When talking about the best daily fantasy baseball sites, it is a slam dunk: we go to FanDuel, DraftKings, Victiv, and FantasyAces. If you are a first time depositor, FanDuel offers a 100% bonus up to $200, you just need to sign up through our link and use promo code: ROTOPICKS. DraftKings, the 2nd biggest DFS site on the web, offers a 100% bonus up to $600 in free cash (promo code: ROTOPICKS), and Victiv offers a 100% bonus through Rotopicks up to $1,000! (No bonnus code needed)
Now, let's get to the nitty gritty: the scoring formats and rosters, and how that impacts your playing styles for each of the four DFS sites.
Rosters
FanDuel: P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF ($35,000)
DraftKings: P, P, C, 1B/DH, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF ($50,000)
Victiv: Pitching Staff, IF, IF, IF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Pinch Hitter
FantasyAces: P, P, C, CI, CI, MI, MI, OF, OF, OF, UTIL
FanDuel vs DraftKings Scoring
| Fanduel | DraftKings | |
|---|---|---|
| Positions | P, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF | P, P, C, 1B/DH, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF |
| Salary Cap | $35,000 | $50,000 |
| Hitter Scoring | 1B = 1pt | Single = 3 pts |
| 2B = 2pts | Double = 5 pts | |
| 3B = 3pts | Triple = 8 pts | |
| HR = 4pts | Home Run = 10 pts | |
| RBI = 1pt | RBI = 2 pts | |
| R = 1pt | Run = 2 pts | |
| BB = 1pt | Walk = 2 pts | |
| SB = 2pts | Hit By Pitch = 2 pts | |
| HBP = 1pt | Stolen Base = 5 pts | |
| Out (calculated as at bats - hits) = -.25pt | Caught Stealing = -2 pts | |
| Pitcher Scoring | W = 4pts | Inning Pitched = 2.25 pts |
| ER = -1pt | Strikeout = 2 pts | |
| SO = 1pt | W = 4 pts | |
| IP = 1pt* | Earned Run Allowed = -2 pts | |
| *Fractional scoring per out. | Hit Allowed = -0.6 pts | |
| Walk = -0.6pts | ||
| Hit Batsman = -0.6 pts | ||
| Complete Game = 2.5 pts | ||
| Shutout = 2.5 pts | ||
| No Hitter = 5 pts |
Victiv Performance Scoring
| VICTIV MLB "Performance Scoring" |
|---|
| Batters: |
| RBI / Run Scored: 1 |
| Base Hit / Walk / Hit By Pitch: 1.25 |
| Double: 2 |
| Triple: 3 |
| Home Run: 5 |
| Stolen base: 1 |
| Caught Stealing: -1 |
| Pitchers: |
| Innings Pitched: 2.25 |
| Strikeout: 0.40 |
| Earned Runs: -2 |
| Hit or hit equivalent (hit, walk, HBP): -0.25 |
| Shutout: 1 |
| No Hitter: 2 |
| Complete Game: 2 |
| Perfect Game: 5 |
Fantasy Aces Scoring
| FantasyAces |
|---|
| ROSTERS |
| 2 Pitchers |
| 1 Catcher |
| 2 Corner Infielders (1B, 3B) |
| 2 Middle Infielders (2B, SS) |
| 3 Outfielders |
| 1 UTIL (No Pitchers) |
| BATTER SCORING |
| Single: 1 Point |
| Double: 2 Points |
| Triple: 3 Points |
| Homerun: 4 Points |
| RBI: 1.25 Points |
| Run: 1.25 Points |
| Walk: 1 Point |
| HBP: 0.50 Point |
| Stolen Base: 2 Points |
| Strike Out: 0.50 Point |
| PITCHER SCORING |
| Innings Pitched: 1.5 Point (0.50 per out) |
| Strike Out: 1 Point |
| Earned Run = -1pt |
| Walk = -.25pts |
| Hit = -.25pts |
| Hit Batter = -.25pts |
| Win = 3pts |
| *Pitchers are not eligible for batter points |
What It All Means
For starters, let us examine the roster formats for each of the four sites. You will notice that Victiv offers the most roster flexibility in that they call for only infielders, outfielders, and pitchers. That means you can have all first basemen, all starting pitchers, and all center fielders if you want. On the other sites, you must follow their roster formats. Both FanDuel and DraftKings require each infield position and outfielders, while FantasyAces allows for an in-between amount of flexibility with corner infielders, middle infielders, and a utility spot.
Victiv's roster format also has a pinch hitter spot which is very intuitive and unique to daily fantasy baseball. Basically, you are choosing 8 hitters for 7 hitter spots and if the pinch hitter does better than any starter, your pinch hitter's stats are used. This is great to eliminate that one starting hitter who goes 0-for-4. RotoPicks goes over the innovative, new baseball format on Victiv here.
The best way to compare scoring for sites is to see the weights given to the stats relative to a constant. We can use singles as the constant for hitters and innings pitched as the constant for pitchers.
Let us look at the hitters. Using singles as a constant we see that home runs are counted 4x as much as singles on FanDuel, 3.33x as much as singles on DraftKings, 4x as much as singles on Victiv, and 4x as much as singles on FantasyAces. All else equal, if we like power hitters, we will try and steer clear of DraftKings, and use one of the other 3 sites. DraftKings however rewards stolen base efficiency and we will want to keep that in mind if we choose to use a few burners on the basepaths for our lineups.
In terms of innings pitched, strikeouts are relatively unimportant in Victiv's scoring format, but they are most important in FanDuel because FanDuel's scoring calls for a full point for a strikeout while an inning pitched is also a full point. That 1:1 ratio is important and you will want a strikeout pitcher on FanDuel, while on Victiv, you will shoot for an innings eater who allows the fewest runs.
Draftkings - Offers RotoPicks readers a special 100% sign-up bonus up to $600 on their first deposit! Offers TONS of daily salary cap leagues! Earn Frequent Player Points (FPP's) for playing, which can be redeemed for free entries into real cash leagues!
Victiv - Offers exciting NEW option where you get to select a pinch hitter who becomes active in your lineup if the PH's stats are better than one of your rostered players! They also offer a FAT 100% bonus up to $1000!
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