This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
The MLB playoffs kick it up a notch Friday. All eight remaining teams are in action, which means there are four games on the slate. Granted, that's way less than your typical day in the regular season, but it's as good as you'll get during the playoffs. The first game starts at 2:05 PM ET. Here are some recommendations for your lineup.
STARTING PITCHER
Clayton Kershaw, LAD vs. ATL ($48): Don't get cute and try and get by with one of the lesser, but cheaper, starters like Anibal Sanchez ($36) or Jhoulys Chacin ($30). Also, steer clear of J.A. Happ ($48) on the road against Boston's league-leading offense. Kershaw is the least expensive of the four aces in action, and he gets to pitch at home where he had a 2.58 ERA. Atlanta ranked 10th in runs scored, but that means they rank seventh out of teams in action Friday.
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CATCHER
Evan Gattis, HOU vs. CLE ($8): Pitchers are probably going to cost you a chunk of change, so you'll have to save money somewhere. You can do that with Gattis. He's far from a perfect player, but he averaged 5.4 fantasy points per game, largely because he hit 25 homers in 128 games. Maybe he'll poke a home run out of the park, and then he'll be a great value.
FIRST BASE
Jesus Aguilar, MIL vs. COL ($17): Aguilar had a very impressive year, as he posted a .891 OPS and hit 35 homers in 149 games. He was particularly good against lefties as well, sporting a .929 OPS in those matchups. Tyler Anderson, who is in line to start for the Rockies, was actually worse on the road. He had a 5.02 ERA away from Coors Field.
SECOND BASE
Ozzie Albies, ATL at LAD ($13): Albies has shown the ability to rough up southpaws in his limited career, as he has a .907 OPS against lefties since making his debut. Granted, Clayton Kershaw isn't your typical lefty, but there are quite a few elite pitchers in action Friday. Albies had 24 homers and 14 stolen bases, and at this price he could still manage to pay off.
THIRD BASE
Justin Turner, LAD vs. ATL ($19): Though his season was truncated by injury, Turner still put up an impressive .312/.406/.518 slash line over 103 games. He's also the rare Dodger who hit better at home than on the road this year. Anibal Sanchez had a 2.83 ERA, but a 3.66 FIP. This was also the first time his FIP was lower than 4.80 since 2014.
SHORTSTOP
Xander Bogaerts, BOS vs. NYY ($15): Bogaerts got his power back this season, as he posted a .522 slugging percentage. He also crushed the ball at Fenway Park, slashing .314/.375/.592 with 15 homers in 283 at bats. J.A. Happ had a 2.69 ERA after being traded to the Yankess, but only a 4.25 FIP. Plus, a lot of his success comes from mowing down lefties, and Bogaerts is right handed.
OUTFIELD
Ryan Braun, MIL vs. COL ($18): Braun ended the regular season hot with a.991 OPS and six homers in September, and he's carried that into the playoffs. He's also hit lefties better and put up better number at home. Tyler Anderson is a lefty, and he allowed 1.53 homers per nine innings. On top of that, the Rockies bullpen has been used a ton recently, which could benefit Braun as well.
Ian Desmond, COL at MIL ($16): Desmond's batting average was down this year, a .279 BABIP well below his career average of .322 certainly played into that, but he still hit 22 homers and stole 20 bases. Meanwhile, Jhoulys Chacin had a 4.07 FIP this year, and he has a 4.09 FIP in his career. He's also pitching on short rest, and he's not exactly the kind of ace who usually does that.
Cody Bellinger, LAD vs. ATL ($16): Bellinger dropped from 39 homers to 25 this year, mostly because he didn't hit lefties as well. Against righties, the southpaw slugger had a .880 OPS and 19 homers. Anibal Sanchez is right handed, and even though he was able to put up decent numbers for a full season, his recent track record makes it hard to buy into him entirely.
