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In daily fantasy baseball, like in most things, getting the fundamentals down is integral toward laying a foundation of knowledge to build from as you progress as a player. For DFS, that means knowing what the sportsbooks predict for each MLB game.
Sportsbook lines
Definition
Many DFS players have dabbled in wagering in the past, so have some exposure to game lines — but if you haven’t, it can be confusing. There are two main numbers we will look at, the over/under for total runs and the money line. The total will give us projected runs for each team while the money line is a number that represents how likely a team is to win a game. The lower the number, the bigger the favorite. A team with a line of -200 is likely to win, whereas one with a line of +200 is likely to lose.
Strategy
Total points
The higher the number the better. You’ll see a range around 6 total run to 12 and then that number can be taken down to each individual team based on the odds. Picking hitters from the highest projected scoring teams is common sense, but it is also useful. Stacking hitters from higher scoring teams while using pitchers against the lowest predicted scoring teams on average is a useful strategy.
Money line
The better the money line for a team, the better chance their starting pitcher will get the win, which also means a good amount of innings pitched. We want to accentuate strikeouts as well, but being put in a strong position to win and get innings is a good place to start looking for pitching.
Pitcher props
A prop bet is a wager on a specific event within a game, rather than the winner or loser of the game. Pitcher props give us a more individualized projection for each game. There are hitter props, but only for the top players. They can be helpful in looking for high-upside hitters, but you should be able to find player props for each starting pitcher, giving you a better overall view. Strikeout over/under totals is a good way to see how the sportsbook sees strikeout upside for each slate and is a good source for selecting your pitchers.