This article is part of our DFS MLB series.
DraftKings is offering a few ways to get into contests Saturday, the first being a traditional showdown option for Game 5 of the ALDS between Cleveland and Detroit. The alternative is a two-game slate that includes Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday. For purposes of this article, our focus will be the showdown due to the range of contests and prize pools available.
As a brief primer for Showdown contests, there are no positions. Instead, each team selects a "Captain", who has their score multiplied by 1.5 but also at an increased salary. The remaining five positions are all utility and can be filled in any way that fits within the salary cap.
Captain
Tarik Skubal ($18,000) is the obvious captain choice. This has been a low-scoring series, and that's likely to continue with him on the mound. Skubal hasn't had any issues in his first playoff experience by posting 14:1 K:BB across 13 scoreless innings. The drawback is that he'll be popular and very expensive.
For those looking to pivot to a different Tiger, Spencer Torkelson ($10,500) and Riley Greene ($13,800) are both worth considering thanks to the power they've produced against lefties. Greene has a .220 ISO across 152 at-bats this season, while Torkelson has stood out with a .272 ISO in 89 plate appearances.
On the Cleveland side of things, the case for Matthew Boyd ($16,800) would be based on a very specific game outcome, and that is the Cleveland offense surprisingly getting to Skubal while
DraftKings is offering a few ways to get into contests Saturday, the first being a traditional showdown option for Game 5 of the ALDS between Cleveland and Detroit. The alternative is a two-game slate that includes Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday. For purposes of this article, our focus will be the showdown due to the range of contests and prize pools available.
As a brief primer for Showdown contests, there are no positions. Instead, each team selects a "Captain", who has their score multiplied by 1.5 but also at an increased salary. The remaining five positions are all utility and can be filled in any way that fits within the salary cap.
Captain
Tarik Skubal ($18,000) is the obvious captain choice. This has been a low-scoring series, and that's likely to continue with him on the mound. Skubal hasn't had any issues in his first playoff experience by posting 14:1 K:BB across 13 scoreless innings. The drawback is that he'll be popular and very expensive.
For those looking to pivot to a different Tiger, Spencer Torkelson ($10,500) and Riley Greene ($13,800) are both worth considering thanks to the power they've produced against lefties. Greene has a .220 ISO across 152 at-bats this season, while Torkelson has stood out with a .272 ISO in 89 plate appearances.
On the Cleveland side of things, the case for Matthew Boyd ($16,800) would be based on a very specific game outcome, and that is the Cleveland offense surprisingly getting to Skubal while the Tigers are stymied. For those who want to enter a lot of lineups, this is a strategy to employ as it's unlikely to happen, yet also extremely unpopular.
The obvious hitting choice for the Guardians is Jose Ramirez ($14,700), though I'd also be willing to consider Lane Thomas ($11,100) and his solid .192 ISO versus southpaws this season.
Utility
Any of the options we've already discussed are worth selecting as a utility. Game 4 hero David Fry ($6,800) is also a decent value play. The downside is that Cleveland could remove him late if a righty relieves Skubal. The story is similar for Jhonkensy Noel ($6,000), who's even cheaper and registered a whopping .421 ISO and .399 wOBA in a small sample against lefties this year.
The Tigers specifically craft their lineup based on the handedness of the opposing pitcher, which offers solid value for showdown contests. Justyn-Henry Malloy ($5,400) will likely leadoff to begin the game. He's a boom-bust option (34.4 K%/.250 ISO against LHP this season) who enters with an extremely low salary.
Matt Vierling ($7,600) is overvalued, but makes sense for those stacking Detroit or for those using a cheaper Captain relative to Skubal. Lastly, consider Andy Ibanez ($5,000). He's very cheap for how well he hits lefties (.349 wOBA, 1.53 ISO) and should also slot third in the order. The problem is he'll almost certainly exit as soon as a righty comes in for the Guardians.
