The Novice Approach: Building a DFS lineup for Main Slate, Monday 29th

I’ve always heard the best way to learn is to do. That may not be the exact wording but the general gist is still there. I do not pretend to be a fantasy baseball aficionado and my stab at league play has currently been going about as well as you’d expect from someone who more often than not forgets that he has a team. (For those really curious, I’m currently in last place in our Fake Teams Mock Draft league with a stunning record of 12-27-1.)

I thought the natural next step for my fantasy baseball education was to start playing DFS. So, that’s what I’m here to do.

I’ve decided that every week (maybe even multiple times a week depending on how well people enjoy this) I’ll create a team on FanDuel just in a $1 buyin, 100 player contest to see if my quasi-random lineup can get me some winnings.

Here’s the lineup I’m rolling with today during the Main Slate:

I’ve built football lineups before and know where to spend your money and how to best balance a team. In baseball, all my prior knowledge goes out the window. All I know is that catchers are useless. I think I have that rattling in my head from Punk is Dead’s very first Top 250 where he was not loving the catchers this year. I might have paraphrased exactly what he said, but the point rings true still in my head.

I have no real reasons for these picks, buuuuut here are my reasons for these picks:

• My first play was to flip through all the positions and see if there were any names I recognized to start as a foundational piece to my lineup. Unsurprisingly the name that immediately leapt off the page was Mike Trout. However, that was no help, since Trout’s out with his thumb. Stupid thumb. It’s also crazy to me that Trout, the best fantasy player in baseball, is still cheaper than most of the top pitchers. I assume it’s a similar quarterback vs. RB/WR thing: pitcher will just get you more points game in and game out because it’s them vs. an entire team. Just more opportunities for them to score. Look at me learning something new.
• I decided to build around consistency so started with Corey Dickerson in the outfield because he’s been more or less always around his average of 12.4 FPPG. I’ll take that level of consistency to start.
• Decided to go pitching next because they’re expensive and don’t want to be stuck with some scrub. Again, all about consistency as Daniel Norris has been just steadily climbing in each of his starts. I’ll take that.
• I rounded out my outfield with Giancarlo Stanton—because I knew his name—and Cameron Maybin because those dreads are dope.
• Tommy Joseph seems to have a bad game, then a good game, then a bad game. His last game was a bad game so let’s hope the trend continues and he gets me a good game.
• Rougned Odor always has a spot on my lineup because he punched the living daylights out of Jose Bautista. I may not know a lot about baseball, but I do know I hate Jose Bautista and anyone who punches him or pegs him with a fastball to the ribs has a spot on my team. Welcome aboard Odor.
• Also it seems my mind really likes the Texans’ Rangers’ bases. Don’t know why but all three intrigued me for whatever reason. Let’s hope they have a favorable matchup against Tampa.
• I saved the catchers for last with my manipulated Punk phrase playing in my head, but still managed to keep enough of a budget to take whatever catcher I wanted. So, went with the most expensive because no use having left over money.

So there you have it. There’s my first toe dip into the freezing pool of fantasy baseball DFS and my crude job at trying to explain it to myself all in terms of fantasy football. Hopefully I’ll make Heath Capps proud and win some cash money. If not, I can just blame it on still learning the game.

Let me know your thoughts on my lineup in the comments and follow along as I ride the emotional rollercoaster that is daily fantasy.

Wish me luck!