This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Tuesday's featured MLB slate begins at 2:08 p.m. EDT and features four games. The Astros and Yankees will be looking to build on Monday's Game 1 wins over the Athletics and Rays in their respective ALDS matchups, while the Marlins-Braves and Padres-Dodgers NLDS battles will begin Tuesday. After the four AL teams combined for 27 runs Monday, it appears that your lineup construction should focus more on hitting than pitching. Below, you'll find recommended pitchers and hitters to target, as well as some value plays and stacking options.
Pitchers
The top four regular-season offenses (Dodgers, Braves, Padres, Yankees) are all still in the hunt, while the remaining offenses ranked 12th (Rays), 14th (Astros), 17th (A's) and 20th (Marlins). Braves ace Max Fried ($7,700) benefits from the easiest matchup on paper against Miami, and the 26-year-old southpaw showed himself to be ready for the postseason with seven scoreless innings against the Reds in the wild-card round following a regular season in which he went 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Fried's 19.2 percent strikeout rate was nothing to write home about, but he has the highest floor among this slate's starters and comes at a reasonable price.
Framber Valdez ($8,900) pitched five scoreless innings in relief for Houston in the first game of the wild-card round, and he's set to return to his more traditional role as a starter in Game 2 against Oakland. The lefty posted a sparkling 76:16 K:BB in 70.2 innings during a breakout regular season.
Tyler Glasnow ($9,300) is this slate's most expensive pitcher due to his tremendous strikeout ability (38.2 percent strikeout rate), but he'll be a high-risk, high-reward option against a Yankees lineup that has already hit 11 home runs in just three games this postseason. Glasnow faced the AL East rival Yankees three times in the regular season and got better with each subsequent matchup. After getting smacked around for four runs and striking out five in 2.2 innings in their first encounter, the right-hander bounced back with two earned runs and eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings in their next meeting before finishing with nine strikeouts over six shutout innings in their third matchup.
If you're looking for a cheap arm with upside, the other guy on the mound in the Yankees-Rays game could be your answer. Rookie Deivi Garcia ($7,200) is getting the surprise Game 2 nod for New York, and the Yankees will be looking for length out of him after using two of their three reliable relievers (Chad Green and Zack Britton) in a Game 1 that they didn't blow open until the ninth inning. Garcia lasted at least 6.2 innings in three of his final four starts and posted a 33:6 K:BB over 34.1 innings overall. That excellent control should help him rack up plenty of whiffs against a Rays team that struck out a league-high 10.13 times per game this season.
Top Targets
Freddie Freeman ($5,400) had a .499 wOBA against right-handed pitchers this season. Atlanta's first baseman will be facing Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara, who was lights out against right-handed batters (.215 wOBA against) but struggled to get out batters from the left side (.369 wOBA against).
Fernando Tatis ($5,400) went 5-for-11 in the wild-card round, including two home runs and five RBI in Game 2 of that series. The Padres' star shortstop should keep rolling against Dodgers righty Walker Buehler, who lasted only four innings against Milwaukee in the wild-card round.
Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena ($3,600) has turned into one of the league's toughest outs this postseason, going 3-for-4 in each of his last two games, including a home run off Gerrit Cole in his first at-bat of Game 1 against the Yankees. At just $3,600, it shouldn't be hard to fit Tampa Bay's three-hole hitter into your lineup.
Best Values
Khris Davis ($3,000) went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer that opened the scoring in Game 1, and he now has two home runs in three games this postseason after going deep just twice in 30 regular-season games for Oakland. If Davis has indeed rediscovered his power stroke, he offers tremendous upside at just $3,000, as we're talking about a guy who topped 40 home runs for three consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2018.
Chad Wallach ($2,700) is an enticing affordable option to throw into your catcher spot. The Marlins' catcher has some sneaky upside with the left-handed Fried on the mound for Atlanta. Wallach only had 13 plate appearances against lefties this season, but he was tremendous over that small sample size, going 5-for-10 with a home run, two doubles and two walks.
Stacks to Consider
Astros vs. Athletics LHP Sean Manaea
George Springer (OF - $5,100), Carlos Correa (SS - $4,500), Alex Bregman (3B - $4,500)
The Astros look like they might have found some spare trash cans or buzzers lying around in Dodger Stadium, as their lineup came alive in Monday's 10-5 Game 1 win. Springer went 4-for-5 in the series opener, and the leadoff man has a .384 career wOBA against left-handed pitchers like Manaea. Correa had a down regular season but went deep twice in Game 1 and had a .405 wOBA against lefties in 2019. Bregman's coming off a fourth consecutive regular season with a wOBA over .400 against southpaws, and he's also coming into Game 2 with plenty of momentum after homering in Game 1.
Dodgers vs. Padres RHP Zach Davies
Mookie Betts (OF - $5,700), Corey Seager (SS - $5,200), Max Muncy (1B/3B - $4,800)
Davies was lit up for four runs in just two innings in his playoff debut by the Cardinals in the wild-card round, and a Dodgers offense that led the league with 5.74 runs per game this season is capable of finding just as much success against the righty. Betts actually struggled to hit lefties this season but posted a robust .438 wOBA in righty-on-righty matchups, with all 16 of his home runs coming in that split. The left-handed batting Seager capitalized in his platoon advantage with a .416 wOBA against righties this season and should occupy the two-hole behind Betts. Muncy is eligible at either corner infield spot, and while he had a down season after back-to-back 35-homer campaigns, the left-handed slugger should continue to get plenty of opportunities to drive in runs out of the cleanup spot.
Yankees vs. Rays RHP Tyler Glasnow
DJ LeMahieu (2B/3B - $5,100), Giancarlo Stanton (OF - $4,600), Aaron Hicks (OF - $3,600)
While Glasnow found success against the Yankees in his last two starts, he was facing injury-riddled lineups that couldn't match the depth that New York's trotting out there now. The versatile LeMahieu won the batting title with a .364./.421/.590 line atop New York's batting order, and the man known as "The Machine" churned out two hits in the 9-3 Game 1 win. Stanton's Game 1 grand slam gave him a home run in each of New York's three games this postseason, as he's healthy for the first time in two years and showing off the power that helped him launch 97 long balls between the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Hicks went 3-for-4 in Game 1, and the switch-hitting three-hole hitter will have the platoon advantage against Glasnow and any of the arms that come out of Tampa Bay's bullpen.
