This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We've reached the final day of the MLB regular season. What a year it's been. The playoffs will begin soon, and DFS baseball will continue. This is the last time we'll have all 30 teams in action this year. There's a tricky aspect to picking out your DFS lineup today and that's the fact the pitching selections are really murky. A lot of teams haven't officially announced their starters as of this writing, and I wouldn't be surprised if many of them only get a few innings. I shall do my best. The first set of games start at 3:05 p.m. ET. Here are my recommendations.
PITCHING
Chris Sale, BOS at WAS ($9,800): It's good to be going with a pitcher on a team with something left to play for. Sale has made eight starts since returning from injury and has only failed to go at least five innings once. The lefty has also posted a 2.90 ERA during that time. Washington's offense ranks middle of the pack, but the circumstances of this contest plus Sale's lofty upside still appeals to me.
Hyun Jin Ryu, TOR vs. BAL ($8,000): Ryu didn't have the season the Blue Jays hoped for as he posted a 4.39 ERA. However, his FIP is slightly better at 4.00. This matchup is a good way for Ryu to end the season as he'll face an Orioles side that ranks 26th in runs scored and has one of MLB's worst records.
Aaron Civale, CLE at TEX ($7,500): Civale comes in with a 4.03 ERA, but a 3.32 mark on the road. Since 2019, he's managed a 3.39 ERA away from home and that's in line with his career numbers. Texas isn't always an easy place to pitch, but early October is different from the peak of summer. The Rangers also sit in the bottom-three in runs scored and last in team OBP.
Reiver Sanmartin, CIN at PIT ($7,100): One last time this season, I get to recommend a pitcher facing the Pirates. They rank last in runs scored, slugging percentage, OPS, you name it. Sanmartin will be making his second career start, and the Reds clearly have wanted to make things easy for the inexperienced pitcher. His first start was also against the Pirates, and he only allowed one run over 5.2 innings.
TOP TARGETS
Paul Goldschmidt, STL vs. CHC ($4,100): For the fourth full season in a row, Goldschmidt hit over 30 home runs. He also threw in 12 stolen bases for good measure. Goldy has also produced a .294 average, in line with his career .293 number. Alec Mills enters with a 5.09 ERA and has recently been serving up homers like McDonald's serves up Big Macs with at least one long ball allowed in five straight outings.
Rafael Devers, BOS at WAS ($3,900): Devers has set a career high with 36 home runs while also posting an .875 OPS. The lefty's OPS rises to .952 versus right-handed pitchers. The Nationals are expected to trot out the righty Erick Fedde, who's registered a 5.29 ERA while also giving up 1.57 home runs per nine innings.
VALUE BATS
Raimel Tapia, COL at ARI ($2,400): Tapia doesn't provide much power, but he's hit .274 and stolen 20 bases. During his limited MLB career, Arizona pitcher Humberto Mejia has really struggled with a career 6.65 FIP while allowing 2.60 home runs per nine innings.
Luis Arraez, MIN at KC ($2,100): Arraez also doesn't offer much power, but often gets to lead off for the Twins thanks to his career .310 average and .372 OBP. Getting on base is the best route to scoring runs, and Jackson Kowar tends to give up a lot of them. Even if you look beyond his 11.28 ERA – and that's hard to do – he also sports a 6.76 FIP.
STACKS TO CONSIDER
Blue Jays vs. Bruce Zimmermann: Marcus Semien ($3,800), Bo Bichette ($3,900), Teoscar Hernandez ($3,400)
Zimmermann just returned to action after missing a good chunk of the season, but he was scuffling prior to his injury with a 5.21 FIP in 13 appearances. The Blue Jays boasted a great lineup for DFS players in 2021, so why not give them a little love to end the regular season? I didn't eschew Vladimir Guerrero for any reason other than the fact there are other players worth paying attention to, you could save a smidge of salary, and there are plenty of options at first base.
If not for Guerrero's presence, Semien would be getting even more attention. In his first - and possibly, last - season with the Blue Jays, he hit 44 home runs, stole 15 bases, and went over the century mark in runs and RBI. Bichette hits for more average than Semien – he's a career .300 hitter – but while he doesn't have quite as much power he's still produced 29 homers and 25 steals. It'd be easy to overlook Hernandez, but he's also racked up 32 home runs and 11 swiped bags with a 1.124 OPS versus lefties.
Reds vs. Mitch Keller: Nick Castellanos ($4,400), Joey Votto ($4,300), Max Schrock ($2,200)
Keller comes in with a 6.27 ERA, but with a 3.57 road ERA and 8.16 home mark. And yet, for some reason, the Pirates are having Keller take the mound in Pittsburgh to end the campaign. Well, what do they have to lose, I guess? Keller has also let lefties hit .339 against him over his career, which is why I chose two lefties for this stack.
Castellanos isn't a southpaw, but I've gone with him since he's gone .308 with 34 home runs. Votto is a lefty, of course, and has slashed .266/.377/.560 this year along with a 1.045 OPS versus right-handed pitchers. Schrock's time in the lineup has been limited, in part because they sit him against lefties. However, he's managed an .806 OPS versus righties and should be in the lineup today.
