The second half of the MLB season is here and just like the crack of the bats from the Home Run Derby it is starting off with a bang.  While the American League winning the All Star game, beating the National League 5 – 3, and Yoenis Cespedes retaining is Home Run Derby crown for the second year in a row made headlines, the real daily fantasy sports news came at the announcement of Draft Kings purchase of Draft Street.  The acquisition was a shock to the industry and it will be interesting to see what is on the horizon for baseball daily fantasy sports at Draft Kings.

Now that DraftKings is pushing full steam ahead to create a premiere daily fantasy sports platform there will be a lot to learn from its players and winning lineups.  On just the first day baseball was back in action DraftKings made it exciting by offering its customers a MLB $5k Player Appreciation Freeroll [$500 to 1^st] among other promotions.  With over $5,000 up for grabs on one of the best daily fantasy sports platforms available it was sure to be a hotly contested affair and that it was.  As 5620 runners entered the tournament and created lineups there were plenty of talented DFS players on display.  Emerging at the top of the pack on Friday July 198^h 2014 was DraftKing daily fantasy sports player “Yield51”.  Congratulations to “Yield51” for making the winning daily fantsay sports lineup scoring a total 168.9 fantasy points.  Lets review the lineup to see what may have lead to its success.

Pitchers (P) – Pitchers were Bartolo Colon, New York Mets (21.9% owned) and Jose Quintana, Chicago White Sox (17.2% Owned).  Looks like middle tier pitchers were the choice this week.  Both pitchers offer mid range pricing and decent strikeout and daily fantasy sports scoring potential so these were safe choices that paid off.  The ownership percentages show that many had the same sentiment about value.

Catcher (C) – Catcher was Brian McCann, New York Yankees (6.9% Owned).  A reasonably priced catcher hitting in a great lineup spot is always a solid play and that’s what we get almost all the time in McCann.  He is also one of the stronger power hitting catchers again making him a great choice.

First Base (1B) – First baseman was Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs (6.8% Owned).  Very similar to MacCann, Rizzo is another player that hold lots of power, potential and value while almost always getting a great spot in the batting order.

Second Base (2B) – Second baseman was Arismendy Alcantara, Chicago Cubs (20.6% Owned).  The most popular selection on the lineup this week this was a clear pricing play.  Alcantara is a relatively unkown up and coming superstar that it appears a lot of people are honed in on and excited to see play and produce.  A speedster on the bases he is a great play as you can really rack up daily fantasy sports points by swiping bases and that is exactly what he did on this opening night of the second half of the season.

Third Base (3B) – Third baseman was Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants (7.2% Owned).  With this pick we are starting to see a trend emerge in this winning daily fantasy sports lineup of more power hitting based players with high lineups spots and Fat Panda is no exception.

Shortstop (SS) – Shortstop was Jordy Mercer, Pittsburgh Pirates (9.2% Owned).  As the third highest owned player in the lineup it was clear Mercer was on a lot players radars.  Hew was playing at home and had a favorable pitching match up which is what most likely tipped the scales in favor of this choice.

Outfielders (OF) – Outfielders were Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox (6.3% Owned), Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals (5.4% Owned) and Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins (11.3% Owned).  It looks like the speed and power combo players were highest on the list when outfield building considerations were taken into account.  The most risky play was found here as Bryce Harper has not played a whole lot this season.  It appears he is till in fine form after hitting a home run and putting up 20 daily fantasy points for this lineup.

Draft Kings player “Yield51” leaned heavily on speed and power when compiling his winning daily fantasy sports lineup and was rewarded handsomely.  While not a particularly high scoring night by Draft Kings daily fantasy sports lineup scoring standards, the winning lineup still excelled by utilizing a wide variety of players from different teams that all have a similar style of play and price point.  By not focusing on any particular team, this winning daily fantasy sports lineup was able to win by deploying a nice mix of talented players with a few risky plays and lower priced pitchers thrown into the equation.  What advantages do you think you will be able to gain by studying Draft Kings top scoring daily fantasy sports lineups?

This Week In Baseball History:

On July 23, 1962, baseball playing heroes Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller and Edd Roush and managing great Bill McKechnie were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.