This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Saturday brings one of our last opportunities to play a two-game slate on DrafKings, so let's take advantage of it while we still can. Here are some players to consider while crafting your entry.
Starting Pitchers
The pitcher with the highest upside for the day is Max Scherzer ($10,200). He recorded a 35.1 percent strikeout rate during the regular season, which was the fifth straight season in which he managed a mark of at least 30.7 percent. While he didn't pitch great in the Wild Card game against the Brewers, he rebounded to allow one run across seven innings in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Dodgers.
After Scherzer, there is a huge drop off in strikeout power among the other three starters. One that might still be worth taking a chance on is Masahiro Tanaka ($7,300), who will start Game 1 of the ALCS against the Astros. He pitched very well against the Twins in Game 2 of the ALDS, allowing one run and recording seven strikeouts over five innings. He's also pitched well in the playoffs in general, with a 1.54 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP across six starts over his career.
Correlations
The Yankees carried over their potent offense into the playoffs, scoring 23 runs during their three-game sweep of the Twins. Now they will face Zack Greinke, who was torched for six runs across 3.2 innings in his only start of the ALDS against the Rays. He didn't exactly end the regular season on a high note either, allowing at least four runs in three of his final six starts. Aaron Judge ($4,400), Edwin Encarnacion ($4,500) and DJ LeMahieu ($4,600) represent some of the top bats on the Yankees to target. Gleyber Torres ($4,400) is also worth considering given his reasonable price tag.
It's already been an impressive run for the Nationals, who have made it this far despite being one of the two NL Wild Card teams. They should be one of the other more popular lineups to pursue for their matchup with Adam Wainwright, who doesn't miss a lot of bats considering his 20.5 percent strikeout rate. Anthony Rendon ($4,900) and Juan Soto ($4,800) come in as the top two players to build a Nationals' stack around while Trea Turner ($4,600) is also a viable target. Injuries limited him to 122 games during the regular season, but he still produced a .356 wOBA to go along with 19 home runs and 35 steals.
One-Offs
Since we don't have a lot of options to choose from, it's not a crazy idea to deploy a Cardinal or two against Scherzer in tournament play. Paul Goldschmidt ($4,200) won't cost much and he's hot right now, having hit 9-for-25 with two home runs and four doubles across seven playoff games.
The Astros boast a ton of dangerous hitters, so it wouldn't be shocking if they scored some runs off of Tanaka. There may be no more appealing Astro than Jose Altuve ($4,700), who went 7-for-20 with three home runs and two doubles over the five games against the Rays. Left-handed hitters recorded a .349 wOBA versus Tanaka during the regular season, which also leaves Michael Brantley ($4,100) with some upside.
