We have all four playoff games taking place today. Although some sites have shorter slates as well, the example lineups are for the full, four game slate.  Please note that late swap is in play today, as there is a large gap between the first pitch of the slate, and the evening games.  I’ll try to update anything in the forum comments, but you should monitor the lineups to make sure all your players are in the lineups tonight.


Pitching:

As we have seen early on this postseason, the balls have been leaving the park in bunches.  The sites have done a solid job of pricing the starting pitching options tonight, and targeting the K upside is what I’ll be looking for.  My top option tonight would be Kluber.  Corey Kluber went 18-4, with a 2.25 ERA this season, including 2-0, with a 1.59 ERA vs the Yankees.  In his first postseason last year, Kluber went 4-1.  If you take away his short rest, game seven of the world series start, Kluber went 4-0, with a 0.89 ERA last postseason.    Strasburg would be your pivot play from Kluber.  He has a 2.08 ERA in five starts vs the Cubs over his career, which includes a seven innings, 13 strikeout game this season. Strasburg has allowed zero earned runs in six of his last eight starts.  Washington is trying to find it’s way out of the first round once again this year, and a game one win would be key.

Kyle Hendricks and Dallas Keuchel would be my mid-tier options tonight if not on the two options above.  Hendricks pitched five shutout innings with nine K’s in his final start of the season, and has allowed three or less runs in all of his last ten starts.   No current Red Sox has more than two career hits off of Keuchel, as he enters tonight as only a slight home favorite.  Although he is only 0-1, with a 9.88 ERA over his short career vs Boston, Keuchel is 36-21, with a 2.94 ERA over his career at Houston.

Although I’m not opposed to taking any pitcher, as Bauer threw a gem last night, it’s hard to provide exposure to every pitcher.  Kershaw has not shown me anything over his postseason career, and the D-Backs account for 19% of the Dodgers losses this season.  Walker is 2-0, with a 3.24 ERA over three starts vs the Dodgers this year.  Sabathiajust doesn't have the K upside, and after watching Houston’s offense last night, and throughout the season, Pomeranz is more of a higher risk gpp option.

 

Hitting:  

The Astros and Dodgers check in as the top two projected run scoring teams tonight, but as we’ve seen so far this postseason, it looks to be all about the home run.  There are only two projected starters today that have two or more career home runs off their opposing pitchers.   Daniel Murphy is 4-15, with three home runs off of Hendricks, and Paul Goldschmidt is 10-44, with two homers off of Kershaw.  Some other key BvP matchups include the possible MVP is Jose Altuve, who is 7-17 off the lefty Pomeranz, while Carlos Santana is 10-19, with a homer off of C.C.   Bryce and J.D. have both taken their opposing pitchers deep, and Jason Heyward may be a solid value option, as he is 15-37 with a homer off of Strasburg.

Pricing is tight on DK if paying up for two to pitching options, but you can still roster a few top players. FanDuel’s pricing leaves you with plenty of options at each price point tonight.  If entering multiple lineups, it’s best to find a core group of 4-5 hitters, and work around them.  

 

Please feel free to share your thoughts, and ask any questions in our forums.  Good luck!