MLB DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Friday Playbook

Happy Friday! Welcome to what is potentially the final MLB DFS Playbook of the year. We could have one last playbook on Monday if the NLCS goes seven games and the ALCS goes six games, but if not, this will be it for the season, so let's finish strong!

We have game 4 of the ALCS, with the Guardians looking to tie the series after winning an incredible back-and-forth game last night in Cleveland and the Mets looking to extend the series after falling down 3-1 to the Dodgers in New York. Let’s see who will tip the scales in tonight's matchups! 

Today’s two-game slate will start with the Dodgers vs. Mets game at 5:08 PM, followed by the Yankees and Gurdians at 8:08 PM on both DraftKings and FanDuel. 

Jack Flaherty returns to the mound for the Dodgers, with David Peterson pitching for the Mets and Luis Gil taking the mound for the Yankees against Gavin Williams and the Cleveland Guardians.

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, October 18

A two-game slate already limits us to four pitching options. David Peterson will likely throw more pitches today than he has been but I don’t see the value there with how the Dodgers are hitting right now. 

Gavin Williams is getting his first start since September 22nd, as the Guardians haven’t needed a fourth starter yet. Luis Gil is also making his first postseason start, having not pitched since September 28th. I prefer him to Williams and think he will have the longer leash, so I am looking towards leaning on the top two pitching options of Jack Flaherty and Luis Gil today.

On the offensive side, since I am going with the Yankees and Dodgers pitchers, I will mostly look to stack the Yankees and Dodgers on offense as well. However, I will provide some options in the cheatsheet outside of those two lineups in case you disagree with my pitching choices or want to mix things up.

MLB Weather Today, 10/18

Everything is clear again today.

MLB DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator Today

This Playbook is your ultimate resource for crafting amazing MLB DFS picks. Dive into our expert advice and recommendations, and don’t forget to check out today’s MLB DFS projections, MLB DFS ownership projections and our special MLB lineups page! 

You can easily mix all this info with the MLB DFS Lineup Generator, helping you lock in your Core Plays and create winning lineups quickly! Here’s a sample lineup for today’s games:

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

• Jack Flaherty vs. New York Mets (Over 6.5 +120)
• Luis Gil vs. Cleveland Guardians (Over 4.5 +110)
• David Peterson vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (Over 3.5 +100)
• Gavin Williams vs. New York Yankees (Over 3.5 +125)

Best Odds For A Win

• Jack Flaherty vs. New York Mets
• Luis Gil vs. Cleveland Guardians
• Gavin Williams vs. New York Yankees
• David Peterson vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Jack Flaherty, Los Angeles Dodgers

Jack Flaherty had a rough first outing in the postseason, but he bounced back beautifully in game one against the Mets. He pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. He has a great strikeout upside, and I think he can shut down the Mets again.

The price isn’t super high for being the best pitcher on the slate, and I think he has both the safest floor and the highest ceiling today, so I will trust him to go out and give the Dodgers a great chance at taking game five and heading to the World Series. 

Luis Gil, New York Yankees

Luis Gil struggled a bit in his final two games of the season, giving up 10 earned runs in his final two starts. He had a fantastic rookie season, though, and coming in for his first postseason start, I think he has a good chance of having a great outing. 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

• New York Yankees vs. Gavin Williams (Over 4.5 +120)
• Los Angeles Dodgers vs. David Peterson (Over 3.5 -145)
• Cleveland Guardians vs. Luis Gil (Over 3.5 -115)
• New York Mets vs. Jack Flaherty (Over 3.5 +114)

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters

Kike Hernandez, 1B/OF Los Angeles Dodgers

Throw out everything you thought about Kike Hernandez all season. There is something about this man in October that we can’t ignore. He just continues to produce, and coming in at a very reasonable price, it is hard not to ride the hot bat and figure that the magic will continue because he hasn’t given you much reason to think it won’t. 

Gleyber Torres, 2B New York Yankees

Gleyber Torres has looked great as the Yankees leadoff man this postseason. He had a quiet day yesterday, but before that 6 hits in 3 games. He still gets the pleasure of hitting in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, and with the lack of options at 2nd base, he provides an easy option at a reasonable price. 

Max Muncy, 3B Los Angeles Dodgers 

Max Muncy has been flexing his muscles in the NLCS with 2 homers already and will be looking for more tonight against Kodai Senga and those that follow. He also just set a record for the most consecutive plate appearances reaching base safely in the postseason. He has enormous power and has consistently produced in the big moments, so I will be looking for Muncy to add some more fireworks to game five today. 

Tommy Edman, SS/OF Los Angeles Dodgers

Tommy Edman has had a solid series so far. What I really like about him today is the fact that Kodai Senga likely won’t last long, so David Peterson will be getting a bulk of the innings today, and Tommy Edman is a monster against left-handed pitching, as he showed once again yesterday against Quintana and the Mets with multiple big hits. 

Tommy Edman also remains pretty cheap today, allowing you to get a good stack of the Dodgers with his two teammates in my favorites and potentially some of their other big bats you can afford, like Mookie Betts or Shohei Ohtani, who both had big games themselves last night.    

Giancarlo Stanton, OF New York Yankees

Giancarlo Stanton continues to have an absolutely incredible postseason. Last night, he had one of the biggest homers of his career, giving the Yankees the lead after Aaron Judge tied the game before the Guardians made an epic comeback. He has been one of the best hitters in the postseason, and I am not sure how you aren’t including him in any lineups you are building right now. 

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Jack Flaherty $8,800	Austin Wells $3,500	Shohei Ohtani $6,500	Gleyber Torres $4,100	Max Muncy $4,800	Francisco Lindor $5,600	Aaron Judge $6,300
			Freddie Freeman $4,600				Juan Soto $6,100
							Mookie Betts $5,200
							Teoscar Hernández $5,000
Medium	Luis Gil $8,500	David Fry $3,400	Josh Naylor $3,800	Andrés Giménez $3,500	Mark Vientos $4,300	Anthony Volpe $3,600	Giancarlo Stanton $4,500
							Lane Thomas $4,200
							Brandon Nimmo $4,000
Low			Anthony Rizzo $3,100	Gavin Lux $3,200		Brayan Rocchio $2,600	Tommy Edman $3,700
							Enrique Hernández $3,300
							Will Brennan $2,400

Stacks

Dodgers	Mookie Betts	Teoscar Hernández	Tommy Edman	Enrique Hernández	Max Muncy
DraftKings	5200	5000	3700	3300	4800
Fanduel	4000	3500	3100	2900	3900

Yankees	Juan Soto	Anthony Volpe	Gleyber Torres	Aaron Judge	Giancarlo Stanton
DraftKings	6100	3600	4100	6300	4500
Fanduel	4400	3100	3100	4700	3500