Daily Fantasy MLB Baseball Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and Starsdraft 10/16/15

Though the slates are short, this time of the baseball is exciting. Tons of great arms. Solid teams left. Great fan bases. Watching MLB now makes the season worth it. And DFS is just the icing.

If you're new to the playoff picks, I'll be giving you one play per position to whet your appetite. You can also grab a free trial of the projection system that makes these picks possible. Your free trial also includes access to our NFL and NHL tools - so get started today!

Pitchers

Jon Lester - FD 10700 DK 10800
Opponent- NYM (Harvey) R Park- @Nym
Three awesome arms going on this slate so I'll have to choose one. For me, it's Lester. Though a slight ML dog going in, Lester put together a fantastic season with a strikeout an inning and a 3.06 xFIP. For these short slates I want more exposure to pitchers in the NL because they avoid the DH and every little bit counts. For all of the Mets Miracle-ness, they still struck out over 23% of the time against lefties this season. Lester is the clear play for me on FanDuel and DraftKings where he's coming cheaper than Price. He lets you get in at least of semblance of offense down the lineup.

Catchers

Salvador Perez - FD 2400 DK 3100
Opponent- Tor (Price) L Park- @KC
With some of the plays today you'll see that I'm taking the path of cheap resistance. That's because I'm perfectly happy getting some money in on the Jays' bats, but to do so one will need to punt in a position or two. Perez showed flashed of power in the series against the Astros, though I wouldn't necessarily pencil him in as the next Mike Piazza or anything. That being said, hitting around 7th in the order, he can put the bat on the ball from time to time.

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First base

Anthony Rizzo - FD 4400 DK 4000
Opponent- NYM (Harvey) R Park- @Nym
Oof, this position is brutal today. There are very few options I even want to consider. And honestly, I don't even love Rizzo but paying up for E5 (3) is a tough call. And it isn't even like Rizzo is free or anything. I can understand going a little cheaper with Morales or Hosmer, though know that both are in the worse side of their splits. Rizzo has a high enough floor considering his 11% walk rate, though the power did dip some in the second half. It's an overpay for sure, but this is a tough position.

Second base

Ben Zobrist - FD 3200 DK 3600
Opponent- Tor (Price) L Park- @KC
Hitting lefties is what Zobrist does best. It's been his much better split over the career and this season's been no different. He rolled a .398 wOBA with a .926 OPS. Those numbers are legit and just back up that this is his much better platoon. Of course he's facing Price which is never any good, but we are stuck with tough choices on a slate this like this. Zobrist from the two hole walks more than he strikes out on the season and is just the right kind of cash game play.

Shortstop

Alcides Escobar - FD 2300 DK 3100
Opponent- Tor (Price) L Park- @KC
Look, this dude is destined to sit in this spot from now until the end of the DFS playoffs. The reasoning is simple and we've been through it a 1,000 times. But for the newly initiated (or for people who love to listen to this crap on repeat) you just have to take the cheapest SS play who happens to also hit leadoff for his squad. Should he hit leadoff? Of course not. But the Royals don't seem concerned with this and have him there for the long haul (brutal OBP be damned).

Third base

David Wright - FD 3400 DK 3600
Opponent- CHC (Lester) L Park- @Nym
I know I threw out Lester there at the top for the pitcher play. I'm not sure that puts Wright totally out of contention considering how few options we have on this slate. Dude is a stone lefty killer over his career and the last couple of seasons have been no different. In that time period Wright put up over a .900 OPS in the lefty platoon and there's a lot to like in this matchup all things considered. He's coming so cheap on DraftKings that I think you can play him even if you've rostered Lester in a cash game. It's much the same on FanDuel, though the pricing does at least get a little bit tougher.

Outfield

Dexter Fowler - FD 2800 DK 4100
Opponent- NYM (Harvey) R Park- @Nym
Jorge Soler - FD 2800 DK 3000
Opponent- NYM (Harvey) R Park- @Nym
These two will be popular plays for a couple of reasons. One, they are coming very cheap on FanDuel and it's tough to get away from their salaries in a cash game because you don't get this kind of cap flexibility from dudes who can actually hit. Which leads me to the second thing. They are hitting at the top of the Cubs' lineup and the plate appearance expectation for both is much better than most other players in the same price tier. I think both are close to musts on FanDuel for cash games and Soler is a must on DraftKings. They will surely be two of the higher owned players on the slate, and for good reason.

Jose Bautista - FD 4400 DK 5100
Opponent- KC (Volquez) R Park- @KC
I wrote this the other night about Bautista, and it sticks tonight.
On FanDuel he's coming the cheapest of Toronto's big three and isn't priced completely out of contention if you save in a couple of other slots throughout your order. Look, I don't need to make some grand case for why you'd play Joey Bats on any slate. He's a bat-flipping beast and if there is room and enough flexibility to get him in the lineup, then you need to do it. He beasted for a .900 OPS this season, walked more than he struck out (maybe it isn't so hard?) and hit righties better than lefties. If I am paying up for anyone, he's the guy.

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