Top 10 Daily Fantasy Pitching Performances of 2013

Charlie Blackmon’s big Friday for the Rockies got me thinking about some of the best Daily Fantasy hitting performances of 2013, so I wrote a post about it.

Unsurprisingly, Miguel Cabrera is the only player to end up in the top 10 for two different games.

Although, very surprising was the fact that a catcher led all Daily Fantasy hitting performances in 2013.

Since I was looking back, I thought I’d also take some time to figure out the top Daily Fantasy pitching performances of 2013.

Remember that since each Daily Fantasy site has a different scoring system, I decided to run the totals on four of my favorites, then average them out to find what the consensus best games were. So I used the scoring from FanDuel, Draft Kings, Draft Day and DraftStreet.

Top 10 Daily Fantasy Pitching Performances of 2013

An interesting point I learned while going through the pitching scoring from the four sites is how some of them handled complete games, shutouts, no-hitters and perfect games. DraftDay.com is the only site to reward points for all four of those categories, and FanDuel is the only one to not reward any points for any of those categories. DraftStreet hooks you up for complete games, but not shutouts or perfect games. And Draft Kings doesn’t reward pitchers for perfect games.

(By the way, there were three perfect games thrown in 2012, but none thrown in 2013. However, there were thousands of imperfect games.)

1. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco at SD, May 7

• 9 IP, 0 HA, 0 ER, 4 BB, 13 K, 1 HB, W, CG, SO, No Hitter = 47.3 Fantasy pts

2. Shelby Miller, St. Louis vs. COL, May 10

• 9 IP, 1 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 K, W, CG, SO = 46.53

Miller was the only rookie to make the list on either side, hitting or pitching. He was 3-2 with a 1.96 ERA before this game, so his salary was likely above average anyway.

T3. Anibal Sanchez, Detroit vs. MIN, May 24

• 9 IP, 1 HA, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K, W, CG, SO = 43.46

T3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis vs. MIL, April 13

• 9 IP, 4 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, W, CG, SO = 43.46

5. Yu Darvish, Texas at HOU, April 2

• 8.2 IP, 1 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K, W = 42.77

6. Homer Bailey, Cincinnati vs. SF, July 2

• 9 IP, 0 HA, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W, CG, SO, No hitter = 42.33

There were three no-hitters thrown in 2013, but Marlins rookie Henderson Alvarez was the only one to not make this list. He struck out just four batters, with one walk.

7. Yu Darvish, Texas at HOU, Aug. 12

• 8 IP, 1 HA, 1 ER, 1 BB, 15 K, W = 41.94

The Japanese import is the only pitcher on this list twice – yet he was unable to throw a complete game in 2013. His strikeouts put him on par with most pitchers that notched complete games.

8. Aaron Harang, Seattle vs. HOU, June 11

• 9 IP, 2 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, W, CG, SO = 41.04

Before this game, Harang was just 2-6 with a 6.70 ERA, and he was coming off a loss to the Yankees in which he gave up 6 ER in 2.1 innings. This was most likely the best bargain pitcher among the group, although his price may have been bumped up on some sites because he was facing the Astros.

9. Zack Greinke, L.A. Dodgers vs. COL, July 13

• 9 IP, 2 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, W, CG, SO = 38.9

10. Jordan Zimmermann, Washington vs. MIA, Sept. 20

• 9 IP, 2 HA, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, W, CG, SO = 38.9

5 Things We Learned

• Eight of the top 10 pitching performances happened before the All-Star break. Investing a little more in pitchers in the first half of the season, then moving your money more toward hitters in the second half might be smart.
• Six of the top 10 hitting performances happened before the All-Star break, which is about an even split, since most teams played about 95 games before the break and only 67 after (or a 59/41 split).
• FanDuel rewards just four categories for pitchers: Innings, Strikeouts, Earned Runs and Wins. That tells me that they keep it simple, so more people can understand the scoring easier – including new Daily Fantasy players. More experienced players might want to try the more in-depth sites.
• There were just two hitters in the top 10 that weren’t outfielders.
• Three of the best pitching efforts were against the Houston Astros. But it’s important to note that the Astros ended up climbing about eight spots in total runs scored after the All-Star break. Be careful not to bet against bad offenses from the first couple months. Instead, consider how they’ve been over the past 30-60 days.

Don’t forget to check out the Top 10 Daily Fantasy Hitting Performances of 2013 over at DailyFantasyDaily.com.

Hopefully, this quick drive down memory lane gives you something to think about as we get ready to get further into the 2014 Daily Fantasy Baseball season. Going back and ranking the top Daily Fantasy pitching performances of 2013 should also help us in-season, as we see some of the best outings of 2014 unravel.