At FantasyLabs, we believe that we have the best tools and data available for those who play daily fantasy sports. We also realize that these tools and data are only as beneficial as our ability to communicate their functionality and worth.
With this in mind, our Trend of the Day series features articles that each weekday walk subscribers through an important trend, created with our Trends tool. Also, shortly after you create a trend, you will be able to see it under the “My Trends” column in our Player Models.
Trend of the Day: Underdog Pitchers With a High K Prediction
Chris Sale is definitely a divisive character right now. He was scratched from his previous start after a dispute with the White Sox over the uniform he had to wear and is constantly in trade rumors. He faces the Cubs today and is a dog going against John Lackey despite having a solid K Prediction of 8.4 currently. How have pitchers historically performed under these circumstances?
Step 1: Trends > K Prediction > 8.0 to 10.8
Pitchers with high K Predictions have historically been valuable commodities on DraftKings — no surprise. But what about when they’re underdogs?
Step 2: Vegas Filters > Favorite/Dog > Dog
Interestingly, these pitchers have only seen a slight dip in Plus/Minus. They’ve also seen an increase in Consistency. That’s a little odd, but it suggests that 1) DK might be undervaluing these underdog pitchers and 2) pitchers with high-strikeout upside can provide value regardless of whether they’re favorites or dogs.
Of course, you can add a variety of other filters, such as implied opponent runs or recent advanced stats. Sale’s are very concerning today, by the way.
Sale is poorly rated in many of our Player Models due to his poor advanced stats and high price tag, but this trend shows that his upside is still worth pursuing in guaranteed prize pools.
