Experts’ Advice For Baseball Daily Fantasy Sports A Newbie Should Know

 

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Experts’ Advice For Baseball Daily Fantasy Sports A Newbie Should Know

If you are an avid fan of baseball and have even played several matches in the past, the rules are pretty simple if you get the gist of it. The hitter would just hit the ball and get to the bases until he gets a home run. Pretty simple, right?

However, it might seem simple, but the strategies that players incorporate in their plays are complicated and involve many factors. Same as betting on fantasy baseball. It would be best if you consider all the factors to predict things that would happen in the game and, ultimately, accurately guess the winner of the match. 

That said, doing your research, finding resources, and correctly assessing all the factors that come into the game is essential if you want to win bets. There are many things a beginner should learn, but here are five starting tips every newbie should learn to get those wins.

Assess Your Starting Pitcher

Arguably, the most critical aspect of an entire team is its starting pitcher. 

Many people will say it is the hitter, but a good hitter will only get a chance to bat probably 4-5 times during a game. Some people will also say it's the defenders, but every defender would only get to catch a ball ten times if they don't get swapped out. 

However, if you look at the starting pitcher, he would be playing and can potentially dominate the other team during the beginning of a match, which is crucial to have a point. Always remember, a good pitcher stops good hitting. Even if the opposing team has a killer lineup, a pitching ace on the other team can dominate them, leaving them no chance to even hit the ball. 

If you base your logic into betting a dominant team that is dominant in the entire season over an inferior team, you may lose. However, you are not betting on which team will be winning the season. You will bet on which team will win a game. That said, even if the other team is superior and is most likely to win, they can lose to a weaker team with a pitching ace. 

Some factors to see in a pitcher:

• Strikeout to walk ratio

• Home run rates

• Ground ball rates

• Fielding Independent Pitching or FIP

Take Advantage of Underdog Players

To make money off betting in fantasy baseball, the bettor should have a win percentage of 52.4%. If MLB bettors consistently make teams with underdogs consistently, they can leave with positive numbers above the break-even point.

Taking advantage of underdogs means you will be a contrarian. Think of it like this: the average bettor bases his bets on how a player performed last game. If a player performs more significantly than the opposing counterpart, then the average bettor will bet on the greater player. By going against the tide, you will discover a lot of sleepers that you can use in your future games.

Take Note of Pitching Splits

Like mentioned earlier, the pitchers on your MLB DFS picks, especially the starting pitchers, are the essential person on a baseball team. Even the best lineup can be brought down to its knees if the opposing team has a pitching ace. That said, assessing a pitcher's performance is vital if you want to predict the outcome of the game. 

ERAs, win-loss records, and WHIPs are the vital stats you need to know about a pitcher. However, they don't take other factors into account. Don't just look at how the pitcher performs on their team. You should also look at outside variables, like weather conditions during the game and the mound the stadium is using.

For example, the home/road splits. Pitching mound varies by texture and firmness. Some pitchers prefer firm mounds to have a more powerful pitch that gives them an excellent opportunity to give the batter a strike. Also, some pitchers relish on the challenge of pitching on enemy territory, making them pitch better than usual. Thus, you have to assess the home/road splits of a pitcher.

Another split you should take into consideration is the day/night split. This split determines how a pitcher performs during certain parts of the day. Some pitchers ignore other factors, but the part of the day they are playing can have a massive effect on their pitch.

Takeaway

Many experts assess the pitcher's performance since they are the people who can make or break the game. Also, they tend to be the factor that can turn them into the dominant team even if they are underdogs. That said, you should assess the superior team and look at how the underdog performs. Not to mention that winning a bet on the underdogs will make you rake in a lot of cash. By following the advice above, you’ll surely find your MLB DFS a worthwhile experience.

Yanks Struggling, Cole’s Streak Ends

Yanks Struggling, Cole’s Streak Ends

Bombers Reeling

The Yankees had just gotten beat up in a three-game sweep by their divisional rivals from Tampa Bay when they turned their lonely eyes to their $324 million ace, Gerrit Cole, to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, their prized free-agent acquisition was not up to the task and had an uncharacteristically poor outing. When the dust settled, Cole had worked five full innings and surrendered five earned runs on five hits, three of which were home run shots, and the Yankees dropped a 5-1 decision to the Braves, their   fourth consecutive loss.

“I just sort of liked to have pitched better,” said Cole, whose 20-game winning streak, dating to last May, came to a close. “It seemed to be a little bit feast-or-famine in terms of good command for a period of time and some bad command in some bad spots.”

“Times when I thought that they were going to be aggressive, they were patient. And times when I thought maybe I could grab some more of the zone in some situations, I made a poor pitch and they were being aggressive. It just didn't match up and they stayed about one step ahead of me too many times.”

New York is now 1 ½ games behind the Rays in the AL East standings and is a sub .500 road team as of this writing. While their performances at Yankee Stadium have reaped stellar results, they are not a serious championship contender unless they can win on the highway. Despite a somewhat disappointing first half to this truncated season,   they are certainly not considered MLB underdogs by any stretch of the imagination as their roster is loaded with talent and many believe it’s only a matter of time before this 2020 Yankees edition puts it all together. 

Happ Not Happy

J.A. Happ has 17 million reasons to be unhappy about the way he has been used by manager Aaron Boone this season. You see, the 37-year-old hurler has a $17 million vesting option for next season if he makes either 27 starts or pitches 165 innings, which is prorated to 10 starts or 61 ¹/₃ innings in this abbreviated season. MLB rules prohibit purposefully manipulating a player’s usage to keep said player from his vesting option.

Happ is coming off of his best outing of the season when he held the Red Sox to one run over five-plus innings in a   4-2 Yankees victory on August 16th. But he has yet to get a start over the last 10 days and believes there might be a conspiracy afloat.

“I know I’m healthy and have been healthy and ready to pitch since what would have been [the beginning of] the regular season and since summer camp and the start of the abbreviated season,’’ Happ said. “I’ve been ready to go in all those cases with no issues.”

While ace Gerrit Cole, leads the team in starts with seven on the young season, Happ has only three starts on his 2020 resume and he’s not shy about showing his dismay. When asked about the brewing controversy, Happ stated, “You guys [in the media] are pretty smart. It doesn’t take too much to figure out, sort of, what could be going on.”

But Boone rebutted that contention when he explained, “After a four-day break, we reshuffled to prioritize getting Gerrit going and [Tanaka] after him, then the off day and then [Montgomery] and J.A. There’s a chance we even pitch Gerrit and [Tanaka] on the sixth day out of this. … With only four starters right now, you’re gonna need to make up those slots.”

In fairness to Boone, Happ has not been setting the world on fire and could be pitching himself right out of the rotation. After three starts he has logged only 12.2 innings of work and has 10 walks to six strikeouts with a bloated 6.39 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Probably not the best time to start complaining as a member of a championship-caliber team. 

Happ was posed with the question about the situation becoming a distraction for him on and off the field, “It’s hard to quantify an answer for that. It weighs on me to some extent, but when I come in here, I try to continue to be a good teammate and prepare to be ready and be professional and that stuff. But when I’m away [from the park], it certainly can creep in and has taken a lot of thought. … At this point, I need to leave that on the back burner and let that play out how it might.”