Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to the Wild Card edition of the Aces and Bases, where I’ll be going through the top MLB DFS Aces and Stacks on DraftKings and Fanduel.
What a first day of the Wild Card it was. Phillies had a massive comeback and Mad Max had his worst playoff start of his career. Today’s a new day and hopefully we see some great action.
Let’s dig in and see if we can find some stacks to use today!
MLB DFS Aces – Main
Jacob Degrom vs. San Diego Padres
Although the Padres bats came alive yesterday, I don’t think it happens 2 days in a row. Mad Max clearly still has a hurt oblique as the spin rates on all of his pitches were down and down significantly. He had just a few swings and misses last night and was essentially throwing beachballs.
Today’s going to be different as Jacob Degrom toes the rubber for the Mets. Although he’s been giving up a few mistakes that have led to some homers against him, he still has a massive 42% K rate over the last month. The Padres are a team that struggles with fastballs. Degrom throws a bunch of them. He should be able to square this Wild Card matchup back up.
Triston McKenzie vs. Tampa Bay Rays
I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again. This Rays lineup just isn’t that good. Outside of Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena, they have no serious weapons. Shane Bieber absolutely dominated the Rays yesterday and we should see McKenzie do it as well. McKenzie, in my opinion, is the ace in waiting in this rotation. He’s been solid over the last month of the season, having a WHIP of .88 and an ERA of just 1.91. He’s pitching really well right now and that should continue today.
Other pitchers that could do well today will be Aaron Nola and Tyler Glasnow. The only concern with Glasnow is that he has just 2 3-inning starts this season after coming back from TJ surgery. We can’t expect him to pitch much longer than a handful of innings.
MLB DFS Stacks – Main
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Robbie Ray
I like the Blue Jays to get this series back to even today in a matchup vs. their old teammate in Robbie Ray. Ray had the finest year of his career while wearing the Blue and White of the Blue Jays. He has fond memories of pitching in Toronto, but those fond memories will be long in the rear-view mirror after he gets shelled today.
The Blue Jays were one of the better teams in the league this year vs. lefties and should be able to get to Ray today. Over the final month of the season, Ray was not overly sharp as he had 3 games giving up at least 4 ER, and his final start of the season he got rocked by the A’s. He should struggle vs. a really good Blue Jays lineup today.
Core: My core with the Blue Jays this afternoon will be Teoscar Hernandez, Whitt Merrifield, and George Springer. I’m going to prioritize getting these 3 guys into my lineups. All 3 smashed lefties over the final month of the season. Springer had a .360 ISO and a .383 wOBA while Hernandez had a .400 ISO and a .388 wOBA. Then there was Merrifield. Over the final month, he had a .444 ISO and a .481 wOBA vs. southpaws. He’s just $3.1k on DK and is a solid value.
Secondary Pieces/Value: Other Blue Jays bats I’ll look to today will be Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette, and Danny Jensen.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Miles Mikolas
The Phillies bats woke up late in Game 1 and we should see that momentum carry over to game 2 for the series sweep today. I don’t think Mikolas is any more than an average pitcher. He has limited K upside and pitches to a ton of contact. Over the last month of the season, he had an 80% contact rate and just a 24.5% K rate. Most importantly though, hitters had 8 barrels and 4 homers against him over the 26 innings of work.
Core: My Phillies stack is going to start with Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto. Schwarber has absolutely terrorized righties over the last month. He had a .492 ISO and a .468 wOBA. A leadoff homer from today isn’t out of the question.
Realmuto also finished the season strong vs. righties. Over the final month, he had a .300 ISO and a .380 wOBA. Mikolas is a pretty splits neutral player so Realmuto won’t be at a disadvantage.
Secondary/Value: I also Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh, and Jean Segura. Look for this Phillies lineup to light up Mikolas today.
MLB DFS Summary
Other stacks I like today will be the Mariners vs. Kevin Gausman and St. Louis Cardinals vs. Aaron Nola. If you want to get really crazy and you’re entering multiple lineups, stacking against Degrom can really set you apart today. He’s given up 6 homers over his last 28 innings of work. A ton of Ks too, but the homers are extremely troubling.
Make sure to check out our Home Run Model. And Also make sure to drop into Discord where we’re constantly talking about plays for every slate.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green.
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