This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Game 6 presents an elimination chance for the Astros. This series has seen some pretty drastic ups and downs, with both sides seemingly going through some 12-15 inning spurts of offense and perfect pitching at the same time.
Pitching
Houston is short on options here, willing trotting out Luis Garcia in their close out opportunity. He's allowed 16 runs across his three post season outings, spanning just 7.2 innings. Garcia has surrendered four homers and walked eight in that span, giving up 15 hits. It's obviously a ripe for the picking spot for Red Sox bats.
Boston will apparently counter with Nathan Eovaldi, and while he's keeping the ball in the yard, he's also struggling mightily during the postseason. He's allowed nine runs across 11.0 innings, seven of those coming against Houston in two appearances.
It's a good thing this is a showdown slate, as offense seems a given and neither pitcher should be trusted for success or longevity. FanDuel has the total set at 8.5 runs, and given pitcher form and the series results to date, that seems low.
Hitter Correlation
Neither pitcher has targetable splits against left or right handed bats, so we're left trusting post season form, or season-long success. Boston has a lot of that during the regular season, with five regulars carrying a wOBA of .375 or better. Given that I'm thinking this is a higher scoring affair, building lineup depth over a Joe's and schmoes lineup makes some sense. As such, if I'm building around Boston bats, give me J.D. Martinez ($7,000), Kyle Schwarber ($6,500) and Alex Verdugo ($6,000). None of those options have been terrific in this series, but haven't produced zeros either. It should offer you flexibility elsewhere, and low usage to boot. Only Verdugo carries limited power potential.
A Houston build comes nearly as cheap on average if we stack up lefties against Eovaldi, thanks to Michael Brantley's ($5,500) current surge, collecting five hits, four RBI and three runs over the last three games, and carried a .399 wOBA against righties during the regular season. Pairing him with an equally surging Yordan Alvarez ($8,000) and a consistent Kyle Tucker ($7,500) could set up nicely. Alvarez hit his first post season homer in Game 5 but has collected hits in every game of the series. Tucker posted a .385 wOBA and .246 ISO against righties in season, and while he's cooled some of late, he still is tied for the lead with 12 RBI in he post season, and has three steals to boot, effecting the game in multiple ways.
One Offs
There's certainly nothing wrong with building around Rafael Devers ($9,500) despite the large tag. He's hit safely in every post season game since the Wild Card round, has homered in three of the five games in this series, and posted a .401 wOBA and .341 ISO against righties in the regular season. Enrique Hernandez ($7,500) has cooled a bit over the past two games. I'm torn on what to do with him. On one hand, I think he's a lazy plug in casual managers will use. On the other, we can buy a bit of a dip in price.
Jose Altuve ($9,000) is too feast or famine for me at this price if you're playing in cash settings. You Gurriel ($6,000) figures to be incredibly popular given form and price. He's collected 11 hits in his last six games, driving in six. But keep in mind he posted just a .112 ISO against righties in season. He's a fine back of roster option, but a lack of upside certainly limits his appeal for the MVP slot.
