The final game of the final day with four MLB games of the year features the Dodgers trying to complete their sweep of the Phillies to move on to the NLCS. The Dodgers won two close games in Philly and will look to close out the series at home in the late game Wednesday. Can the Phillies live to keep Phitin’ another day? Let’s look at some overall strategy for the Phillies vs. Dodgers MLB DFS.
The pitching matchup for Game 3 could be a great one. The Dodgers will give the ball to Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($12,000), while Aaron Nola ($10,600) gets teh call for the Phillies.
Let’s take a look at what to expect and how to attack this Dodgers vs. Braves MLB DFS matchup from a DraftKings Showdown perspective.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $100K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (PHI at LAD)
Phillies vs. Dodgers DFS Showdown Strategy
Captain’s Picks
Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($18,000 CP) – Even though he’s the most expensive play on the board, Yamamoto’s ceiling is too high to overlook. The rest of the roster is workable around him as long as you can pass on some of the other pay-up options, none of which have Yamamoto’s upside. The 27-year-old from Japan went 12-8 this season with a 2.49 ERA, 2.94 FIP, and 10.4 K/9 in his 30 starts.
He was even sharper over his last five regular-season starts, allowing one or zero runs in each outing, with a 0.79 ERA, 1.90 FIP and a total of 44 strikeouts in 34 innings. At the other end of his strong season, he faced the Phillies back in April and went six innings, giving up just one unearned run on three hits with five strikeouts.
Even though he only had two wins in his last six appearances,, he averaged 30.4 fantasy points per outing. He exceeded that with 32.8 fantasy points in his first postseason start this year, which was against the Reds. Potentially getting 45 fantasy points in a Captain’s Pick spot (with the 1.5x) is too good to pass up even at this price, making Yamamoto a prime spot to start your Game 3 showdown shopping.
Kike Hernández ($8,100 CP) – If you think that both starting pitchers or all the big bats are necessary to include in your UTIL spots, you’ll have to find a cheaper Captain’s Pick. My favorite value to build around in a balanced lineup is Enrique “Kike” Hernandez. I’ve been hyping him all day in my MLB DFS picks, my Home Run props, and the props for this specific game.
To keep it simple, Hernandez has a history of hitting Nola well, hitting at home well, strong recent form, and he is a playoff beast. Some players just always seem to rise to the occasion when the spotlight is brightest. Whether you call it “clutch” or “it” or just attribute it to a random sample size, Hernandez always seems to deliver value in the playoffs, and I think he’s in a good spot to do the same thing again on Wednesday.
FLEX Plays
Kyle Schwarber ($9,200) – Schwarber is another playoff stalwart. He has 21 homers in his 71 career playoff games and is hitting .230 with a .372 wOBA in the postseason. This year, though, he is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts. After playing in all 162 games for the Phils this year and hitting 56 Schwar-bombs, I don’t see him going quietly into the night on Wednesday. I don’t think the Phillies will get much against Yamamoto, but Schwarber could definitely get a piece of the action.
Teoscar Hernandez ($8,600) – I’ve hyped this Hernandez almost as much as Enrique Hernandez today. The right answer to “Which Hernandez?” on Wednesday could definitely be both, since Teoscar is crushing it in the playoffs. He hit safely in six straight before the playoffs and is 7-for-17 with a double and three homers in the postseason.
Max Kepler ($4,400) Kepler dragged to the finish line during the regular season but homered in the finale and collected a hit in each of the first two games of this series as well. He only hit .217 this season, so he’s high-risk, but he brings good extra-base potential at a bargain rate in Game 3.
Fades
Aaron Nola ($10,600) – Paying over $10,000 for Nola when he’s on such a short leash in a “win or go home” game doesn’t work for me in this format. He could be gone at the first sign of trouble, and even if he is good, he probably won’t be around for long. He has some good playoff history, but he went 5-10 this year with a 6.01 ERA and 4.58 FIP. I don’t think he’ll have a “vintage” game, and even if he does, I’m not sure he’ll have enough strikeout upside to be worth this salary.
The Outcome
The Dodgers really only needed a split in Philly, but they got back-to-back wins. With Yamamoto on the mound, I think they’ll close out the sweep, setting up a great NLCS between them and the Brewers or Cubs.
