This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
We have a regular-season sized slate with Wednesday's Wild Card Series games, as eight contests are on tap overall. That gives us plenty of choices at every price point and position, but it's important to note that things can often tighten up in the postseason. That often means more less scoring, as teams typically roll out their best arms. Nevertheless, we have some strong choices in terms of pitchers and one-off bats, while one stack particularly stands out despite a talented pitcher opposing them.
Pitchers
Walker Buehler, LAD vs. MIL ($10,000): There are some interesting decisions to make at the top of the pitching tier Wednesday, where Trevor Bauer ($11.2K) and Kyle Hendricks ($10.6K) are above Buehler. However, I like Buehler's upside at his salary against the Brewers, a team which struck out at a 27.1 percent clip against right-handers in September. Buehler had some shaky outings early in the season, but he headed into the playoffs with some momentum. The righty posted a 1.53 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 12.7 K/9 across 17.2 innings over his last four starts. Buehler notched 30 to 58 FD points in three of those outings, and he also finished with a 1.31 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 12.6 K/9 over 20.2 innings at home this season.
Max Fried, ATL vs. CIN ($7,900): Fried was stellar this season, posting a 7-0 mark, 2.25 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a minuscule 0.3 HR/9 across 56 innings, and the matchup couldn't be any better. Cincinnati posted a .186/.276/.303 line, -13.2 wRAA and a .260 wOBA against southpaws in 261 plate appearances during September. Fried averaged 30.4 FD points over his 11 starts this season and never gave up more than three earned runs in any one outing, making him an excellent option at this salary.
Dallas Keuchel, CWS at OAK ($6,700): Keuchel's salary is somewhat surprising, especially considering how strongly he finished the season. The left-hander posted a 1.36 ERA over the 39.2 innings covering his last seven outings, posting four quality starts along the way. Keuchel faces an Athletics team that only mustered one run Tuesday and posted a .221 average, -5.7 wRAA and .293 wOBA versus left-handed pitching over 249 plate appearances in September. Keuchel averaged 30 FD points this season as well, an excellent number when considering his salary.
Top Targets
Jose Ramirez, CLE vs. NYY ($4,100): Ramirez finished the season on an absolute tear, slashing .436/.522/1.103 with six home runs and 18 RBI while striking out at a tiny 10.9 percent clip in 46 plate appearances over his last 11 regular-season games. The switch-hitting veteran nearly reached his total of 23 homers from last season by belting 17 in 71 fewer games. He was much better against left-handed pitching overall, but he still posted a .373 wOBA, .223 ISO, 53.3 wRAA and 129 wRC+ against righties at home. Finally, it's worth noting Ramirez has punished Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka for a .529 average with a double, a triple and a home run over 18 career plate appearances, furthering his case.
DJ LeMahieu, NYY at CLE ($3,900): LeMahieu doesn't have an easy matchup against Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco, but the veteran second baseman's .364/.421/.590 line this season underscores how many pitchers he got the better of. LeMahieu enjoyed plenty of that success versus right-handed pitching, slashing .363/.416/.623 and hitting all 10 of his homers on the season against them. Carrasco was tough versus right-handed hitters at home this season, but LeMahieu finished the season with a .400/.476/.727 line across 63 plate appearances over his last 13 games.
Alex Bregman, HOU at MIN ($3,600): Bregman, like many of his teammates, did not live up to his usual numbers this season, but he still carries plenty of upside in his bat. The matchup against Jose Berrios is no picnic, but the hard-throwing righty actually allowed a .287 average and .331 on-base percentage to right-handed hitters this season. Bregman was impressive in same-handed matchups on the road, posting a .352 wOBA, .276 ISO, 25.5 percent line-drive rate and 53.2 percent hard-contact rate. He has also often solved Berrios over a modest career sample, hitting .571 with two doubles and one home run across eight plate appearances.
Bargain Bats
A.J. Pollock, LAD vs. MIL ($3,100): Pollock checks in a lot cheaper than many of his high-powered teammates, but he averaged 10.8 FD points per game on the season and launched six homers over his last 10 games. Pollock also slashed .345/.367/.818 with a .468 wOBA against left-handed pitching this season while mustering a 56.3 percent hard-contact rate. He'll get a crack at a southpaw in Milwaukee starter Brent Suter, who's being called on as a spot starter but whose arm may not be built up for much more than five innings.
Jesus Aguilar, MIA at CHC ($2,900): The Marlins slugger faces Kyle Hendricks, who had some trouble keeping the ball in the park this season as evidenced by a 1.1 HR/9 across 12 starts. Aguilar makes for a difficult matchup, considering he slashed .308/.382/.500 with a .378 wOBA over 89 plate appearances against righties on the road. He finished the season strong as well, posting a .308 average (7-for-23) with two home runs and four RBI over his last six games.
Stacks to Consider
Yankees vs. Carrasco: LeMahieu; Aaron Judge ($4,000); Luke Voit ($3,900); Giancarlo Stanton ($3,800)
The Yankees put on one of their trademark power displays in Game 1 on Tuesday, racking up 12 runs while battering Cy Young candidate Shane Bieber for seven of them. Carrasco may not fare much better, even though he has excellent swing-and-miss stuff. The righty also allowed three earned runs or more in four of his last nine starts, and the Yankees finished the season with a .294/.387/.547 line and an MLB-high .396 wOBA against right-handed pitching over 395 September regular-season plate appearances.
LeMahieu's case was made earlier. Judge broke a homer slump in Game 1 with a two-run shot, and he finished the regular season with a .428 wOBA and .245 ISO against righties. Voit was almost as dangerous, posting a .399 wOBA and .321 ISO versus right-handers. Finally, Stanton also went deep in Game 1, and he posted a .444 wOBA, .294 ISO, 32.0 percent line-drive rate and 40.0 percent hard-contact rate against righties on the road during the regular season.
