This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We're down to only two days left in the regular season, and the playoff field — but not seeding — is set. The remaining schedule is a bit strange, as we have day games on Tuesday rather than Wednesday or Thursday, as is typically the case. As a result, we have only nine games to work with on the main slate. Be careful, because the Mets-Nationals game is still listed among the games on the main slate but no players from those games will accrue points. Neither team will be discussed in this article. There also could be a lot of changes to what is discussed in this article, so watch Rotowire's news feed before locking in your lineups.
Pitching
Anytime Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander are on the mound, they're reasonable selections. However, Carlos Rodon ($10,100) has been on a ridiculous run of generating strikeouts, maintaining a 45.5 percent strikeout rate across his last five starts. The Padres are right in the middle of the league as measured by wOBA. They strikeout at a below-average rate, which may take away some of the ceiling from Rodon, but he is still a strong choice.
NOTE: Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after Monday's game that the team is still deciding whether to start Rodon. Confirm his status prior to lineup lock.
It's unclear what Milwaukee's motivation may be like one day after being eliminated from playoff contention, but either way Zac Gallen ($9,400) is another slightly cheaper option to consider. He's piled up 30 or more DK points in three of his last five starts and is convincingly the fourth-best starter in the player pool.
I'm willing to bypass a majority of the middle-tier arms to roster Jeffrey Springs ($7,400). He's shown a realistic floor of around 13 points, and regularly tops 20 DK points. He doesn't have the ceiling of any of the aces we've discussed, but he doesn't have to reach that peak given his price. Boston is solid against southpaws, but also has a 24 percent strikeout against them – seventh highest in the league.
Michael Lorenzen ($6,800) may not quite be in punt territory, but he's close. His numbers for the season won't jump off the page, but he has tallied double-digit DK points in each of his last four starts and over 15 in each of his last three. Most importantly, he draws a matchup against Oakland – one of the most favorable opponents for opposing pitchers in the league.
Top Hitters
George Springer ($5,400) and the Blue Jays get one of the better matchups of the day against Mike Baumann, who has the lowest K% and K-BB%. He doesn't give up a lot of home runs, but Springer should be in a position to rack up DK points as Toronto's leadoff hitter.
The Angels have been out of contention for a long time, but that hasn't slowed Mike Trout ($6,300) as he's averaged 12.1 DK points across his last 10 games. Cole Irvin had a solid start to the season, but he has served up six home runs across his last three starts and had a 6.18 ERA across his last 10 outings.
Mitch White has the second highest SIERA among pitchers taking the mound Tuesday, so I like several options in the Orioles lineup. Cedric Mullins ($5,000) leads off and has multiple paths to production. Given that combination of things, he's a relatively cheap core piece to build around.
Value Hitters
Austin Slater ($2,600) has been a plug-and-play option when the Giants draw a lefty matchup all season. Not only does Slater serve as the team's leadoff hitter in that scenario, but he also owns .369 wOBA, 141 wRC+ and .172 ISO with the handedness advantage this season. A matchup against Sean Manaea doesn't raise any red flags.
Vidal Brujan ($2,300) got the chance to serve as the Rays' leadoff hitter Monday, as both David Peralta and Yandy Diaz are banged up. The team has little incentive to bring them back prior to the postseason, so Brujan could occupy the spot once again on Tuesday.
Stacks to Consider
White Sox vs. Twins (Josh Winder): Elvis Andrus ($4,000), Yoan Moncada ($3,700), Eloy Jimenez ($4,800)
It's hard to recommend the White Sox as a stack because their .247 team wOBA across the last 14 days indicates they've already mentally started their offseason vacations. However, the matchup is too good to completely disregard in this case as Winder has the highest SIERA and fourth-highest HR/9 among pitchers taking the mound Tuesday. There's definitely risk here, but that should also keep the roster rate low despite the positive matchup.
Orioles vs. Blue Jays (Mitch White): Cedric Mullins ($5,000), Adley Rutschman ($4,700), Anthony Santander ($4,700)
We have a relatively strong group of projected pitchers on the mound Tuesday, so there aren't as many obvious places to attack. White doesn't give up many home runs (0.8 HR/9 for the season), but he gives up a lot of contact and has an 8.5 percent walk rate. He has the second-highest SIERA on the slate behind Winder, so there are a number of reasons to believe the Orioles can put up a significant number of runs.
Angels at Athletics (Cole Irvin): Livan Soto ($3,000), Mike Trout ($6,300), Taylor Ward ($4,600)
The Angels have come up a few times in recent articles, so this will be familiar to those who read this column regularly. The bottom of the Los Angeles lineup stinks, but the top has plenty of firepower between Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Ward. Soto has led off the last two games and offers some nice savings, though Luis Rengifo could also return to the lineup and retake that spot in the order. Cole Irvin has been one of the better pitchers to target across the second half of the season, as he has a 6.18 ERA across his last 10 starts.
