The Yankees extended their season for at least one more day with a win in Game 4 of the World Series to avoid the ignominy of being swept at home. They’ll look to send the series back to Los Angeles with another win in Game 5 this Wednesday night in the Bronx.
Game 5 is a rematch of the Game 1 starting pitchers as Gerrit Cole ($11,400) faces Jack Flaherty ($11,000). Both pitched like true aces in Game 1, and it came down to bullpens and extra innings before the game was ultimately decided in dramatic fashion.
It’s been a great World Series so far with so many storylines on both sides. It was hyped as a generational matchup with Shohei Ohtani ($9,600) and Aaron Judge ($9,000) as headliners, but it’s been key role players like Freddie Freeman ($8,800) and Anthony Volpe ($6,400) who have come up large for their teams so far. Who will be the hero in Game 5? Let’s take a look at what to expect and how to attack the matchup from a DraftKings Showdown perspective.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (LAD @ NYY).
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Captain’s Pick
Mookie Betts ($12,600): Both starting pitchers are strong plays either as Captain’s Picks or flex options but both come with massive price tags (over $16,000 as Captain’s Picks). Instead, I think it makes sense to target a mid-range bat in the Captain’s Pick spot, which allows you to include your favorite starting pitcher as a UTIL and still leaves enough salary for real productive hitters in other spots.
While Freeman is sure to be a chalky Captain’s Pick play (more below on why), I prefer pivoting to Betts to save salary and gain leverage. Betts is very familiar with Cole, going 7-for-20 (.350) against him in their regular-season matchups, and he’s very familiar with playing the villain at Yankee Stadium. So far in this postseason, he is 17-for-59 (.288) with four home runs, a .393 wOBA and a 156 wRC+. Betts has at least six fantasy points in each game in this series and finished the Mets off with three straight games of at least 19 fantasy points. His speed and power potential give him multiple paths to productivity, and I think he has a big game in the close-out game in Game 5.
UTIL Plays
Jack Flaherty ($11,000): Both starters are expensive, so unless you go with a total value Captain’s Pick, you can probably only play one. Both have high ceilings, but I think Flaherty is a slightly better play since his strikeout numbers have been stronger recently, and the Yankees will have to have Cole on a short leash in a potential elimination contest. In Game 1, Flaherty went 5 1/3 innings and had six strikeouts for 16.4 fantasy points. While he struggled in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets, he was excellent in Game 1, showing his upside with 29.4 fantasy points in seven shutout innings. While the Yankees’ bats did come alive in Game 4, Flaherty will look to put them to bed for the offseason with a strong outing on Wednesday.
Freddie Freeman ($8,800): Freeman is the heavy favorite at -900 to win World Series MVP. He has homered in every game of the series, averaging 19.5 fantasy points per game. His flair for the dramatic has been amazing ever since he won Game 1 with a walk-off grand slam. Can he keep on going to his bag for more clutch tricks this Wednesday? He’s still surprisingly cheaper than Ohtani, Judge and Juan Soto ($9,400), so he’s sure to be a very popular play in Game 5.
Austin Wells ($5,000): Before Game 4, Wells was only 4-for-41 with 18 strikeouts, but the lefty catcher delivered a double, a home run and 28 fantasy points in Game 5. At only $5,000, he brings a ton of power potential. During the regular season, he hit 13 homers and had a .315 wOBA. While his splits weren’t drastic, he was better at home and against righties, so going with him to continue his momentum from Game 4 makes sense as a bargain UTIL play.
Fades
Aaron Judge ($9,000): The numbers for Judge have been shockingly bad this postseason. I regularly backed him throughout the regular season and had him as a regular in my DFS lineup, so I know how good he can be, which makes his postseason disappearance even more confusing. He is only 7-for-46 (.152) in this postseason with two homers and a 33.9% strikeout rate. Those numbers actually line up fairly closely with his career postseason numbers as well. He has an incredibly high ceiling, for sure, but there are so many better options around him in the same price range. One big swing could turn this around and get him going, but he hasn’t been able to come through in the playoffs often enough to count on that being the case in Game 5.
THE OUTCOME
In a World Series so full of drama, it’s easy to wish for more games. However, the Dodgers are still in a great position to close this out after preserving key bullpen pieces on Tuesday to close out the series after the starting pitchers leave the game. Of the two starters, I’m slightly more confident in Flaherty, and the Dodgers’ lineup has been more productive top-to-bottom than the Yankees. They got their game and avoided a sweep last night, but I think Los Angeles finishes the “gentleman’s sweep” with a win on Wednesday. As a bonus pick, I think Mookie and Flaherty each have big games, but Freeman still gets the MVP.
Final Score: Dodgers 6, Yankees 2
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $125K Relay Throw [$25K to 1st] (LAD @ NYY).
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (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.
