MLB DFS Value Plays October 1: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Welcome to the final day of the baseball season! For the final day of the season, we get a full 15-game slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel, with all 30 MLB teams playing and all 15 games starting between 3:05 and 3:15 PM EST. The postseason races are officially over with the playoff hopes coming to an end yesterday for the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs. With it being the final day of the season make sure to watch for lineups to be announced because you never know what guys may be getting the day off, especially on postseason-bound teams. Let’s enjoy this final day of baseball and build some winning MLB DFS lineups! To do so we will need to find some good value plays to build lineups around so let’s jump right into some of my favorite value options of the day!
MLB DFS Value Pitchers
Michael King, New York Yankees (DraftKings: $8,000 / FanDuel: $8,600)
Michael King continues to be underpriced. He struggled with some walks in his last outing walking 5 batters through 6 innings, but he still struck out 5 and only gave up 1 hit and no earned runs so he at least didn’t let those walks hurt him and I expect him to have another great outing today with a good chance of getting back to the 8 plus strikeouts that he had in his previous three starts.
JP Sears, Oakland Athletics (DraftKings: $7,500 / FanDuel: $8,400)
JP Sears has had a pretty solid season overall and the Oakland Athletics and I expect him to cap it off with a gem today getting to face the Los Angeles Angels who aren’t a very scary offense without Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. JP Sears provides some decent strikeout upside with 7 in his last outing against the Detroit Tigers and should easily return this value today.
MLB DFS Value Hitters
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B/3B Cincinnati Reds(DraftKings: $4,100 / FanDuel: $3,100)
While the Cincinnati Reds fans may be disappointed that their season will be over today, they should be very excited about this young team they have and what they should be able to do next season with Christian Encarnacion-Strand being a big part of that. He has really flexed his power at the end of the season, and I am hoping he can add one more homer to his season total today and be a great value option.
Patrick Wisdom, 3B Chicago Cubs (DraftKings: $3,300 / FanDuel: $2,600)
Patrick Wisdom homered yesterday as the Cubs scored 10 runs in their win over the Milwaukee Brewers, but it was too little too late for the Cubs as their postseason hopes still came to an end with the Miami Marlins claiming the final wild-card spot. Patrick Wisdom has had a bit of an up-and-down season but always provides some decent power upside, and I am hoping can get homers in back-to-back games here to end the season.
Noelvi Marte, 3B/SS Cincinnati Reds (DraftKings: $3,700 / FanDuel: $2,400)
Here we have another young Cincinnati Red that I think will be a big part of their offense next season and I think we will rarely see his price this low next season. Noelvi had 6 hits in the last 2 games including 2 homers. He also has a hit in 12 of his last 13 games and has slashed .404/.429/.553 over that stretch. I expect him to continue to pile the hits today to end the season and who knows maybe he can also make it three straight games with a homer.
Trevor Larnach, OF Minnesota Twins (DraftKings: $3,800 / FanDuel: $3,300)
It feels like we must get a part of the final game in Coors Field of the season and the Minnesota Twins offense is a great place to go for it as they get ready for their postseason run. Who better to target than Trevor Larnach who comes in at a low price and has already homered in both of their first two games in Colorado. He should be able to easily return value at this price today getting to play in Coors.
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Player News
AJ Smith-Shawver made an early exit from Tuesday’s start against the Rockies after being struck on the arm by a line-drive.
Smith-Shawver was struck by a 105-mph line-drive from Rockies slugger Ryan McMahon, which led to his early exit from the contest in the sixth inning. The 22-year-old righty was charged with two runs over 5 1/3 frames in his return to the big leagues. He struck out five and issued two walks. He’ll presumably head for additional evaluation and testing to determine the severity of the issue. There should be an update on his status shortly.
Pete Alonso went 2-for-3 and crushed his seventh home run of the season on Tuesday night, helping to power the Mets to an 8-3 victory over the Diamondbacks.
Alonso worked Eduardo Rodriguez for a walk to start the third inning then rode home on Starling Marte’s two-run blast. He then victimized the veteran left-hander himself for a 416-foot (107.8 mph EV) solo shot that extended the Mets’ lead to 8-0. The 30-year-old slugger has been one of the hottest hitters in the league to open the 2025 season, slashing a robust .346/.462/.664 with seven long balls and a whopping 28 RBI.
Starling Marte went 1-for-3 and clubbed a two-run homer on Tuesday as the Mets triumphed over the Diamondbacks in New York.
The 36-year-old outfielder jumped on a 2-1 cutter from Eduardo Rodriguez in the third inning and swatted a 386-foot (107.0 mph EV) two-run homer that extended the Mets’ lead to 6-0. He also drew a walk in the contest. Marte is off to a brutal start offensively to open the 2025 campaign, slashing a woeful .184/.305/.347 with a pair of homers, 10 RBI and two stolen bases.
Francisco Lindor went 1-for-4 and swatted a two-run homer on Tuesday evening as the Mets bested the Diamondbacks.
Lindor capped off a four-run rally in the second inning with a 366-foot (102.7 mph EV) two-run blast off of Eduardo Rodriguez that made it a 4-0 ballgame. That would be his only hit in the ballgame, but that was all of the offense the Mets would require. The dynamic 31-year-old shortstop is off to another strong start at the plate this season, slashing .302/.364/.491 with six homers, 16 RBI and a pair of stolen bases.
David Peterson picked up his second victory of the season on Tuesday evening, limiting the Diamondbacks to just one run on five hits over his five innings.
Peterson struck out two batters on the night and didn’t allow a base on balls. The only run that the Diamondbacks were able to muster against him came on an RBI double by Jorge Barrosa in his fifth and final inning of work. The 29-year-old southpaw generated nine swings and misses on 85 pitches in the contest, registering a CSW of 28 percent. Now 2-1 on the season, he’ll tote a 3.06 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 30/9 K/BB ratio (32 1/3 innings) into a rematch against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Monday.
Jorge Barrosa went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Tuesday night in a lopsided loss to the Mets.
The 24-year-old drew a start in center field and batted ninth against Mets’ left-hander David Peterson on Tuesday evening. He got the Diamondbacks on the board with a run-scoring double off of Peterson in the fifth inning, then drove in the team’s final run with a ground out in the ninth. He’s just 2-for-12 (.167) with three RBI in his limited action with the Diamondbacks.