MLB DFS Picks, Top Stacks & Pitchers: Scherzer, Blue Jays Stack Headline Wild Card Round DFS Action (October 7)

Friday, Oct. 7, kicks off a new MLB Playoff format with three Wild Card teams. Let’s get into the top MLB DFS picks today for pitchers and stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy baseball lineups.


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DraftKings & FanDuel MLB DFS Picks Today (10/7)

It is important to understand that with the MLB DFS Playoff format, most of the conventional regular season rules are tossed out the window. Teams are not afraid to have a quick hook with their starters, including aces, when they have a bullpen full of fresh arms. There is no reason to be afraid of taking hitters against the pitchers you are rolling out, as the key is to capture the home runs and extra-base RBI hits, which can easily outpace a trio of strikeouts in most DFS scoring systems.

On Friday, all of the pitchers are good, and so are the offenses that they are trying to tame. This is no time to be a wallflower, and keep in mind that fortune favors the bold.

Best MLB DFS Pitchers – Wild Card Day 1

Max Scherzer vs. San Diego Padres: This has been a tricky season for Max Scherzer, who has dealt with a few different injuries in his first season in the Big Apple. The 38-year-old still was on the mound for 23 starts, rolling up a 2.29 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and a rate of 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings that would make most pitchers a decade younger turn green with envy. The projected lineup for San Diego has a sub-.200 career batting average and a strikeout rate approaching 37% against Scherzer. This is all accompanied by a lowly 2.7 implied run total that is depressed, even for a playoff game. Roll with Mad Max in all formats!

Alek Manoah vs. Seattle Mariners: It has literally been over a generation since the Seattle Mariners have made the playoffs. Sadly, this game will be in Toronto, which keeps the residents of the Emerald City relegated to watching from home. Super sophomore Alek Manoah far exceeded the expectations of the Blue Jays, who brought in Kevin Gausman on top of adding Jose Berrios last year. Manoah was nails through five September starts, with a miniscule 0.88 ERA, 3.09 FIP and 0.85 WHIP across 41 innings.

Additional Opportunities

Today the Stokastic MLB DFS projections are right in line with most of the MLB strikeout props, which are on the lower end of what we typically see. This, of course, makes sense, with every team taking the field boasting an above-average offense. Unders are in play because there is not much of a reason to keep the pitchers in the game while they “work things out,” with a bullpen full of rested arms. Keep in mind that now the back half of the rotations are also viable options as multi-inning relievers since we are looking at four best-of-three series in the Wild Card round.

For those looking to get a little action on an over, Max Scherzer has a 5.5 over/under on his strikeout prop at what is basically even money. Challenging hitters is a big part of his game, and he is likely to be going all out tonight. Currently the Stokastic MLB DFS projections have him at 5.9 strikeouts, which is right about at a breakeven likelihood of surpassing this milestone.

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Big Bats Against Amazing Aces

Stacks in the postseason are more about trying to corral runs, extra-base hits and, of course, RBIs. Friday’s action is teeming with aces, so when looking for synergy, just two or three hitters against a pitcher is going to be just fine — and as long as they are within a six-hitter span in the batting order, it is all good.

Philadelphia Phillies at LHP Jose Quintana

Among the main options going on Friday, Jose Quintana does seem to have a couple of weak spots that can be targeted with Phillies bats. Quintana has a ground ball lean, and he does a good job of limiting power. The downside is an elevated walk rate for patient batsmen and a subpar strikeout rate. Rhys Hoskins, JT Realmuto, Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos all have extra-base hit upside, and if we select the correct two or three from this group, we could be seeing our name in lights. Jean Segura is not an exciting option, but he is a savvy veteran, and, of course, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber have above-average power in same-handed matchups. Should we roll out a full stack? Well, likely not with only a few entries in play since, at the first sign of trouble, St. Louis will immediately turn to their stellar collection of fresh arms.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. RHP Luis Castillo

This is not a pick against Luis Castillo, who helped propel the Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001. The mid-season acquisition was outstanding in rolling up career bests across the board in his combined work with Cincinnati and Seattle. The only knock against the 29-year-old veteran is that he can be inconsistent from time to time. Toronto does not have an easy out in their lineup, and they should prove to be a difficult matchup throughout the playoffs. Though Castillo limited power this season, it has been his Achilles heel in prior years.

George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez are all outstanding in same-handed matchups, and any of this trio could easily knock the cover off the ball on Friday. Alejandro Kirk is typically overlooked as a catcher-eligible player who bats cleanup, though that is not likely to continue as a trend with the thinning of the postseason player pool. While it is a longshot, from the bottom of the order, Whit Merrifield, Raimel Tapia and Jackie Bradley Jr. could bring the threat of a stolen base. Their best attribute is that if they get on base, they have a tremendous offense looking to bring them home as the Toronto order turns over.

Final MLB DFS Thoughts & MLB Weather Notes

There are no weather issues to worry about today. St. Louis and Cleveland have a breeze up to 10 mph coming in from left center.

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Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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