*Platoon Splits Updated 6/18/2015
Also check out 70 Hitters to Use Against RHP.
Even with Daily Fantasy Baseball coming on the scene a relatively short time ago, there’s not much that hasn’t been written about and I’m not the statistical guru who’s going to develop some new metric that will win you all of your daily matchups.
What I am pretty good at though is taking the metrics we already have and helping others understand how to use them to their advantage. One of the most frequently used stats in Daily Fantasy Baseball are platoon splits, or how hitters perform respectively against right-handed and left-handed pitching.
The reason platoon splits are so useful is because of the importance of cost vs. production in the salary cap games that are popular in Daily Fantasy Sports. Each player’s salary is largely based on their overall statistics, so if a player performs much better against a certain subset of pitchers, they become more valuable on the days they face those pitchers.
Extreme Platoon Splits
The following table identifies those hitters that have the most extreme platoon splits over the last five years. While there’s plenty of debate about just how much difference there really is in the platoon splits between two same-handed players, knowing this information can only help. The table below uses the FanDuel scoring system to figure out how many points each hitter averaged per 10 plate appearances vs. left-handed pitchers and then subtracted their points against right-handed pitchers. The larger the number the more extreme the split and theoretically the more value a player offers aginst left-handed pitching.
A couple of caveats:
- The numbers below do not include points awarded for stolen bases. Finding stolen base totals against lefties/righties is very scarce, especially in bulk. But, honestly I’m not sure I want those numbers anyway. Most Daily Fantasy Baseball players are going to think twice about using a speed only guy against a left-handed pitcher. So looking at only the batting portion of the scoring seems to make the most sense.
- Just because I suggest that these players have more value against left-handed pitching does not mean you shouldn’t use them against right-handed pitching. Players like Paul Goldschmidt or Josh Donaldson may offer more value against lefties, but they still score well against right-handed pitching as well. The quality of the opposing pitcher can negate any platoon dis-advantage.
Here’s an explanation of each column below:
Column 1 & Column 2: Really? You don’t need me to explain these.
Columns 3 – 6: Data for the years 2010 – 2015
- Column 3: Plate Appearances vs. left-handed pitchers
- Column 4: Percentage of at-bats against left-handed pitchers
- Column 5: FanDuel points per every 10 plate appearances vs. left-handed pitchers
- Column 6: FanDuel points per 10 PAs vs. LHP minus FanDuel Points per 10 PAs vs. RHP
Pos.
|
Name |
PA
|
%
|
FD/10PA
|
+/- Diff
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C
|
Josh Phegley |
105
|
30.8%
|
5.143
|
2.113
|
C
|
Derek Norris |
487
|
39.4%
|
6.658
|
2.098
|
C
|
Chris Iannetta |
500
|
31.3%
|
6.625
|
1.855
|
C
|
Jonathan Lucroy |
487
|
22.5%
|
6.982
|
1.794
|
C
|
Buster Posey |
645
|
28.6%
|
7.605
|
1.751
|
C
|
Salvador Perez |
478
|
26.2%
|
6.344
|
1.577
|
C
|
Welington Castillo |
288
|
25.0%
|
5.677
|
1.530
|
C
|
Geovany Soto |
342
|
28.4%
|
5.899
|
1.387
|
C
|
Robinson Chirinos |
170
|
29.0%
|
5.853
|
1.225
|
C
|
Carlos Ruiz |
462
|
24.9%
|
5.942
|
1.163
|
C
|
Yan Gomes |
357
|
34.2%
|
6.141
|
1.018
|
1B
|
Wilin Rosario |
421
|
28.6%
|
8.456
|
3.251
|
1B
|
Darin Ruf |
213
|
38.2%
|
6.455
|
1.506
|
1B
|
Steve Pearce |
387
|
40.0%
|
6.576
|
1.481
|
1B
|
Paul Goldschmidt |
575
|
25.7%
|
8.361
|
1.028
|
2B
|
Brian Dozier |
521
|
26.7%
|
6.987
|
2.079
|
2B
|
Logan Forsythe |
496
|
36.6%
|
5.570
|
1.998
|
2B
|
Steve Pearce |
387
|
40.0%
|
6.576
|
1.481
|
2B
|
Jose Altuve |
674
|
26.8%
|
5.586
|
1.437
|
2B
|
Danny Espinosa |
526
|
25.6%
|
5.779
|
1.415
|
2B
|
Elian Herrera |
138
|
29.4%
|
4.837
|
1.200
|
2B
|
Jedd Gyorko |
290
|
26.4%
|
5.534
|
1.162
|
2B
|
Dustin Pedroia |
866
|
29.0%
|
6.397
|
1.117
|
2B
|
Joe Panik |
144
|
25.8%
|
5.694
|
1.074
|
3B
|
Josh Donaldson |
528
|
27.0%
|
8.438
|
2.731
|
3B
|
Aramis Ramirez |
519
|
22.2%
|
7.640
|
1.845
|
3B
|
Evan Longoria |
679
|
26.7%
|
7.581
|
1.752
|
3B
|
David Freese |
526
|
23.7%
|
6.611
|
1.521
|
3B
|
Martin Prado |
752
|
27.0%
|
5.858
|
1.265
|
3B
|
Nolan Arenado |
334
|
26.9%
|
6.609
|
1.232
|
3B
|
Will Middlebrooks |
331
|
29.7%
|
5.816
|
1.221
|
3B
|
Elian Herrera |
138
|
29.4%
|
4.837
|
1.200
|
3B
|
Trevor Plouffe |
605
|
28.2%
|
6.116
|
1.151
|
SS
|
Jordy Mercer |
269
|
22.7%
|
6.143
|
2.404
|
SS
|
Eduardo Escobar |
291
|
29.8%
|
5.163
|
1.481
|
SS
|
Xander Bogaerts |
256
|
28.9%
|
5.352
|
1.417
|
SS
|
Jose Iglesias |
218
|
32.6%
|
4.782
|
1.218
|
SS
|
Troy Tulowitzki |
515
|
26.7%
|
8.233
|
1.142
|
OF
|
Rajai Davis |
599
|
32.6%
|
6.290
|
2.387
|
OF
|
Starling Marte |
298
|
19.1%
|
7.341
|
2.119
|
OF
|
Andrew McCutchen |
608
|
20.6%
|
8.446
|
1.859
|
OF
|
Nelson Cruz |
601
|
23.5%
|
7.787
|
1.557
|
OF
|
Giancarlo Stanton |
588
|
23.2%
|
8.678
|
1.541
|
OF
|
Darin Ruf |
213
|
38.2%
|
6.455
|
1.506
|
OF
|
Jonny Gomes |
742
|
48.6%
|
6.381
|
1.496
|
OF
|
Matt Kemp |
601
|
26.0%
|
7.916
|
1.487
|
OF
|
A.J. Pollock |
364
|
32.2%
|
6.463
|
1.482
|
OF
|
Steve Pearce |
387
|
40.0%
|
6.576
|
1.481
|
OF
|
Eduardo Escobar |
291
|
29.8%
|
5.163
|
1.481
|
OF
|
Scott Van Slyke |
262
|
47.2%
|
6.698
|
1.443
|
OF
|
Ryan Braun |
590
|
24.7%
|
8.352
|
1.407
|
OF
|
Justin Upton |
697
|
24.3%
|
7.568
|
1.399
|
OF
|
Michael Cuddyer |
544
|
27.6%
|
7.344
|
1.354
|
OF
|
Chris Young |
621
|
32.6%
|
6.151
|
1.348
|
OF
|
Marcell Ozuna |
239
|
20.5%
|
6.213
|
1.259
|
OF
|
Mark Trumbo |
675
|
27.8%
|
6.730
|
1.198
|
OF
|
Jayson Werth |
528
|
23.2%
|
6.941
|
1.165
|
OF
|
Marlon Byrd |
561
|
27.6%
|
6.101
|
1.062
|
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