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
Matt Wallner hit a two-run homer in a blowout win over the Mariners on Thursday for the Twins.
Wallner smashed a homer to left-center that extended Minnesota’s lead to 10-0. The power-hitting outfielder has homered seven times in 2025,, and the roundtripper helps his slugging percentage bump up to .442. He’s also hitting just .209 in 2025, and he’s the very definition of a one-category player over the first half of the campaign.
Brooks Lee hit a solo homer in a blowout win for the Twins on Thursday over the Mariners.
Lee hit a solo homer off Zach Pop in the sixth inning to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. Minnesota would end up scoring another seven runs in the inning. It’s been a strong month of June for the 24-year-old, as Lee has now homered four times with a .907 OPS over those 77 at-bats since the end of May.
Trevor Larnach delivered a two-run homer and drove in three runs to help the Twins to a 10-1 rout of the Mariners on Thursday.
In a scoreless game in the fifth inning, Larnach smoked a two-run homer off Emerson Hancock to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. They’d score the next eight in a game that ended up being a rout, but it doesn’t happen without Larnach. He also drive in a run on a fielder’s choice in an eight-run sixth inning. Larnach has homered 12 times over the first half of the campaign, and he’s plated 39 runs. Those aren’t elite numbers, but there’s been some strong moments for Larnach over his first 282 at-bats.
Emerson Hancock allowed just two runs over five innings but still took a loss to the Twins on Thursday.
Hancock was shellacked for four homers and nine runs in his previous start, so this was a marked improvement. It also helped he wasn’t pitching in a windstorm like he did against the Cubs, but the stuff looked better. Unfortunately, he got a goose egg of run support, and a two-run homer by Trevor Larnach was enough. Hancock’s 5.30 ERA is a bit misleading as it’s mostly based on two horrific starts, and he’ll be back on the bump against the Royals on Tuesday.
Simeon Woods Richardson blanked the Mariners over five innings while picking up a win for the Twins on Thursday.
Woods Richardson struck out six and allowed just two hits with one walk in one of his best starts of the season. He did allow two doubles, but the runners never advanced past second and he was able to procure nine swings and misses on 82 pitches. Woods Richardson still owns an ugly 4.63 ERA, but he’ll have a friendly matchup on paper when he faces the Marlins on Tuesday.
Mitch Garver will undergo additional testing after leaving Thursday’s contest against the Twins after he took a foul ball off of his jaw during the fifth inning.
The ball seemed to hit just inside his face mask and caught Garver flush on the chin/jaw area. He’ll undergo additional imaging on Thursday, the results of which aren’t expected to be known until Friday. Harry Ford was subsequently scratched from his game at Triple-A Tacoma on Friday and would be an option to join the M’s on Friday if Garver is forced to land on the injured list.