With both American League Division Series having the day off Wednesday, the National League will take center stage. First up will be Zack Wheeler and the Phillies playing Game 2 of their series with the Braves, who will start Kyle Wright. A pitcher's duel could loom for Game 2 of the series between the Padres and Dodgers with Yu Darvish starting against Clayton Kershaw. Only two games doesn't leave us with many options on Yahoo, but with money to be won, let's highlight some appealing players for your lineups.
Pitchers
It was yet another excellent season for Kershaw ($46), who finished with a 2.28 ERA and a 2.57 FIP. He only allowed 0.7 HR/9, which was his lowest rate since the 2016 season. Across two starts against the Padres, he allowed one run and recorded 11 strikeouts over 12 innings. Expect to see him included in a lot of entries, and rightfully so.
Wheeler's ($39) final start of the regular season was a great one, shutting out the Nationals over five innings. Across starts since coming off of the IL, he allowed one run in 15 innings. He's had an ERA under 3.00 in each of his first three seasons with the Phillies, and although the Braves have a great lineup, Wheeler's ability to limit home runs should help his cause. During the regular season, he allowed six runs and recorded 25 strikeouts over 20 innings against them.
Top Targets
Darvish ($47) pitched well in the first round against the Mets, allowing one run over seven innings. With that being said, the Dodgers have arguably the most dangerous lineup for this slate, making them appealing. Two of their top options are Freddie Freeman ($20) and Trea Turner ($14). Freeman finished with a 157 wRC+ during the regular season, and Turner followed up his stellar campaign by going 2-for-4 with a home run in Game 1 of this series.
Bargain Bats
Could Nick Castellanos ($8) be on the road to redemption? He had a disappointing debut campaign with the Phillies, posting a .304 wOBA and a .126 ISO. All of that can be forgiven with a good postseason run, and he started this series off with a bang by going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in Game 1. Of the four pitchers starting, Wright ($37) is arguably the most underwhelming. He only had a 23.6 percent strikeout rate this year.
There are no players with especially high salaries at the second base position. If you want to go with a really cheap option so you can allocate more of your budget at other positions, then consider Gavin Lux ($7). He had a double and an RBI in Game 1 and he's generally shown a good eye at the plate, recording a 20.2 percent strikeout rate and a 10.0 percent walk rate this season.
