Throughout the postseason, the Astros has been blasting off nightly. However in Game 1, it was the Braves’ offense that was active on the launchpad in Houston. Are the Astros in trouble after their worst offensive performance of the postseason or was it just one game?
Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros
Captain’s Picks
Yuli Gurriel ($14,100 CP) — In Game 1, Gurriel smashed the ball twice (exit velocities of 107.1 and 102.4 mph) but only one resulted in a hit. On Wednesday night, Gurriel will face a lefty in Max Fried, and Gurriel has been one of the Astros’ best hitters against left-handed pitching. In 621 plate appearances (since 2018), he has a .369 wOBA, .217 ISO and a 137 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers. So far this postseason, Gurriel has 15 hits (fifth-most). Jose Altuve ($14,700 CP; $9,800) is the star and will garner a lot of ownership in this matchup, but Gurriel is cheaper and will be lower owned, and ownership is half the battle on Showdown slates.
Adam Duvall ($10,800 CP) — Is this chasing? Of course it is. Duvall is cheap and has as good a chance as anyone to hit a home run (i.e. his Game 1 blast). José Urquidy ($15,600 CP; $10,400) is a fly ball pitcher (50%) and allowed a .217 ISO and 1.8 HR/9 to right-handed batters this season. So far in his one postseason appearance, he surrendered five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Red Sox. The Atlanta lefties seem to be in a better spot than the right-handed Adam Duvall (Urquidy has a 4.03 xFIP vs. LHB). Freddie Freeman ($15,000 CP, $10,000) is the best option based on his regular season stats, but his postseason has been so-so and his price tag reflects his regular season output. Duvall’s regular season splits against right-handed pitching aren’t Freeman numbers, but they’re well above average — .345 wOBA, .292 ISO, 117 wRC+ and a 36% hard contact rate.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $300K Game 2 Extravaganza [$100K to 1st] (ATL vs HOU)
Value Plays
Eddie Rosario ($6,000) — What does this guy have to do to get some respect? He hit in every game of the NLDS and was promoted to lead off. In the series with the Dodgers, he was named the NLCS MVP. In Game 1 on Tuesday, he was moved out of the leadoff spot, but it wasn’t a demotion. Rosario hit fifth (a spot where he has a better chance of driving in runs), and while he did not drive in any runs, he collected two more hits. Rosario has a hit in every game of this postseason. His 20 hits are tied for the most, and to top it off, those hits were hard hits (exit velocities of 96.9 and 96.8 mph). His salary is a mystery and the fact that it decreased from Game 1 to Game 2 is even more perplexing.
Michael Brantley ($6,600) — The lefty-on-lefty matchup is less than advantageous, but how long will Fried last on Wednesday night? Brantley will likely draw most of his at-bats against right-handed pitching where he had a .363 wOBA and 158 wRC+ this season. Still, it’s hard to ignore the southpaw starting, but this should lead to lower ownership for a cheap bat with a lot of upside on a Showdown slate. That’s exactly what DFS players want. On Tuesday night, Brantley collected three hits and recorded four hard hits (batted ball events with an exit velocity >94 mph).
Fades
Max Fried ($16,200 CP; $10,800) — He opened the postseason with three hits over six scoreless innings while striking out nine Brewers. The problem with that performance is that it was against Milwaukee — one of the worst teams against left-handed pitching in baseball. He was okay in his second start and in his third start of the postseason, the Dodgers fried Fried — eight hits, 10 hard hit batted ball events, two home runs and five earned runs over less than five innings. The Dodgers got to Fried and are not great against lefties; the Astros are one best teams in baseball vs. left-handed pitching — 117 wRC+, .338 wOBA, .178 ISO, 33% hard contact rate and a 18% K rate.
The Outcome
Will Dusty Baker ever win a World Series title as a manager? Maybe not, but those types of accolades pale in comparison to his biggest achievement of all — he invented the high five. Yep. Sticking your hand in the air and smacking someone else’s hand, that high five. Not only is the high five a relatively new human invention, but Dusty Baker created it. Google high five and have your mind blown. Doesn’t the guy that gave mankind the gift that is the high five deserve a World Series trophy?
Final Score: Astros 5, Braves 3
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB Showdown $300K Game 2 Extravaganza [$100K to 1st] (ATL vs HOU)
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