This article is part of our Fantasy 101 series.
I have spent the last few weeks digging into the hitting data on FanDuel, and now I will start looking at positional data to find out the best cash game players versus tournament players. I'll take the top players at each position and look at the standard deviation, points per game, average salary and home/road splits to determine the best players to use in each contest. We will start with catchers.Hitting data is through June 30.
| PLAYER | SD | PTS | AVG SALARY | HOME | ROAD | H/R DIFF |
| Buster Posey | 3.58 | 2.90 | $3,901.00 | 2.56 | 3.27 | -28% |
| Stephen Vogt | 3.79 | 2.88 | $3,424.00 | 2.69 | 3.04 | -12% |
| Russell Martin | 3.30 | 2.88 | $3,352.00 | 3.10 | 2.63 | 18% |
| Brian McCann | 3.34 | 2.69 | $3,333.00 | 4.10 | 1.64 | 150% |
| Yasmani Grandal | 4.09 | 2.54 | $2,864.00 | 2.05 | 3.01 | -32% |
| Matt Wieters | 3.36 | 2.51 | $3,176.00 | 1.81 | 3.14 | -42% |
| Derek Norris | 3.41 | 2.36 | $2,908.00 | 2.62 | 2.11 | 24% |
| Robinson Chirinos | 3.26 | 2.23 | $2,518.00 | 2.41 | 2.19 | 10% |
| Nick Hundley | 3.22 | 2.22 | $2,900.00 | 3.15 | 1.26 | 150% |
| Evan Gattis | 3.54 | 2.21 | $3,395.00 | 2.58 | 1.76 | 47% |
| Jose Lobaton | 3.65 | 2.11 | $2,437.00 | 1.90 | 2.33 | -18% |
| Francisco Cervelli | 2.60 | 2.05 | $2,531.00 | 2.32 | 1.75 | 33% |
| Wilson Ramos | 2.64 | 2.02 | $2,854.00 | 1.54 | 2.46 | -37% |
| Josh Phegley | 3.08 | 2.01 | $2,403.00 | 1.51 | 2.56 | -41% |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 2.79 | 2.00 | $2,484.00 | 2.16 | 1.87 | 16% |
The catcher list is the top 15 and it worked out that they score at least 2.00 points per game on average.
The highest scoring players also have the highest standard deviations, which plays into our strategy of paying up for hitters in tournaments because their ceiling (power potential) is greater. The players with the lower standard deviations are better for cash games (Cervelli, Ramos, Pierzynski).
The highest scoring catcher is Buster Posey, who is also the most expensive. He is not the best value when you consider standard deviation and salary cost. Also, with Posey he has extreme home/road splits (2.56/3.27), so you can only play him on the road.
The reason this is important is the way we look at players. We look at Buster Posey and we know "play him against a weak lefty" or "play him in a hitters' park", but do we say "never play him at home"? Probably not. All things being equal, why should we pay $3,900 for Posey at home versus on the road? The numbers say it does not make sense. But it is not only a home/road thing, it's a park factor thing.
If you look at the home/road differentials, the players with a negative are all in home parks that favor pitching (except Wieters -- small sample size). The two biggest home/road differentials are Brian McCann and Nick Hundley.
If you look at McCann's splits even further, you will see eight of his 10 home runs have come against right-handed pitching and at home. Right field in Yankee Stadium is one of the most favorable dimensions in baseball for a left-handed hitter against a right-handed pitcher.
Nick Hundley has the benefit of playing in the best park for hitters -- Coors Field. His home/road and left/right splits are extreme like McCann -- Home vs. L/R (.229/.438); Road vs. L/R (.251/.321). If that isn't enough to convince you, look at OPS (1.026 at home vs. right-handed pitching; .724 on the road). My point with McCann and Hundley is to really drive home that you want to take them only when they are in the most optimal situations and maximize their potential ceiling. This is critical for winning large-field tournaments in daily fantasy baseball.
Now, let's look at the best cash game catcher this year, Francisco Cervelli. Why is he the best cash game catcher, you ask? Well, when you look at his standard deviation and average salary, he has been the most consistent value all year. In cash games, you do not want to spend up on catcher, because more of your salary should be allocated to starting pitching, first base, third base and one of your outfield spots.
When I look at Cervelli, nothing really stands out. He doesn't hit for power, doesn't have this huge walk rate or low strikeout rate, but his wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) ranks fifth among catchers with at least 200 at-bats. wRC+ measures how a player's runs created compares with league average after controlling for park effects. Also, Cervelli has a .366 OBP, ranking fourth among catchers, and his 2.48 GB/FB ratio means he does not make outs hitting the ball in the air. Another overlooked aspect of Cervelli's value is that because he does not have huge power outcomes, his salary stays within a predictable range.
The last player I will break down is Yasmani Grandal, who has the highest standard deviation but a much lower average salary than the players above him. Some thought Grandal could be a breakout catcher this year hitting in a good Dodgers lineup versus a terrible Padres lineup last year. He was a first-round pick of the Reds in 2010 and was dealt to the Padres because of a surplus at the position (they also had Devin Mesoraco). The encouraging part of Grandal's game is his high walk rate (13-16 percent), and his above average HR/FB percent. The drawback was he was never able to stay healthy for a full season until last year.
Grandal did not start out on fire this year -- his April points per game was just 1.49. In May, it jumped up to 3.74 on the heels of his 23-point breakout at Milwaukee on May 7. In June, he settled in at 2.39 points per game. One of the biggest factors in Grandal's value is his spot in the batting order. He started the season hitting seventh and has moved up from sixth to fifth and sometimes fourth. With so few catchers hitting in the middle of the lineup, albeit a loaded one like the Dodgers, this has made Grandal arguably the No. 1 catcher in daily fantasy baseball.
Look for more in depth positional breakdowns in the coming weeks to give you additional insight on when you build your daily fantasy baseball lineups.
