Joel Dorcas |October 18th, 2019

Pitching has mostly had the upper hand in the Astros/ Yankees Championship Series so naturally, because of the distinct edge in their starters, we have to side with the stronger pitching team, the Houston Astros. Justin Verlander will be going on regular rest. The Yankees send left-handed starter James Paxton to the bump who has strikeout upside, but the Astros hit lefties very well. Let’s quickly go over a few players to help build your showdown lineups. It’s Game Five of the ALCS and it’s about time to go for a rip Around the Horn!

CAPTAIN

Jose Altuve HOU $10,000

As good as DJ LeMahieu is, Playoff Jose Altuve is even better. To me, this is a safe floor to get the 1.5x point bonus from as any besides perhaps Verlander. We can save salary here but I’m not opposed to either. Altuve has four homers and at least 15 DK points in four of his eight postseason games going into Game 4. Since 2018 Altuve is 6-for-14 with two round-trippers and a 1.324 OPS off of Paxton. Before last night’s game, Altuve is slashing .375/.412/ .813 for the entirety of the playoffs. He and Gleyber Torres are the front runners for this series’ best hitters to date.

MUST-HAVES

Justin Verlander HOU $12,000

Let’s hope the wind isn’t a factor for Verlander as he will already have to deal with the smaller confines of Yankee Stadium. Other than that and the home run issues he’s had this season, Verlander’s track record is as good as they come. Since 2018 current Yankees are slashing just .189/.239/.292 off of Verlander in regular-season play. For 2019, he is 1-0, with 15 K and 4 BB in 13 innings of work over two starts versus the Bronx Bombers. He will look to build off the October 13th performance versus the Yankees where he lasted 6.2 innings allowing two earned runs and struck out seven.

Michael Brantley HOU $6,800

Finding offense in these playoff games can be a challenge most nights. How about turning to the steady, consistent Michael Brantley. Brantley is second on the Astros in hits with eight (going into Game 4). The lefty/lefty matchup might give us pause but Brantley has had decent success versus James Paxton going 4-for-11 dating back to the 2018 Season.

Good luck to everyone tonight, keep grinding out those lineups!

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