This article is part of our Fantasy 101 series.
Everyone wants to play tournaments and everyone wants to win tournaments. The feeling you get when you win a tournament is incredible because you need everything to break your way. It can come down to one hit or strikeout.Well, in DFS baseball you need a few things to win a tournament, but the most important thing on the hitting side is home runs, especially on FanDuel.
The way the scoring works on FanDuel, there are no premiums on any outcome (some sites reward more points for runs and RBI), so everything on the hitting side is worth one point. Now even though a home run is technically worth four points, remember that does not include the run and at least one RBI. So a home run is really worth at least six points, and potentially up to nine.
If you have read my articles this season, you know that I'm a huge fan of digging into the data and finding the edge for hitting and pitching splits. So we'll do that here, but also focus on who are the hitters that crush pitching from either hand and who are the pitchers that allow the most home runs to all hitters.
Data is from Fangraphs.com
Top 20 HR/FB differential vs. RHP - 2013-2015 (through Aug. 1, 2015)
| Name | % HR/FB LHP | % HR/FB RHP | % Diff |
| Yasmani Grandal | 3.7 | 18.3 | 14.6 |
| Pedro Alvarez | 12.2 | 24.7 | 12.5 |
| Kelly Johnson | 4.2 | 16.1 | 11.9 |
| Bryce Harper | 12.5 | 24.1 | 11.6 |
| Alex Avila | 6.1 | 17.6 | 11.5 |
| Justin Maxwell | 5.6 | 16.9 | 11.3 |
| Oswaldo Arcia | 9.0 | 20.1 | 11.1 |
| Neil Walker | 2.4 | 13.5 | 11.1 |
| Mitch Moreland | 7.8 | 18.6 | 10.8 |
| Kennys Vargas | 11.1 | 21.6 | 10.5 |
| Justin Smoak | 6.8 | 17.1 | 10.3 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 8.4 | 18.7 | 10.3 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | 14.3 | 24.0 | 9.7 |
| Chris Davis | 20.0 | 29.7 | 9.7 |
| Jonathan Schoop | 8.3 | 17.8 | 9.5 |
| Christian Yelich | 7.7 | 16.3 | 8.6 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 7.9 | 16.3 | 8.4 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 6.0 | 13.9 | 7.9 |
| Wilson Ramos | 13.9 | 21.7 | 7.8 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | 11.2 | 18.8 | 7.6 |
Looking at this data, and even considering last year, how did we miss that Yasmani Grandal was primed for a huge breakout?
Top 20 HR/FB differential vs. LHP - 2013-2015 (through Aug. 1, 2015)
| Name | % HR/FB LHP | % HR/FB RHP | % Diff |
| Kyle Blanks | 25.0 | 5.4 | 19.6 |
| Jeff Baker | 23.8 | 7.7 | 16.1 |
| Aaron Hicks | 19.5 | 5.6 | 13.9 |
| Avisail Garcia | 25.0 | 12.3 | 12.7 |
| Matt Wieters | 20.3 | 8.8 | 11.5 |
| Khris Davis | 23.7 | 13.8 | 9.9 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 17.0 | 7.9 | 9.1 |
| Mark Trumbo | 23.2 | 14.5 | 8.7 |
| Caleb Joseph | 17.0 | 8.9 | 8.1 |
| Howie Kendrick | 17.2 | 9.6 | 7.6 |
| Cameron Maybin | 14.3 | 6.7 | 7.6 |
| Justin Upton | 23.2 | 15.7 | 7.5 |
| Wilin Rosario | 20.3 | 12.8 | 7.5 |
| Dioner Navarro | 16.4 | 9.0 | 7.4 |
| Josh Donaldson | 21.1 | 13.9 | 7.2 |
| Chris Johnson | 14.3 | 7.7 | 6.6 |
| Ryan Howard | 21.6 | 15.1 | 6.5 |
| Juan Uribe | 15.2 | 8.7 | 6.5 |
| Todd Frazier | 20.3 | 13.9 | 6.4 |
| Joey Votto | 22.1 | 15.8 | 6.3 |
The player who sticks out for me here is Aaron Hicks, who I have always been high on but has not done anything until recently. He is starting to look like a huge star primed for a breakout in 2016.
Highest Overall HR/FB Hitters
| Name | % HR/FB LHP | % HR/FB RHP |
| Jose Abreu | 28.9 | 23.6 |
| George Springer | 27.5 | 24.4 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 25.3 | 26.3 |
| Chris Davis | 20.0 | 29.7 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 25.3 | 20.3 |
| Nelson Cruz | 21.3 | 22.1 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 18.4 | 23.7 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 23.2 | 18.5 |
| Chris Carter | 21.2 | 19.9 |
| Mike Trout | 21.5 | 19.5 |
| Justin Upton | 23.2 | 15.7 |
| Mark Teixeira | 16.9 | 22.0 |
| J.D. Martinez | 20.7 | 17.4 |
| Joey Votto | 22.1 | 15.8 |
| Ryan Howard | 21.6 | 15.1 |
| Mike Napoli | 20.9 | 15.5 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | 19.8 | 16.3 |
| Adam Jones | 19.6 | 16.5 |
| Chris Colabello | 15.8 | 20.3 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 19.8 | 15.5 |
If you are playing in tournaments on FanDuel, you need to have a few of these hitters in your lineups. Use the strategy of paying up for power, and finding that mid-tier starting pitcher with an optimal matchup.
Top 20 HR/FB Rate Starting Pitchers vs. RHB
| Name | % HR/FB RHB | % HR/FB LHB | % Diff |
| Brandon McCarthy | 21.3 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| Joe Blanton | 20.7 | 15.2 | 5.5 |
| Tim Stauffer | 20.3 | 5.0 | 15.3 |
| Jason Marquis | 19.7 | 17.8 | 1.9 |
| Rubby De La Rosa | 17.9 | 14.7 | 3.2 |
| Nate Karns | 17.4 | 8.9 | 8.5 |
| Ivan Nova | 17.1 | 5.8 | 11.3 |
| CC Sabathia | 17.1 | 12.5 | 4.6 |
| Joe Saunders | 16.5 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| Kyle Gibson | 16.4 | 6.1 | 10.3 |
| Roberto Hernandez | 15.9 | 13.8 | 2.1 |
| Shane Greene | 15.8 | 11.4 | 4.4 |
| Paul Maholm | 15.7 | 6.7 | 9 |
| Miguel Gonzalez | 15.5 | 9.9 | 5.6 |
| Masahiro Tanaka | 15.2 | 16.0 | -0.8 |
| Jerome Williams | 15.1 | 11.4 | 3.7 |
| Felix Hernandez | 15.0 | 7.9 | 7.1 |
| Erasmo Ramirez | 14.8 | 10.1 | 4.7 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | 14.8 | 12.4 | 2.4 |
| Taijuan Walker | 14.4 | 9.6 | 4.8 |
| Charlie Morton | 14.0 | 7.6 | 6.4 |
A lot of the McCarthy damage was in Arizona, so we can probably discount that. Shane Greene is on his way to becoming the No. 1 pitcher on this list, which is not a good thing.
Top 20 HR/FB Rate vs. LHB
| Name | % HR/FB RHB | % HR/FB LHB | % Diff |
| Jason Marquis | 19.7 | 17.8 | 1.9 |
| Bronson Arroyo | 10.5 | 16.9 | 6.4 |
| Dallas Keuchel | 12.6 | 16.4 | 3.8 |
| Masahiro Tanaka | 15.2 | 16.0 | 0.8 |
| Joe Blanton | 20.7 | 15.2 | 5.5 |
| Rubby De La Rosa | 17.9 | 14.7 | 3.2 |
| Nick Tepesch | 7.5 | 14.6 | 7.1 |
| Alfredo Simon | 6.6 | 14.4 | 7.8 |
| Carlos Martinez | 5.2 | 14.1 | 8.9 |
| Ryan Vogelsong | 8.2 | 14.0 | 5.8 |
| Yu Darvish | 8.7 | 14.0 | 5.3 |
| Hector Noesi | 10.6 | 14.0 | 3.4 |
| Ian Kennedy | 11.0 | 13.9 | 2.9 |
| Patrick Corbin | 10.9 | 13.8 | 2.9 |
| Wily Peralta | 12.3 | 13.8 | 1.5 |
| Roberto Hernandez | 15.9 | 13.8 | 2.1 |
| Jeremy Guthrie | 6.8 | 13.6 | 6.8 |
| Mike Leake | 11.4 | 13.6 | 2.2 |
| Chris Heston | 2.0 | 13.5 | 11.5 |
| Bud Norris | 7.7 | 13.1 | 5.4 |
Highest Overall HR/FB vs. LHB and RHB
| Name | % HR/FB RHB | % HR/FB LHB |
| Jason Marquis | 19.7 | 17.8 |
| Joe Blanton | 20.7 | 15.2 |
| Rubby De La Rosa | 17.9 | 14.7 |
| Masahiro Tanaka | 15.2 | 16.0 |
| Roberto Hernandez | 15.9 | 13.8 |
| CC Sabathia | 17.1 | 12.5 |
| Dallas Keuchel | 12.6 | 16.4 |
| Shane Greene | 15.8 | 11.4 |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | 14.8 | 12.4 |
| Jerome Williams | 15.1 | 11.4 |
| Wily Peralta | 12.3 | 13.8 |
| Chad Bettis | 13.9 | 11.9 |
| Brad Peacock | 13.3 | 11.9 |
| Rick Porcello | 12.6 | 12.5 |
| Mike Leake | 11.4 | 13.6 |
| Ian Kennedy | 11.0 | 13.9 |
| Stephen Strasburg | 12.9 | 11.4 |
| Justin Masterson | 11.7 | 12.4 |
| David Hale | 11.0 | 13.1 |
| Wade Miley | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Dan Haren | 11.0 | 13.0 |
| Jason Hammel | 11.9 | 11.7 |
| Mike Fiers | 11.0 | 12.2 |
| R.A. Dickey | 11.9 | 11.2 |
| Samuel Deduno | 11.6 | 11.4 |
| Trevor Cahill | 11.0 | 11.6 |
The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Michael Rathburn plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: burnnotice, DraftKings: burnnotice, Yahoo: burnnotice, Fantasy Aces: burnnotice, FantasyDraft: burnnotice.
