Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Tuesday, September 30th! 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 4-game main slate in store for us this afternoon on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 1:08 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: Tuesday, 9/30

Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians

There are winds blowing in at around 10 MPH, but nothing else we need to worry about.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

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

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

The best pitcher in the sport has dominated everyone this year and the Guardians are included in that. In four starts & 28 innings, Skubal has allowed 2 ER and has a 40:5 K:BB ratio against them. You don't ever get him priced this way, either. He'll be mega chalk today.

Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox

Nobody across baseball threw more innings and had more strikeouts than Garrett Crochet this year. Crochet, who will be taking the mound for the first time in the postseason in this one, is a dominant pitcher. He's loved facing the Yankees this year and the Yankees have struck out against lefties a lot since the break. They have a 24.4% K-rate since the ASB. The one thing Crochet has done a lot of since the break is allow home runs to righties.

Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are giving the ball to 2x Cy Young award winner, Blake Snell, in Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Reds. The Reds are a good matchup for Snell as they rank 28th in OPS and wOBA, 29th in wRC+, and 30th in ISO. Since the All-Star break, Snell has pitched to a 2.42 ERA and has a 32.7% K-rate. This matchup is great and so is the price.

Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians

Do you know who has fallen off a cliff? The Tigers offense but as a whole, the Tigers as an organization. Since the All-Star break against right-handed pitching, the Tigers rank 28th in OPS and wOBA and 27th in wRC+. They also have struck out 26.2% of the time against righties, which is the second-highest mark in the league. Williams is coming off 12 strikeouts against the Tigers just last week.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

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

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Manny Machado, San Diego Padres

The Padres start their 2025 playoffs off against lefty Matthew Boyd. Boyd has struggled since the All-Star break and Machado rakes against lefties. On the year, he has a .244 ISO, .255 xISO, .348 wOBA, and .365 xwOBA against them. Matthew Boyd has allowed .158 ISO and .185 xISO and has struggled mightily since August started,

Michael Busch, Ian Happ & Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs

Nick Pivetta has had a very good year and has earned the right to be the Padres Game 1 starter, but there are some underlying numbers suggesting he's been a bit lucky.

vs. LH - .108 ISO, .197 xISO, .239 wOBA, and .314 xwOBA

The Cubs have some really good lefties that are in good spots against Pivetta and have been good against righties;

  • Michael Busch - .281 ISO, .317 xISO, .385 wOBA, .412 xwOBA
  • Ian Happ - .193 ISO, .219 xISO, .344 wOBA, .366 xwOBA
  • Kyle Tucker - .201 ISO, .229 xISO, .364 wOBA, .393 xwOBA

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Amed Rosario, New York Yankees

I don't love the Yankees here, but I think there's something interesting here when doing my research. Since the All-Star break, Garrett Crochet has struggled a little bit with right-handed power. Since the break, he's allowed 13 HR across 55.2 IP, which is 2.1 HR/9.

When you're talking about the Yankees and home runs, well those two large individuals named Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton stand out a bit. I'd be OK throwing Amed Rosario into that if he's starting, too, because of how good he's been against lefties. You do have to understand he'll be pinch-hit for at some point in this game too.

Romy Gonzalez & Rob Refsynder, Boston Red Sox

These two just mash lefties. That's what they do and that's what they're in the Red Sox lineup for. Both guys are up over a .259 ISO and .400 wOBA against left-handed hurlers this year. Gonzalez probably leads off and Refsynder hits in the middle of the lineup.

Dodgers Lefties

Although Hunter Greene is a dog and Hunter Greene is great, he has struggled against left-handed hitters this year. It's been specific to lefty power. Lefties have a .200 ISO, .223 xISO, 1.55 HR/9, and a 55% FB rate against Greene this year. Dodger Stadium is a great ballpark to hit home runs in and the Dodgers have some good lefty power hitters. Here are some numbers vs. RHP;

Player Pool

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Stacks

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