It's Game 1 of the World Series as the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, and either way we're getting a first-time champion. The Brewers are handing the ball to NL Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski, while the Rays went off script and tabbed Nick Martinez over Drew Rasmussen. We'll see if stars such as Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz, William Contreras, and Jake Bauers show up when the lights are the brightest.

Before you lock your lineups, make sure you check out the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Pitcher Projections and MLB DFS Hitter Projections for the full picture on tonight's numbers, and run your builds through the MLB DFS Lineup Optimizer to make sure you are getting the most out of every dollar. Here is everything you need to build winning lineups.

Rays vs Brewers World Series Game 1 Odds

Tampa Bay Rays vs Milwaukee Brewers

  • MIL: -198 ML
  • TB: +162 ML
  • Total: 6.5 O/U

MLB Weather Today, 10/23

Retractable roof stadium.

 

 

 

Rays vs Brewers: Pitching Matchup

Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers

Jacob Misiorowski was the best pitcher in baseball this year, leading the majors with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts to go with a 0.80 WHIP over 174.2 innings. The postseason has been more of a grind as he hasn't gotten through five innings in either start thanks to high pitch counts, but he's coming in on 11 days of rest, and he struck out seven over six innings against the Rays back on April 1. Tampa Bay had the lowest strikeout rate in baseball, but this lineup doesn't do much damage against four-seamers, and nobody throws a four-seamer like Miz. He's the top CPT option on the slate.

DraftKings CPT: $19,500 | DraftKings UTIL: $13,000

Nick Martinez, Tampa Bay Rays

Nick Martinez isn't going to overpower anybody with a 15.1% strikeout rate, but he went 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA and walked only 3.6% of the hitters he faced. He threw six innings of two-run ball against the Brewers in their regular-season series, and the Rays have won both of his postseason starts. The catch is he gave up a .309/.344/.470 slash line the third time through the order, so expect Kevin Cash to have a quick hook with a fully rested bullpen. Martinez is a floor play rather than a ceiling play, and he's a tough sell at CPT with that strikeout rate.

DraftKings CPT: $15,900 | DraftKings UTIL: $10,600

Rays vs Brewers Preview: Key Players to Watch

William Contreras, C (Brewers)

William Contreras has been the best hitter in the postseason, slashing .367/.457/.700 with three homers and a 212 wRC+ that leads all playoff hitters with at least 30 plate appearances. This isn't just a hot October either, as he's slashed .329/.398/.584 with 10 bombs since August 15, including the playoffs. Martinez leans on his cutter, sinker, and changeup, and the Brewers were a top-five offense against cutters and changeups this year. Contreras is my favorite bat on the slate.

DraftKings CPT: $11,400 | DraftKings UTIL: $7,600 | FanDuel MVP: $12,600 | FanDuel UTIL: $8,400

Junior Caminero, 3B (Rays)

Junior Caminero has 87 homers across the last two seasons, tied with Eddie Mathews for the most ever by a player in his age-21 and age-22 seasons. The Guardians attacked him with high heat and struck him out 11 times in the first five games of the ALCS, but he made the adjustment and launched his first career postseason homer in Game 6. Misiorowski is going to test him with triple digits up in the zone, so this is a tough draw, but Caminero has the most raw power of anyone in this game.

DraftKings CPT: $13,200 | DraftKings UTIL: $8,800 | FanDuel MVP: $18,900 | FanDuel UTIL: $12,600

Jake Bauers, 1B (Brewers)

The NLCS MVP has been a pain for opposing pitchers all postseason, slashing .269/.441/.423 with seven walks and six RBI. Bauers had both of the 10-plus pitch plate appearances this postseason that ended with the batter reaching base, including the go-ahead homer off Blake Snell in Game 3 of the NLCS. He's hitting cleanup, and he works counts, which is exactly the profile you want against a strike-thrower like Martinez who wants to go through the order quickly.

DraftKings CPT: $10,800 | DraftKings UTIL: $7,200 | FanDuel MVP: $14,700 | FanDuel UTIL: $9,800

Yandy Diaz, 1B (Rays)

Yandy Diaz backed up his Game 6 guarantee with a two-run homer and went 6-for-14 with four extra-base hits over the Rays' final three wins of the ALCS. He's slashing .308/.341/.564 with four doubles and two homers this postseason, and he's the only hitter in this series with World Series experience after posting a .929 OPS against the Dodgers in 2020. To be fair, Diaz had a 96 wRC+ on the road compared to 156 at home this year, and his postseason power is running well ahead of his career norms, so he carries some risk at his price.

DraftKings CPT: $11,700 | DraftKings UTIL: $7,800 | FanDuel MVP: $15,900 | FanDuel UTIL: $10,600

Jackson Chourio, OF (Brewers)

The surface numbers are ugly, as Jackson Chourio is hitting .171 with a .554 OPS this postseason. But he's still driven in seven runs with two homers, and his .314 xBA and .585 xSLG say he's been one of the unluckiest hitters in October. Chourio is a buy-low option, and I expect his ownership to be lower than his talent suggests.

DraftKings CPT: $12,600 | DraftKings UTIL: $8,400 | FanDuel MVP: $19,500 | FanDuel UTIL: $13,000

Jonathan Aranda, 1B (Rays)

Jonathan Aranda is up there to swing, seeing just 3.2 pitches per plate appearance this postseason after collecting 38 first-pitch hits during the regular season, the fifth most in the majors. He's slashing .257/.333/.343 with a homer and five RBI in October and has hit .291/.372/.456 over the past two seasons. Aranda has hit righties better than lefties, and he'll see a righty in Martinez on one side and Misiorowski's power stuff on the other.

DraftKings CPT: $11,100 | DraftKings UTIL: $7,400 | FanDuel MVP: $13,500 | FanDuel UTIL: $9,000

Christian Yelich, DH (Brewers)

Christian Yelich had the worst regular season of his career, but he's been on base plenty in October with a .292/.370/.333 line and two stolen bases. Among the 21 hitters on these two teams with at least 10 postseason plate appearances, Yelich ranks first in xBA at .374 and fourth in xSLG at .538. With the Rays' staff leaning right-handed, he's in a good spot.

DraftKings CPT: $10,200 | DraftKings UTIL: $6,800 | FanDuel MVP: $11,400 | FanDuel UTIL: $7,600

Chandler Simpson, OF (Rays)

Chandler Simpson hit .306 with 46 stolen bases this year and has three more steals this postseason. No power, lots of speed, and his upside comes almost entirely from what he does on the bases. The one concern is Contreras, who has done an excellent job controlling the running game, so Simpson is more of a GPP dart than a cash-game play.

DraftKings CPT: $9,900 | DraftKings UTIL: $6,600 | FanDuel MVP: $8,400 | FanDuel UTIL: $5,600

 

 

 

Other Notable Options

  • Sal Frelick, OF (Brewers): DraftKings UTIL: $3,400 | FanDuel UTIL: $3,400
  • David Hamilton, SS (Brewers): DraftKings UTIL: $4,800 | FanDuel UTIL: $3,600
  • Garrett Mitchell, OF (Brewers): DraftKings UTIL: $6,400 | FanDuel UTIL: $6,000
  • Victor Mesa, OF (Rays): DraftKings UTIL: $6,200 | FanDuel UTIL: $8,000
  • Liam Hicks, C (Rays): DraftKings UTIL: $7,000 | FanDuel UTIL: $7,000