Tuesday night will see Game 2 of the NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves play out. The Braves struck first in the series gaining a 1-0 advantage, and Clayton Kershaw will be replaced by Tony Gonsolin as LA's Game 2 starter.
With the potential for a low scoring game, DFS players will need to find the hidden potential in this match up to cash in. For the purpose of this article we're using FanDuel's $20K Tue MLB Squeeze ($5K to 1st) Tournament as a reference.
Scoring is based on hitters achieving results in the following categories:
Singles (1B) - 3 points
Doubles (2B) - 6 points
Triples (3B) - 9 points
Walks (BB) - 3 points
Hit by Pitches (HBP) - 3 points
Home Runs (HR) - 12 points
Runs (R) - 3.2 points
Runs Batted In (RBI) - 3.5 points
Stolen Bases (SB) - 6 points
A "Star" player is selected and that player receives a 1.5X bonus to their score. An "MVP" player is selected and that player receives a 2X bonus to their score. Three players are selected as Utility players for this contest and receive no bonus to their score.
Players are assigned a "salary" and you are given $35,000 in salary cap to form your team. Here are FindBet's picks for this game starting with the three Utility spots.
Utility Players
Ozzie Albies 2B ATL $7,000 salary - Atlanta's second baseman is able to help you in every scoring category. Expect Albies to be a table setter if the Braves are going to have a chance to take Game 2. If he's able to get on base he poses a threat to steal bases and score runs with an excellent middle of the order hitting behind him.
Justin Turner 3B LAD $6,000 salary - Turner has been a very consistent hitter which has resulted in consistent production from a DFS standpoint throughout the season. He won't get you the big games the same way teammates Mookie Betts or Corey Seager have throughout the season, but he is as good of a bet as any to produce in a difficult pitching matchup. Turner has a penchant for producing multi-hit games which he hasn't done in his past 8 games. If he can pick up a couple hits in a low scoring game he would be a steal at $6,000.
Will Smith C LAD $5,500 salary - While many players may be inclined to play the opposing catcher in Travis d'Arnaud who is riding a 7 game hit streak, we're going with Smith. d'Arnaud is a .200 (1-5) career hitter against Kershaw but will likely be in most lineups based on his recent production and salary. Smith went 0-4 in Game 1, but had a .294 average in the playoffs prior to that. He hit .289 in the regular season and has been a steady performer for the Dodgers all year. Hitting in the middle of the Dodger lineup could result in an offensive outburst like we saw from him in the close out game against the Padres in the NLDS.
Star Player
Cody Bellinger OF LAD $8,500 salary - Even though Bellinger has had a down year by his standard, for DFS he's still one of the most valuable players in baseball. His ability to change games with one swing is still there, and Bellinger shares the same benefits of hitting in the middle of this talented lineup as Will Smith. Ian Anderson has been a breakout star in the Braves' rotation and poses a threat to stifle the Dodger bats for a second game in a row. LA will need its stars to bounce back and that includes the 2019 NL MVP. Bellinger does his best work against righties, and if the Dodgers can set the table for him a home run with runners on will go a long way in this contest.
MVP Player
Freddie Freeman 1B ATL $7,500 salary - Many DFS players are going to be likely to plug Mookie Betts or Ronald Acuna Jr in this spot. Especially now that it's known that Clayton Kershaw will not start tonight, the temptation to deploy Acuna as your MVP in this game will be high. However, Freeman has played at an MVP level all season and the Braves are going to want to jump out to an early lead to prevent losing the momentum in this series. That could mean big production early from Freeman and a win for Atlanta and your DFS lineup.
Updated 2:51pm 10/13/2020 --