Will the World Series end Wednesday? If the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks in Arizona, the answer will be in the affirmative. Otherwise, we're headed back to Texas for Game 6. As to Game 5, it starts at 8:03 p.m. EDT. You have $35,000 in salary for five players. One is your MVP, who earns double points. Another is your Star, who earns 1.5 times the points. Here is potentially my last lineup of the 2023 MLB season.
MVP
Corey Seager, TEX at ARI ($9,500): Seager slashed .327/.390/.623 with 33 homers during the regular season. Had he not missed significant time with injury, he might have been AL MVP. However, he's the favorite to win World Series MVP, a continuation of his strong play all postseason. Seager has slashed .306/.442/.694 with six home runs in the playoffs, and Zac Gallen has a 5.27 ERA in five playoff starts.
STAR
Ketel Marte, ARI vs. TEX ($8,500): Marte just keeps hitting. He added two more knocks in Game 4 to keep his hitting streak going. The switch hitter has at least one hit in every game of this postseason. He had an .888 OPS during the regular season, but Game 5 might be last time to continue his strong run.
Jonah Heim, TEX vs. ARI ($5,500): Heim had 18 homers and 28 doubles this season. The catcher hasn't hit that well in the playoffs, but he's launched three home runs. As I noted, Gallen has a 5.27 ERA in the playoffs.
Josh Jung, TEX at ARI ($5,500): I was a little surprised to see Jung at this salary. He's been hitting quite well in the playoffs. The third baseman has a .311 batting average and has slugged .557. Jung was better against lefties during the regular season, but he slugged .418 against righties, and he seems locked in right now.
Travis Jankowski, TEX at ARI ($5,500): Unexpected, unfortunate opportunity has arrived for Jankowski. He's starting in the outfield with Adolis Garcia out for the rest of the World Series. Jankowski's top skill is his fielding, but he's a lefty, and he will be facing a right-handed pitcher. He also has some speed, have stolen 19 bases during the regular season.
