Who’s been the best daily fantasy starting pitcher so far? Well, that depends on your definition of greatness. Are we measuring players simply by their point production? That would be sensible if not for the fact those points come at a price. Understanding the cost of those totals is the only way to truly define the best starting pitcher in this still young major league baseball season. Cost efficiency allows DFS owners to support their pitching selections with more viable offensive threats. When you only have one contest at a time to stake your claim to greatness, you have to squeeze every ounce of production you can out of your lineup. Relative Position Value Per Dollar (RPVPD) will give us the answers we seek!
First, we take a look at the Relative Position Value of the top 25 point getters on the year to analyze just how they stack up against each other on raw points alone. We’re using DraftKings average pricing and FPPG average.
Player | FPPG | Raw RPV | Salary |
30.8 | 0.276 | $ 14,000 | |
29.1 | 0.206 | $ 13,300 | |
Vince Velazquez | 28.5 | 0.181 | $ 10,200 |
27.5 | 0.139 | $ 11,100 | |
26.9 | 0.114 | $ 11,600 | |
26.7 | 0.106 | $ 12,300 | |
25.8 | 0.069 | $ 9,500 | |
24.6 | 0.019 | $ 9,300 | |
24.3 | 0.007 | $ 8,900 | |
24.2 | 0.003 | $ 9,800 | |
24.0 | -0.006 | $ 11,100 | |
Jordan Zimmerman | 23.9 | -0.010 | $ 7,600 |
23.7 | -0.018 | $ 9,000 | |
23.5 | -0.026 | $ 6,700 | |
23.0 | -0.047 | $ 9,200 | |
22.6 | -0.064 | $ 10,300 | |
22.5 | -0.068 | $ 10,500 | |
22.3 | -0.076 | $ 9,800 | |
21.9 | -0.093 | $ 11,400 | |
21.7 | -0.101 | $ 11,300 | |
21.6 | -0.105 | $ 7,700 | |
21.6 | -0.105 | $ 8,700 | |
21.0 | -0.130 | $ 8,200 | |
20.9 | -0.134 | $ 8,600 | |
20.8 | -0.138 | $ 9,300 |
As you can see, the usual suspects are at the top of the board with a few surprises off to fast starts. Vince Velazquez is probably the most unlikely name towards the high end, but an 11.9 K/9 rate will certainly rocket any pitcher into the upper tier. Jose Fernandez (-10% RPV) and Jacob deGrom (-9% RPV) have been disappointments in the early going based on their point totals. But if you think that’s bad, wait until you add salaries into the mix with RPVPD.
Player | FPPG | Raw RPV | Salary | Pts per $ | RPV Per Dollar | |||||
23.5 | -0.026 | $ 6,700 | $285 | 0.311 |
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Jordan Zimmerman | 23.9 | -0.010 | $ 7,600 | $318 | 0.231 |
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21.6 | -0.105 | $ 7,700 | $356 | 0.138 |
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Vince Velazquez | 28.5 | 0.181 | $ 10,200 | $358 | 0.135 |
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24.3 | 0.007 | $ 8,900 | $366 | 0.114 |
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25.8 | 0.069 | $ 9,500 | $368 | 0.110 |
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24.6 | 0.019 | $ 9,300 | $378 | 0.086 |
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23.7 | -0.018 | $ 9,000 | $380 | 0.082 |
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21.0 | -0.130 | $ 8,200 | $390 | 0.056 |
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23.0 | -0.047 | $ 9,200 | $400 | 0.033 |
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21.6 | -0.105 | $ 8,700 | $403 | 0.026 |
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27.5 | 0.139 | $ 11,100 | $404 | 0.024 |
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24.2 | 0.003 | $ 9,800 | $405 | 0.021 |
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20.9 | -0.134 | $ 8,600 | $411 | 0.005 |
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26.9 | 0.114 | $ 11,600 | $432 | -0.043 |
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22.3 | -0.076 | $ 9,800 | $439 | -0.063 |
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20.8 | -0.138 | $ 9,300 | $447 | -0.081 |
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30.8 | 0.276 | $ 14,000 | $455 | -0.099 |
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22.6 | -0.064 | $ 10,300 | $456 | -0.102 |
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29.1 | 0.206 | $ 13,300 | $457 | -0.105 |
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26.7 | 0.106 | $ 12,300 | $461 | -0.114 |
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24.0 | -0.006 | $ 11,100 | $463 | -0.118 |
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22.5 | -0.068 | $ 10,500 | $467 | -0.128 |
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21.9 | -0.093 | $ 11,400 | $521 | -0.259 |
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21.7 | -0.101 | $ 11,300 | $521 | -0.259 |
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Shockingly, only our rookie Vince Velazquez remains a top 5 performer now when you consider cost efficiency into the equation. Jordan Zimmerman and Drew Pomeranz fly from the middle of the top 25, to the top of the board. Jacob deGrom and Jose Fernandez now both bottom out at -26% RPVPD respectively. Their negative impact nearly tripled when you factor in price. As brilliant as Clayton Kerhshaw and Jake Arrieta are, they both are in the negative RPVPD. As great as they are, their enormous price tags truly comes at a cost. Chris Sale has actually been the best of the “big money” arms so far this season.
In DFS you must always get what you pay for, or you’ll find yourself on the outside looking in on the pay-lines. RPVPD exposes the truth behind the stats and turns perception into reality. Even in cash games, the big time ace is not necessarily the best way to start your lineup. This is especially true since FanDuel abandoned negative scoring in their model. You may be locking in some elite points with bug name arms, but the strain they may put on your offensive budget might actually be putting you behind the pack.
Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the seven-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football. He hosts Fantasy Sports Tonight on Sirius/XM Fantasy Sports Radio and the Dear Mr. Fantasy Podcast.
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