If Game 1 is any indication of what to expect in this series, bring it on! The World Series got off to a dramatic and action-packed start on Friday night with the Rangers ultimately rallying to take the first game of the series, 6-5. It took extra innings, a walk-off home run and a total of 13 pitchers to decide the first game of the series, and Saturday night shapes up to be another awesome matchup.
The Rangers will look to take a two-game lead and get halfway to the World Series title by sending lefty Jordan Montgomery ($11,000) to the mound. He’ll be opposed by Merrill Kelly ($11,200) for the Diamondbacks. For the second game in a row, the two starting pitchers are the most expensive options on the showdown slate, but should you build your lineup around one of them? What hitters should you consider for your DFS lineups? Let’s take a look.
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SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Captain’s Picks
Adolis Garcia ($14,100 CP) – Some MLB Postseasons are remembered as the year of a specific player. The Red Sox won in Big Papi’s year, the Giants won in Madison Bumgarner’s year, the Nationals won in Stephen Strasburg’s year, and Corey Seager ($9,600) carried the Dodgers to a title. This year looks like it will be remembered as Garcia’s year. He was one of my Game 1 Captain’s Picks and has continued to come up huge in so many situations for the Rangers and his fantasy owners.
Garcia smashed a walk-off homer in the 11th inning in Game 1 after he also had an RBI in the first inning. He finished the night 3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base on his way to a game-high 31 DKFP. It was Garcia’s fifth consecutive game with a home run, and his eighth home run of the postseason. In his 13 playoff games, he is averaging 15.2 DKFP per contest while hitting .357 with a .498 wOBA and an impressive 22 RBI. Garcia did most of his damage during the regular season at home, where he had 25 of his 39 homers and had a .400 wOBA. He also has good splits against righties, so this matchup with Kelly should be a good spot for him to keep mashing. There isn’t a hotter hitter in the World Series right now, so building around Adolis is a play that makes sense again in Game 2.
Jordan Montgomery ($16,500 CP) – Montgomery was a great midseason pickup for the Rangers, who acquired him from the Cardinals. He made 11 starts for Texas in the regular season and allowed two earned runs or fewer eight times while going 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA, 3.27 FIP and 7.71 K/9. He also been great in the playoffs with a 2.16 ERA, 3.42 FIP and 6.12 K/9. He pitched three times in the ALCS against the Astros and allowed just two runs on 13 hits in 14 innings while striking out 10. He dominated Game 1 of that series with 6 1⁄3 shutout innings and 26.7 DKFP, for his second start of the playoffs with over 25 DKFP. Montgomery also gets a boost in this matchup since the Diamondbacks rely so heavily on left-handed hitters. In his career, Montgomery has held lefties to a .221 batting average and .254 wOBA. He brings a very high ceiling even though he doesn’t pile up a ton of strikeouts, and he makes a strong Captain’s Pick or UTIL option.
UTIL Plays
Ketel Marte ($9,000) – Marte has a .345 batting average in the postseason this year with two homers, three stolen bases and a .402 wOBA to average 10.8 DKFP per contest. He has hit safely in all 13 playoff games after going 1-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and 14 DKFP in Game 1. Marte is one of the few Diamondbacks who actually are on the strong side of their splits when facing a lefty. This season, Marte hit .313 against southpaws with a .377 wOBA and 138 wRC+.
Evan Carter ($8,200) – Less than two months ago, Carter was still in Triple-A, playing for the Round Rock Express. Now, he’s hitting third in the Rangers’ batting order for the World Series. The 21-year-old impressed in the regular season, hitting .306 with a .435 wOBA and three stolen bases in his 23 regular season games, and then he stayed hot in the playoffs, hitting .311 so far with a .425 wOBA and three stolen bases in his 13 games. Carter has double-digit DKFP in three straight games and has hit safely in six in a row. Kelly did struggle a little with lefties this season, allowing them to post a .301 wOBA against him, so Carter is on the strong side of those splits in his head-to-head matchup. He is the seventh most expensive bat on this slate, but he has the power and speed potential to outperform that price point.
Nathaniel Lowe ($7,400) – Lowe is another lefty I like in the Rangers’ lineup for Saturday night. Despite going 0-for-4 in Game 1, he is averaging 6.9 DKFP per game in the playoffs with three home runs, six RBI and a .285 wOBA. Lowe homered in two of the final three games in the ALCS and hit safely in the final six games of that series. I think he’ll get back on track in this matchup against Kelly and provide nice returns at this price point. If you have to go even cheaper, my top UTIL options are Tommy Pham ($6,200), Leody Taveras ($5,800) and Geraldo Perdomo ($5,200).
Fades
Marcus Semien ($8,600) – For most of the season, Semien was one of the top 2B options in all of baseball, but the 33-year-old leadoff hitter has had a rough postseason. He’s hitting just .190 after going 1-for-6 in Game 1 of the World Series and he has no home runs or stolen bases while averaging only 5.3 DKFP per game this postseason. Semien remains one of the most recognizable names in the Rangers’ order but hasn’t been one of the most productive options in the playoffs. Especially with so much stolen base and power potential in the other players around his price point, Semien just doesn’t bring enough of a ceiling in his current form to justify paying over $8K. I much prefer paying up a little for Marte or Corbin Carroll ($9,200) or down for Carter or Josh Jung ($7,800).
Set your DraftKings Showdown lineups here: MLB Showdown $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (ARI vs TEX)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
