Ryan Humphries | @N1TRO on LineStar | @NitroDFS on Twitter

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There is plenty of baseball action throughout the day but we’ll have a modest five game MLB main slate to break down for this evening. The end of the regular season is now only three days away and the race for the two AL wild card bids is still a tight one. However, the Athletics and Rays created a bit more separation after big wins last night while the Indians fell to the White Sox and now sit 1.5 games back from Tampa Bay with four games to play. Another loss for Cleveland tonight could essentially end their postseason aspirations. If you want to watch a game with a “win or go home” type atmosphere, you should find that in this Indians/White Sox match-up. There are no significant weather concerns tonight so we can shoot straight into some plays!

Match-ups with implied totals and moneylines:

Stay up to date on all weather conditions and confirmed lineups as soon as they are released over in LineStar chat & on the Daily Dashboard!

Pitchers to Consider

Sean Manaea | DK: $10.4k, FD: $9.8k | LHP | @ SEA

Zach Wheeler (DK: $10.2k, FD: $10.5k) is probably your ‘best bet’ today as he closes out his season with a cushy Miami match-up. Manaea may not be too far behind Wheeler’s expectations, however. After major shoulder surgery and being sidelined for over a year, Manaea has looked really solid since rejoining the A’s rotation on September 1st. Across four starts (23.2 IP), he has posted a 3-0 record, 1.14 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 28.1% kRate, and a .150 opponent average. His 4.60 xFIP and .173 BABIP is a bit concerning but overall he has been excellent in his return. He draws the start against Seattle who has scored one run in their last three games and nearly got no-hit by Zack Greinke last night. The A’s haven’t clinched a playoff berth just yet so we should see another strong effort as they enter tonight as heavy -230 favorites.

Joe Musgrove | DK: $7.7k, FD: $7.9k | RHP | vs. CHC

The Cubs crumbled horribly in the late-season which nixed all hopes of another playoff appearance. Now, after losing their last eight games, they have to face Joe “The Cubbie Killer” Musgrove. In six career starts against Chicago (36.2 IP), Musgrove has a 1.47 ERA (3.63 xFIP), 0.90 WHIP, 25.2% kRate, and a .180 opponent average. While this isn’t a trend that is a sure-fire bet to continue, on a day where pitching options are thin, I don’t mind falling back on a bit of BvP history.

Team Stacks to Target

Keep in mind, there’s no rule saying you *have* to roll out four and five man stacks. Sometimes mixing and matching two and three man stacks with some one-off hitters is the better route to take in order to give yourself more exposure to different offenses.

Houston Astros vs. Jaime Barria (RHP), LAA

Pretty straightforward stack here. The Astros rocked eight hits, including four home runs, off of Barria down in Houston just six days ago. That forced him into an early exit after 65 pitches across just 2.2 innings. I’d prefer the Houston RHBs considering how much Barria struggles against that side of the plate: .310 AVG, .436 wOBA, .407 ISO, 3.76 HR/9. But, overall, just about everyone is a solid play in this lineup if you’ve got the salary left over to spend up on ‘em.

Chicago White Sox vs. Aaron Civale (RHP), CLE

Over the last two weeks the White Sox have a league leading .317 batting average across 494 plate appearances. In that time, their 122 wRC+ trails only Houston (127 wRC+). Aaron Civale is pitching well in his rookie campaign but he has struggled at times on the road while posting a 4.69 xFIP and a low 18% kRate. The White Sox can try to play the anti-hero as a postseason spoiler for a second consecutive day. They’re playing with nothing to lose and probably won’t have a ton of ownership, so I’m definitely intrigued by some of these bats. Some preferred hitters would be Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, and Eloy Jimenez (that is assuming he is back in the order after dealing with an ear infection/sore throat).

One-Off Hitters

Here I’ll highlight players at [roughly] different price points (high, mid, low) that could be used as a ‘one-off’ piece in lineups -- or perhaps part of a two man mini-stack.

SS Marcus Semien (R ) | DK: $5.1k, FD: $4k | vs. Felix Hernandez (RHP), SEA

I’m going to rock with Semien once more as a high dollar ‘one off’ target. He’s been a top ten offensive player in baseball over the last month after amassing a .360 AVG, .803 wOBA+ISO, 9 HRs, 22 RBI, three stolen bases, and a league leading 27 runs scored in that time. Tonight he’ll get a match-up that has historically fallen in his favor. In 45 plate appearances versus Hernandez, Semien is boasting a .349 AVG, .798 wOBA+ISO, and five home runs. That’s also one of the more significant recent BvP sample sizes that you’ll see. Semien should hold a strong floor with a equally strong ceiling tonight in Seattle.

OF Oscar Mercado (R ) | DK: $4.9k, FD: $3.4k | vs. Dylan Cease (RHP), CHW

After an 0-for-4 night in Chicago yesterday, we’ll see if Mercado can hop right back on the hot streak he had going beforehand. Over his previous 11 games (50 plate appearances), Mercado is hitting .333 with an .882 wOBA+ISO, five home runs, 14 RBI, and a pair of stolen bases. As previously mentioned, the Indians really need to win this game to have any hopes of catching the Rays and Athletics in the standings. Mercado has been a major asset in Cleveland’s late season push for the playoffs so they’ll look for him to continue to produce against Dylan Cease and the White Sox.

3B Erik Gonzalez ( R ) | DK: $2.7k, FD: $2.2k | vs. Jose Quintana (LHP), CHC

After mentioning a couple pricey ‘one off’ bats, I’ll dip way far down into the salaries here. Gonzalez has gone 4-for-7 with a homer and four RBI over the last two days at Wrigley Field. He’s batting .333 against LHPs for the season, including a .421 AVG versus lefties at home. He may not repeat what he’s done the previous two games but he’s certainly capable of knocking a couple base hits around and scoring one or two runs/RBI. Quintana has been awful recently, lasting just 8.2 innings over his last three starts while posting a 14.54 ERA, 2.65 WHIP, and .455 opponent batting average. Decent value option here.

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