This saddens me to say, but this might be my final article with multiple games. We're down to the final four teams, leaving these DFS slates extremely thin. It's been an amazing season, but this is when baseball becomes special. Seeing every at-bat matter more than the previous one is a sight to behold, and we'll be playing World Series games in less than two weeks. The Mariners and Dodgers look poised to meet there, but anything can happen. With that said, let's take a look at how this Monday card will play out.
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Pitching
Blake Snell, LAD at MIL ($9,000)
Every pitcher on this slate has warts, but Snell's have been cured over the past two months. The two-time Cy Young winner always steps up in the second half, and he closed this season with a 2.09 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 11.4 K/9 rate over his final eight regular-season starts. He's carried that fantastic form into the postseason, scoring 31 and 33 DraftKings points in his first two starts. A matchup with Milwaukee is terrifying, but Snell scored 26 DK points in their most recent meeting. We also don't mind that the lefty enters this matchup as a -150 favorite, with the Brewers projected to score the fewest runs on this slate.
Top Targets
Mookie Betts, LAD (vs. Jose Quintana) $4,600
Betts has been one of the best bats in baseball for a decade, and he's currently on one of his epic hot streaks. The former MVP closed the regular season with a .376 OBP, .516 SLG and .892 OPS across his final 47 games. He's also averaging 9.2 DK points per game in this postseason run. That looks even better when peeking at his splits, as he sports a .393 OBP and .952 OPS against lefties since 2023. Betts has faced Quintana 36 times in his career, posting a .278 AVG and .732 OPS against him.
Josh Naylor, SEA (vs. Trey Yesavage) $3,800
It's always tricky to choose bats against a hot pitcher, but Yesavage is one of the most inexperienced players on this slate. The rookie righty made only three starts during the regular season, generating an ugly 1.43 WHIP in those outings. He also had a 4.18 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A, so some negative regression could be right around the corner behind his 4.14 xERA. The matchup is one thing, but Naylor has been rocking right-handers throughout his career. The first baseman has a .276 AVG and .817 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor since 2023. He also had 20 homers and 30 steals during the regular season, so his sneaky skill on the basepaths can be an asset in DFS as well.
Bargain Bats
Will Smith, LAD (vs. Quintana) $3,800
There aren't many cheap options in this Dodgers stack, but Smith is an affordable option at the weakest position in DFS. The All-Star catcher has missed most of the last month due to a hand issue, but he's fully healthy now, and he finished the season with a .404 OBP and .901 OPS in a career year. Our favorite part about Smith is his sensational splits, providing a .855 OPS against lefties since the start of last year. That's why he'll likely bat between third and fifth, which is truly one of the best lineup spots in baseball behind numerous MVPs.
Addison Barger, TOR (vs. Luis Castillo) $3,500
Many people might not realize this, but Barger has some of the best hard-hit metrics in baseball. The sophomore third baseman had a .342 xwOBA, 91.7 mph exit velocity, 51 percent hard-hit rate and 75.9 mph bat speed during the regular season. Those are numbers you typically see from an All-Star, and it's why Toronto typically sticks him in the cleanup spot against righties. That's no surprise since he had a .788 OPS against them this year. Castillo sounds like a concerning matchup on the surface, but a 4.68 ERA across his final eight starts is nothing to worry about.
Stacks to Consider
Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers (Quintana): Shohei Ohtani ($6,000), Freddie Freeman ($4,800), Teoscar Hernandez ($4,700), Betts ($4,600), Smith ($3,800)
We're happy to stack the Dodgers when we have a full 15-game slate, but they're the safest option on this short slate. This team was top-five in every offensive metric during the regular season and faces the only weak pitcher on this slate. That's Quintana, who compiled a 3.96 ERA and 1.29 WHIP during the regular season. This 36-year-old also surrendered four runs in their most recent matchup back in July, and he could be in for a short outing against a daunting Dodgers lineup.
If you stack LA, Shohei has to be the first player in your build. He led all players on this slate with 11.4 DK points per game during the regular season. Freeman has a hit in 13 of his last 16 outings while flirting with a .900 OPS in that span. He also has a .423 OBP and .873 OPS in 20 at-bats against Quintana. Hernandez, Betts and Smith all have the platoon advantage against Quintana, with Teo tallying an .878 OPS against lefties throughout his career.
