This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Baseball series.
And then there were four. There is only a quartet of teams left standing, with the Brewers and Dodgers playing Friday. The Red Sox and Astros don't start their series until Saturday, but their Game 1 is included in Friday's daily fantasy contests. With that, here are my recommendations for your lineup.
STARTING PITCHER
Justin Verlander, HOU at BOS ($47): Verlander had a fantastic season, posting a 2.52 ERA and striking out 12.20 batters per nine innings. He was even better on the road, posting a 2.14 ERA in away games. This is not an easy matchup, but there are no easy matchups left. Verlander is great, he's cheaper than Chris Sale ($54) and Clayton Kershaw ($49), and, Kershaw has been a bit worse on the road.
CATCHER
Evan Gattis, HOU at BOS ($8): Gattis really struggled versus righties this year, but against lefties he had a .518 slugging percentage, and 11 of his 25 homers came against southpaws. He was also a lot better on the road, posting a .820 OPS in away games. Chris Sale is great, but maybe Gattis can get a little lucky, especially since Sale didn't quite look like his old self at the end of the regular season.
FIRST BASE
Jesus Aguilar, MIL vs. LAD ($15): Aguilar was quite good against lefties, managing a .929 OPS versus southpaws. That's encouraging with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for the Dodgers, but even if he ends up facing a righty, he had a .876 OPS in those matchups. The big Brewers first baseman had a .539 slugging percentage with 35 homers in 149 games, so he has the power to make some fantasy noise.
SECOND BASE
Enrique Hernandez, LAD at MIL ($13): Hernandez ended the regular season hot, slashing .387/.472/.581 in the final 21 games. He's basically taken over as the second baseman for the Dodgers, especially with Brian Dozier basically unable to hit righties. Jhoulys Chacin had a 3.50 ERA, but a 3.79 ERA at home. Plus, his FIP was a less-impressive 4.07.
THIRD BASE
Justin Turner, LAD at MIL ($19): Despite being hindered by injuries, Turner had a .312/.406/.518 slash line, in line with the kind of hitter he's been even since leaving the Mets for the Dodgers. Though he hit a little better at home this year than on the road, since 2016 he has a .911 OPS in away games. Jhoulys Chacin, as previously noted, had a 4.07 FIP this year. That's hit lowest FIP since way back in the 2013 season.
SHORTSTOP
Xander Bogaerts, BOS vs. HOU ($17): Bogaerts power didn't just come back this year, he took it to another level. This season he had a .522 slugging percentage and hit 23 homers in 136 games. He mostly benefitted from home cooking, as he had a .967 OPS at Fenway Park. Justin Verlander is great, but you only have three real options, and Bogaerts looked most appealing to me.
OUTFIELD
Cody Bellinger, LAD at MIL ($17): Bellinger's homers fell from 39 to 25, but his issues were mostly against lefties and at home. On the other hand, he had a .880 OPS versus righties and a .915 OPS on the road. Meanwhile, Jhoulys Chacin had a .261 BAA versus lefties like Bellinger. The lanky Dodgers southpaw also stole 14 bases for good measure.
Ryan Braun, MIL vs. LAD ($13): Braun still has power, especially against lefties. The veteran outfielder has a .286/.368/.548 slash line against southpaws since 2016. He's also long been a better hitter at home. Clayton Kershaw was good this year, of course, but he had a 2.90 ERA on the road. For him, that counts as a flaw.
Marwin Gonzalez, HOU at BOS ($13): Gonzalez was outstanding against Cleveland, but of course that was only three games. The switch hitter's numbers dropped from a breakout campaign in 2017, but he hit well in away games, and he's solid against lefties. Any outfielder cheaper than this is not likely to start, and may not even play, so Gonzalez represents potential value at this price.
