Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Thursday, October 16th! 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: Thursday, 10/16

 

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers

After his first start this postseason, sheesh. The Dodgers have to feel REALLY good going into Game 3 against the Brewers with Tyler Glasnow on the mound. Glasnow fired off six scoreless innings in his long NLDS start and now faces off against a Brewers offense that has barely gotten on base through two games in this series. Despite being in and out of the rotation due to injury this year (like most of his career) he still struck out 29% of batters, which is an elite mark.

Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners

This is an ongoing thing for Luis Castillo since joining Seattle, but man, he's a different pitcher at home compared to on the road. He pitched to a 2.45 ERA compared to a 4.36 ERA on the road. He averaged 18.2 FPG at home compared to 11.8 on the road. He'll be a popular SP2.

Jose Quintana/Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers

I list both pitchers because manager Pat Murphy is undecided which is going to pitch and it's possible both do. Jose Quintana told the media he expects to pitch in this game, but there's nothing definitive as of writing this. This is a contrarian route as Tyler Glasnow and Luis Castillo are going to soak up all of the ownership.

 

 

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. Seattle Mariners

This is a great spot for the Seattle Mariners offense and it makes you wonder how long Max Scherzer is for this game. Scherzer wasn't on the Blue Jays roster for the last series of the postseason but now that the team needed a fourth starter, he's here and he's starting.

Scherzer has had an issue with home runs especially against lefties. Lefties have a .290 ISO, .297 xISO, and 2.45 HR/9 against Scherzer this year. 

If we're talking power lefty bats, the Mariners have three that stand out right away; Cal Raleigh, postseason hero Jorge Polanco, and Josh Naylor. All three look great. I'd throw J.P. Crawford in there as a solid value, too.

Obviously, getting Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena, and/or Eugenio Suarez into your stacks is a solid approach too.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

Without knowing who the Brewers are actually going to pitch for length today, just playing Dodgers makes a lot of sense with how good they've been this postseason.

We saw Shohei Ohtani make a rare appearance on the field to take batting practice, which could bode well for him in this one. But if he doesn't hit, Teoscar Hernandez will. Enrique Hernandez will. If a lefty takes the mound, Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts will. If a righty is on the bump, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy will. The Dodgers lineup is a nightmare matchup for opposing teams.

3. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays bats woke up in a BIG way in Game 3 and hit a bunch of home runs, which is possible here against Luis Castillo.

vs. LH - 42.5% FB, 36.1% HH, .188 ISO, 1.28 HR/9

vs. RH - 40.4% FB, 33.7% HH, .178 xISO, 1.09 HR/9

The lefties profile better, but the righties have been a little unlucky. The lefties the Blue Jays can offer are Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, Daulton Varsho, Anthony Santander, and Andres Gimenez.

Obviously, the righties are the big thumpers here in Vladimir Guerrero, George Springer, and Alejandro Kirk.

4. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers offense has been stagnant this series. It's been dormant. They've scored 1 run in back-to-back games and hasn't scored more than 3 runs in a game since Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cubs. 

You can take shots on guys like Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, Christian Yelich, and Andrew Vaughn, but there's not a lot to like here. Maybe even Jake Bauers could pop here.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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