This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Philadelphia screamed back to score six unanswered runs and surprise Houston in 10 innings in Game 1 last night and will now look to take a commanding lead before heading back home. They'll turn to ace Zack Wheeler to lead them to that advantage. He's been elite in four postseason appearances thus far, allowing just five runs and 10 hits across 25.1 innings (1.78 ERA) while striking out 25. He'll likely be asked to handle a heavy workload after the Phillies got only 4.1 innings from Aaron Nola in Game 1.
Houston counters with Framber Valdez, who allowed two runs against the Mariners before shutting out the Yankees across seven innings, leaving him with a 1.42 postseason ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12.2 frames. He also faced the Phillies in the regular season finale, striking out 10 across five shutout innings while surrendering just two hits.
Both offenses had seven different players collect hits Friday, but only four had RBIs, led by J.T. Realmuto (3), Alec Bohm (2) and Kyle Tucker (4), with the latter homering twice. The question we have to ask in Saturday builds is if those guys are about to carry their teams or if someone different will step up.
MVP
Yordan Alvarez, HOU vs. PHI ($9,500): It's a hefty price for sure, and Alvarez isn't lighting the world on fire right now, having not homered in six straight while producing only one double-digit fantasy point outing in that stretch. Perhaps that gives us some differentiation despite it clearly being chalky to take the highest-priced player as your MVP. The goal is to be ahead of the production, not chasing last night's, so fading Kyle Tucker ($7,000) and backing Houston's star to step up in this spot is the angle.
Star
J.T. Realmuto, PHI at HOU ($6,500): Friday night's hero saw his price drop $500 tonight, which doesn't make a ton of sense to me. He's now homered in two of the last three games, which gives him some upside here in a multiplier spot. He's also got a safe floor in a spot where you can't afford to miss. Realmuto is second to Bryce Harper ($9,000) among Phillies bats with 12 postseason hits after hitting .307 with a .403 wOBA and 162 wRC+ in the second half of the regular season.
Utility
Kyle Schwarber, PHI at HOU ($7,000): The other pricing change I see from yesterday is Schwarber swapping places with Rhys Hoskins ($8,500). I had interest in Schwarber yesterday, and at the decreased number, why wouldn't we today? He singled, walked, scored and stole a base last night, resulting in his eighth consecutive double-digit fantasy point outing. That consistency could make him a multiplier candidate.
Yuli Gurriel, HOU vs. PHI ($5,500): Another holdover from Friday's column, and I'm not intentionally trying to be repetitive. It's just that the same guys keep performing. Gurriel had two more hits last night, making him 13-for-34 (.382) this postseason and giving him a nice floor for a near minimum price.
Trey Mancini, HOU vs. PHI ($4,500): I want to stress the five names suggested here are simply options for lineups, not something I'd think should be taken literally and plugged in. If we play the top four literally, Jeremy Pena ($6,500) slots in and makes for a nice, balanced lineup. But in an effort to differentiate, why not look for an unsung hero? Mancini certainly qualifies, as you have to go back to October 2nd to find the last time he got a hit, and he hasn't homered since September 17th! Both he and Martin Maldonado ($4,500) offer a clear zero as their floor, but both have proven capable of running into a pitch and sending it over the fence. I prefer a balanced build rather than stars and scrubs, but using either of these low-priced options would allow you to swap Schwarber for Harper, or upgrade any of the other pieces significantly.
Editor's note: The Astros' lineup was released in between this article being written and being published, and Mancini isn't in it. Stick with Chris' alternate suggestion Jeremy Pena for your final utility spot, but keep the logic behind the Mancini recommendation in mind for future games.
