Building a team on DRAFT’s DFS platform is an excellent way to make the action even more exciting than just following your favorite team. If you aren’t familiar with DRAFT’s DFS platform, it’s an innovative daily fantasy game with a live draft feature -- instead of building within a salary cap, you’re participating in snake drafts that typically last under five minutes. On top of that, anyone you draft is yours alone -- if you take Nolan Arenado with your first pick, nobody else in your league can roster him.
You can find more information at Draft.com or quickly join a contest from anywhere after downloading the app!
The scoring system is similar to FanDuel with a few small exceptions. For one, starting pitchers aren’t quite as valuable relative to their hitting counterparts. You can read a detailed explanation of these along with other DRAFT MLB Strategy Tips in our preview article.
Best of luck and happy drafting!
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OVERALL STRATEGY
Small Slates. We have only three games on the docket today which means only six starting pitchers. As such, DRAFT has limited leagues to a maximum of three teams. Enjoy.
Pitcher Talk. Managers are more willing than ever to remove a starting pitcher before the end of five innings. We can’t count on anybody to pitch deep enough into the game to be eligible for the win bonus. I think the best bet for longevity comes from Clevinger. With the series on the line in part because the Cleveland bullpen has failed, I suspect Clevinger will have a little more leash than Severino and Foltynewicz. Although Hill also has a decent chance to last five or six innings due to a relatively weak bullpen, he’s less likely to power through to a longer outing. I strongly recommend waiting until the fifth round to pick your pitcher.
- Luis Severino – Tier 1
- Rich Hill – Tier 1
- Mike Clevinger – Tier 2
- Mike Foltynewicz – Tier 2
- Dallas Keuchel – Tier 3
- Nathan Eovaldi – Tier 3
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UNDERRATED PLAYERS
These players have a great chance to outperform their DRAFT projection.
J.D. Martinez – INF – Boston (DRAFT Projection: 9.1 FP)
For a three game slate, there are an awful lot of attractive infielders on display. Perhaps I’ve simply grown accustomed to picking for six and 10 team formats. When only looking at only the top six at a position, the standard of excellence is… high. Martinez is the seventh ranking infielder per DRAFT. He’s also practically matchup proof. I’ve heard it said that Martinez is the best in the league at never giving away an at bat. That’s how he thrives against quality pitchers and terrorizes the weak. He’s tied with Giancarlo Stanton as the most likely to homer.
Other infielders who catch my eye include Manny Machado, Luke Voit, and Jose Altuve. Those aren’t must pick options, but they could fit well in the appropriate stack.
Ronald Acuna – OF – Atlanta (DRAFT Projection 9.3 FP)
The Braves have one of the best matchups today. Although Hill isn’t a pushover, the Dodgers bullpen is relatively exploitable. Acuna is perhaps best suited to do the exploiting. Unlike Martinez, Acuna does occasionally give away at bats – see his first plate appearance from yesterday. He’s also among the best at ambushing fastballs. His loopy swing is well suited to scooping curve balls into the stratosphere. And wouldn’t you know it, Hill throws fastballs and curves. DRAFT lists him as the fourth outfielder. He would be my first overall pick.
OVERRATED PLAYERS
These players may not live up to their DRAFT projection.
Luis Severino – SP – New York (DRAFT Projection 11.4 FP)
Although this projection isn’t remotely a stretch, there are some issues we should recognize with the so-called “top” pitcher. For one, he’s hosting the potent Red Sox at tiny Yankee Stadium. Even tiny mistakes could come back to haunt him. Further, he absolutely dominated the Athletics last week yet only managed to toss four innings. With the Yankees absurd bullpen, don’t be surprised if Severino doesn’t last five frames. I figure fully half of outcomes include short outings. As such, my projection calls for 5.1 innings, 5.7 strikeouts, 2.5 runs, and a quarter of a win (9.5 FP). He’s probably still the best arm available, but Hill, Clevinger, and Foltynewicz are close enough that I see no need to reach for him.
