Donuts to Dollars
The GPP/MME playbook is more or less a foundation to build upon for your Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) tournament strategy and mass-multi entry (MME) adventures. The following approach is how I am going to MME the main slate on FanDuel and DraftKings. Hit me up on Twitter @DFSnDONUTS and you can also find me on YouTube | Twitch | iTunes with supplemental commentary and teaching.
A huge congratulations to DFS Army staff member, “Dabbingpuggle” on his $10,000 win on Thursday. He’s now won 5-digit victories twice over the last 11-days and will look to make it thrice in 12 on Friday! If you are hoping to use his player pool and pick his brain, check out our member pricing!
MLB DFS Pitching Pool Strategy for MME
Mike Leake is not a sexy pick but he has scored 16.75, 29.95, 17.55, and 25.55 DraftKings points in four straight starts. He also has a quality start in 4 straight games on FanDuel, too. He’s consistent and faces a weak team. He is well priced and will be under-owned due to the other arms on the slate. I think he’s a great MME target.
Walker Buehler takes the mound for the Dodgers and is a sizeable favorite. He is pounding the strike zone over his last two starts with a 72% strike ratio which has led to 26 K’s over his last 22 IP. He’s in the zone right now and has the potential to soak up innings, rack up strikeouts, and accrue the quality start and win bonus on FanDuel. While the Rockies do have some solid hitters I think Buehler’s talent wins out. He’s really the only pivot away from Chris Sale in the same price range and even that is a stretch.
Tanner Anderson has held opposing hitters to a 167 foot batted ball distance and an 88 MPH exit velocity with just a 34% hard-hit rate. He has scored in the mid-teens on DraftKings in both of his starts and is a nice MME option that looks like he could return solid value if the Rays lefties don’t show up.
Sonny Gray is prone to blowups, he’s done quite well this season. In fact, he has held opposing teams to 3 or less earned runs in 13 straight starts (the entire 2019 season, actually). I’ve warmed to the idea of rolling him out for MME and he is well priced on both sites in the 7k price range. He’s done a great job this year limiting damage even if he’s putting a fair amount of people on base. While the Brewers have some serious left-handed power, Gray looks like he can equalize that and at his price point remains a bargain.
Griffin Canning gets to face the ice cold Cardinals offense. He’s been very consistent this season and seems like mid-teens scoring is his floor today. While there is always potential in the Cards lineup when they’re hitting well, they currently are not and were just stifled by the Marlins for an entire series. I expect Canning to return value today but I do wonder if his ceiling is that much different than the cheaper options on the slate. MME only for him.
Ariel Jurado is very cheap and again is one of my favorite MME options on Friday. He had been remarkably consistent prior to getting shelled in his last outing. While the potential for him to get ruined on the mound is there, he had shown strikeout potential (6 in each of the previous 3 starts) and has an opportunity to also get the quality start and win on FanDuel.
Chris Sale Chris Sale is so expensive on Friday but it might not matter. The Blue Jays can go ice cold on any given day and Sale has scored 51.45, 33.35, and 29.30 DraftKings points in his last three starts. When he’s locked in there might not be someone that can rival his upside. He has 10 or more strikeouts in 8 out of his last 9 games, too. The Blue Jays are waking up at the plate a little bit over the last 7 days, however, Sale is just way too dominant right now.
Single Entry GPP Pitchers
Walker Buehler is a phenomenal choice for single entry due to his high floor and ceiling combination. He’s also a bit cheaper than Chris Sale and on a 14-game slate, we have 28 teams worth of hitters to choose from. I don’t see a hurdle too high to clear to make a strong 4-3 stack with Buehler on the mound for us.
Tier 1 MLB Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings
These are the teams I want to stack with my highest exposure. Whether you decide to use the controlled stacks (example below) or the randomized stack exposure (as I do, the example provided), I’ll have my highest percentage on the Tier 1 teams). Daily fantasy sports are not just about being contrarian. A key strategy is to also have contrarian exposure to your plays.
I like to use the MLB Research Station and Lineups Page to identify teams I want to stack and pitchers I want to target against.
Los Angeles Angels 40-60%
Boy did they let us down on Thursday. Savvy DFS players will go back to the well on Friday in a matchup against Michael Wacha who looks horrendous this year. He is giving up a 40% hard-hit rate and 93 MPH exit velocity this season. In just 18 innings pitched he’s given up 17 earned runs and 6 home runs. The angels rarely strikeout, too. I love this spot and think their 4.9 IRT is WAY too low.
Minnesota Twins 30-50%
Right back to the well with the Twins, that’s right! Jake Junis has given up a 56% hard-hit rate over his last two starts and 5 home runs in his last 15.1 IP. In fact, it took him 96 pitches to get through 3.2 innings against the Twins in his last start on June 16th. Facing a team with plenty of left-handed power twice in 6 days is a recipe for disaster.
New York Yankees 30-50%
This team is going to be so much fun for MME this season. They just have so much raw power up and down their lineup. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Edwin Encarnacion to go along with Gary Sanchez and a few other right-handed monsters make this look like a home run derby in pinstripes.
Tier 2 MLB Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings
These are the teams I am generally using to hedge my pitcher investment and/or don’t have a clear read on what might happen but understand extreme outcomes are possible. My strategy is to have the volatile stacks paired with the Tier 1 stacks that have a higher success rate.
Texas Rangers 20-40%
They have a massive 6.3 IRT and fae off against Reynaldo Lopez who has given up 8 HRs and 25 ERs in his last 25.1 innings pitched. That’s so bad it’s not even funny. Okay, it’s a little funny. The Rangers are going to be playing in 95-degree weather and the jet stream should be carrying the ball to the bleachers. This could one of those spots where we look back wishing we had more Rangers…
San Diego Padres 20-40%
Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado are threats to go back to back on Friday night against a struggling Joe Musgrove. In his last two starts, he’s given up a 60% hard-hit rate and a 96 MPH exit velocity. In his last 18.2 IP, he’s given up 26 hits, 5 HRs, and 14 ERs. The Padres will be under-owned for their potential upside against a pitcher is the gutters right now.
This is my personal strategy to use the DFS Army Domination Station optimizer for MLB MME
Before you watch the YouTube video below, check out our brand spanking newly updated DFS Army Domination Station Optimizer. It’s gorgeous and blazing fast (150 lineups in a couple of minutes last night).
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Cut all pitchers out of my player pool that I know I 100% DO NOT WANT
- Add in all the pitchers I am okay with the optimizer using and then put 3-5% minimum exposure on my favorite pitchers (the above pitching pool). This ensures that they show up in at least 7-10 out of my 150 lineups.
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Identify all teams I want to stack
- If using controlled stacks then create my player pool of hitters for MME
- If using the randomized stacks (which I do) then I begin to create percentages for all my favorite teams to target adding up to 160-180%
- Leave 20-40% stack exposure to allow the optimizer to fill in some random optimized stacks according to your pitcher pool to have some unbiased lineups
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Prepare my 150 entry settings
- 3 uniques
- optimal mode
- DFS Army points
- Make sure allow opposing pitchers is unchecked
- Maximum exposure cap of 60% is how I roll with it. The higher the exposure cap the more “all-in” you will be on a player or two (which I am not a fan of for MLB right now)
- Set random stack setting to 4-3 for FanDuel and 5-2 for DraftKings
- Run the optimizer
- Look at the batters used in the stacks. Did I create 100 Houston lineups and only get 5 George Springers? Okay, use the like/love/adore buttons or boost his projection until I get more of him. Did I get 50 out of 50 Boston stacks with Jackie Bradley and no J.D. Martinez? Boost Martinez and potentially use the dislike buttons on Bradley until he’s a bit lower and Martinez is involved.
- You have to tinker a bit to get the higher upside guys sometimes ^^^
- Re-run the optimizer until you get what you’re looking for
- Go watch Netflix until the games are over and your daily fantasy sports entries are final
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Closing
I really hope this helps you get your feet under you at the beginning of this MLB season for Daily Fantasy. Please subscribe to me on the following platforms and I would love to hear from you on Twitter or in our member service in my #Donut-Shop coaching channel!
Fortune favors the bold, go make your own luck!
Twitter me @DFSnDONUTS