World Series Game 1 comes our way North of the border in Toronto where the Blue Jays will host the Dodgers at 8:08 p.m. EDT. Los Angeles has confirmed Blake Snell as its starter, and Toronto announced on Thursday that it will start Trey Yesavage. Snell has been dominant in the postseason, allowing six hits and two runs across 21.0 innings, fanning 28.
The elephant in the room will be what to do with Shohei Ohtani ($21,900/$14,600), who is just insanely priced. I'll leave that decision up to you. I'm a single-entry guy, which makes this decision even tougher. Perhaps a limited entry tournament where you do and don't use Ohtani is the play. For as historic as his last game was, he's been feast or famine. Ohtani hadn't homered since the Dodgers first wild card game and has only one additional extra base hit all postseason.
Conventional wisdom will be to load up on the Dodgers and probably take a cheap secondary piece or two from the Blue Jays given Snell's form. The Dodgers are are (-150) favorites and we've got a 7.5 run total. I'll counter that by saying the Dodgers have topped five runs once in their last eight. Toronto has done so six times in 11 games.
MVP
Vladimir Guerrero, TOR vs. LAD ($18,300/$12,200): Is Guerrero's price low enough to justify using him here over Ohtani? I'm not sure that it is, but the form clearly is. He's got 10 hits in his last five, has a hit in all but two postseason games and is hitting .442 with a 1.440 and 40 total bases. He hit .326 in season against lefties with a .404 wOBA and 163 wRC+. He is just 2-for-11 off Snell, however, with no homers.
Utility
Mookie Betts, LAD at TOR ($15,300/$10,200): We're likely going to want at least one more big name, and Betts has just been so so rather than elite, arguably all year. He's hitting .293 in the postseason, but doesn't have a homer and only six RBI. He's 16-for-51 (.314) with three homers off Gausman. We obviously need confirmation Gausman is starting, but I do think we can chase power, as he gave up a homer in each of his two starts in the ALCS.
Max Muncy, LAD at TOR ($10,500/$7,000): It's an all or nothing play; Muncy has just six hits in the postseason, which includes a homer and a double. Perhaps I'm leaning too hard on the BvP. Maybe it's too high a price to pay when you're more likely taking a zero, but one big swing is a 2.5x return, huge in a showdown.
Tommy Edman, LAD at TOR ($9,300/$6,200): Edman and the next player listed here I think are going to be heavily rostered as glue guys to builds that help free up spending for bigger names. Edman has 10 hits in nine games (hitting .286) adding some upside with two homers. He's unlikely to give you more than a 1x return at this price but also unlikely to give you zero.
Ernie Clement, TOR vs. LAD ($7,200/$4,800): Clement trails only Guerrero as far as white hot postseason hitters. He's 18-for-42 (.429) with a homer, three doubles and a triple, scoring 10 times and driving in seven. The Blue Jays have a plethora of bottom-of-the-order options who are contributing, but the bulk of them are left-handed, so I doubt they will all feature against Snell, even more so with Bo Bichette expected back. This feels like a free square, as I anticipate very high roster percentages, and he's been good enough that if you try to fade it, it could bite you.
Teoscar Hernandez, LAD at TOR ($14,400/$9,600): As always, a reminder this column isn't supposed to list a suggested lineup, but rather give options in different tiers to consider. But if you used the five players listed above, you'd have $13,500 left over, which means you can play anyone you'd like outside of Ohtani. Hernandez cooled after a torrid start to his postseason but still had a modest three hits and a homer in the Dodgers' sweep of the Brewers. Perhaps the time off to reset between series sparks him, but there's obvious run producing upside for a fair price.
