And then there were two. Two left playing anyway. The Yankees and Guardians are the only teams that haven't decided their division series round yet. We get prime-time baseball on Sunday. It's not all bad!
For showdown mode on DraftKings, we pick one captain who costs 1.5x his normal salary, but he also scores 1.5x the points. We must have at least one player from each team and relievers are fair game if you think you have a bead on which relievers will be used. On FanDuel, the format is a bit different. No player salaries are multiplied, but you get one MVP who scores double points and one start that scores 1.5x points along with three utility slots. Oh...and it's only hitters.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 10/16/22. The lineup will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. It’s also important to monitor injury news and today's MLB starting lineups. If you have any questions or comments, contact me on Twitter.
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MLB DFS Captain Options
Gerrit Cole ($17,100)
Well, if you're facing elimination, Cole is on the short list of pitchers you want on the mound. The strikeouts numbers are elite, and though Cole had some struggles this year, his performance against Cleveland this year is elite as well. Cole won all three starts against the Guardians while allowing just three runs – all on solo home runs – in 19 innings to go with 23 strikeouts. Those are actually pedestrian strikeout numbers for Cole, but it's well worth paying for on a showdown slate.
Harrison Bader ($9,300 DK; $5,000 FD)
This may seem an odd choice, but it allows you to pay up everywhere else and there is a method to my madness. Bader has homered twice in the three games of this series, including off of Quantrill in Game 1. That was Bader's second career homer in only five at-bats against Quantrill. In fact, Quantrill has only retired Bader once in those five tries. If you take a chance with Bader, you can use whatever else you want.
Star/MVP options: Anthony Rizzo ($14,500 DK; $8,000 FD); Steven Kwan ($12,300 DK; $7,000 FD)
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DraftKings/FanDuel DFS Utility Options
Along with the others I consider for the captain slot, these can be good utility plays as well.
Aaron Judge ($10,200 DK; $10,000 FD)
The Yankees moved Judge down to second in the lineup for Game 3 and it paid immediate dividends. Judge hit a two-run homer yesterday to tie the game in the third inning. We know that Judge has struggled since tying Roger Maris's AL Home Run Record. Seeing that ball go over the wall yesterday could have a positive effect on Judge.
Jose Ramirez ($9,800 DK; $8,500 FD)
Ramirez is hitting .348 over the course of the playoffs after a three-hit effort yesterday. Ramirez has six hits in the three games against the Yankees so far and he is one of the few Cleveland players that has hit Gerrit Cole well in his career. Ramirez is 7-for-24 with two homers, two doubles, a triple, and five walks against Cole. He's a virtual lock for points of some kind today.
Oscar Gonzalez ($7,200 DK; $6,500 FD)
It's really hard to want to load up on the Yankees in this game since most of them have struggled in this series. Gonzalez, since hitting the series-winning walk-off against the Rays in the 18th inning last Sunday, has three hits and three RBI in this series. He did draw the collar against Cole in Game 1, but his price is low enough if you decide to ride the hot bat.
Other Options: Giancarlo Stanton ($9,400 DK; $8,500 FD); Josh Naylor ($7,000 DK; $6,500 FD); Josh Donaldson ($7,800 DK; $5,500 FD)
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