This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We've settled into a pattern during the MLB Championship Series with the Showdown slates being the primary option on a nightly basis. There's also an option that includes both Game 3 of the National League Championship (NLCS) on Wednesday and Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) on Thursday. As usual, due to the prize pools and size of contests available, we'll focus on the Showdown slate for the purposes of this article.
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 at an increased price. The remaining five positions are all utility players and can be filled in any way that fits within the salary cap.
Captain
Unlike Tuesday's slate, we don't have two pitchers projected to be dominant taking the mound. Luis Severino ($15,600) has quietly been excellent down the stretch, posting a 62:16 K:BB rate across his last 60.1 innings. The Dodgers have an excellent lineup, so Severino isn't a must-roster option as the most expensive player in the pool, but he is a viable choice.
Walker Buehler has been vulnerable against hitters of both handedness, so we can simply rely on skills to identify potential Mets hitters to consider in the Captain spot. Francisco Lindor ($14,400) and Pete Alonso ($12,000) are the obvious choices, but Mark Vientos ($11,400) is also an intriguing option. During the regular season, he posted a .251 ISO and .347 wOBA against righties and has three homers and 11 RBI in nine postseason games.
For those fading Severino and targeting Dodgers hitters, lefty bats are the primary target. The obvious is Shohei Ohtani ($15,000), with Max Muncy ($12,900) also an interesting alternative. Freddie Freeman ($12,600) would normally be a part of this conversation, but his ankle injury clearly has forced him to play at less than full strength. He'll likely be rostered at a very low rate and is interesting in larger-field contests as a result.
Utility
Budget may not be as significant of a concern given that neither pitcher is worth jamming into rosters, but there are still some value hitters worth exploring for those that want to roster arms or stack the top of either lineup. For the Dodgers, Gavin Lux ($5,600) sticks with the lefty theme and has two multi-hit performances in five full games this postseason.
On the other side of the matchup, the Mets have a few underpriced options based on their projected spot in the lineup and recent track record. The first is Starling Marte ($6,000). He's had a mediocre postseason, but he hits fifth in the order regularly. If we expect the Mets to score runs he is likely to play a significant role in that. Jesse Winker ($5,400) is the other. He typically follows Marte in the six hole and has played very well in the postseason relative to cost, averaging 7.9 DraftKings points per game.
