It’s unfair for anyone to face the Astros right now. This team is so stacked and it’s why many experts have them pegged as the clear-cut favorite to win the World Series. It’s easy to see why they’re such big favorites when analyzing their roster, so let’s go ahead and get into that.   Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Houston Astros  Starters  Justin Verlander: Not much needs to be said about the future Hall-of-Famer. This dude has a 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 35.4 percent K rate this season, which is pretty much on par with what he's been doing for over a decade. Those absurd numbers make him scary against anyone and he’ll surely be in top form in yet another playoff run.  Gerrit Cole: What if I told you that Verlander was not the best pitcher on this staff. Some would argue that it’s this guy, with Cole having a breakout season. Not only did the right-hander lead the league with 326 strikeouts, he also matched it with a 2.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He was even better in the second half, posting a 1.51 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 14.1 K.9 rate over his final 14 starts.   Zack Greinke: Jeez, it’s scary that the Astros added this dude to their already stacked pitching staff. Greinke was in the midst of another brilliant season before coming over to Houston, as he finished the year with a 2.93 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. That would make him the best pitcher on any pitching staff but he’ll go ahead and slot in for Game 3 in this series.   Bullpen  Look for these three starters to take care of most innings but their bullpen isn't too shabby either. Will Harris, Bruce Rondon and Ryan Pressly will carve out the middle innings while Roberto Osuna will be closing out games. That makes this the most dangerous pitching staff in the league and it’s no wonder that no one wants to face them.   Lineup  It would be one thing to have a pitching staff like this with an average lineup but this may be the best hitting core in baseball too. George Springer leading things off is truly scary, with the slugging outfielder posting a .393 OBP and .974 OPS this season. That pairs beautifully with Jose Altuve in the two-hole, with the little man having yet another stellar season. Michael Brantley hitting third is consistency at its finest, with the lefty outfielder hitting .300 pretty much every year. Alex Bregman is no joke in...

This is a fascinating series. We have two of the hottest teams in the league matching up and it should make for a fun series. I’ll go ahead and throw my hat in the ring on the Braves because I truly think they have the better roster. If you go position by position, there’s actually not much in favor of the Cardinals. The only real advantage is playoff experience but many of those guys are over the hill. Players like Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina may give them an edge mentally but it hurts them just as much on the field with their ineffective play. The odds don’t really put much between these teams though, with Atlanta coming into this series as a –160 favorite to advance. With that in mind, let’s take a deeper look at the specific matchups.   Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitching   If there’s one pitcher you’d want in this series, it’s Jack Flaherty. The Cardinals righty has been the best pitcher in baseball since the break and it’s frightening just how good he’s been recently. Over his last 16 starts, Flaherty is pitching to a 0.93 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 11.0 K.9 rate. Holy Crap, I knew those numbers were good but woah! That’s bad news for the Braves but they have a pitcher of their own who’s feeling it. Mike Foltynewicz has been dominant since being sent to the minors, posting a 1.73 ERA and 0.84 WHIP over his last seven starts. That’s the stud that we saw last season and the Braves have to hope that he continues that form here.   Atlanta also has a rookie who’s been showing out this season, with Mike Soroka pitching to a 2.68 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. That may garner him an NL Rookie of the Year award and these two righties spell bad news for the Cards. The main reason for that is because St. Louis sends out a ton of righties, but we’ll go over that more in our lineup section. To finish off the pitchers, the Cardinals will likely send out Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright while the Braves will have Dallas Keuchel and either Julio Teheran or Max Fried. What’s funny about all of these guys is that they have low K rates. That’s bad news against potent lineups like this and we may be looking at high-scoring games when these guys toe the rubber.  Plays: Flaherty vs. ATL and Soroka/Foltynewicz vs. STL   Fades: Wainwright vs. ATL and Teheran/Keuchel...

After an exciting start to the MLB playoffs, we have our first team advancing. That happens to be the Washington Nationals, as they miraculously overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth inning to advance. While it was an error that got them that victory, they appeared to be the better team over the Brewers. We have been rewarded with outstanding series of pitching. The three main starters for both of these clubs can shut down a lineup on any given night and it should make for a low-scoring series. With that said, we’re going to place the pitchers against the offense and discuss how it could play out. So, let’s dig into this NLDS.   Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NFL and MLB optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! WSH vs. Clayton Kershaw: The future Hall-of-Famer had a bounce-back season for the Dodgers and I truly believe that Dave Roberts will peg him as the number-one guy to show that they have confidence in him. That’s just what he needs too, as this dude has struggled mightily throughout his postseason career. His 9-10 record goes along with an ugly 4.32 ERA. That’s shocking from a guy who has a 2.44 ERA and 1.00 WHIP for his career which was pretty much on par with his 3.03 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this year. That postseason ERA and win-loss record is a fluke in my opinion though, as his 1.09 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 rate is plenty good. That makes the Nationals a tough bet in this game but righties like Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are in the best spots to succeed. If you’re looking for someone cheaper, Howie Kendrick and Brian Dozier have had a ton of success against lefties this season too.   WSH vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu: The southpaw from Japan has had a breakout season for the Dodgers and it may earn him an NL Cy Young award. A 2.32 ERA and 1.01 WHIP were some of the best marks in the Majors and it has him likely to start one of these first two games. What is scary is the fact that he struggled in the second half, pitching to a 5.40 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over his last seven starts. That can be attributed to his career-high in innings pitched and it remains to be seen if that’ll be an issue in the postseason. In terms of matchups, the same things fly as the Kershaw write-up with Ryu throwing from the left side. With that said, Ryu allowed just 11 baserunners and one run across 14.2 innings in two starts against...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Sunday 9/29/19 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! It's here boys and girls! It's the final day of the regular season. If you're unaware of how this works, it's simply one of the most bizarre days of the season. Some players play just one inning, some pitchers throw 135 pitches and some random starters make appearances out of the bullpen. Trying to predict what will happen on this day is nearly impossible but we'll do our best to provide some value for you guys. Pitchers Noah Syndergaard FD 8000 DK 9600 Opponent - ATL (Mike Soroka) Park - ATLFD - 31.66 DK - 16.68 Syndergaard has been struggling recently, but it's lowered his price to this tempting number. This is a dude who has a 3.17 xFIP and 26 percent K rate for his career. He's shown flashes of that this season, pitching to a 1.82 ERA and 0.98 WHIP between July and August before struggling over his last six starts. While Atlanta is a tough matchup, they might send out a terrible lineup with their playoff odds already being decided. They'll also be without Ronald Acuna for sure and it's very possible that this will be a Triple-A lineup in one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball. After Syndergaard, your options are honestly horrifying. I don't think you want to play anyone who is going to be in the playoffs, with the possible exception of Gerrit Cole, who is pitching for his 20th win of the season today. Maybe it's a day for Eduardo Rodriguez? Will the Twins really be concerned about holding back Martin Perez? Today's not for the faint of heart, my friends. Tread cautiously. Catcher/First Base Luke Voit FD 2900 DK 3900 Opponent - TEX (Lance Lynn) Park - TEXFD - 10.71 DK - 8.11 This FanDuel price makes no sense at all. This dude has been one of the best hitters in the AL since last season and I'd argue that he should be $1,000 more on FD. Dating back to last season, Voit has a .384 OBP, .518 SLG and .902 OPS. That's really all you can ask for from a player priced this cheaply, especially in such a potent lineup. This Yanks lineup hitting in Globe Life Park makes this even scarier for Lance Lynn, with NY projected for about six runs in the second-best hitting parks in baseball. Lynn has been struggling recently too, pitching to a 4.61 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Saturday 9/28/19 Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NFL optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Justin Verlander FD - P 11400 DK - SP 12800 Opponent - LAA (Jose Suarez) Park - LAA FD - 39.29 DK - 22.58 Where do you even begin with a guy like Verlander? He netted his 20th win of the season against this same Angels team last Sunday, and is now sitting on 288 Ks against 42 walks on the season. Those are Cy Young numbers. He wasn't spectacular against the Angels the last time around, but a pitcher of his caliber against an already bad team missing arguably the best player ever is a surefire cash game play. If there's a fly in the ointment here, it has to be the same as it is for every playoff-ready team - they could have every incentive to pull him early. The main slate is bad enough that maybe you try it, but you simply have to understand you're playing with fire no matter who you run out there tonight. Robbie Ray FD - P 9300 DK - SP 10600 Opponent - SD (Garrett Richards) Park - ARI FD - 35.75 DK - 19.18 If you're simply averse to running pitchers that are heading to the playoffs, what do you think about running Robbie Ray out there one more time for old time's sake? Ray got up to his old ones this season, striking out batters at an astounding rate of 12 per 9 innings, while also walking batters at an astounding rate of 4.33 per 9 innings. Still, that's a good enough package for DFS purposes, even if his long plate appearances keep him from going deep into too many games. It's a terrific match-up with the Dads, who has struck out at the fourth highest rate against lefties this season. It's the end of the season, right? Get some excitement in your life with Robbie Ray until we have to go into the playoffs and constantly smash good pitchers into good hitters, and vice versa. Mike Foltynewicz FD - P 8900 DK - SP 9700 Opponent - NYM (Steven Matz) Park - NYM FD - 27.7 DK - 14.33 Foltynewicz is coming off of his best start of the season, where he went eight shutout innings against the Giants his last go-round. The Braves are another playoff team, which is scary, but grabbing pitchers from playoff teams is sort of what you often need to do if you want to roster...

DraftKings and FanDuel MLB Picks for Friday 9/27/19 This is our final Friday slate of the season and things get real weird as we reach the home stretch. These coaches are doing bizarre things with their rotations and lineups and it's making it very tough to make correct DFS picks. Hopefully, our picks here can weed out some of that uncertainty and lead to some success. Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our MLB and NBA optimizers and our new player lab! Get started for free by clicking the button below. START YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW! Pitchers Mike Fiers FD 8300 DK 7900 Opponent - SEA (Justus Sheffield) Park - SEAFD - 29.67 DK - 14.86 Fiers is coming off one of the best starts of his career, throwing eight scoreless innings against the Rangers on Sunday. That extends a rather impressive stretch for Fiers, with the right-hander allowing three runs or fewer in 23 of his last 26 starts. He actually has a 3.15 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in that span and it's clear that he's having a resurgent season in the green and gold. Facing the Mariners is simply a bonus, with Seattle ranked 28th in K rate and bottom-10 in OBP and OPS since the opening month. Not to mention, Fiers and the A's enter this matchup as a -210 favorite. Vince Velasquez FD 7600 DK 6200 Opponent - MIA (Pablo Lopez) Park - MIAFD - 31.31 DK - 16.75 It's very difficult to trust a guy like Velasquez but this matchup is too good to pass up. The simple fact is, Miami ranks bottom-two in runs scored, OBP, OPS and xwOBA. Those horrific numbers limit the risk from a volatile pitcher like Velasquez, with the right-hander generating a 26 percent K rate. That strikeout stuff looks even better when you consider that he has a career xFIP barely eclipsing 4.00 and that should make him a decent bet against a lineup like this. That's why he and the Phillies enter this matchup as a -180 favorite, only adding the VV's intrigue. Catcher/First Base Eric Thames FD 3600 DK 5400 Opponent - COL (Antonio Senzatela) Park - COLFD - 13.94 DK - 10.46 While Thames suffered a minor hamstring injury on Thursday, there's some belief that he'll be ready for this series. That's big news for the big man, as he should have a ton of success in Coors Field. Not only is this the best hitting environment in the Majors, the Rockies also have one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. Chi Chi Gonzalez is a major part of that, pitching to a 5.68 ERA and 1.53...