Daily Fantasy baseball players were gifted an extra game on Friday's MLB playoff slate when Game 2 of the Yankees-Guardians American League Divisional Series was postponed on Thursday. With three games to choose from, are New York or Cleveland hitters better fits for your MLB DFS lineups, or should you favor players from the two NLDS Game 3 matchups to win on sites like DraftKings or FanDuel? Following Guardians-Yankees, the Braves and Phillies will square off with Spencer Strider and Aaron Nola on the mound for their respective teams.
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has had the most success against Strider this season among Philly hitters (3-for-9), but he is off to a 1-for-7 start in this NLDS. Meanwhile, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. could be a more reliable option in the MLB DFS player pool, as he is a career .361 hitter against Nola, and 2-for-7 with a home run and a double against him this season. Before you make your MLB DFS picks for Friday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won over $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book "Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune" as a top MLB DFS player, McClure's proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Thursday, McClure highlighted Astros OF/DH Yordan Alvarez in his MLB DFS player pool on DraftKings and FanDuel. The result: Alvarez hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning to lift the Astros past the Mariners and return 18 points on DraftKings and 25.2 points on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, as the 2022 MLB playoffs continue, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Friday, October 14. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Friday, October 14, 2022
One of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Friday is Braves third baseman Austin Riley, who is listed at $4,900 on DraftKings and $3,500 on FanDuel. Riley is off to a slow start against the Phillies in this NLDS, but there is plenty of reason to believe that he can turn things around in Game 3. Against Nola this season, Riley is 8-for-15 with two doubles, and for his career, he is a .429 hitter with a 1.229 OPS against the Phillies starter.
In the 2022 regular season against Philadelphia, Riley had offensive splits of .351/.407/.514 with nine doubles. Riley was one of Atlanta's most effective postseason hitters last year, and finished with a .421 batting average on balls he put in play during the 2021 playoffs. Game 3 will be played at Philadelphia, where Riley cracked 14 of his 26 total hits against the Phillies in 10 games this season.
Another part of McClure's optimal MLB DFS strategy includes rostering Dodgers catcher Will Smith ($4,000 on DraftKings and $3,100 on FanDuel). Smith went 1-for-5 in the Dodgers 5-3 loss to San Diego in Game 2 of their series on Wednesday. Smith had two doubles in Los Angeles' 5-3 Game 1 win and scored two runs with an RBI.
The Dodgers will face Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell in Game 3, who Smith should be comfortable stepping to the plate against. Although he took just one hit from six at-bats against him this season, Smith was 4-for-10 with a home run and a double against Snell in 2021. Overall against the Padres during the regular season, Smith finished with a .277 batting average and a .923 OPS.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for Friday, October 14, 2022
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Friday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won't break the bank. You can only see who it is here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Friday? And which player is a must-roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.
