This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
Monday brings Game 3 of the ALCS between the Red Sox and Astros. The series is tied at one game apiece after the Red Sox exploded offensively Saturday, hitting two grand slams in their victory. Injuries have hit the Astros' starting rotation, which puts them in a tough spot moving forward. They'll turn to Jose Urquidy to try and give them the edge in Game 3. Let's dive into the DraftKings Showdown contest and discuss some players to consider for your lineups.
Captain Pick
For those new to this format, the player that is selected for the Captain's Pick in your lineup will receive 1.5X the fantasy points. The downside is, whoever you select for that spot, you will also have to pay 1.5X their salary.
At this point, how can you not consider taking a chance on Enrique Hernandez ($14,100 Captain's Pick) for this spot? During the Red Sox's playoff run, he is 16-for-32 (.500) with five home runs and four doubles. He already has three home runs in this series alone. Riding the hot hand could prove to be worthwhile.
Carlos Correa ($12,000 Captain's Pick) has four hits in the first two games of the ALCS and is now 9-for-21 (.429) with a home run and two doubles this postseason. He's had a history of performing well in the playoffs, including in 2020 when he went 17-for-47 (.362) with six home runs. Add in his career .367 wOBA versus left-handed pitchers and he's someone to strongly consider with Eduardo Rodriguez ($10,000) expected to start for the Red Sox.
Top Targets
Urquidy ($10,400) allowed 17 home runs across just 107 innings this season, so this could be a tough matchup for him, in general, with all of the Red Sox's power hitters. One of their most prolific is Kyle Schwarber ($10,200), who had a career-high .288 ISO during the regular season. What's even scarier for Urquidy is that he had a .359 ISO versus right-handed pitchers.
Alex Bregman ($7,800) has thrived against left-handed pitching, posting a 163 wRC+ against them for his career. While he's still looking for his first home run of this postseason, he does have at least one hit in each of the Astros' six games.
Bargain Bats
Yuli Gurriel ($7,000) doesn't carry a ton of power upside to the plate, but he hit .319 during the regular season and has hit at least .291 in four of the last five seasons. It certainly helps his cause that he only has a 10.9 percent strikeout rate for his career. Facing Rodriguez could be a boost for him given that he had a 151 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers during the regular season.
While he hasn't been as hot as Hernandez, Alex Verdugo ($6,800) has also been performing well at the plate during the Red Sox's playoff run. After registering two more hits in Game 2, he is 11-for-30 (.367) with a home run and three doubles. Left-handed pitchers limited him to a .246 wOBA during the regular season, but he had a .378 wOBA versus righties.
