FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Helper: Tuesday 10/11/22

The Division Series begins on Tuesday, with the first game starting at 1:07 pm ET and the last one getting under way at 9:37 pm ET. Let's see which pitchers and stacks stick out on the four-game slate.

Our daily helper is available every day to analyze FanDuel's main slate and help give you a starting point when you're building lineups. Be sure to also incorporate our great tools into your research process. Whether you're looking for daily projections, the latest starting lineups and weather, or batting and pitching heat maps to find the best matchups -- we've got you covered!

Let's check out the top options on today's main slate.

Pitchers

Justin Verlander ($11,200): Verlander is coming off a fantastic regular season, posting a 3.09 SIERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, and 4.4% walk rate across 28 starts, and he gets one of the day's better spots against the Mariners.

We're down to the final eight teams, so there are no cupcake matchups, but Seattle isn't quite as imposing as some of the elite offenses that are left, resulting in a slate-worst 2.68 implied total. The Mariners also don't suppress punchouts, as their active roster owns a middle-of-the-pack 22.2% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitching.

Verlander could also be saving his best for last. After returning from the injured list in mid-September, he produced a stellar 36.9% strikeout rate across his final four outings.

Max Fried ($10,400): While Gerrit Cole ($10,900) has to be considered today, he was serving up far too many home runs down the stretch, and the Guardians have an upside-sapping 15.9% strikeout rate against righties.

Another possibility is Fried, who doesn't have flashy numbers but consistently gets the job done. His 23.2% is roughly league average, but he otherwise owns an impressive 3.31 SIERA, 4.4% walk rate, and 51.2% ground-ball rate. He went seven or more innings in 9 of his 30 starts this season.

The Phillies are tough on southpaws, but they also have a 24.4% strikeout rate against them. Philadelphia's 3.19 implied total is among the slate's lowest.

Stacks

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers' bats were mostly quiet as the regular season came to a close, but a lack of motivation likely played a role after clinching the division so early. They have the ideal matchup to start their postseason run on the right foot, getting credited with a 4.42 implied total versus Mike Clevinger.

Clevinger had respectable overall results this season, but he faded in the final months, recording just a 5.37 xFIP and 14.8% strikeout rate after the All-Star break. He missed his final start due to illness, so he hasn't pitched since October 1st, which could potentially have a negative effect, as well.

The right-hander can also be attacked by both sides of the plate. Clevinger had a woeful 15.2% strikeout rate in same-sided matchups but also gave up 1.93 home runs per nine innings to lefties.

Mookie Betts ($4,500), Trea Turner ($3,900), and Freddie Freeman ($4,300) are the usual headliners, and then the rest of the Dodgers have easy-to-fit salaries. You can get plenty of punch from the middle third of the lineup without breaking the bank between Will Smith ($3,200), Max Muncy ($2,800), and Justin Turner ($2,900).

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves also have plus matchups, but I'll give the slight edge to the Bronx Bombers against Cal Quantrill.

Quantrill posted an excellent 3.38 ERA over 32 starts this year, and yet, underneath it was just a 4.50 SIERA, 16.6% strikeout rate, and 42.1% ground-ball rate. He's performed better than his ERA estimators over the last couple of seasons, but this still looks like an underwhelming profile to attack.

Against right-handed hitters, he's put up a 4.52 xFIP and 12.6% strikeout rate but has also allowed just a 26.0% hard-hit rate. While that latter mark could be troublesome, we know Aaron Judge ($5,300) and Giancarlo Stanton ($3,000) have no shortage of power, and Gleyber Torres ($3,200) and Josh Donaldson ($2,900) still make plenty of hard contact.

Quantrill has slightly better marks versus lefties through a 4.24 xFIP and 21.4% strikeout rate, but he's giving up more fly balls (41.7%) and hard hits (32.9%), so we can also look to Anthony Rizzo ($3,900) and switch-hitter Oswaldo Cabrera ($3,000).