Just six games remain in the regular season, and both the AL and NL Wild Card races are coming down to the wire, with a few divisions yet to be settled as well. Just one American League team — the Toronto Blue Jays — have even claimed a playoff spot. Baseball is wild.
Several of the penultimate series on tonight’s 11-game featured DFS slate at DraftKings have playoff implications: the Blue Jays will host the Boston Red Sox, who are holding on to the second Wild Card spot, and the New York Mets will try to reclaim playoff position with a road series against the Chicago Cubs, who are already locked into a Wild Card berth. Here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders who should be in your lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $175K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st].
PITCHER
Stud
Hurston Waldrep, Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals, $9,000 – This isn’t an exceptionally strong slate, as many contenders are gearing up their aces to start tomorrow so they can be rested to open the postseason. However, both of these teams have been eliminated from postseason contention despite Atlanta’s nine-game winning streak, and Waldrep has been tremendous as a rookie, allowing three or fewer runs in all but one of his nine starts and topping the 20-FPT threshold five times. Washington, meanwhile, has been slumping badly on offense, posting the league’s eighth-worst OPS in September.
Value
Sam Aldegheri, Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals, $6,300 – Instead of picking one of the more established but mediocre names around his price point, I might as well back a guy whose MiLB production has been excellent. The Italian, who turned 24 last Friday, has been inconsistent in his first five MLB appearances, but he posted a 2.26 ERA across his nine starts (55.2 innings) with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas and generated a 13% swinging strike rate, so he clearly has solid stuff. Kansas City has had the fifth-worst OPS against lefties this season even with star Bobby Witt Jr. ($5,900) having standard platoon splits, so I like Aldegheri to post his third MLB quality start.
INFIELDER
Stud
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners vs. Colorado Rockies, $6,400 – Since I saved a little bit of salary by picking Aldegheri, why not pick the Big Dumper as he chases both Aaron Judge ($6,500)‘s American League home runs record and the man himself in the MVP race? He’s unlikely to hit the four home runs he needs over his final six games to match Judge with a pair of series at pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park, but he’s slugged five in his last 10 games and averaged 13.5 FPTS per game across that span to help will his team to the verge of its first division title since 2001, so you never know. If any pitcher can serve it on a platter for him to go yard, it’s Colorado’s McCade Brown ($5,000), who’s recorded three or fewer FPTS in four of his five MLB appearances.
Stud
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, $5,000 – The Dodgers are inching closer towards being ready for their title defense (bullpen aside), in large part because Betts, after a slow season, has finally turned things around, slashing .325/.388/.548 over his last 42 games and averaging 9.7 FPTS per game across that span. He’s also raked against the Diamondbacks all season, averaging 10.6 FPTS per game in 10 contests against them, and he should have a good opportunity to get to Brandon Pfaadt ($7,700), who, despite pitching nine innings of one-run ball (33.0 FPTS) in his most recent start, has still allowed four or more earned runs in three of his last five outings.
Value
Christian Walker, Houston Astros at Athletics, $3,700 – Walker has to be one of the season’s most disappointing free agency signings, as negative-0.3 WAR certainly wasn’t what the Astros were looking for when they gave him a three-year, $60 million contract during the winter. However, he’s turned things around a little bit in the second half, posting a more respectable .744 OPS in his last 59 games, and he’s also been far better on the road, averaging 7.8 FPTS per game away from Daikin Park. Jeffrey Springs ($6,700) has been a victim of the hitter-friendly conditions at Sutter Health Park, pitching to just a 5.00 ERA in 13 starts at home.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres, $5,100 – I suppose the Brewers don’t have much to play for other than holding off the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the National League, and neither do the Padres, but it’s unlikely that Milwaukee would choose to start resting Yelich this early, especially with a bye during the Wild Card series. Though Yelich has been fairly hit-or-miss lately, he’s averaged 1.6 more FPTS per game on the road than at home and has posted an .872 OPS against righties. Randy Vásquez ($6,200), on the other hand, has been more miss than hit, with a 5.63 expected ERA that sits in just the fifth percentile and extremely low whiff, strikeout, and barrel rates.
Stud
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox, $4,500 – Though Stanton has been somewhat cold as of late, he’s still one of baseball’s premier sluggers, and to mash 21 homers in just 71 games this season is objectively rather impressive. Plus, he’s been better at Yankee Stadium, posting a .964 OPS on friendly turf and averaging 8.5 FPTS per game. Shane Smith ($7,200), meanwhile, has had a solid rookie season for the White Sox but is coming off of a 4.1-inning, six-run (5.8-FPT) outing last Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. He’s also had a 4.59 ERA on the road, and he loves to throw four-seam fastballs, which Stanton has mashed to the tune of a .686 slugging percentage this season.
Value
Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays, $3,000 – Yoshida has recorded eight or more FPTS in three of his last five games for a Red Sox team now in desperation mode with the playoffs still not quite guaranteed, and he should continue to remain in the everyday lineup while Roman Anthony ($4,400) remains sidelined with his oblique issue. Plus, the Japanese southpaw has been better on the road than at home, averaging 5.8 FPTS per game away from Fenway Park, and his OPS has been 89 points higher against righties than lefties. Kevin Gausman ($9,300) has had a higher ERA at home than on the road. He also struggles to induce ground balls, which should help mitigate one of Yoshida’s biggest weaknesses.
