DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Saturday, October 5th

This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.

The NLDS and ALDS series begin Saturday, with all eight teams retaining World Series aspirations. In theory, the four teams with a bye in the wild card round have an advantage here because they can start at the top of their rotations rather than mid-tier starters. That will have a big impact on who we target on Saturday.

Pitchers

Zack Wheeler ($9,300) has been strong all season, but he has significantly increased his strikeout rate of late, posting at least eight punchouts in three of his last five appearances. The Mets have a solid lineup but have the second-highest K rate of any remaining playoff team.

Dylan Stop it ($8,600) At least it bears mentioning, as he posted the highest strikeout rate of any starter on Saturday. A matchup against the Dodgers is tough, so there will likely be big differences either way. Cease is unlikely to make the roster, making him attractive to those willing to take some risk.

Tanner Bibee ($8,000) has weathered some inconsistencies and the Tigers are a great story, even if they are clearly the least productive team left. This makes Bibee an interesting and valuable option the lowest salary option.

Top hitter

Michael Wacha is currently one of the more flyball-oriented pitchers and will start at Yankee Stadium. To make matters worse, he has struggled greatly against lefties this season (.370 wOBA), coupled with the short porch in right field. That makes Juan Soto ($6,100) A great player to build around but also keep Alex Verdugo ($2,900) consider as a value selection.

Of the top pitchers, Bibee has the most inconsistency. He particularly struggled with the long ball against lefties (1.4 HR/9). Kerry Carpenter ($4,300) a fascinating power racket. As a bonus, he will likely reach second place in the rankings.

Valuable bats

This will depend on how Cleveland sets up its lineup, with the Tigers using left-hander Tyler Holton as their opener before turning to Reese Olson as their primary option. Assuming they use a left-leaning lineup to line up for the majority of the game, Kyle Manzardo ($2,400) could be second. He didn't have an impressive rookie season, but his salary is hard to ignore given his potential role.

Stack to consider

Phillies vs. Mets: Kyle Schwarber ($5,600), Trea Turner ($5,500), Bryce Harper ($5,300)

This is exactly what was referenced in the introduction, as the Mets will be forced to use Kodai Senga, who has only appeared once this season. David Peterson will work the majority of the innings and holds the worst K% and SIERA of Saturday's starters. There is some risk that the Phillies offense starts slow due to a relatively long layoff, but the matchup and the park make them a good option.

The authors of this article may participate in daily fantasy contests, including but not limited to games on which they have provided recommendations or advice in this article. When playing these games with their personal accounts, it is possible that they may use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations given above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dan Marcus participates in daily fantasy contests with the following accounts: FanDuel: marcusd91 DraftKings: dmarcus87.