Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena was one of the Rays‘ best players in their World Series run in 2020, and on Thursday night he was back at it again. In Tampa Bay’s ALDS Game 1 win against Boston, Arozarena hit a fifth-inning home run to help secure the tidy 5-0 victory. Since last season, he has 11 postseason home runs and 15 RBI in 21 games. Despite his consistent playoff numbers, his MLB DFS value for Friday’s Game 2 hasn’t changed dramatically on DraftKings or FanDuel.
In five career at bats against Boston’s Game 2 starter Chris Sale, Arozarena has just one hit. Sale has been strong against Tampa Bay throughout his career and is 10-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 22 starts. Should you go with Tampa’s playoff star or Boston’s ace pitcher in a must-win? Before finalizing your MLB DFS lineups for Friday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won almost $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book “Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune” as a top MLB DFS player, McClure’s proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.
On Thursday, McClure listed Tampa Bay DH/OF Nelson Cruz among his top MLB DFS picks on FanDuel and DraftKings. The result: Cruz hit a home run in the third inning of Tampa Bay’s 5-0 win over Boston, which returned 14 points on DraftKings and 18.7 on FanDuel. Anybody that included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.
Now, with the 2021 MLB playoffs shifting to division playoff games on Friday, Oct. 8, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday, October 8
One of McClure’s top MLB DFS picks for Friday is White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who is listed at $3,600 on FanDuel and $4,700 on DraftKings. Anderson has been in a bit of a lull over his last three games, but isn’t too far removed from a stretch of four games where he had seven hits to close out September.
Houston is starting left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez in Game 2. Anderson hasn’t had a great deal of success against Valdez, but he has fared pretty well against lefty pitching overall this season. In 2021, Anderson has hit .319 and has nine doubles and 16 RBI versus southpaws.
Another key in McClure’s optimal MLB DFS strategy includes rostering Houston DH/OF Yordan Alvarez ($3,400 on FanDuel and $4,400 on DraftKings). In the Astros 6-1 series-opening win on Thursday night, Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. He now has at least one hit in seven of his last eight games.
Alvarez doesn’t have much of a resume against Chicago starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, but it’s hard to ignore his consistent production all season for the Astros. Giolito hasn’t been strong against hitters at the top of the batting order, and Houston has a huge opportunity to go up 2-0 in the series with another big performance.
How to set your MLB DFS lineups for Friday, October 8
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Friday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won’t break the bank. You can only see who it is here.
So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Friday, October 8? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash in big on MLB DFS.
