Hello and welcome to the MLB DFS Showdown Playbook for October 17! We have game 2 of the NLCS between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies on deck for us with an 8:07 PM EST start time on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Game 1 did not disappoint with a thrilling 5-3 Phillies victory powered by 3 homers by the Phillies in the first 2 innings, and a great pitching performance by Zack Wheeler. Make sure to check out all of our amazing MLB DFS tools, as they are always worth going through before building your lineups, as are the Vegas Odds. However, the new playbook will still be the one-stop shop for building some winning MLB DFS lineups, so let’s jump right in! 

 

MLB DFS Playbook October 17

Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers

Both Merrill Kelly and Aaron Nola are solid options today but given that I am riding with the Phillies offense mostly my preference is to roll with Aaron Nola.

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

Aaron Nola has been awesome so far in the postseason. In his first outing, his strikeouts were limited to only 3, but he still threw 7 shutout innings against the Miami Marlins while only giving up 3 hits and 1 walk. The strikeouts came back in his start against the Atlanta Braves though where he struck out 9 batters through 5.2 innings giving up only 2 runs. I expect another solid outing from him today in front of the home crowd. 

Recommended DFS Hitters

Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies

Nick Castellanos is making himself the new Mr. October. He has 5 home runs in the last 3 games. The only other player to manage that feat is Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson. It isn’t like the Diamondbacks can afford to stop pitching to any of these guys because the entire lineup is so dangerous, so I won’t be surprised if the Castellanos magic continues tonight. 

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

Nobody loves the stage more than Bryce Harper. He crushed another homer yesterday for his birthday and continues to cement himself as a postseason legend. He now has 8 hits through his last 5 games including 4 homers. He is looking to finally get his first ring in what has already been a hall-of-fame career, and I don’t see any reason why you would consider betting against him having a big night every time the Phillies play. 

Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies

It is easy to not realize how amazing Trea Turner has been this postseason with him being a little overshadowed by Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper right now, but Trea Turner has continued to be a beast. Through the postseason he has a hit in every single game with 14 total hits in 7 games including 3 homers and 5 doubles. I don’t expect anything different from him tonight, as he will continue to be a huge power-speed threat with the ability to provide huge games. 

Honorable mention: Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm