We're knee-deep into the postseason at this point, with nearly half the field already eliminated. It's one of the best times to be a fan, and watching the Toronto faithful go crazy on Sunday was quite the sight. Not much compares to playoff baseball, and we should get a couple of interesting matchups here. The two NL series will take over this Monday card, so let's go ahead and get into it!
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Pitching
Blake Snell, LAD at PHI ($9,000)
If we're being honest, there's not really a single trustworthy pitcher on this slate, but Snell is the only guy that we're confident in to finish five innings. That's really all you need at this point of the postseason, because all of these fringe pitchers have incredibly short leashes. Snell's should be relatively long, which allowed him to score 31 DraftKings points in his first postseason appearance last week. That's the form we've seen for two months, with Snell sporting a 2.09 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 11.4 K/9 rate across his final eight regular-season starts. Philly is a frightening matchup, but Snell threw seven scoreless innings in their one matchup less than a month ago en route to 41 DK points!
Top Targets
Michael Busch, CHC (vs. Quinn Priester) $5,100
I had Busch in my last article, and he rewarded us with 20 DraftKings points. Those sorts of performances have become a regular thing for Busch, who provided a .403 OBP and 1.326 OPS across his final 15 regular-season fixtures. That's no surprise when seeing his superb splits, as he's tallied a .272 AVG, .554 SLG and .910 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor this season. That's why the Cubs have stuck him in their leadoff spot, and he's easily the best option against Priester. The Brewers righty had a 3.32 ERA during the regular season but could be due for some negative regression due to his 4.67 career FIP.
William Contreras, MIL (vs. Shota Imanaga) $4,200
Many people might be scared to use bats against a pitcher like Imanaga, but he's probably the worst pitcher on this slate. We'll dive into that more in the stacks section, but Conteras is our favorite play against him. The catcher closed the season with a .293 AVG, .380 OBP, .510 SLG and .890 OPS across his final 52 games. That looks even better when seeing that Contreras has a .422 OBP, .575 SLG and .997 OPS against left-handers since 2023. Not to mention, he also has a .460 OBP and .985 OPS in his last 11 games against the Cubs.
Bargain Bats
Tommy Edman, LAD (vs. Jesus Luzardo) $3,500
Edman has been a postseason hero in the past, and this is another opportunity for the utilityman to show his worth. One of the best parts about using Edman is that he bats behind all of the superstars in this lineup and should be in line for some RBI opportunities. That's even more likely since Edman has a .280 AVG and .832 OPS against southpaws since 2023. You'd expect Edman to cost $1,000 more with splits like those, and Luzardo is definitely prone to some blow-ups behind his 3.92 ERA.
Andrew Vaughn, MIL (vs. Shota Imanaga) $3,400
The Brewers are going to be our favorite stack of the day, so we have to trust one of their most valuable bats. Things changed for this team when they acquired Vaughn in July, with Vaughn generating a .375 OBP, .493 SLG and .869 OPS in his 64 games with the Brew Crew. Those are All-Star averages, and it's why Vaughn should be in the heart of their lineup against a left-hander. Vaughn has the platoon advantage against Imanaga while totaling a .382 OBP and .934 OPS in his last eight games against the Cubbies.
Stacks to Consider
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs (Shota Imanaga): Jackson Chourio ($4,900), Christian Yelich ($4,800), Contreras ($4,200), Brice Turang ($3,900) and Vaughn ($3,400)
We already mentioned two Brewers bats that we love, so it's time to talk about the match-up. Imanaga has been a stellar pitcher at times throughout his career, but wasn't the same in his return from the IL. Imanaga allowed at least three runs in nine of his final 12 starts, amassing a 5.17 ERA in that span. That culminated in an eight-run shelling in his final regular-season start, with Imanaga failing to record a quality start in both of his outings in Milwaukee.
Chourio is nicked up, but he's one of the best options on the board if he's able to suit up. The outfielder had a 20-20 season in a "down" year while producing a .389 OBP and .973 OPS against lefties. Yelich is one of the few guys who doesn't have the platoon advantage, but his 8.7 DK points per game are still fantastic. Turang closed the year as one of the hottest hitters in baseball, totaling a .399 OBP and .979 OPS over his final 52 fixtures.
