To deliver a long-term positive return, MLB DFS lineup study is crucial. Seeing what winning lineups looked like and how top players built their lineups compared to the average player is what elevates DFS players to the next level.
That’s why we’ve built the post-contest MLB DFS Sims at Stokastic. The post-contest Sim updates with the previous night’s results. Users are able to compare their own lineups to others and see how lineups graded out. Consistently building positive ROI lineups will lead to better profits in the long run.
Here I look to highlight the main factors of the top 3 lineups in the $250K Relay Throw ($50,000 to first) contest on DraftKings. Some points I will be looking for when breaking down these lineups are what kind of stack used, the average ownership percentage, highest-owned players and the number of lineups the user entered. We are searching for any patterns within these individual lineups in an attempt to apply certain tactics when building our next pool of MLB DFS lineups.
MLB DFS Lineup Study for April 9
First Place: Haulers
Stack: 2-x/Athletics, Blue Jays, Rangers, Cardinals, Angels, Astros
Average Ownership: 73.2%
Number of Lineups Entered: 1
Highest-Owned Player: N/A
Second Place: scout326
Finish: 2nd
Stack: 5-2-1/Nationals, Braves, Diamondbacks
Average Ownership: 93.1%
Number of Lineups Entered: 150
Highest-Owned Player: Tyler Glasnow, 59.3%
Third Place: ehafner
Stack: 5-2-1/Blue Jays, Athletics, Astros
Average Ownership: 84.9%
Number of Lineups Entered: 150
Highest-Owned Player: Tyler Glasnow, 86.7%
MLB DFS Conclusions
Tyler Glasnow and Shea Langeliers dominated last night’s slate, with Glasnow going seven innings and striking out 14, scoring 45.95 DraftKings points, and Langeliers scoring 44 DraftKings points thanks to a three-home run day. Outside of those two players, there wasn’t a specific offense that users needed to stack in order to be in the consideration for top finishing lineups. We see that within these top three lineups, the bats rostered were spread out among multiple teams. Looking at the first-place lineup, user Haulers went with the stacking-is-for-nerds strategy, only rostering two batters from the same team, that team being Oakland.
Moving onto the second-place lineup, we see a stack that features not a single batter from the other two lineups, a rare occurrence when doing these breakdowns. User scout326 managed to sneak into the top 3 club without Langeliers in his lineup, which is insane to think about considering Langeliers hit three home runs. Scout326 used his crystal ball to get to a five-man Washington stack, with Jacob Young recording three stolen bases and scoring 25 DraftKings points at 1.8% ownership. It comes to no surprise that Washington was in the top 5 for highest-leverage teams last night in Stokastic’s Top Stacks Tool, a common strategy found throughout these breakdowns.
With a player having a three-home run day and a pitcher striking out 14 in seven innings, last night was random in the sense of constructing a high-finishing lineup. One positive outcome from this breakdown is user Scout326 reinforcing the idea of using High Leverage stacks from Stokastic’s Top Stacks Tool. With the high-leverage stack of Washington, Scout was able to land a spot in the top 3 without a three-home run player. Thank you, Scout326, for not making me sound like a crazy conspiracist with this high-leverage strategy. You are first place in my eyes.
