This article is part of our Fantasy 101 series.
How to Win on Sports Tradex
Sports Tradex is a new daily fantasy sports site that offers a unique twist. None of their contests have a salary cap and they are proud to boast it! They offer Pick'em, Pick'em Duds, Survivor, and Trading Contests. Here is an introduction to their daily baseball fantasy games.
Sports Tradex Daily Fantasy
Each Pick 'em contest is made up of ten matchups. The matchups consist of two teams with three players each on both sides. The teams are usually three hitters or two hitters/one pitcher. You need to select eight of out ten matchups for your contest entry. I always make sure to take the matchups with two hitters/one pitcher because pitching is more of a constant in daily fantasy baseball versus predicting what three hitters are going to do.
Scoring System
The scoring system is pretty simple which is a plus because of the unique format. I have to give kudos to Sports Tradex with this because if the scoring was complicated the game would be too difficult. The best part of Sports Tradex is that you do not have to worry about the salaries and you can pick a team relatively quickly.
Hitting:
Hits: 3 (double +2 (5), triple +4 (7), HR +6 (9) )
RBI: 3
R: 3
HBP: 3
BB: 3
SB: 3
Pitching:
IP: 2.25 (.75 point per out)
SO: 2
ER: -3
W: 5
CG: 3
The scoring system for hitting is skewed towards selecting hitters that get on base, score, and drive in runs. With no negative points for outs, you want to identify hitters in the 1st - 4th spots in the order. There is a significant drop off in value after those hitters. Accumulating at bats in high scoring games is a solid basic strategy.
On the pitching side, scoring is emphasized on innings pitched and strikeouts. There are no negative points for hits / walks allowed. Look for the heaviest pitching favorites against teams that strike out more than normal.
Sports Tradex posts their daily contests the night before around 8 pm EST. Make sure to check the starting lineups as sometimes there is a player that is not starting in which you can take advantage of this. With only three players on each side (team) in the ten matchups having one of them with all three players starting vs only two is a significant edge. This also goes for watching the weather reports. If a game is postponed, you can take advantage of this.
Factors for Sports Tradex
One of the biggest keys in Daily Fantasy Baseball is knowing how to extract value from players on a given night. Here are some of the things to consider:
Hitters
1. Opposite handed hitter vs starting pitcher (RHB vs LHP, LHB vs RHP): You gain about a 50 point edge in OPS when taking a RHB vs. LHP or LHB vs RHP instead of a RHB vs RHP, it jumps to almost 100 points when looking at LHB vs LHP.
2. Batting Order: You want to select players batting in the 1-4 spots in the batting order. There is a significant drop off in OPS and in STE scoring for hitters in the 5-9 spots especially in the National League.
3. Facing "Finesse" starting pitcher (defined as in the bottom 1/3 of the league in strikeouts plus walks – low k/high BB rate arm): You gain 90 points on OPS taking a hitter against a finesse pitcher.
4. Facing "Flyball" starting pitcher (defined as in the bottom 1/3 of the league in ratio of fly ball outs to ground ball outs): You gain 15 points on OPS taking a hitter against a flyball pitcher.
5. Favorable hitting environment: Look for OPS situations that are at least .720 or higher based on handedness in the ballpark. Notorious hitting parks like Texas, Toronto, Colorado, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and New York AL. Vegas total on the game is at least 8.5 runs or higher.
Pitchers
1. Heavy favorite to win the game according to the Vegas money line. Anything -150 or higher is a good barometer.
2. Weak opposing lineup with a penchant for striking out at a high clip: Highest K rates versus LHP in 2013 (Astros, Mets, Twins, Braves, Pirates) and highest K rates versus RHP in 2013 (Astros, Twins, Braves, Mariners, Mets)
3. Opposing lineup in the bottom 5 wOBA: Lowest wOBA versus LHP in 2013 (Marlins, Astros, Padres, Mets, White Sox) and lowest wOBA versus RHP in 2013 (Mariners, Marlins, White Sox, Mets, Cardinals)
4. Favorable pitching environment: Look for OPS situations that are at least .720 or less based on the handedness in the ballpark. Notorious pitcher parks are Citi Field (Mets), Miami, SF Giants, Seattle, LA Dodgers, Oakland, Minnesota, San Diego, Tampa Bay. Vegas total on the game is at least 7.5 runs or lower.
5. Pitcher is at home and has at least 8.0 K/9
