This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Friday's playoff action gives us a Game 5 at 5:07 p.m. and a Game 4 at 8:07 p.m. Houston and Texas are throwing two big arms, while the Phillies and Diamondbacks are going to attempt to piece together eight or nine innings. It seems to set up for too obvious a build; take one of the big pitchers, game stack the NL game. But surprisingly the run totals are only a half a run different, sitting at 9.5 in Arizona and 9.0 in Dallas. So we need to get creative in our builds to separate outselves, but not stupid.
Pitching
Jordan Montgomery, TEX vs. HOU ($9,900): It's impossible to predict who will be more used between Montgomery or Verlander, and I'm banking on the latter's name to boost him and hopefully provide an edge. Montgomery has been so good down the stretch, earning six quality starts in his last seven. He's also been great against Houston, who's lineup overall has a .260 BA with a .624 OPS, though fanning at a mediocre 21.2 percent rate. He's faced them twice this year, including in Game 1, and allowed 11 hits and one run over 13.0 innings. He induced 13 ground balls in their first meeting, and allowed 13 fly balls in Game 1. If he can't keep the ball down Friday, I'm a bit concerned, but Texas needs a big start here to get one win at home, and I'll trust Montgomery to provide that opportunity.
Cristopher Sanchez, PHI at ARI ($8,200): Arizona ranked 23rd during the regular season with a .309 wOBA and 92 wRC+ off lefties, seemingly setting Sanchez up to limit damage. They struck out only 19.5 percent of the time however, clearly limiting his upside. He hasn't pitched all postseason, so it's fair to question his innings potential, and he'll likely have a quick hook should trouble arise, so it could be challenging to get to a fair return on this price. He does seem to be in a good spot for run support however.
Top Targets
For as obvious as paying up for pitching is, Phillie bats are going to be heavily targeted. As such, I'd take a share, maybe two, and look to be different elsewhere. That makes Bryce Harper ($4,500) and Trea Turner ($4,200) the clear building blocks. Harper earned 15.2 FDP last night without a hit, and hasn't produced less than 9.2 FDP in a playoff game since their opener in the Wild Card round. Turner's 1-for-4 night with know peripherals was his worst showing of the postseason.
Bargain Bats
Let's say you build with Montgomery, Harper and Turner. That leaves a mere $2,700 left per player, which isn't going to afford you a deep lineup, but there are at least a plethora of starters available that can be dart throws. Martin Maldonado ($2,200) occasionally flashes and has enough power to blow past this price point, which is low enough to also take a zero and move on. He's 3-for-5 with two homers off Montgomery, the only Astro to take him deep.
Gabriel Moreno ($2,400) has seen his price dip too far. He hits in a run-productin spot in the order, has just one game in the postseason with zero FDP and has hit three homers in the playoffs, though none in this series. He posted a solid .379 wOBA off lefties in the regular season, though with just a .176 ISO.
Leody Taveras ($2,700) hits at the bottom of the order, but still drove in 70 runs during the season. He's had five games in the post season with double-digit FDP and only one zero, and is 3-for-6 with a homer, triple and two walks off Verlander.
Stack to Consider
Astros vs. Jordan Montgomery: Kyle Tucker ($3,600), Jose Abreu ($3,000), Mauricio Dubon ($2,800)
I recognize I suggested rolling with Montgomery above. These two-game slates require you to pick a clear strategy and build around that. If you go down from Montgomery to Verlander, still use the two Phillie bats and this stack, you have $2,400 to fill out your lineup, that's doable and this stack allows for pretty decent lineup depth. Tucker is in a funk and may not be worth his number as a result, but still had a .392 wOBA, 154 wRC+ and .267 ISO off of lefties during the regular season. Abreu is showing signs of being "that guy" in the postseason, having four homers and 11 RBI in the postseason, and is locked in to the heart of this batting order. Dubon offers position flexibility, has eight hits in his last five games, posted a decent enough .369 wOBA off lefties during the regular season, and likely slots into the two-hole in the lineup, making him a decent stand alone play for his price hitting between the other Astro big names.
If backing Montgomery, I'd consider a Diamondbacks stack of Moreno, Tommy Pham ($3,200) and Lourdes Gurriel ($2,900), which really opens up your budget and could allow a upper tier option from Houston and Texas.
