This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
ALCS Game 5 is our Saturday evening showcase at FanDuel, with first pitch at 8:08 p.m. EDT. The Yankees look to advance to the World Series with a win, while the Guardians hope to force this back to the Bronx.
The Yankees are slight favorites at (-118). Game 1 starters return to the bump; Carlos Rodon fanned nine in six innings, allowing three hits and one run, while Tanner Bibee had a short hook, allowing five hits and three runs across just 1.1 innings. Weather is a complete nonfactor, it's dry with no wind to speak of. The run total is just 7.5, but we've seen offense in this series, so a balanced build of three from one lineup and two from the other can be effective and not force a four/one style build, but that's not wrong either.
MVP
Juan Soto, NYY at CLE ($9,000): Let's be honest, we know we're choosing between Soto, Aaron Judge ($10,000) and Jose Ramirez ($8,500) unless you're really trying to be different, in which case you'll likely still have one of these three in your build at a different spot. Ramirez is 10-for-46 (.217) off Rodon, so I'm down to the two Yankee stars, who have been virtually identical in this series. Judge is 3-for-14 with two homers and six RBI, Soto is 4-for-14 with two homers and three RBI, but has added a walk in each of the first four games. If he gets on in front of Judge and scores as a result, we get the points, too, making him my preference for safe points and a potential ceiling. He's 2-for-3 against Bibee with two walks.
Star
Lane Thomas, CLE vs. NYY ($7,500): This is the spot in a showdown slate in which I prefer to be less obvious, and Thomas fits that bill. Giancarlo Stanton ($7,500), the same price, figures to be popular, and both profile as boom or bust. Stanton has three hits in this series, all of which are homers. He's swinging for no other result. Thomas will hit fourth, giving him an opportunity to pop. He's amassed seven walks in this series, but has only two hits and two runs scored. A browse of his game logs shows just how up and down Thomas can be, but the Guardians will need an unsung hero to extend their season, and Thomas will have the opportunity to be that, he just needs to come through. Gleyber Torres ($7,000) merits consideration here, too, and profiles far safer.
Utility
Brayan Rocchio, CLE vs. NYY ($5,500): This is a pretty easy pick for low ceiling, stable floor production. Rocchio saw an eight-game hitting streak snapped last night but still managed a walk and a run. It was an unfortunate outing, as he had multiple run-producing at bats and failed to come through, but the 0-for-4 outing is exactly why we go right back to the well, as it hopefully scares off some folks. He homered off Rodon in Game 1.
David Fry, CLE vs. NYY ($5,500): Fry profiles as the exact opposite of Rocchio: low floor, high upside. With a lefty on the mound, he's assured a start and will hit second, giving him opportunity to score and drive runs in. He's hit safely in three of the series' four games with one homer and got a hit off Rodon in Game 1. The only potential concern is he's likely to be pulled later in the game in an RvR matchup, giving him fewer at bats to produce.
Anthony Volpe, NYY at CLE ($7,000): Let's say you copy the top four in this column as your build, which is 100 percent not the purpose of this article. You'd be left with $7,500 for the last roster spot, which gives plenty of options. The easiest way to be different in a tournament is to leave some salary available. Volpe is hot, going 5-for-10 over the last three games, adding three walks and five runs scored. He's earned at least 15.2 fantasy points in each despite only one extra-base hit and is 2-for-4 off Bibee. That he's getting on base and scoring runs so successfully at the bottom of the Yankees' order is impressive and opens up the potential for a mini-stack with whomever ends up hitting behind him; likely Anthony Rizzo ($6,000), Alex Verdugo ($5,000) or whoever starts at catcher. All three of those are priced to where you can move off some of the other pieces listed here, both up and down. Burying the lede here, but that's an interesting way to build this.
