Fantasy Baseball Best of the Best Part II: DFS Bats

This is Part II of a series where we take a step back and look at what we’ve learned from the first half. In Part I we took a look back at the most efficient aces in DFS. Now, it’s on to the hitters! Again, just because these numbers are in the past, doesn’t mean they can’t help shape our future. Even in the volatile world of daily fantasy, it’s important to know which players have been producing with accordance to their salary and which ones have been eating away at your budget.

We all know in terms of DFS hitters, so much of their value is tied to circumstances on a given night. The BvP numbers, their splits, ballpark factor, weather, etc. However, it’s still useful to have a sense of a player’s value in overall terms. Usually Relative Position Value per Dollar (RPVPD) is relegated to understanding a player’s value compared to his peers at a position. In this case, we’ll consider the position “Elite Bats” and compare the top 25 hitters to each other in terms of cost efficiency.

Here’s the top 25 hitters so far in terms of RPVPD for the first half of the season using FanDuel scoring:

Well, Daniel Murphy has picked up right where he left off in the postseason and has been the No. 1 hitter in DFS in terms of the ratio of cost and production. His +20% RPVPD over the average of the top 25 bats is very impressive. Playing his old team has been a windfall for Murphy as he’s hitting nearly .500 versus the Mets with six homers. Mark Trumbo’s triumphant return was well documented in the Fantasy Black Book and in the early going especially he was a great source of power. Xander Bogaerts’ coming of age and Ian Kinsler’s resurgence have been a huge boon for DFS players. Their efficiency as middle infielders has been a game changer.

Manny Machado started out on a torrid pace, but he’s since cooled off which has hurt his value. The fact he still has zero steals to his name this year has been the difference of him staying productive in fantasy scoring without the help of the home run. Should his base stealing return, his stock will once again rise. As great as his fellow third baseman Nolan Arenado has been, the “Coors Effect” on his salary has made him the worst in terms of cost effectiveness of this top tier of hitters (-21% RPVPD). Mike Trout, Jose Altuve and David Ortiz have also fallen victim to price inflation.

Jake Lamb and Wil Myers have been the heroes of this group. Both were highly touted prospects who took a while to settle in at the big league level. However, 2016 has been their coming out party and together they have been two of the most desirable corner men in daily fantasy this year. It’s always a balance between productivity and price and finding that sweet spot with players like Myers and Lamb is the difference between hitting pay lines and replenishing your bankroll. When you see the top 10 on this list with favorable matchups and reasonable salaries, roster them early and often.

Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the seven-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football and hosts Fantasy Sports Tonight on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio.