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Happy Tuesday and Happy Postseason, RotoBallers! Welcome to October baseball. After Monday's results, the Mets will travel to Milwaukee, while the Braves will head West to San Diego. Arizona missed out by losing the season tiebreak to both teams.
Fortunately, things are far cleaner on the AL side. Detroit and Tarik Skubal take on Houston and Framber Valdez in the day's first game. Then, right after, Kansas City and Cole Ragans travel to face Baltimore and Corbin Burnes in the second playoff game of the day.
This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 10/1/2024 and the slate locking at 2:32 p.m. EDT. The lineup picks will range from some elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is also essential.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Framber Valdez - LHP, HOU vs. Tigers ($8.5K DraftKings; $10.6K FanDuel)
The two pitchers in the Tigers-Astros matchup, Tarik Skubal, and Framber Valdez will be the most popular picks on the four-game slate. However, Houston's Southpaw gets the nod for me because of his postseason history and the easier matchup.
Over the season's final month, Detroit slashed .196/.280/.298 versus left-handed pitching. Their .578 OPS was fifth-worst in baseball, and their .258 wOBA was fourth-worst. Combine that with Valdez's 1.96 ERA in the second half, and you've got your SP1 for the first day of the playoffs.
Framber Valdez, Nasty Changeups. 👌 pic.twitter.com/553UPdrKmF
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 18, 2024
Corbin Burnes - RHP, BAL vs. Royals ($8.3K DK; $9.7K FD)
Despite throwing the second-most innings of his career in 2024, Corbin Burnes' 183 strikeouts this year were the fewest in the last four seasons. Still, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner finished with a sub-3.00 ERA for the fourth time in five years and won the most games (15) of his career.
Fortunately, Burnes finished the year on a high note. Over the 29-year-old's final 19 innings, he racked up 24 strikeouts with a 0.47 ERA and 0.63 WHIP. Kansas City doesn't offer many strikeouts, but it had the fifth-worst OPS (.630) and wOBA (.279) versus righties in September.
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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Luis Arraez - 1B/2B, SD vs. Ian Anderson ($3.7K DK; $2.7K FD)
I'm unsure how the NL batting title winner came in under $4.0k on DraftKings, but that gift can't be turned down. Luis Arraez usually doesn't offer anything in the power department, but that changed at the end of the regular season. The 27-year-old finished the season with eight of his final 12 hits going for extra bases.
Luis Arraez makes HITS-tory!
With a .314 average, Arraez leads the National League and will become the first player to win 3 straight batting crowns with 3 different teams 👏 pic.twitter.com/hQMW7AgsLu
— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2024
Andy Ibanez - 1B/2B/3B/OF, DET at Framber Valdez ($2.8K DK; $2.5K FD)
Here is another bat near the top of a lineup that is too cheap to pass up if you are going with a stars and scrubs strategy. Andy Ibanez is locked in as the second hitter when Detroit faces left-handed pitching. The 31-year-old has moved a spot in the last five games, leading off all those matchups against Southpaws.
Alex Bregman - 3B, HOU vs. Tarik Skubal ($4.7K DK; $3.3K FD)
Alex Bregman enters the playoffs on fire in what could be his final postseason run as a Houston Astro. The third baseman produced a 1.004 OPS over the final two weeks of the year after smacking his most home runs (26) in a season since 2019.
DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks
Michael Harris II - OF, ATL at Michael King ($4.9K DK; $2.9K FD)
Over the final 10 games of the season, no outfielder on today's slate averaged more FD PPG than Michael Harris' 18.64. So it seems rather ludicrous for the Braves leadoff man to be priced as the 17th-most expensive player at the position.
Atlanta needed every bit of Harris' streak to qualify for the postseason. In the final two weeks, the 23-year-old posted a 1.153 OPS with 13 runs, nine RBI, seven extra-base hits (five home runs), and a stolen base.
MICHAEL HARRIS II GRAND SLAM@MoneyyyMikeee | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/4JofANBxQ8
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 15, 2024
Garrett Mitchell - OF, MIL vs. Luis Severino ($3.5K DK; $2.8K FD)
After facing three lefties to end the year, Milwaukee gets right-handed Luis Severino in Game 1. This will see Garrett Mitchell return to his ordinary spot in the heart of the Brewers lineup. The outfielder had a modest season in 69 games with Milwaukee, where he hit a .812 OPS with eight home runs and 11 steals.
Austin Slater - OF, BAL vs. Cole Ragans ($2.5K DK; $2.1K FD)
Austin Slater hit first or second in nine of the team's final 10 games against left-handed pitching. Since it's the playoffs and pitching matchups are key, we are likely looking at two at-bats tops for the outfielder. However, he's as cheap as they come and should get the start to give plenty of lineup flexibility at other spots.
DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks
1. Milwaukee Brewers vs. Luis Severino - RHP, NYM
Favorite Plays: Brice Turang, Willy Adames, Rhys Hoskins, Joey Ortiz
2. San Diego Padres vs. Ian Anderson - RHP, ATL
Favorite Plays: Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth,
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