We may have our first team clinch a spot in the World Series on Sunday. Surprisingly, it's the Houston Astros who have that opportunity. Now, that isn't surprising in some ways, especially since they are the defending champions. However, the 'Stros went down two games to none in this series. They were down two runs in the ninth inning of Game 5. When the dust settled, Houston returned home with a chance to win the ALCS in Game 6. With a first pitch of 8:03 p.m. ET, we have single-game DFS rules in place. You have a salary cap of $85 to spend on five players. Your Megastar earns double the points, while your Superstar earns 1.5 times the points. Here's one lineup that stood out to me.
MEGASTAR
Yordan Alvarez, HOU vs. TEX ($25): Nathan Eovaldi has pitched decidedly better than Framber Valdez in the playoffs. That is undeniable. Having said that, getting Alvarez in either my Megastar or Superstar spot was a must. He's batting .417 and has hit six home runs in nine playoff games. During the regular season he slugged .625 against righties. I want a hitter like Alvarez potentially earning me double points.
SUPERSTAR
Josh Jung, TEX at HOU ($17): With Alvarez locked in at Megastar, a Ranger made sense for Superstar. Valdez is a lefty, so I went with Jung. He has an 1.001 OPS in the playoffs, sure, but he also had a .995 OPS versus southpaws this season. I mentioned Valdez's struggles, and indeed he has an 11.57 ERA through two playoff starts.
FLEX
Alex Bregman, HOU vs. TEX ($17): Eovaldi is a righty who is not as successful against righties. Since 2021, right-handed hitters have batted .264 against him. Meanwhile, Bregman is a righty who is decidedly better when he gets to face a right-handed pitcher. He had an .850 OPS in those matchups this season.
Leody Taveras, TEX at HOU ($14): Taveras had 14 homers and 14 stolen bases during the regular season, solid numbers to be sure. In the playoffs, though, he has a .410 OBP and .469 slugging percentage. He's a switch hitter, so he can bat righty against Valdez. Throw in Valdez's aforementioned 11.57 postseason ERA, and that works for me.
Marcus Semien, TEX at HOU ($11): Semien is a bet on the fact that the sample size of the regular season is much larger than what we see in the playoffs. He hasn't been a key playoff contributor, but this year he batted .278 with 29 homers, 40 doubles, 14 stolen bases and over 100 RBI and runs scored. Sometimes, very good hitters slump. On occasion, those slumps happen in the playoffs. Slumps end, though, and that can happen at any time.
