Yahoo DFS Baseball: Tuesday Playoff Picks

Yahoo DFS Baseball: Tuesday Playoff Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.

Tuesday's two-game MLB slate beginning at 5:09 PM Eastern time features games from both the ALCS and NLCS. With just four teams left in the hunt, there are plenty of familiar faces to choose from in the last few DFS slates of the 2018 MLB season.

PITCHER

Dallas Keuchel, HOU vs. BOS ($35): Keuchel is the most affordable of the three listed starters (Milwaukee hasn't named its Game 4 starter as of this writing), but he might end up being the most effective. The lefty loves pitching in his pitcher-friendly home park, having posted a 2.69 ERA over 378 innings at Minute Maid Park since the start of the 2015 campaign. All four offenses remaining know how to put runs on the board, but Keuchel has the most extensive track record of keeping opponents from doing so.

Rich Hill, LAD vs. MIL ($43): Speaking of pitchers that have been effective at pitcher-friendly home parks, Hill's ERA at Dodger Stadium over the past two seasons is a tidy 3.18. He's also capable of racking up a prolific strikeout total after posting a 27.4 percent strikeout rate in 2018, and Milwaukee whiffed more than any other team remaining at 8.92 strikeouts per game during the regular season.

CATCHER

Yasmani Grandal, LAD vs. MIL ($10): Milwaukee will likely mix and match with its excellent bullpen in this contest, but the switch-hitting Grandal will have the platoon advantage no matter which pitcher he's facing. With a .363 wOBA at Dodger Stadium this season, Grandal offers the most upside at a position that isn't exactly teeming with big-name sluggers at this point.

FIRST BASE

Steve Pearce, BOS at HOU ($8): Pearce pummeled left-handed pitching to the tune of a .407 wOBA in the regular season, so he should bat in the heart of Boston's top-heavy lineup against the left-handed Keuchel. What more could you ask for from an $8 first baseman at this point?

SECOND BASE

Jose Altuve, HOU vs. BOS ($18): Altuve's knee injury may force him into a designated hitter role, but there's almost no chance it will keep him out. Even at less than full health, the dropoff from Altuve to the likes of Ian Kinsler and Jonathan Schoop (Milwaukee's Travis Shaw will likely sit against the left-handed Hill) is large enough that he's worth paying a few extra dollars for. Sports history is filled with star athletes overcoming injuries to deliver iconic performances. Altuve could easily turn into the latest example of such a feat.

THIRD BASE

Alex Bregman, HOU vs. BOS ($22): If Bregman seems to be on base every time you turn on an Astros playoff game, it's because he pretty much is. Through the team's first five postseason contests, he has five hits -- including two home runs and a double -- to go with a whopping 10 walks. Pitchers simply can't get him out right now, and Bregman's .419 wOBA against righties at home this season suggests Boston's Nathan Eovaldi is unlikely to fare better than those that have tried before him.

SHORTSTOP

Manny Machado, LAD vs. MIL ($20): With Milwaukee's pitching situation still up in the air, it's best to grab Dodgers batters that can hit well against both lefties and righties. Machado fits that bill perfectly with a .383 wOBA against the former and a .374 mark facing the latter this season. He's also proven to thrive on the biggest stage with three home runs already this postseason.

OUTFIELD

Ryan Braun, MIL at LAD ($13): Braun has a .421 career wOBA against left-handed pitching, and his .360 mark in that split this season was significantly better than Braun's .315 season wOBA in righty-on-righty matchups. The veteran slugger's a cost-effective option primed to do damage against Hill from the heart of Milwaukee's batting order.

Lorenzo Cain, MIL at LAD ($17): Braun was good against lefties this year, but Cain was even better. Cain's regular-season wOBA in that split was .422, so Milwaukee's leadoff man is primed to do massive damage against Hill from the get-go.

J.D. Martinez, BOS at HOU ($21): Martinez has the power to hit the ball out of the cavernous Minute Maid Park, having blasted 43 regular-season home runs and another in the playoffs. His wOBA against both lefties and righties was over .400 this season, so Martinez is ready for Keuchel and any other pitcher Houston throws at him. At $21, Martinez's upside is as high as you'll find in this slate.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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