This week, we published a lot of content that will be applicable for a while. Within this FantasyLabs Friday Recap, you can find links to all of that content, for your weekend reading pleasure.
General
– Video: FantasyLabs Lineup Builder Changes, by Jonathan Bales
Check out the new changes to the FantasyLabs DFS lineup builder.
– Why Astrology Is (or Could Be) Important in DFS, by Bryan Mears
When do you think it’s the hardest time of a season to accurately project lines? Of course — it’s at the beginning of the year, as we have less data. What makes this so important is that the public will heavily use Vegas just as much in the early part of the season as they will in the mid to later parts. In GPPs, a very good early-season strategy would be to weigh Vegas data less than the public. Or perhaps stack teams with a low Vegas total.
– P/E Ratio, Plus/Minus, and Knowing When (Not) to Fade in DFS, by Matthew Freedman
Even if a guy is expensive — even if his salary has risen and is likely to continue rising — as long as he has consistently submitted strong Plus/Minus performances as his salary has risen and is likely to continue doing so even at elevated salaries, he is a player whom one should not be afraid to roster on a regular basis. If a high-priced player consistently beats the market by outperforming not only expectations but also his peers with similar salaries, he isn’t an expensive player. He’s actually a discounted player.
– Pulling out of a Long, Narrow Driveway in Reverse at Night & DFS Lessons I Learned at a Wedding, by Matthew Freedman
I urge you to select value and/or punt plays first (instead of last) when you are constructing your lineups. For DFS purposes, the equivalent of backing in would be finding cheap players you actually like — which is the hardest part of DFS — and then building a lineup around them instead of trying to find them at the end of the lineup-building process and finding that you can’t maneuver any of the few cheap players you like into your lineup.
PGA
– PGA Is Really Noisy — Strokes Gained Doesn’t Fix That, by Colin Davy
Have you seen the things we’re trying to predict? There’s an enormous amount of noise in PGA data. There’s not much difference between the two data sets anyway, and whatever difference there is ends up being drowned in an ocean of noise. The best way to combat noisy data is to get as much of it as possible to help mitigate the noise. You don’t have the luxury of not incorporating results whenever you can get them. Unfortunately for strokes gained, that happens to be its active downside, since it doesn’t exist for non-PGA tournaments.
– The FantasyLabs Podcast — Rob Bolton of PGATour.com
Bryan Mears is joined by fantasy golf writer Rob Bolton of PGATour.com to talk about all things fantasy golf, including transitioning from season-long to DFS, how to deal with PGA data, what’s important in fantasy golf, and much, much more.
– The PGA Process: Puerto Rico Open Review, by Graham Barfield
Just looking at missed cuts does a pretty good job of weeding out players who genuinely aren’t playing well recently, but it does not account for players who were unlucky and missed the cut by just one or two strokes. Perhaps a better way to judge missed cuts is adjusting for the cut line by one or two to capture a full picture of a player’s recent form. You can do this in our PGA Models by simply clicking on a player’s name and scrolling through his scorecards in recent tournaments.
MLB
– MLB DFS 4/3/16 Slate Breakdown, by John Daigle
Congrats! When you’re disheveled many years from now, you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren that you were around to witness the first ever FantasyLabs MLB Breakdown go live. We’ll be rolling these out every day this season. And though the terms and stats will eventually become second nature, you could always use the rest of this weekend to brush up on our (free!) MLB Glossary. So settle in, FantasyLab’ers. Much like you, we’re here for the ride.
– Introducing FantasyLabs’ 2016 MLB DFS Tools, by Jonathan Bales
FantasyLabs launched less than a year ago with daily fantasy baseball models. Since then, we’ve been constantly focused on adding new sports. This is our first opportunity to really improve upon a sport, and I’m ecstatic about it. We have a number of new features and statistics to help you in MLB this year. It’s headlined by our advanced statistics, such as exit and pitch velocity, batted ball profiles, hard hit percentages, and more.
– Video: FantasyLabs MLB Tools Overview
Jonathan Bales gives an overview of the FantasyLabs tools in the 2016 MLB product.
– Video: FantasyLabs MLB Advanced Data Tutorial
Jonathan Bales breaks down FantasyLabs’ new MLB advanced data for the 2016 season.
– Video: FantasyLabs MLB Player Models Tutorial
Jonathan Bales breaks down FantasyLabs’ new MLB Player Models for the 2016 season.
– Video: FantasyLabs MLB DFS Trends Tutorial
Jonathan Bales walks you through the FantasyLabs MLB DFS Trends tool.
– Video: FantasyLabs MLB Lineup Builder Tutorial
Jonathan Bales goes through FantasyLabs’ new MLB Lineup Builder.
– Video: FantasyLabs Lineup Builder Changes
Check out the new changes to the FantasyLabs DFS lineup builder.
– Video: FantasyLabs MLB Lineups Page Tutorial
Jonathan Bales goes through FantasyLabs’ MLB Lineups Page.
– A Look at FantasyLabs’ New Advanced MLB Data (Exit Velocity, Pitch Velocity, Batted Ball Profiles & More), by Jonathan Bales
As the most advanced tools, data, and content site in DFS, FantasyLabs is committed to providing the best of the best in every aspect of what we do. That’s why we’ve added something amazing for the 2016 MLB season – something no other daily fantasy site has (and very few sites in general have access to) – advanced pitch-by-pitch data.
– FantasyLabs Podcast — Jonathan Bales on MLB 2016
Bryan Mears and Jonathan Bales chat about all the new MLB data, tools, and features at FantasyLabs for the 2016 season, as well as talk a little game theory and strategy.
– Writing Covered Calls and Becoming the MLB DFS Warren Buffett, by Matthew Freedman
I contend that stacking batters on high-scoring teams is the MLB equivalent of writing covered calls. In grinding out MLB cash games each slate, you are not looking to create an utterly dominant lineup. You are looking to lock-in a profit, and that’s it. Remember, using a conservative and proven strategy in cash games isn’t about winning every contest or slate. It’s about steadily winning over an extended period of time.
– The Daily Fantasy Sports Roundtable: #9 – MLB Rule Changes
Matthew Freedman is joined by Renee Miller, Jonathan Cabezas, and Peter Jennings, who discuss all the rule changes in MLB and on DraftKings and FanDuel.
– Change of Scenery: Justin Upton, by Bill Monighetti
I’m sure Justin Upton loved batting .250 for a 74-win team last season, but DFSers have to be intrigued about his move to Detroit. Even though the Tigers caught several bad breaks last season, they were still a respectable offense, ranking 15th overall in runs scored (San Diego was 23rd). In addition to joining an offense that boasts more firepower, J-Up will also reap the benefits of playing home games at Comerica Park. When comparing right-handed bats at Comerica and PETCO Parks, there is around a half fantasy point per game difference, using DraftKings scoring.
NBA
– The Daily Fantasy Flex Podcast — NBA: 4/01/16 Slate Breakdown
Jay Persson and Peter Jennings break down the full 4/01/16 NBA DFS slate.
– The Daily Fantasy Flex Podcast — NBA: 4/01/16 Position Quick Hits
Jay Persson and Peter Jennings quickly run through positions for the 4/01/16 NBA DFS slate.
– NBA DFS: Bargain Hunting on DraftKings, 4/1/16, by Mitchell Block
Always a candidate for most under-owned on an evening’s slate of games, Jeff Teague seems to draw the ire of daily fantasy players on a regular basis, generally due to his occasional minutes instability and perceived lack of ceiling. And while there is certainly validity to the concern over playing time — Teague has logged less than 25 minutes in three of his previous 10 games — he has flashed plenty of ceiling to warrant consideration at his sub-$6k price tag.
– Video: How to Uniquely Use FantasyLabs Models & Strategy on Late-Season NBA DFS, by Adam Levitan
Adam Levitan shows how to personally and uniquely use the FantasyLabs Models and some strategy on dealing with late-season NBA DFS.
Trends
– MLB 3/29/16: Recent Hitting Performance, by Bill Monighetti
– MLB 4/1/16: Temperature Effect by Stadium, by Bill Monighetti
– NBA 3/28/16: Players in Highly Negative paceD Matchups, by Bryan Mears
– NBA 3/29/16: Power Forwards vs. the Houston Rockets, by Mitchell Block
– NBA 3/30/16: Bigs vs. Denver (Recent), by Bill Monighetti
– NBA 3/31/16: The Return of Jae Crowder, by John Daigle
– NBA 4/1/16: NBA Trend of the Day: FanDuel Players with a Low Bargain Rating and High Projected Ceiling, by Jonathan Cabezas
