Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Friday, October 17th! It's time for some playoff baseball! Nothing better than MLB DFS playoff contests!

Let’s start the week on the right foot with some winning lineups today. We have a 2-game main slate in store for us this afternoon on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 6:08 PM ET. Today, we have plenty of talent on the diamond and many different ways to build your lineup. Our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s jump right into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting.

 

MLB DFS Picks & MLB Playbook

MLB Weather: Friday, 10/17

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Let's get into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

It has arguably been Shohei Ohtani's best pitching season from a statistical stand point and he threw six innings in his first postseason start. He had a 33% K-rate in the regular season and the Brewers offense has scored 3 total runs this series.

Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays

Over the last 10 games Kevin Gausman has pitched, he has a 2.92 ERA, .225 BAA, and has 59 Ks in 61.2 IP, so nearly a K/9. He has 16+ DKP in both postseason games he's made thus far. Seattle's striking out a lot this postseason.

Jose Quintana, Milwaukee Brewers

There's a world where Jose Quintana can go through the lineup once, possibly twice, and do it in scoreless fashion. There isn't a high ceiling, but he's really cheap on a slate with only four starters.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Ranking My Top Stacks below;

1. Toronto Blue Jays

I know that Bryce Miller was really, really good in Game 1, but he's largely been awful this year.

vs. RH - .173 ISO, .179 xISO, .337 wOBA, .356 xwOBA

vs. LH - .273 ISO, .215 xISO, .367 wOBA, .368 xwOBA

Throwing in the lefties first, Addison Barger, Daulton Varsho, Nathan Lukes, and Andres Gimenez are all options. Vladimir Guerrero leads everyone this postseason in home runs, George Springer is an elite leadoff hitter, and Alejandro Kirk has a massive ceiling at catcher.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

The one problem with the Dodgers is that you can't use Shohei Ohtani as a hitter tonight, which isn't great, but then again, Ohtani has largely struggled at the plate. Jose Quintana is expected to be the starter or the primary bulk reliever and the Dodgers have a LOT to like against lefties.

Jose Quintana's splits this year;

vs. RH - .129 ISO, .200 xISO, .307 wOBA, .370 xwOBA

vs. LH - .178 ISO, .170 xISO, .309 wOBA, .315 xwOBA

Teoscar Hernandez, Enrique Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Mookie Betts, and Will Smith are a pretty elite stack against lefties. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy aren't bad either.

3. Seattle Mariners

Kevin Gausman has had quite the season and he's been good in the postseason too. The Mariners have a lot of struggling bats and the righties look a bit better based on some of Gausman's splits. His xISO is .179 and .316 xwOBA suggests he's been a little lucky against righties.

That puts Julio Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez, and Randy Arozarena on our minds. Arozarena has to wake up, though, because he's been bad. It's hard to ignore Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor, too.

4. Milwaukee Brewers

We said this yesterday and it doesn't get any easier with Shohei Ohtani taking the mound; the Brewers offense has been horrible. They've scored 1 or fewer runs in three straight and four of five overall. There aren't many things to like about the Brewers offense, but if I'm looking towards anyone, it's Jackson Chourio (if he plays), William Contreras, and Jake Bauers.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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