MLB DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Wednesday Playbook
Published: Oct 09, 2024
Happy Thursday! What a postseason it has been already! We have had so much excitement, and now we can continue it today with the final day of four games this season. That is right; after today, we will have no more than two games in a day the rest of the way.
Will the Mets knock out the Phillies? Can the Dodgers come up with an answer for the Padres' dominant bullpen? Who will get the 2-1 lead in the ALDS series? There are lots of questions to answer today, and we have some more winning DFS lineups to build as well.
Today’s 4-game slate will start with the Tigers vs. Guardians game getting underway at 3:08 PM ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Reaching the middle of all four series, we are at the back end of the rotations, which will make things interesting today, so let’s dive right into today’s playbook and all my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day!
MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, October 9
The pitching options are rough today. Dylan Cease is the top-priced guy, and while he does still bring the most upside of any pitcher on the slate, it hasn’t been good results in his last two starts, both against the Dodgers, so is the third time the charm? I am not so sure. Strikeout lines are low across the board, and nobody has great odds of a win. I’ve got my two favorites for the day that I like, and they even come with plenty of risk, but that’s the postseason for you!
On the offensive side, my favorite team to run with right now is the Padres, who are completely clicking. They get to face Landon Knack and whoever else the Dodgers throw. After the Padres, my favorite lineups to target are the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Kansas City Royals.
MLB Weather Today, 10/9
Everything is staying clear for us 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
- Dylan Cease vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
- Seth Lugo vs. New York Yankees
- Jose Quintana vs. Philadelphia Phillies
- Clarke Schmidt vs. Kansas City Royals
Best Odds For A Win
- Dylan Cease vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jose Quintana vs. Philadelphia Phillies
- Seth Lugo vs. New York Yankees
- Clarke Schmidt vs. Kansas City Royals
MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Pitchers
Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals
Seth Lugo had an excellent season, and I trust him to come through at home against the Yankees. This Yankees team can put up plenty of runs in a hurry, but they can also go cold really fast, and with Aaron Judge not doing much through the postseason so far, I think Lugo might be able to hold them down.
Lugo has plenty of strikeout upside. He has four different starts with at least 10 strikeouts, with his most recent one coming against the New York Yankees exactly a month ago when he threw 7 scoreless innings against them. Even if he doesn’t do that today, he could still provide plenty of value.
Jose Quintana, New York Mets
Running with Jose Quintana at first glance might seem crazy at first glance, but what other pitcher on today’s slate has been more consistent of late than Quintana? His last 6 starts have been fantastic. He has piled up 34 strikeouts in 36 innings and has a 0.75 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.
The Phillies can still be plenty dangerous, but they looked pretty dead yesterday. I think there is a good chance that the veteran Quintana can keep this incredible run going and put the Phillies' season in jeopardy of ending today.
MLB DFS Lineup Picks: Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
- New York Yankees vs. Seth Lugo
- San Diego Padres vs. Landon Knack
- Philadephia Phillies vs. Jose Quintana
- Kansas City Royals vs. Clarke Schmidt
MLB DFS Lineups: Core MLB DFS Hitters
Pete Alonso, 1B New York Mets
Playoff Pete is looking locked in. He has had big homers in back-to-back games and 3 homers in his last 4 games. The New York Mets will be looking to end the Phillies season and propel themselves to the NLCS with a win today and Alonso will certainly be swinging for the fences again.
Michael Massey, 2B Kansas City Royals
I think the Royals can ride the momentum from the last game and put up some runs in their first game at home against the Yankees. Michael Massey has looked good so far in the postseason slashing .400/.471/.467 through his first 4 games. 2nd base continues to be a wasteland with these 4 teams and I think this price on Massey is a fair one for the production he can bring compared to the rest of the field.
Mark Vientos, 3B New York Mets
Mark Vientos has been absolutely owning the Phillies in this series. He has gone 7 for 12 with 2 homers, a double, 3 runs scored, and 5 RBIs. I don’t think he slows things down today against Ranger Suarez. He is looking completely locked in, he has huge power potential, and I don’t know if the Phillies have an answer for the Mets right now.
Fernando Tatis, OF San Diego Padres
Fernando Tatis is the MVP of the postseason so far. Quoting James Grande from yesterday “There’s locked in and then there’s whatever Fernando Tatis is on”. He has a 1.970 OPS in the postseason so far with 4 homers, 8 runs, and 7 RBIs through 5 games. This Padres team is looking incredible strong and Tatis is leading the way.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Shohei Ohtani  $6,500 |  José Ramírez $6,100 |  Bobby Witt $6,000 |  Fernando Tatis $5,700 | |||
 Bryce Harper $5,100 | Manny Machado $5,000 |  Francisco Lindor $5,400 | Mookie Betts $5,200 | ||||
| Teoscar Hernández $4,900 | |||||||
| Medium | Seth Lugo $8,500 | Salvador Perez $4,300 |  Josh Naylor $4,000 |  Gleyber Torres $4,200 | Mark Vientos $4,200 | Xander Bogaerts $4,000 | Jackson Merrill $4,800 |
 Kyle Higashioka $3,300 | Matt Vierling $4,000 | Riley Greene $4,600 | |||||
| Kerry Carpenter $4,400 | |||||||
| Parker Meadows $4,100 | |||||||
| Low |  Jose Quintana $7,200 | Bo Naylor $3,000 | Vinnie Pasquantino $3,900 | Michael Massey $3,700 | Maikel Garcia $3,800 | Tommy Edman $3,600 |  Jurickson Profar $3,900 |
| Francisco Alvarez $2,900 | Spencer Torkelson $3,400 | Jose Iglesias $3,500 | Brayan Rocchio $2,600 |  Tommy Pham $3,600 | |||
| Jake Cronenworth $3,300 | Wenceel Pérez $3,300 | ||||||
| Colt Keith $3,200 | David Peralta $3,000 | ||||||
| MJ Melendez $2,900 |
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.