This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Wednesday's playoff slate features four games, giving us solid choices to work with in terms of both pitchers and hitters. There are plenty of bats with favorable histories against their opposing starters, and several hitters that are priced very reasonably for their upside. There's also two clear-cut top pitching options, making it an interesting day for lineup construction.
Pitchers
Clayton Kershaw, LAD vs. SDP ($10,300): Kershaw exorcised some postseason demons at the expense of the Brewers in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series, racking up 73 FD points on the strength of eight scoreless innings and 13 strikeouts. Wednesday, he gets a crack at a Padres team that he posted a nine-strikeout quality start against in his one regular-season encounter with them. The Padres also had their share of struggles against left-handers in general and posted a 25.6 percent strikeout rate, -7.0 wRAA and .292 wOBA versus southpaws over 308 September plate appearances.
Ian Anderson, ATL vs. MIA ($9,500): Anderson was stellar in his first postseason start Thursday against the Reds, recording nine strikeouts over six scoreless innings on his way to 55 FD points. That was simply an extension of his outstanding regular season, in which he rang up a 1.95 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 29.7 percent strikeout rate. Anderson's most recent encounter with the Marlins saw him work 5.2 innings with zero earned runs allowed, resulting in 35 FD points. Miami's offense has not hit its stride yet in the postseason and also finished the regular season with a 24.7 percent strikeout rate, -19.4 wRAA and .290 wOBA against right-handers in 308 September plate appearances.
Jesus Luzardo, OAK vs. HOU ($6,600): Luzardo is best left for larger-field tournaments, as there's some risk attached to a young pitcher making the biggest start of his career. The southpaw will look to help Oakland stave off elimination, and he faces an Astros team that finished the regular season with an MLB-low .226 wOBA, .169 average and .278 OBP versus left-handers in 290 September plate appearances. Luzardo had a rough go of it against the White Sox in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, but he posted at least 40 FD points in three different starts this season, offering a glimpse at the upside he brings at his salary.
Top Targets
Ronald Acuna, ATL vs. MIA ($4,500): Acuna has a three-game hitting streak to start the postseason, going 6-for-15 with two doubles, a home run, two RBI, two runs and a stolen base during that span. He also checks into Wednesday's contest with a favorable history against Marlins starter Pablo Lopez, who he's punished for a .333/.474/.733 line with a pair of homers over 19 career plate appearances. Three of the four homers Lopez allowed this season were to right-handed hitters as well, while Acuna posted a .423 wOBA and massive .364 ISO against right-handed pitching this season.
Justin Turner, LAD vs. SDP ($3,100): The Padres finally announced their Game 2 starter early Wednesday afternoon, with Zach Davies set to take the hill for San Diego. The right-hander enjoyed a strong regular season with a 2.73 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 12 starts. However, he did get hit hard by the Cardinals in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Thursday and has given up a .350/.350/.500 line across 20 career encounters with Turner. The Dodgers' third baseman also put up 18.9 FD points in Tuesday's Game 1, and he finished the regular season with a .340/.419/.495 line and .397 wOBA against right-handed pitching, along with a 26.4 percent line-drive rate and 47.1 percent hard-contact rate versus that handedness.
Travis d'Arnaud, ATL vs. MIA ($3,000): D'Arnaud is very reasonably priced for a player that slashed .321/.386/.533 with 17 XBH and 34 RBI across 44 regular-season games before going 5-for-14 with a double, a home run, four RBI and two walks over his first three playoff games. A lot of that damage came in Tuesday's win, when d'Arnaud posted a whopping 44.2 FD points. He has the added benefit Wednesday of a strong history against Lopez, against whom he owns a .429 average with a pair of homers in seven career plate appearances. The fact he posted a 1.026 OPS and .433 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season makes his case as well.
Bargain Bats
Aaron Hicks, NYY vs TAM ($2,900): Hicks is swinging a hot bat, going 5-for-11 with a triple, two RBI, three walks and four runs over his last three playoff games. The outfielder only mustered a .225 average in the regular season, but his elite 19.4 percent walk rate helped lead to a career-high .379 OBP. Wednesday, he'll face Charlie Morton, who the switch-hitting Hicks has three extra-base hits (out of four hits total) and seven walks against in his 25 career PAs. Morton also yielded a .337 wOBA to left-handed hitters this season.
Yuli Gurriel, HOU vs. OAK ($2,500): Gurriel is facing my bargain pitching recommendation, but the combination of his salary and the matchup make him worthy of consideration. The 36-year-old thrived against left-handed pitching this season to the tune of a .565 slugging percentage, .366 wOBA and .274 ISO. Then, it's worth noting Gurriel has a brief but very impressive history against Luzardo, tagging the young southpaw for a double and a pair of homers in five career plate appearances. Luzardo gave up eight of his nine homers on the season in opposite-handed matchups, with five of those coming outside Oakland Coliseum.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Morton: DJ LeMahieu ($3,900); Aaron Judge ($4,400); Hicks; Giancarlo Stanton ($4,100)
Morton finished the regular season with an elevated 4.74 ERA while allowing more hits than innings pitched for the first time since 2012 and seeing a 7.4 percent drop in his strikeout rate from last season's elite 30.4 percent figure. He faces a Yankees squad that has scored between nine and 12 runs in three of its first four postseason games.
LeMahieu posted a 1.039 OPS and hit all 10 of his homers against right-handed pitching this season, and he sports a .350 average in 20 career plate appearances against Morton, who allowed a .304 average to right-handed hitters this season. Judge has had an uneven postseason thus far, but his only two hits over 19 at-bats have left the yard. He's naturally capable of breaking out at any point, and he stands to benefit from the previously cited vulnerability Morton has had against righty bats. Hicks was already discussed earlier, while Stanton has a .346 average across 29 career plate appearances versus Morton and has opened up the playoffs with five home runs over his first four games, already leading to three tallies of more than 30 FD points.
