After the Mariners series with the Tigers ended, my thought was, "Well, at least my Tigers probably effectively eliminated the Mariners, because they will be too burnt out to take down the Blue Jays." Then, Seattle went to Toronto and won two games with little issue. Now my hope is that I will be able to say, "Sure, the Tigers lost, but it was to the World Series champions!" Of course, for that to happen, the Mariners have to take care of business at home against the Blue Jays. Toronto likely won't go down without a fight, though.
Game 3 of the ALCS, live from Seattle, starts at 8:08 p.m. EDT. For DFS purposes, you get $60,000 of salary for a roster of six players. Your MVP earns you 1.5 times the points, but their salary will also be multiplied 1.5 times over. George Kirby and Shane Bieber are on the mound for Seattle and Toronto. Here is the lineup I landed on.
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MVP
Daulton Varsho, TOR at SEA ($12,900): By making Varsho my MVP, I was able to build a robust lineup around him. Varsho has a low floor, but he also has as high a ceiling as anybody in this game. Well, as long as a righty (like Kirby) is on the mound. Varsho slugged .591 against righties this season. He hit 20 home runs in 71 games. On top of that, he's slugged .696 this postseason.
Utility
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR at SEA ($11,200): Through six postseason games, Guerrero has an 1.179 OPS. He's also hit three home runs. He's the best hitter on the Blue Jays in terms of pure bat skills, and he also may not mind being away from Toronto. This season he had a .901 OPS on the road.
Josh Naylor, SEA vs. TOR ($10,000): Sure, Naylor has walked once in 31 postseason at-bats. He's also hit .290 with two doubles, one homer, and two stolen bases. Though he is far from fleet of foot he managed to swipe 30 bags this season. Although, with Bieber on the mound, his power may come into play more. The righty was only able to make seven starts this season and had a 1.79 HR/9 rate. Then, he only managed to go 2.2 innings in his first playoff outing.
Randy Arozarena, SEA vs. TOR ($9,400): Arozarena's 2025 postseason hasn't been great, though he has stolen three bases. Of course, it's also been seven games, which is not a particularly robust sample (and he had to face Tarik Skubal twice in the ALDS, which isn't easy for anybody). In the regular season, Arozarena was three homers shy of 30 homers, 30 doubles, and 30 stolen bases, and he swiped 29 of his 31 bags against righties like Bieber.
Jorge Polanco, SEA vs. TOR ($7,800): Polanco has been the story for the Mariners. Sure, Cal Raleigh has been the team's best hitter, but he's going to be the MVP runner-up at worst. Polanco has bolstered the Seattle lineup with an .851 OPS and three homers. He also had a .902 OPS at home this season, and many Mariners hitters were decidedly less productive at home.
Nathan Lukes, TOR at SEA ($7,200): Rostering a surprising postseason performer is worthwhile when they are simply rounding out your lineup with your remaining salary. This was Lukes' age-30 season and his first full MLB campaign. The lefty hit .255 with 33 extra-base hits. However, in the playoffs he's hit .412. Surprising? Sure. Inexplicable? Perhaps. It's also reality though, and even if Lukes is simply hot and in great form at the right time, at this salary it's worth taking a shot on that continuing.
