DFS —by giving you five MLB DFS tips for beginners.

With the NFL season on the horizon, and the MLB regular season racing toward the finish line, let’s shift gears and talk about some MLB. Whether you prefer DraftKings or FanDuel, you have a gamut of daily fantasy sports to choose from each day. Here’s five MLB DFS tips for anyone embarking on the start of their Daily Fantasy Sports journey.

MLB DFS Tips for Arizonans

1. Find Your Favorite Site and Format

With so many different sites and formats available to you, it’s always a good idea to peruse your options before you dive into this new world of sports betting. Each site has little wrinkles and personalized touches that distinguish themselves from the pack. As a result, many DFS players I know have different preferences in sites and format.

You probably won’t be surprised to read that DraftKings and FanDuel are the cream of the crop, considering they have both become household names. But Yahoo! has a very impressive DFS identity as well, and Fantasy Draft—recently acquired by Monkey Knife Fight—also seems like a worthy addition to the scene. New members of each site receive first-deposit bonuses—sometimes paid immediately or via free contest vouches, other times trickled into your account balance steadily as you bet.

For baseball, I tend to gravitate toward DraftKings and FanDuel. I like DraftKings’ Showdown Captain Mode—staying under a total salary cap of $50,000, sign six salaried players (batters or pitchers), nominate one a captain at 1.5 times the points, and receive points for a plethora of different statistical categories accumulated by your roster. I also like FanDuel’s Three-Man Challenge—staying under a $7 cap, pick three salaried batters, declaring one your MVP at 1.5 times the points, and only hits, homers, and RBI count.

However, the classic format obviously attracts the most money and participation. In classic mode, you assemble a team using either the salary cap format or snake draft format. While I sometimes play FanDuel’s classic 9-man roster (P, C/1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, UTIL), I prefer DraftKings’ classic 10-man (P, P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF). I like fantasy to reflect reality as much as possible, so I like the catcher position being represented. I also think DraftKings has a superior site design, and tend to use DK the most for baseball, football, and basketball.

2. Know Your Site’s Scoring and Specifications

So, you’ve decided on FanDuel over DraftKings for your first DFS wager. Congrats! But before you pop some champagne, you need to get a handle of what you should prioritize during roster construction. Don’t hastily throw together your favorite players and click submit—that’s a quick and easy way of throwing away money, which can happen quickly when you’re spending online and not in person.

The major differences between FanDuel and DraftKings: FD uses just one pitcher in classic mode, while DK uses two. And home runs are worth 12 points on FD, whereas round-trippers yield just 10 points on DK. As such, it’s imperative that you hit on your lone pitcher pick in FD, and even more important that you grab as many power hitters as you can. Pitching and power are the name of the game in fantasy, and never has that mantra been more true than on FanDuel.

3. Do Your Due Diligence During Roster Construction

You should never—under any circumstances—have just your DFS site open while constructing your roster. You have a bevy of different resources at your disposal 24/7 to help you pick the best players at the best values. My favorite sites to research and cross-reference my player picks include Baseball Reference, MLB.com team/player stats, FanGraphs, and Team Rankings. Just like in the real game, research and preparation produce results, and just like in any other investing, doing your due diligence can help you win big.

Important aspects to research include batter-vs-pitcher stats, home/road and day/night splits, and park factors. Check the players’ performance over the past seven, 14, and/or 30 days—are they on a hot streak, or as cold as ice? Are the batters in front or behind them in the order trending up or down? Is the pitcher getting any run support? The more questions you can answer while assembling your roster, the more confident you will be once you lock it in.

I’m personally all about value picks, whether in baseball, football, or basketball. My reputation for finding value picks in NFL DFS precedes me—I wrote a weekly column on that exact topic on The Sporting News last season. (LINK: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/fantasy/news/week-16-nfl-dfs-picks-best-value-players-sleepers-draftkings-fanduel-daily-fantasy-football-lineups/gw97vw1yu8l41cboh48t9plts ) Pinpointing strong sleepers and value picks at certain positions allows you to pay up for the proven everyday studs elsewhere. But you must utilize the right methods to finding those diamonds in the rough—don’t pull a girlfriend move and pick players because you like their name or hair style—the best researchers make the best DFS players.

4. Don’t Overspend on Superstars

Consider this a continuation of the last tip. Researched data reveals the best lineups, not stacking high-profile names. Let’s use today (Monday, August 23) as an example. On paper, it may look like a great idea to add Trevor Story and Teoscar Hernandez at $5,000 each on DraftKings. But delve deeper, and you would see that Story has gone 1-for-11 lifetime with four strikeouts against Cubs probable pitcher Kyle Hendricks, and Hernandez is a career 1-for-11 with four strikeouts against White Sox projected starter Lance Lynn. Why spend 20 percent of your cap on two superstar names who will more than likely produce underwhelming lines?

In this example, I’d scroll a little further down the hitters list and pay $4,800 for shortstop Bo Bichette, who has gone 2-for-5 against Lynn so far in his young career. I’d also go to the bargain bin to shell out $4,100 for Mitch Haniger, who has gone 2-for-3 lifetime against projected A’s starter Paul Blackburn. All said, I have improved two positions while saving $1,100, which I can now use to upgrade one of my pitcher spots.

5. Have Fun and Don’t Dive in Too Deep Early On

The most important rule of anything related to fantasy, of course, is to have fun! Much of fantasy has become about money, but at its core, it’s all about the love of sports. Don’t lose sight of that, and don’t dive into DFS so deeply the first weekend that you lose a ton of money and sour yourself to the format. Start small, familiarize yourself with the rules and scoring, and then gradually build yourself up to more advanced formats or bigger buy-ins.

You can also create your own tournaments, snake drafts, and head-to-heads, and invite your friends to play. Some people don’t like going against hundreds of thousands of strangers—you can whittle down your contest search in the game lobby by refining the field size. Don’t like classic mode? Choose one of the dozens of other game options across the DFS landscape.

DFS can be a lot of fun, but not if you overwhelm yourself or deplete your funds on your first few go-rounds. Remember the adage “if it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” Research your site, do your due diligence during roster construction, avoid the sucker mentality of picking superstars, and have fun during it all, and you’ll probably enjoy DFS as much as yours truly. I’d bet on it!

FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona

Offer: Pre-register for FanDuel Sportsbook and DFS, and get a $100 in site credit split: $25 in your DFS account and $75 at the sportsbook

Step 1: Click here

Step 2: Complete the FanDuel registration process

Step 3: Start playing DFS with a FREE $25 on Saturday, August 28th and begin betting online with your FREE $75 in two weeks!

DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona

Offer: Complete the DK Sportsbook registration process & opt-in upon sign up for a $150 FREE bet

There isn’t actually a DraftKings promo code to enter, but if you follow the steps below, you’ll receive $150 in free bets when online sports betting goes live in the Grand Canyon State.