Welcome to MLB playoff baseball! Today’s MLB DFS slate is consistent across the board as DraftKings, Yahoo and FanDuel will all start at 12:07 pm ET and include all four games today. Starting pitching is, unsurprisingly, full of star-power today with studs like Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber taking the mound. My top value arm, and that feels funny to say, is Zack Wheeler, while a scorching hot Whit Merrifield is my top value bat. We don’t appear to have any MLB weather concerns on this slate, but make sure to check the weather center leading up to first pitch. Lastly, don’t forget to check out MLB implied runs totals using our Vegas Odds link and to use our MLB DFS lineup generator. Let’s dive into our MLB DFS top picks today!

 

MLB DFS Pitchers

Zack Wheeler, Phillies (DraftKings - $7200 / FanDuel - $10,000 / Yahoo - $38)

Wheeler is an elite option at a cheap price on all three sites, most likely due to the tough matchup against St. Louis, but Wheeler is the type of guy that can shutdown any lineup. If you love BvP, none of the Cardinals hitters have had much success against Wheeler, which just helps Wheeler’s cause today even more. Wheeler finished the year with a 2.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 163 strikeouts across 153 innings of work. In his final start of the season he fired five shutout innings with seven Ks. He is ready to go today. 

Alek Manoah, Blue Jays (DraftKings - $6900)

Manoah is only cheap on DK, so that is where I would lock him in as my SP2. He had an amazing season, going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 180 Ks across 196.2 innings. He’s been even better of late with a 1.81 ERA over his last 10 starts. In his lone start against the Mariners this season, he pitched 7.1 innings of two-run ball while striking out seven. The Mariners have the second lowest scoring offense of any team in the playoffs (only the Rays scored fewer runs per game). 

MLB DFS Hitters

Whit Merrifield, Blue Jays (DraftKings - $2800 / FanDuel - $2900 / Yahoo - $13) 

Merrifield closed out the season in a big way, slashing .422/.426/.778 over his last 13 games with four home runs, four doubles, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored. He hit for a higher average against righties this season and 14 of his 16 steals came against them as well. It’s Game 1 of the playoffs, so every hitter has a tough matchup today, but I’ll take my chances on the hot bat of Whit and he is probably the top value play across the board of sites today. 

Oscar Gonzalez, Guardians (FanDuel - $2800)

Gonzalez is slashing .333/.364/.381 over his last 10 games with eight runs scored. He finished his rookie season hitting .296 with 11 home runs, 27 doubles, and 80 total R+RBI across 90 games of action. He has proven that he can hit and today he gets to face McClanahan, who comes into the postseason as the most struggling pitcher on the slate; he has given up 16 hits, seven walks, 11 runs, and four home runs over his last 14 innings of work. 

Bryce Harper, Phillies (Yahoo - $13)

Harper has been pretty “meh” since coming off IL, but he has shown that he loves the spotlight and bright lights of the big stage. He has five home runs, four steals, and 22 R+RBI across 19 career postseason games. He can hit lefties just fine as he slashed .256/.348/.427 against them this season. He was also way better on the road this season, slashing .320/.385/.539, compared to .244/.339/.482 at home in Philly. 

Other Potential Value Plays

  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Blue Jays (Yahoo - $12)
  • Alec Bohm, Phillies (FanDuel - $2700)
 

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