This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Pitching Breakdown
Both sides are holding back aces for a potential Game 7, so there's plenty of ambiguity as to who will pitch when, and for how long. Houston figures to use Jose Urquidy prominently, with Brad Peacock also a likely option to absorb innings. Given the uncertainty, we can't care too much about anyone's splits, but it's worth noting Urquidy allowed a .360 wOBA to righties at home, and only a .148 wOBA to lefties, and Peacock an opposite .387 wOBA to lefties and .247 to righties.
The Yankees didn't use Chad Green or Adam Ottavino Friday, so both seem certain to see work here. J.A. Happ could emerge as a multi-inning option. Ottavino has allowed four runs in three appearances this series, managing to record just one out. Greene allowed a two-run homer in his last appearance, but has successfully gone multiple innings in one outing previously.
Hitting Correlation
Given the pitching uncertainty, and seeming lack of pitching success from the expected names, the game currently has a low 7.5 run total, a number I think is topped even if there's some jet lag. We obviously have to pick whether the Yankee's momentum from Game 5 carries over, or whether the Astros can close this out while saving Gerrit Cole.
The Astros' deep lineup includes the slate's top-five priced bats. Jose Altuve ($9,000) has been the safest best of the postseason, while Alex Bregman ($8,500) has tailed off some. George Springer ($9,500) has three hits in the last two games and two homers in the series. Carlos Correa ($8,000) has also gone deep twice in this series, offers some savings and is a nice contrarian option at MVP. Michael Brantley ($7,500) profiles similarly. He's rebounded from an ice cold September, having hit safely in five straight prior to Friday night, though he did walk twice and has six hits in the series.
Aaron Hicks' ($4,500) production Friday shows just how deep the Yankees lineup is. He's put up 40.7 FanDuel points (FDP) in his last two and is a fine cheap option here. Aaron Judge ($7,500) is a terrific starting point if you're targeting New York heavily at that relatively low price point. DJ LeMahieu ($7,000) has been terrific, going 8-for-21 in five games, including a homer Friday. Gleyber Torres ($6,500) has cooled some since a white-hot ALDS, but still has six hits and a long ball through five games.
One-offs
Yordan Alvarez ($7,000) has looked completely overmatched on this stage, going just 1-for-22 dating back to Game 5 of the ALDS. He'll be a low owned GPP MVP option. Whomever is behind the dish between Robinson Chirinos ($4,500) or Martin Maldonado ($4,500) offers minimum priced at bats to allow for higher-priced options elsewhere. Yuli Gurriel ($5,500) is buried amongst some big names and, given his struggles, is another likely low-owned, differentiating pick.
They're struggling, but there are a plethora of cheap Yankee bats that will likely be low owned and have big power potential. Giancarlo Stanton ($5,500) returned to action Friday and likely hits cleanup again, and we'd expect Gary Sanchez ($6,000) and Edwin Encarnacion ($6,000) to also be in the lineup. Gio Urshela ($4,500) hasn't had a hit since Game 1 but is a higher upside play than the Astros' catchers for the low price.
