Congratulations to Pandamonious. This individual was the DraftKings DFS MLB GPP winner of the MLB $300K Super Knuckleball contest on June 18, 2018. Pandamonious won this grand prize pool and its $100000 prize when the lineup scored 223.9 points. You can learn more about Pandamonious via checking his RotoGrinders profile. This individual is the 2,328th-ranked player.
Please note that this isn’t a projections forecasting. This series was created to analyze what may have gone through the minds of those who created the teams. Maybe you’ll pick up on trends that will assist you when constructing your future submissions. What kind of pivots are others making on their teams. What are their strategies? Are there any reoccurring trends?
Let’s analyze the $100000 lineup.
DFS MLB DraftKings $100K Winning Lineup: Pandamonious, 6-18-18
This roster used $49700 of its $50000 salary. This slate featured nine matchups.
Only two teams involved with this team. Pandamonious chose hitters and pitchers from the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. It’s fascinating that such an undiversified focus among 71343 entries was able to garnish so many points and a $100000 payout. This is a true testament to KISS (Keep-It-Simple-Stupid…or however you want to define it). Stack two lineups at hitter-friendly stadiums and take two high-strikeout pitchers. A $5 entry fee becomes $100000 cash out.
Don’t you hate when you pick one of two or three players that you like…then your player gets walked three times and the others go off? That happens to me All. The. Time. These guides often demonstrate that the solution may come with stacking all those players from a certain game. Then fill out the lineup with another stack or high-priced players in advantageous situations. Even with so many submissions, perfection is not required to win, let alone re-gaining one’s entry fee.
SP: Jacob deGrom ($11200, 15.9% 30.4)
SP: Nick Pivetta ($7300, 16.9% 35.5)
Combined Salary: $18500
Points: 65.9
Spending $11200 on an away pitcher at Coors Field? That gamble is a bit too rich for my tastes. Pandamonious made it pay off. deGrom is the type of pitcher who could work his way through Colorado’s lineup at Coors Field. deGrom isn’t a lefty and thrives on high-strikeout and low-flyball tendencies. deGrom pitched eight innings en route to a 12-2 victory and a 30.4.
Pivetta is one of those mid-card gambles that often pay off for DFS contest winners. Pivetta came off four consecutive non-quality starts. His combined DraftKings scores from those four contests: 35.1. This outing wasn’t perfect—he surrendered two homers through 7.1 innings—but he made up for it with 13 strikeouts. This game alone was a 35.5 score.
Pivetta’s 4.25 ERA and 3.44 SIERA indicated that he was due for a progression. Pivetta averages more than 10K/9. One thing I’ve noticed is, while they’re risks, these mid-card pitchers pay off when they break out of their funk. A lengthy 10K-plus performance from a $7K-9K pitcher goes a long way toward competing atop the leaderboard.
OF: Brandon Nimmo ($4900, 7.3%, 38)
OF: Michael Conforto ($4200, 5.4%, 24)
C: Devin Mesoraco ($4000, 5.4%, 24)
SS: Ahmed Rosario ($2800, 12.3%, 19)
3B: Wilmer Flores ($3600, 15.8%, 14)
Combined Salary: $19500
Points: 119
A first glance may not indicate what makes this an impressive stack. A relatively cheap lineup going off at Coors Field? What’s not to like about that? The Mets’ team ranked dead last in team wRC+ vs LHP (73) and wOBA (.274). Colorado’s opposing pitcher was Tyler Anderson, an LHP whose 4.48 ERA was ill-supported with a .281 BABIP. That was .023 off his career average, indicating that some regression may await him.
Nimmo started the contest with an inside-the-park homer. This Pandamonious stack revolved around hitters No. 1, 4-6, and 9. The five hitters combined for four homers and four doubles, amidst other scoring eligibility. Pandamonious could’ve kept things simple and just made it a six-player stack had he elected to use Asdrubal Cabrera at 2B instead of Cesar Hernandez.
Colorado’s starter (Anderson) surrendered three earned runs in 5.1 innings. The bullpen allowed a 3-1 game heading into the seventh to finish 12-2. It’s not always the starter one must target when stacking offenses. The Rockies have a bullpen loaded with relievers who have 5.00-plus ERA’s.
Always consider your opponent’s bullpen when creating a mega-stack. Avalanche effects are largely and even primarily responsible due to leaky bullpens that can’t stop the downfall.
OF: Odubel Herrera ($3500, 7.2%, 21)
1B: Carlos Santana ($4200, 2.3%, 11)
2B: Cesar Hernandez ($4000, 3.2%, 7)
Combined Salary: $11700
Points: 39
A rather gusty move to stack against Miles Mikolas, who has been one of MLB’s steadiest starters. Mikolas entered the game with a 2.43 ERA. Mikolas’ 3.57 SIERA, a surprisingly low .257 BABIP, and a sub-7.00 strikeout rate suggested that regression awaited him. He surrendered four earned runs in 5.0 innings en route to his first four-run departure in his last 12 appearances.
The stack itself wasn’t that fantastic…Two of Pandamonious’ players combined for 18 points on $8200 salary. But it was enough to
CLOSING NOTE
Anyone who has questions or concerns can email me. DO NOT EMAIL ME ASKING FOR PROJECTIONS. I’ll ignore such requests. Below are the most recent installments of the series. Visit my profile to check out the full selection. I started creating these in late April. I’ll do as many of them as time allows.
Previous MLB GPP Winners Study Guides:
TNYooper (Me!), $750, 5-22-18 (15th)
Lixitandstixit, $7.5K, 5-10-18
Joshua Huffman was born and collegiately edumacated in Middle Tennessee. That said, Huffman spent 13-plus years with the type of Northern Wisconsinites and Yoopers who turn Nashville bars into alcohol wastelands whenever NFC North teams travel to play the Tennessee Titans. This makes him the NoBro of SoBros. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Check out more of his musings at his blog, Millennial on Maple Street.
