Three teams have been eliminated. One more club will join them Sunday - will it be the Mets or Padres? On DraftKings, you choose a lineup of six players for single-game DFS contests. One is your captain and they earn you 1.5 times the points, but that means paying more salary. Your overall cap is $50,000. DraftKings allows you to pick pitchers, but I'm not going with either Chris Bassitt or Joe Musgrove. So who am I taking?
CAPTAIN
Francisco Lindor, NYM vs. SD ($13,200): Lindor's salary was such that the elevated version for him as my captain was the most palatable. The shortstop hit .270 this year with 26 homers and 16 stolen bases. His ability to hit both lefties and righties also could come in handy in Game 3 when the Padres will likely have all hands on deck. Lindor also managed a .784 OPS versus lefties and a .789 versus righties so you can't really get a leg up on him.
FLEX
Manny Machado, SD at NYM ($9,800): Machado is the best hitter in this series and potentially the NL MVP having slashed .298/.366/.531 with 32 homers, 102 RBI, and 100 runs. On top of that, he registered a .915 OPS versus righties and a .911 on the road. Bassitt, a righty, posted a 3.42 ERA in his first season as a Met.
Mark Canha, NYM vs. SD ($7,400): Musgrove is a righty, but he allowed right-handers to go .254 against. Canha hit .266 this year and a .367 OBP with a .790 OPS against righties.
Daniel Vogelbach, NYM vs. SD ($6,800): In a one-game situation with a righty starting, Vogelbach is a nice all-or-nothing roll of the dice. He can't hit lefties at all, but had an .879 OPS with 18 homers against righties in 2022. If Vogelbach gets two shots against Musgrove before exiting, that might be all it takes.
Josh Bell, SD at NYM ($6,600): At this salary, I wanted to take a shot on Bell. Bassitt has postrd a 3.65 FIP this year and a 3.66 over his career. Bell never quite found his footing with the Padres, but came up big in Game 1 and is a switch-hitter with a .795 OPS against lefties and a .778 OPS versus righties since 2020.
Wil Myers, SD at NYM ($6,200): Oftentimes, the final piece of your lineup is just about finding as much upside as you can in a lower-salary player. Myers is not a lock to start Sunday. However, he produced a 1.002 OPS across the final 21 days of the regular season. Myers struggled at home, but recorded an .830 road OPS. If he gets the nod, he could pay off.
