This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We've got both MLB League Championship Series (LCS) matchups going down Thursday. Game 4 between the Mets and Dodgers is the nightcap, but first, the American League Championship Series (ALCS) moves to Cleveland for Game 3. That means the first pitch arrives at 5:08 p.m. ET. Here are the players I like for DFS lineups.
Pitcher
Clarke Schmidt, NYY at CLE ($7,800): It's wise of the Yankees to give Schmidt a road start. This year, he had a 4.50 ERA and 1.4 HR/9 rate at home. Away from Yankee Stadium, he had a 1.39 ERA and 0.4 HR/9 rate. Cleveland's offense was middling this season, certainly the least robust of these four teams, so Schmidt has the best matchup of the four starting pitchers.
Top Target
The top hitter for the Mets in this postseason has been Mark Vientos ($4,300), who has notched three home runs and two doubles while driving in 11 runs. He slugged over .500 against both righties and lefties this season but was a big fan of Citi Field. In his home park, Vientos had a .912 OPS. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is not home run-prone, but his fellow righties did hit .263 against him, so I'll go with the Mets' hottest bat in his preferred ballpark.
Bargain Bat
In the postseason, Gleyber Torres ($4,100) has hit .292. He's also slugged .500 for good measure. While he had issues with his fellow righties during the regular season, he had a .811 OPS versus lefties. Matthew Boyd is likely to get the start for the Guardians in Game 3, and he is a southpaw. He's also yet to allow an earned run in the playoffs, but the Tigers had a mediocre offense heavy on lefties, so I don't take too much from that.
Stack to Consider
Dodgers at Mets (Luis Severino): Teoscar Hernandez ($5,000), Will Smith ($4,000), Tommy Edman ($3,700)
This season, Severino had a 3.64 ERA at home, compared to a 3.86 ERA on the road. However, he had a 0.5 HR/9 rate in away starts but a 1.8 HR/9 rate at Citi Field. Severino is a lefty. Righties have hit 27 of the 35 home runs he's allowed since 2022, so this is a three-righty stack.
Though Hernandez had a .884 OPS at home compared to a .800 OPS on the road, a .800 OPS is still quite good. Additionally, he had a .808 OPS versus right-handed pitchers, but an impressive .931 OPS against southpaws. Smith is a catcher who hit 20 home runs, 70 RBI and 77 runs this season. He also had a .812 OPS on the road and a .876 OPS versus lefties. The switch-hitting Edman missed most of the season but still had six homers and six stolen bases in 37 games. While he is a switch-hitter, his .811 OPS against lefties since 2022 shows he has a preference.
