Just two games tonight as the American League will take the day off. Atlanta will look to even the series with Milwaukee after the Brew Crew narrowly escaped with a 2-1 win in Game 1, while the Giants hold a 1-0 series lead over the Dodgers after Logan Webb's incredible playoff debut. It's Fried-Woodruff and Urias-Gausman to start things off, but as we've seen historically and again in the early going of this postseason, managers can be very quick on the trigger in regards to summoning their bullpen. Let's get to it.
I'll be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for the FanDuel main slate on 10/9/2021. 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!
Featured Promo: For this week only, take 50% off any full-season or yearly Premium Pass on the site! Just enter discount code THANKS when checking out. Thanks for being a reader, and Happy Holidays! Sign Up Now!
FanDuel DFS Pitchers
Cash Game / GPP Anchor Play:
Kevin Gausman - SFG vs. LAD ($8,600)
Gausman's my favorite SP play on the slate for a number of reasons. He's the cheapest, so he's the easiest to get to while still being able to plug in whatever bats you'd like. He compares favorably to the rest of the slate in some important metrics: 2.81 ERA ranks second (Woodruff), 29.3% K% ranks second (Woodruff), Whiff % and Chase % rank first, and he doesn't issue many free passes. He's also in arguably the best form of the four in terms of upside, holding a 51/4 K/BB ratio over 40 innings pitched since the beginning of September. The matchup isn't easy, of course, but none of these pitchers have easy matchups and Gausman could surprise here - just as Webb did last night.
Cash / GPP Alternate Play(s)
Brandon Woodruff - MIL vs. ATL ($10,000)
Woodruff is right up there for the top pitching play on the slate, but you'll need to pony up to get to him. The Brewers have held him back for months now, not letting him pitch past the sixth inning since July 25th. He held a subpar 4.09 ERA in four September starts, but his season-long numbers are still mostly spectacular with a 2.56 ERA, 3.29 xERA, 29.8% K%, .252 wOBA, and 32.7% Hard Hit %. One has to assume that now that the playoffs have arrived, the proverbial "reigns" will be taken off the ace pitcher. Burnes picked up six strikeouts against this lineup yesterday but he was a little off his game, so Woodruff shouldn't have trouble racking up punchouts and having a successful outing here.
Want more MLB DFS tools and content? Our MLB Premium package includes our daily DFS Cheat Sheets, Research Station, Optimizer, and access to our Premium Slack Chatrooms where members can chat with our MLB analysts. Check out this recent big win from RotoBaller's RealTalkRaph on DraftKings - join in on the winning!
? Our #MLB Optimizer & written content content is coming in hot to start off 2021!
? BIG thanks! The highly celebrated @RotoBaller Premium Tools have done it again!
? The Math: 20 optimized lineups + written content to tweak things = SHABBAT SHALOM!https://t.co/RGP9W0ebXb pic.twitter.com/LR8MDaOm8r
— Raphstradamus ? (@RealTalkRaph) April 3, 2021
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Rowdy Tellez - 1B, MIL vs. ATL ($2,300)
How can you not love this guy as a value option tonight? Since returning from injury for the last two games of the year, Tellez has gone 3-for-9 with two doubles, a homer, three RBI, and three runs scored. He went deep last night for the only runs of the game in the Brewers victory.
Evan Longoria - 3B, SFG vs. LAD ($2,600)
The vet is really cheap and he could hit in a prominent spot in the order (pending lineup announcements). He's hitting .318 against LHP this season and holds a solid .281 AVG, .511 SLG, .871 OPS, and .230 ISO vs. LHP in his lengthy career.
Freddie Freeman - 1B, ATL vs. MIL ($3,800)
If you're not looking to stack up the Braves because of Woodruff, at least take a hard look at Freeman. He has mashed right-handed pitching to the tune of a .317 AVG, .535 SLG, and .949 OPS this season. He also holds a .217 ISO (.263 xISO) and .398 wOBA (.416 xwOBA) in the split.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Avisail Garcia - OF, MIL vs. ATL ($2,700)
Garcia should slot into the cleanup spot again and this is a damn good price for a cleanup hitter. Garcia is no slouch, either, as he has hit 28 bombs in total and holds a .250 ISO (.279 xISO) against left-handed pitching this season. Fried is tough, but he relies on his fastball (39% of his pitches) a lot and Garcia has a .298 AVG and .550 SLG against that pitch this year.
Mookie Betts - OF, LAD vs. SFG ($3,600)
I like getting to Betts in lineups where you're not playing Gausman. Betts didn't have his typical superstar-type season, and he stumbled down the stretch with a .759 OPS in September and a 1-for-11 line in October. He has gone 2-for-4 without any other stats in each of his last two games, so while it seems that he could be heating up for the playoffs, he hasn't broken through quite yet and the masses may be off of him. That's the time to pounce.
Kris Bryant - 3B/OF, SFG vs. LAD ($3,500)
Bryant went 3-for-3 with a solo homer off Buehler in Game 1. He gets to face a lefty in Urias tonight, which is a split that favors Bryant as he holds an impressive .254 ISO and .381 wOBA vs. LHP this season.
FanDuel DFS Stacks
- MIL vs. Fried
- SFG vs. Urias