For every DFS-er the ultimate goal is finding that dirt cheap player that pays huge dividends. Commonly referred to in the biz as a value pick, these are the guys that can make or break your lineup. Over the years, there have been countless athletes who have made their fantasy owners some serious bank by going from unknown to legendary status within the span of a single game.

These are the top ten “Zero to Hero” Moments in Fantasy Sports.

Some ground rules: We are including one athlete from each of the major fantasy sports leagues including NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and PGA. We are also limiting the list to players from each sport’s current/most recent season that blew up for one game/tournament only and then returned to fantasy irrelevance.

5. Ted Potter Jr. — PGA — AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am Champion

Ted Potter Jr. picked up his first and only PGA Tour win at the Greenbrier Classic during his rookie year way back in 2012. So you can’t blame fantasy golfers for steering clear of the career journeyman when he teed it up at this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Potter came into the tournament having missed the cut in five of his first eight attempts on the season and had most recently finished the Farmers Insurance Open at +9 (tied for 73rd). Naturally, Potter won the tournament, besting second-place finishers Phil Mickelson, Chez Reavie, Jason Day, and Dustin Johnson by three strokes.

 

4. Anthony Duclair — NHL — Hat Trick versus Ottawa Senators

Anthony Duclair scored a whopping five goals in the 58 games he played for the Arizona Coyotes during the 2016-17 season.  Needless to say, he wasn’t on many fantasy radars when he blew up for three goals-including the game winner in OT-against the Ottawa Senators back on November 18, 2017. Duclair put up what was undoubtedly the most unexpected hat trick of the NHL season.

 

3. Ed Dickson — NFL — 5 receptions, 175 receiving yards

When the Carolina Panthers lost tight end Greg Olsen in week 2 to a broken foot, many savvy fantasy players viewed it as an opportunity to pick up some cheap points via backup tight end Ed Dickson. The few that stuck around until week 5 were rewarded handsomely when Dickson blew up on the Lions to the tune of five catches for 175 yards. It was his only relevant fantasy line of the year-as evidenced by his 437 total receiving yards for the season-and he completely fell off when Olsen returned in week 12. In the upcoming season, Dickson will be catching passes from quarterback Russell Wilson as he has officially signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Hopefully more fantasy relevance is on the way for the nine year veteran.

 

2. Brandon Jennings — NBA — 16 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds

On March 11, 2018, Brandon Jennings joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in his NBA career after signing a 10-day contract. He was anxious to prove that he still belonged in the NBA and wasted little time in showcasing his abilities. Two days after signing, he dropped 16 points, 12 dimes, and 8 rebounds on the unsuspecting Memphis Grizzlies. Perhaps most impressive was Jennings’ efficiency. He did it all in 24 minutes, needing only nine field goal attempts and committing only two turnovers.

1. Scooter Gennett — MLB — 4 home runs, 10 RBIs

In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been 23 perfect games, 296 no hitters, and 318 batters have hit for the cycle. Baseball has a rich tradition of single game accomplishments but perhaps the rarest of all is the 4 home run game. To date, this feat has only been accomplished 18 times, and amazingly, it happened twice during the 2017 season.

Scooter Gennett became the 17th, and perhaps, most unlikely player to enter the record books by hitting 4 home runs in a game when he did so against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 6, 2017. Prior to the game, the 5’10” utility infielder had a grand total of 38 homers to his name spread out over a 5 year career.

Gennett collected a total of 10 RBIs, and the Reds beat the Cardinals by 12 runs.

 

We here at RotoBuzz know there were lots of choices that didn’t make the cut. If you have any suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!