Home I All Guides I DFS Guides I DFS I Weather Strategies for DFS Baseball
Every outdoor DFS sport is going to be impacted by weather in some way. In football, you might be prone to see lower scoring games as teams struggle to throw in the wind. In DFS baseball however, there could be a scoring barrage as simple pop-ups in 25MPH gale force winds suddenly find their way out of the ballpark.
DFS Baseball is arguably the DFS sport most affected by the weather – mostly because of the ball itself. Here is how different daily weather trends should alter your DFS baseball strategies:
This won’t necessarily affect your DFS baseball lineup on a day to day basis because temps across the United States and Canada are fairly similar during the Summer months. Experts do say, though, that a 10°F change in temperature can change the trajectory of the ball by about 2.5 feet. Something to consider as September approaches and ‘warning track season’ draws near.
On an average July day the air density index at Nationals Park was 60. A few thousand miles to the West at Coors Field it was only 40. This gives an idea just why balls fly so much farther in Colorado compared to the rest of the country (air is lighter). You might not think to check the air density index of ballparks each day, even though it can give you a good idea of whether the ball is going to soar or get sponged up.
Believe it or not cloudy conditions can also favor the pitcher as the batter will have a harder time seeing the ball off the bat (compared to clear but not necessarily sunny). Most DFS players don’t take this into consideration, however, because the cloud cover is constantly changing over the course of a game.
Unlike football, baseball games are generally delayed when it starts to rain consistently (rain delay theater!). If there is rain in the forecast it should affect how you choose a pitcher. Most games will get started on time if the weather is clear. However, if rain comes in the third and there’s a lengthy delay, most managers aren’t going to throw their starter back out there. The risk of arm damage is simply too high. You might only get Jake Arrieta for 3 innings when you counted on having him for 7-8.
Anything over 9-10 MPH is considered substantial enough to affect the ball’s path. Games where wind is blowing out considerably could become an opportune time to stack a lineup or to try low-percentage players in a GPP game. Remember though that wind blowing in can also be a detriment to hitters. It might make a lower-tier pitcher a surprise play.
