Daily Fantasy Strategy — July 20 — For Draftstreet

Well, it’s been a week since I last threw down here and, wait what, DraftStreet acquired by DraftKings? You got it, bub. And you can easily transfer your account here. It does change some things for us in these pages, but not really by all that much.

The budgets are different, and so the player pricing is different (you’re not going to be spending $20,000 on a pitcher any longer). It will take some getting used to but identifying value will come to you pretty quickly going from one format to the other.

Here’s Landon Jones on the key differences beyond pricing:

As far as I can tell, there are four main things to address: lineups, pricing, mobile app and scoring. With Draftstreet, you had the option to start three starters, if you wanted, or you could only buy two and purchase a reliever. Draft Kings isn’t set up that way. You get two pitchers; relievers no longer matter. Lineups will now be consisted of: P (2), C (1), 1B (1), 2B (1), 3B (1), SS (1), OF (3); utility spots are a thing of the past.

The biggest change, however, is that strikeouts don’t hurt you any longer. The table below shows the biggest and smallest gainers with the new scoring system (everyone gains because points are easier to tally, but some obviously gain far more than others):

Name	Team	G	HR	SB	SO	DS Points/Gm	DK Points/Gm	Gain
Chris Johnson	Braves	93	6	3	95	1.80	5.91	327.87%
Everth Cabrera	Padres	80	3	13	81	1.69	5.43	321.48%
Jason Castro	Astros	77	8		92	1.94	6.17	318.26%
B.J. Upton	Braves	90	7	15	117	2.12	6.70	316.54%
Mike Zunino	Mariners	77	13		98	1.95	5.99	307.33%
Xander Bogaerts	Red Sox	89	7	2	89	1.96	6.00	306.90%
Mike Napoli	Red Sox	76	10	2	87	2.42	7.36	303.39%
Jackie Bradley Jr	Red Sox	86	1	6	83	1.76	5.31	302.65%
Chase Headley	Padres	75	7	4	70	1.96	5.91	301.87%
Chris Carter	Astros	82	19		103	2.16	6.49	300.56%
Mark Reynolds	Brewers	81	14	5	91	2.07	6.20	299.25%
Nick Swisher	Indians	77	8		88	2.05	6.05	295.40%
Adam Dunn	White Sox	79	14	1	100	2.42	7.15	295.04%
Matt Kemp	Dodgers	87	8	5	88	2.24	6.61	294.49%
Starling Marte	Pirates	84	5	21	94	2.61	7.61	291.45%
—	—	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Torii Hunter	Tigers	79	12	4	44	3.19	7.54	236.51%
Anthony Rendon	Nationals	90	13	8	64	3.85	9.06	235.04%
Adrian Beltre	Rangers	82	14	1	44	3.75	8.79	234.66%
Coco Crisp	Athletics	74	7	16	36	3.65	8.50	233.18%
Charlie Blackmon	Rockies	93	14	18	49	3.71	8.62	232.63%
Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	88	26	2	58	4.24	9.83	232.06%
Omar Infante	Royals	73	5	4	35	3.15	7.29	231.56%
Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	90	21	1	56	4.17	9.64	231.16%
Erick Aybar	Angels	93	6	11	35	3.24	7.43	229.19%
Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	91	14	1	59	3.99	9.13	228.93%
Justin Morneau	Rockies	89	13		38	3.38	7.72	228.62%
Ian Kinsler	Tigers	91	11	10	41	3.86	8.81	228.49%
Victor Martinez	Tigers	81	21	2	25	4.17	9.43	226.04%
Albert Pujols	Angels	93	20	4	40	3.88	8.74	225.52%
Michael Brantley	Indians	91	15	11	32	4.38	9.78	223.20%

And this table simply shows the top-30 hitters under the DraftKings scoring format:

Name	Team	G	HR	SB	SO	DS Points/Gm	DK Points/Gm	Gain
Mike Trout	Angels	91	22	10	96	4.56	11.04	242.31%
Andrew McCutchen	Pirates	94	17	15	75	4.24	10.43	245.61%
Jose Abreu	White Sox	83	29	1	83	4.17	10.12	242.95%
Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	88	26	2	58	4.24	9.83	232.06%
Michael Brantley	Indians	91	15	11	32	4.38	9.78	223.20%
Giancarlo Stanton	Marlins	95	22	8	106	3.78	9.77	258.32%
Paul Goldschmidt	Diamondbacks	96	17	8	94	3.89	9.74	250.33%
Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	90	21	1	56	4.17	9.64	231.16%
Carlos Gomez	Brewers	88	14	17	87	3.70	9.60	259.80%
Victor Martinez	Tigers	81	21	2	25	4.17	9.43	226.04%
Ryan Braun	Brewers	74	11	8	61	3.86	9.41	243.78%
Nelson Cruz	Orioles	94	28	3	82	3.83	9.35	244.00%
Jose Altuve	Astros	94	2	41	32	3.77	9.34	248.02%
Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	91	14	1	59	3.99	9.13	228.93%
Anthony Rendon	Nationals	90	13	8	64	3.85	9.06	235.04%
Brian Dozier	Twins	93	18	16	81	3.67	9.01	245.21%
Yasiel Puig	Dodgers	91	12	7	78	3.54	8.93	252.48%
Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	94	22	2	75	3.62	8.89	245.88%
Dee Gordon	Dodgers	92	2	43	61	3.41	8.84	259.12%
Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	91	17	4	61	3.66	8.84	241.08%
Todd Frazier	Reds	95	19	14	83	3.49	8.83	253.09%
Ian Kinsler	Tigers	91	11	10	41	3.86	8.81	228.49%
Adrian Beltre	Rangers	82	14	1	44	3.75	8.79	234.66%
Albert Pujols	Angels	93	20	4	40	3.88	8.74	225.52%
Josh Donaldson	Athletics	93	21	3	80	3.60	8.69	241.01%
Charlie Blackmon	Rockies	93	14	18	49	3.71	8.62	232.63%
Freddie Freeman	Braves	96	13		81	3.40	8.58	252.18%
George Springer	Astros	77	19	5	114	3.01	8.57	284.48%
Christian Yelich	Marlins	77	8	11	75	3.21	8.52	265.05%
Coco Crisp	Athletics	74	7	16	36	3.65	8.50	233.18%

The Daily Five
Drew Smyly – $6,200
The Cleveland Indians offense has been hitting pretty well of late, but they’re generally not strong against left-handed pitching. With just a .301 wOBA against southpaws on the season, they’re actually a bottom-five offense in that regard. While Smyly has struggled some over his last three outings, he’s also coming off of nine days of rest, a potentially important consideration as he approaches a career-high in innings. It’s not a slam dunk, but the slate is thin on affordable pitching, and going with a bottom-third option in price should allow you to pair Smyly with a top arm.

Zack Wheeler – $7,700
Of course, I won’t recommend said top arm, because telling you to start Clayton Kershaw really doesn’t help you much, does it? Instead, we’ll continue to pick on the San Diego Padres and their .275 wOBA against right-handed pitching, with the league’s second-highest strikeout rate as a bonus. Wheeler has cruised over his past three starts and gets the typical Petco Park bump, leading to an over/under of just 6.5 with the Mets favored.

Toronto Blue Jays stack – Yes, I know, homer pick combined with “have you seen this lineup without Edwin Encarnacion” make this seem a stretch, but it’s also Nick Tepsech on the bump at Rogers Centre. Tepsech is alright, but not missing bats and not keeping the ball on the ground is a bad formula against the Jays, who have the league’s best wOBA against righties (.339), with all due injury caveats. This match-up is the day’s highest over/under at 9, and the Jays are strong favorites.
Dan Johnson – $2,000 (107 wRC+ despite a .167 average; appreciate the walks)
Jose Bautista – $5,000 (well, you need an anchor)
Colby Rasmus – $3,700 (remember, strikeouts no longer hurt)

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