The ALCS kicks off Sunday with Toronto hosting Seattle for Game 1 starting at 8:03 p.m. EDT.
For DFS purposes, you get $50,000 in salary for six players. That includes your Captain, who at an elevated salary will net you 1.5 times the points. You can roster a starting pitcher if you want, but the Mariners' pitching options are a mess while the Jays can line up Kevin Gausman without worry. My beloved Tigers made things exceedingly hard on Seattle by taking their series to five games, with the final one going 15 innings. Three starters pitched Friday and Bryan Woo is on the ALCS roster, yet won't be ready for Game 1. The bullpen was also heavily used during the last two outings. The righty Bryce Miller is set to start Sunday on three days of rest and was pulled after 55 pitches against the Tigers that wasn't due to performance, so he may not last long. With all that sorted, here's the lineup I landed on.
Go to RotoWire's MLB Daily Lineups page to find out where each and every hitter slots in!
Captain
George Springer, TOR vs. SEA ($13,200): The Mariners could be burnt out. And without any clear vision of their pitching plan, I wanted a Blue Jay with solid lefty/righty splits and favorable home numbers as my Captain. And that's definitely someone like Springer. He didn't do a lot in the previous round, though it was only four games and he registered a 1.016 home OPS during the regular season.
Utility
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR vs. SEA ($9,200): Guerrero was better on the road this year with an .818 OPS against righties and a .946 versus southpaws. He also crushed the ball against the Yankees by posting a 1.609 OPS with three homers. And Guerrero's bat yielded 23 homers and 34 doubles overall, so I trust him as much as any Toronto hitter.
Randy Arozarena, SEA at TOR ($8,200): It can't all be Blue Jays, of course. Arozarena is never going to win a batting title, though he produced 27 home runs, 32 doubles, and 31 stolen bases. Gausman posted a 3.59 ERA this season and didn't give up many homers, but Arozarena sold out for power against lefties with a .350 OBP versus righties - who also tend to be easier to steal on.
Josh Naylor, SEA at TOR ($7,200): The best lefty bat the Mariners have (bearing in mind Cal Raleigh is a switch-hitter), Naylor hit .261 and popped two doubles against the Tigers. He also stole third base in pivotal fashion during Game 5, which speaks to an unusual bit of his skill set considering he's one of the slowest base runners and still stole 30 bases.
Dominic Canzone, SEA at TOR ($6,200): The second a lefty is on the mound, Canzone will go back to the bench. But until that happens, he's worth a shot having registered an .875 OPS versus righties and a .932 on the road.
Ernie Clement, TOR vs. SEA ($6,000): At this salary, I'm happy to use my final roster spot on a player coming off a fantastic series. Over the four games against the Yankees, Clement batted .643 and slugged .929. That means he had nine hits from 14 at-bats. Unsustainable? Sure, but why not see if he can sustain that for even just one more game?
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