There are two NLDS Game 3 matchups on the slate for tonight's MLB schedule. No team will be sent home with a loss, as both series are currently tied at one on a best-of-five schedule. 

That said, earning the second win will be crucial for each team. It's going to be a wild night of baseball. Therefore, make sure to check out my favorite MLB DFS picks, which use various MLB DFS projections for today's playoff baseball slate for FanDuel and DraftKings. 

 

 

 

MLB September Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, October 8th

MLB Weather Today, 10/8

The rain should miss north of the ballpark, but there could be a shower or two during this game. As of now, it's probably unlikely.

MLB DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator Today

In DraftKings, I'd look to start Sean Manaea and Michael King. However, on FanDuel, with just one starter, I'd roll with Sean Manaea. 

Manaea has the most value and likely won't walk many batters, if any. Sure, he might let up a solo shot here and there. But he's got the best matchup on the slate and has been really good throughout the second half of the season and into the playoffs. 

You'll also want to stack up on the Padres. Walker Buehler isn't expected to go very deep in this game. After all, his strikeout prop is currently at 2.5 (but juiced). Buehler has struggled since returning to the diamond, and the Padres have a ton of momentum after the Game 2 slugfest on the road. 

Insert as many San Diego Padres as you can stomach and then use the rest to fill up on Mets plays and maybe a couple of Phillies players like Bryce Harper. 

Here's a suggested DraftKings lineup with my favorite MLB DFS picks.

 

 

 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

Best Odds For A Win

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Michael King, San Diego Padres

No pitcher has a good matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But if you're going to select a pitcher in this Padres-Dodgers game, it's got to be Michael King. King struck out 28.3% of batters this season and is coming off a 12-strikeout performance against the Braves in the Wild Card Series. 

King has held opponents to a .117 ISO and wOBA of .277 throughout the year and has thrown at least five innings in five consecutive games. The strikeouts might not come nearly as easy against the Dodgers. Yet, the Dodgers have only four batters hitting an ISO above .150 over the last month against righties. 

It's still likely King adds a healthy amount of strikeouts. He needs to throw strikes because the Dodgers will make him pay if he doesn't. That said, King has walked only 5.2% of batters over the last month. That's a good sign. 

Sean Manaea, New York Mets

We'll likely get the same production from Aaron Nola and Sean Manaea. But Manaea will be the cheaper option, pitching at home in front of rowdy fans rooting him on. Therefore, I'll ride with Manaea as the other starter. 

Manaea has held batters to a .138 ISO and wOBA of .279 this season. He's also issued 24.8% of strikeouts and has added 11.5% of swinging strikes with 23.5% of whiffs. Maybe he adds fewer strikeouts than Nola. 

But he's also facing a Phillies lineup that has only walked 3% of the time and has hit a .295 wOBA. The Phillies will be aggressive, and if Manaea continues to get weak contact, he can surely go deeper in this game. He's one of the better MLB DFS picks using this slate. 

 

 

 

MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters

Bryce Harper, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies

Sean Manaea has been sensational against righties this season. However, he's still allowed a .181 ISO and wOBA of .336 to 162 lefties this season. Additionally, he's given up 46.1% of hard contact and has added just 10.8% of swinging strikes. 

Meanwhile, Bryce Harper has hit a .160 ISO and wOBA of .385 against his last 28 lefties. While he's got a high strikeout rate, Manaea hasn't over the previous month against lefties, adding only 22.6% of strikeouts.

Harper has hit 43.8% of line drives and has knocked 75% of hard contact with a 25% barrel percentage against lefties over the last month. If anyone can turn on one against Manaea, it'll be Harper. 

Mark Vientos, 3B, Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets

Over the last 30 days, Aaron Nola has allowed a .250 ISO and wOBA of .418 against his last 49 righties. He's also allowed 28.1% of line drives and 43.8% of hard contact. It's been a trend throughout the season. Righties have added a .153 ISO and wOBA of .315, with 42.2% of hard contact and nearly 26% of line drives. 

Righties can get to Nola. Therefore, consider Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso. These two right-handed power bats have a lot of potential to go deep. Vientos is coming off a two-home run game and is now hitting a .152 ISO against his last 71 righties. He's getting red hot at the right time. 

On the other hand, Alonso has already socked two home runs in the postseason and is also starting to get hot. The right-hander has smashed a .296 ISO and wOBA of .377 against his last 69 righties. Consider taking advantage of Nola's struggles against righties and add these two to the lineup. 

Jurickson Profar, OF, Jackson Merrill, OF, David Peralta, OF, San Diego Padres

Since returning to the mound for the Dodgers, Walker Buehler has allowed a .239 ISO and wOBA of .387 to 178 lefties. He's also given up 51.2% of hard contact and nearly 31% of line drives. Beyond that, he's earned just 7.8% of swinging strikes and hasn't even earned 17% of whiffs. 

He'll battle a bunch of really good lefties in the San Diego lineup tonight. Look at what these San Diego lefties have done to righties over the last month:

Against Buehler, you'll want to stack your MLB DFS picks with many Padres players. The lefties come first, but Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis would never be bad options, either. 

 

 

 

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