The Dodgers have returned to the World Series looking for a second straight title after a dominant postseason run. Standing in their way are the Toronto Blue Jays, who had the best record in the American League, winning one more game than Los Angeles during the regular season, earning them the right to host Game 1 on Friday night. Let’s look at some overall strategy for Game 1’s Dodgers vs. Blue Jays MLB DFS showdown contests.
The pitching matchup has the potential to be outstanding with young phenom Trey Yesavage ($10,800) getting the ball for the Jays while veteran Blake Snell ($11,800) gets the call for the Dodgers.
Let’s take a look at what to expect and how to attack this Blue Jays vs. Mariners matchup.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $150K Game 1 Extravaganza [$50K to 1st] (LAD @ TOR)!
Dodgers vs. Blue Jays DFS Showdown Strategy
Captain’s Picks
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($14,400 CP) – Guerrero has been tearing the cover off the ball since the playoffs started. The Toronto legend has already become one of the franchise greats and is quickly climbing onto the Mt. Rushmore of Toronto sports in general with his postseason performance.
He was fine during the regular season but has absolutely mashed in the postseason. In 11 games, he is 19-for-43 (.442) with three doubles, six walks, six home runs, and a dozen RBI. He’s averaging 15.0 fantasy points per game in the playoffs and has gone off for over 20 fantasy points in five games this playoffs.
I highlighted Guerrero in my top Game 1 player props, and he’s also where I’m starting my Showdown lineups.
Tommy Edman ($9,000 CP) – If you think both starting pitchers will be strong and have to be included in your lineup and Vlad is another “must-have,” you’ll need to come up with a cheap Captain’s Pick to allow you the flexibility to fill your UTIL spots. One way to go is to play Edman as your Captain’s Pick and Vladdy, Snell and Yesavage as UTIL plays, leaving $9,000 to be split between your last two roster spots.
Edman has delivered in the playoffs the last two years for the Dodgers since they acquired him from the Cardinals at last year’s trade deadline. Last year, he hit .328 in the postseason, with a hit in every game of the World Series, including two doubles and a home run. This season, he is 10-for-35 (.286) with a double and a pair of home runs in the playoffs, averaging 7.3 fantasy points per game. He had at least five fantasy points in each of the four games against the Brewers and has at least that many in seven of his nine games.
He brings the potential to go off with a home run or stolen base, but he also brings a pretty high floor for a bargain that leaves you room to cram in both starting pitchers and Guerrero if that’s the way you choose to attack the contest.
UTIL Plays
Blake Snell ($11,800) – Snell is extremely expensive as a Captain’s Pick or in a UTIL spot. He has been absolutely dominant in the playoffs though, posting 30.8, 32.5, and 41.4 fantasy points in his three playoff starts, all of which have resulted in wins. He has allowed a total of two runs on six hits in 21 innings while racking up an impressive 28 strikeouts. The lefty is clearly an outstanding play with a high ceiling, but the Blue Jays have been excellent at strikeout suppression all season, and his hefty salary makes him hard to build around, which is why he isn’t one of my top Captain’s Pick plays.
Trey Yesavage ($10,800) – It’s hard to pass up Yesavage too, which is almost what you have to do if you build around Snell as Captain’s Pick. Instead, you can use both as UTIL plays if you expect both to post good numbers. Yesavage posted 37.4 fantasy points and 21.4 fantasy points in two of his playoff starts this postseason, although the Mariners roughed him up a little in Game 2 of the ALCS. He was only a pitch or two from another outstanding outing, though, and showed he could bounce back with a brilliant start in Game 6, which was a potential elimination game for the Jays. I like his strikeout potential more than Snell’s based on matchup, but both starters are strong plays to consider.
Ernie Clement ($5,400) – If we’re paying up for all these players, we have to save salary somewhere, and Clement is a solid spot to do just that. He has been one of the Blue Jays best hitters against lefties like Snell. He hit .326 against southpaws during the regular season with a .379 wOBA. He hit safely in each of his last six games this postseason, averaging 10.3 fantasy points per game. With Bo Bichette ($8,200) on the roster, the infield is a little more crowded, but Clement should still get a chance against Snell, even if he gets replaced later in the game.
Fades
Freddie Freeman ($9,000) – There is so many good pay-up plays due to the star power on both teams, and I’m sprinkling in a little Shohei Ohtani ($10,000) and George Springer ($9,600) after their heroics in the last round. However, one big hitter that I’m not getting any exposure to is Freedie Freeman, last year’s World Series MVP. Yesavage was especially nasty against lefties this season in a very small sample size, and Freeman is only hitting .231 in his 10 postseason games this season. Obviously Freeman is a proven playoff performer with tons of upside, but he’s just not worth $9,000 with so many good alternatives on the board.
The Outcome
The Blue Jays will trust Yesavage with their Game 1 start, looking for the youngster to help them steal a win. While I do like his fantasy potential and his outstanding stuff, I think the Dodgers will be able to scratch out a couple of runs against him.
Snell has been so outstanding all postseason that I think this will be a lowscoring game and be decided with some late drama in an epic Game 1. This matchup is such a great one for baseball and should give us plenty of October drama to add to the lore of what has already been a great postseason..
Final Score: Los Angeles 3, Toronto 2
