Joining a new site can be a bit intimidating. However, it only takes learning the adjustments necessary to profit. First thing is usually looking into the scoring system and comparing to the site you are accustomed to. What’s different? What does that mean? Then, we might look at roster requirements. What’s different? How can we use that?
FantasyDraft.com is a bit different. But, it doesn’t have to be a drill sergeant to the face. Let’s talk a little about my first week on FantasyDraft….
Scoring System Review
Hitters first….
You can see singles are the same as FanDuel (FD1). But, the rest get a little discounted. Caught stealing is the only negative you can receive for a hitter. This scoring system becomes a blend between FD and DK right off the bat….no pun intended.
With power stats being slightly underweighted (double is 5 pts instead of 6 pts and HR is 14 pts instead of 18.7 like FD1), you can see power takes a slightly less important approach here. I’m not in any way saying it’s not important to think about and chase. I’m saying the singles rule the day. Runs, RBIs, walks, etc…..all a little less valuable here. Still important, just not as important. Mathematically, this means a guy like Ichiro is slightly more valuable here than on FD1. You are still looking for guys that don’t make outs…..guys that put the ball in play. You want them to put the ball in play with power, though. Gap hitters and speed weigh a bit more here than pure power does. Top of the order means a little more, too, since the leadoff guys typically have a little less power, but more speed.
I have found the guys purely chasing homerun power are not doing as well here. They can also be caught by a Mike Trout type on any given night being that Trout just has more ways to score points for you than Chris Davis.
Now pitchers…
This is a two-pitcher site like DK. Rule of thumb for two pitcher sites is you rarely have to pay all the way up for pitching. You need to take it seriously, but you don’t need to roster Kershaw because he can handicap your bats. You still don’t want to get cute with pitching and punt both spots like it doesn’t matter. It does.
Here, you are looking for pitchers with K potential just like everywhere else. You are looking for a low WHIP, though, because like DK you are penalized for giving up hits and walks. You want the win, but it’s not as critical as on FD1 because it’s just not worth as much to you.
You want a pitcher that logs innings. This guy can get you the full 2.25 pts multiple times. Notice a K is only worth 2 pts. An IP is worth a little more. Add in going deep into a game or pitching a full game and the bonus points, again like DK, kick in. When you hear “pitch count,” you should be leery of taking that pitcher on FantasyDraft.
Salary Cap Assessment
FD1 gives you 35k. DK gives you 50k. FD2 gives you 100k. That may seem like a lot, but realistically you can think of it as “double DK.” This means you can compare sites fairly easily since the scoring systems are most similar. However, roster requirements are dramatically different and we’ll dive into that in a minute.
Where on DK, you are looking to spend about 15k-20k on pitching, on FD2 you can look to spend 30k-40k. That’s a great rule of thumb, but by no means the law of the land. Look at different slates differently and find what the slate offers. Just go into the day thinking 30-40k and you will start spotting pitchers in those ranges.
Bats range from about 4500 to 11000. If you are around 35k on pitching, you can still grab a bunch of nice 7-10k bats that are going to do what you want them to do.
Roster Requirements…
You get 2 pitchers, 3 infielders, 3 outfielders, and 2 utility players that rank as either IF or OF. What does this mean? It means you have so much flexibility it can be intimidating.
But, you can keep it very simple. You don’t have to roster a SS here. You don’t have to roster a C, either. You can roster five 1B if you like. You are no longer looking for “position scarcity” and the need to pay up at 2B because everyone else on the slate is so cheap and crappy. You just roster another 3B if you want to.
You are looking to roster the best players period here. You are looking for guys that score points in every way possible. No longer looking for the Catcher that might run into one. Just look at the few that are really, really good at hitting for average and power. The flukey guys…….scrap ’em. You have to get points from all your spots since you don’t have to roster a catcher or SS here. Don’t get me wrong, you can grab a Correa, but why grab Tulo with the year he’s having? Just roster a guy hitting better like Joey Votto. The combinations are endless, but you will find you are focused on the tip top of the middle infield, rarely roster a catcher, and load up on 3B and really load up on 1B. OF is OF. And, UTIL is really the best of the best.
Like DK, you are going to want to slot most of what you find in it’s specific spot to maintain flexibility in your UTIL spot.
Bonus tip: Sort everything by UTIL when looking at it. Find value salaries mixed in with everything and compare as you go. You can always click him in and just move him to IF or OF appropriately. If you build your entire LU from the UTIL spot, you will find value easier.
Contest Nuances and Exploiting Your Competition
The contests on FD2 payout much differently than the other big sites. You should LOVE this. These contests are about cashing, not necessarily winning. The site seems to give the casual fan a better chance at being successful.
Remember the vids and posts we’ve done about calculating the payout and what it takes to cash? Well, if you remember on FD1 we are trying to build top 20% lineups or even better just to cash. Top 17% in some cases is what it takes. Well, on FD2, you need 25% only…..that’s a 5% cushion! In beginner and intermediate contests (which you should take full advantage of until you no longer can), it’s as good as 35%.
Take the above snapshot. The HR contest has 205 players. Top 52 cash. 25.4% cash in this one. Try finding that on FD1 or DK. You won’t. Now, the payouts at the tippy top aren’t as lucrative. But, honestly…..how many of you have hit a big one this year? I’m going to produce a top 35% lineup a lot more often and a lot easier than a top 1% lineup. I want to cash often with the upside to make more as I get luckier on the day. Skill is getting to the cash line. Luck is winning the whole damned thing.
How to Build Your Lineup for Cash
You don’t need to take the risk in these contests to profit. Sure, you can try and be completely unique and contrarian to win, but it’s just not necessary. Keep pounding the cash lines and you will do fine. To do that with a 25% cash line instead of an 18% line, you simply build more for cash games and less for tourneys. Sure, you are in a tourney, but you just don’t need to go stupid bonkers trying to be unique. I think that’s what gets most newer players in trouble to begin with. They overthink things.
On FD2, you just take what works. Solid pitchers, not elite studs. Top of the order hitters that pile up the ABs. Guys that don’t make outs and get on base a lot…..preferably with some power. My two favorite stats right now are OBP and ISO. I want .400 OBP and .150+ ISO where I can find it. I want it facing soft pitching, and I don’t really care if no one else has the guy. I still pay attention to BvP and OPS and the other numbers we preached in finding edges on FD1. But, you just don’t need to get that cute on FD2.
Why? Because everyone else still is! You can play a bit safer here, have more margin for error, and still hit the cash lines more often than on the bigger sites.
I’m a huge fan of this site right now. And, I urge you to sign up if you haven’t. As always, you can hit me up in slack with questions or DM me and I’ll take whatever time I have to answer your question the best I can. In the meantime, though, I’m off to build a few LUs for the tickets I’ve won playing on FD2. I’ve played about 5 slates there and 3 of them have looked like the screenshot below. I’ve been blanked once. (On FD, things are still as inconsistent as ever.) You can call it a hot streak, but I know what I know when I see it. This is different. Don’t miss out!
