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Were treated with both the ALDS and NLDS on this glorious Saturday slate, and it should be an exciting one. The Astros squeaked by with the win over the Red Sox in Game 1 on their series last night, a bullpen-heavy game where 16 pitchers took the mound in total. Neither starting pitcher (Chris Sale and Framber Valdez) made it out of the third inning and if that's any indication of how this series is going to go, we're going to want to focus on targeting offense on the ALDS side. The Dodgers and Braves are kicking off their series tonight in Atlanta, with an elite pitching matchup of Scherzer against Fried to start things off. Let's get to it.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 10/16/2021. You can see our DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup pick for the early slate here as well.
Be sure to also check out all the MLB player news, including late scratches, and the projected and confirmed daily MLB lineups for each DFS slate. You can also check out today's DraftKings MLB DFS lineup picks, and read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports too. Let's get to it!
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game / GPP Anchor Play:
Max Fried - ATL vs. LAD ($8,500)
I really like Fried as a salary-saving pivot SP tonight against a dangerous Dodgers lineup. Fried has been in incredible form ever since the All-Star Game, posting a 1.74 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and an 86/16 K/BB rate over 14 second-half starts. He dominated the Brewers in his NLDS start, going six innings while allowing just three hits and striking out nine for 55 FD points. Prior to that outing, he posted 46, 49, and 46 FD points in consecutive starts. His 23.7% K% won't blow anyone away, but he does a great job of limiting hard contact, limiting walks, and keeping the ball on the ground. He has also shown an ability to go deep into games - he had gone at least seven innings in each of his three starts prior to the NLDS. Fried racked up nine punchouts and 43 FD points in his last start against the Dodgers (9/1) and I'm expecting another big game out of him tonight.
Cash / GPP Alternate Play(s)
Max Scherzer - LAD vs. ATL ($9,900)
I'm not breaking any news here, but Mad Max has the highest upside for an SP on this slate. He holds a .246 ERA (2.89 xERA), 0.86 WHIP, .194 xBA, and a monster 34.1% K% on the season. He hit a bit of a rough patch before the playoffs started, averaging just 17.7 FD points per game over his three starts coming into the playoffs. Check out his recent game log, excluding those games (and his save on Thursday): 52, 52, 61, 73, 49, 63 (average of 58 FD points per game). That's absolute insanity. The Braves have the lowest implied total on the slate at 3.8 runs and they struck out at the eighth-highest rate in the MLB against RHP (24.6%). Fire him up.
UPDATE: The Dodgers have announced reliever Corey Knebel as the opener in Game 2. This is likely going to be an unorthodox bullpen situation, so it doesn't appear that Scherzer is going to pitch in this game after notching his first career save a few days ago. The Braves are suddenly much more in play than they were this morning. My favorite targets are Freddie Freeman ($3,800), Adam Duvall ($2,800), and Joc Pederson ($2,200).
Nathan Eovaldi - BOS vs. HOU ($8,800)
I'm OK with Eovaldi as my second SP option (in non-Astros lineups) with the news of the Dodgers going with a bullpen game tonight. He has a modest salary for a pitcher who has notched at least seven strikeouts in nine of his last 10 starts. He has been notably more lethal in the second half of the season, racking up a 96/15 K/BB rate over 79 innings pitched while holding a solid 3.87 ERA. The Astros are an extremely tough matchup as they hardly ever strike out, have a lot of pop, and hold the slate's highest implied total. However, Eovaldi's incredible recent form and, honestly, the lack of another enticing option have me interested in him today.
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FanDuel DFS Infielders
Xander Bogaerts - SS, BOS vs. HOU ($3,900)
Bogaerts got off to a blazing start to the postseason, smashing homers in the Wild Card Game as well as Game 2 of the ALDS for 31.4 FD points in each game. He has been quiet since, though, hitting just 1-for-12 with two runs scored and three walks. Opposing pitcher Luis Garcia is no slouch, but he is the most attackable pitcher on the slate. He holds a 3.48 ERA (3.95 xERA) and 1.18 WHIP, but his Hard Hit %, xSLG, and BB% are all just mediocre. He gave up eight hits, six runs, and two homers in his ALDS outing against the Rays and Bogaerts hit .301 with a .887 OPS and .220 ISO vs. RHP this season.
Enrique Hernandez - 2B, BOS vs. HOU ($3,200)
You might be able to stomach fading Kike with the roll he has been on, but I can't bring myself to do so. He's still incredibly cheap for how bonkers he has been with the stick lately. After his four-hit (two-homer) night last night, he is now hitting .619 with four homers, four doubles, eight RBI, and six runs scored over his last four games. He's averaging 33.6 FD points per game in that span. The pitching matchup doesn't come into play when a player is hitting like this.
Alex Bregman - 3B, HOU vs. BOS ($3,100)
This just feels too cheap for a player of Bregman's caliber. He's hitting .368 with a double, four RBI, four runs scored, and two walks in the playoffs so far. Eovaldi has been sharp through two postseason starts, allowing just seven hits and three earned runs with 16 strikeouts over 10 and 1/3 innings pitched. The 'Stros are one of the best and peskiest offenses in the MLB, though, and Eovaldi will have his work cut out for him tonight. He's a little worse against RHH's (.424 SLG, .313 wOBA) and Bregman remains quite affordable.
Others: Justin Turner ($3,000), Rafael Devers ($4,000), Dansby Swanson ($2,400), Yuli Gurriel ($2,700)
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Michael Brantley - OF, HOU vs. BOS ($2,400)
Brantley's going to continue hitting at the top of a potent Astros lineup that's projecting to score the most runs (4.4) on the slate tonight. He's hitting .333 in the playoffs and he only costs $2,400; there's not much else to say here. He's not a guy who you can expect to hit for power, but he can provide some great salary relief with a bankable floor against Eovaldi and company tonight.
Yordan Alvarez - OF, HOU vs. BOS ($3,300)
I'm going to keep plugging in Air Yordan until he bops another one and his price rises dramatically. He hit a homer in Game 1 of the ALDS but has been relatively quiet since, collecting just two hits while walking five times. He holds a .256 ISO and .368 wOBA against RHP this season, and while Eovaldi doesn't give up much power, he's not going to pitch a complete game and the Red Sox bullpen is pretty taxed after being worked hard last night.
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD vs. ATL ($3,800)
Betts is a high-priced option I'm very interested in tonight (in my non-Fried lineups, of course). He had a subpar season by his all-world standards, slashing .264/.367/.487 with 23 homers and 58 RBI. He has come alive when it matters most, though, as he has multi-hit games in four of six playoff games so far and he put up at least 15.5 FD points in three of them. Fried is a tough pitcher and Betts does hit a little worse against LHP, but he's a star and I expect him to come through with another productive DFS game tonight.
Others: Hunter Renfroe ($2,600), J.D. Martinez ($3,000), Joc Pederson ($2,200), Adam Duvall ($2,800)
FanDuel DFS Stacks
- BOS vs. Garcia
- HOU vs. Eovaldi
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