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The 2026 MLB Playoffs continue with more Championship Series action, giving us more games to target for daily fantasy contests. We’re going to be using DraftKings pricing to build the best lineups to try to cash in on a large-field tournament. Don’t forget to check out our MLB daily trends page for game odds, data, and insights.
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On the Thursday slate, we’ve got two games on tap, including Rays-Guardians and Brewers-Dodgers. With that in mind, let’s dive into my best DFS picks for the Championship Series of the 2026 MLB Playoffs.
MLB Playoffs DFS Picks
| POS | Player | Matchup | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| P |
 Tyler Glasnow |
MIL @ LAD | $9,500 |
| P |
 Gavin Williams |
TB @ CLE | $9,000 |
| C |
 Will Smith |
MIL @ LAD | $3,700 |
| 1B |
 Freddie Freeman |
MIL @ LAD | $4,800 |
| 2B |
 Travis Bazzana |
TB @ CLE | $3,600 |
| 3B |
 Max Muncy |
MIL @ LAD | $4,400 |
| SS |
 Brayan Rocchio |
TB @ CLE | $3,200 |
| OF |
 Chase DeLauter |
TB @ CLE | $4,200 |
| OF |
 Teoscar Hernandez |
MIL @ LAD | $4,100 |
| OF |
 Garrett Mitchell |
MIL @ LAD | $3,400 |
Tyler Glasnow – LAD/SP ($9,500)
Tyler Glasnow is one of two SPs who are the obvious choices for the Thursday MLB DFS slate. They just have so much more upside than the other two starters on the slate (Griffin Jax and Dustin May).
Glasnow put up a 3.53 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP with 98 strikeouts in 74 innings this season. While he struggled with command in his lone postseason start (five walks in 4.2 innings), he was virtually unhittable, giving up only one hit in that matchup. I’ll ride with him for a likely strong outing at home vs. the Brewers.
Gavin Williams – CLE/SP ($9,000)
Gavin Williams evolved into an ace this season, putting up a 3.76 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP with 248 strikeouts in 184.1 innings this season. He’s been absolutely dominant during the playoffs as well, coming off a phenomenal outing vs. the White Sox, where he racked up 12 strikeouts in 5.2 scoreless innings.
In a good spot at home vs. the Rays, I’m betting that we see another terrific performance from Williams here.
Will Smith – LAD/C ($3,700)
Will Smith had an injury-plagued season for the Dodgers, slashing .260/.355/.426 with 10 home runs in 235 at-bats. However, he came through with a clutch two-run double in Game 3 of the NLCS, so we’ll take a chance that he’s heating up at the plate.
Remember, Smith has a long track record of strong production, and he comes at an affordable price at $3,700. We’ll fire him up against Dustin May and the Brewers here.
Freddie Freeman – LAD/1B ($4,800)
Freddie Freeman had a down year by his standards, slashing .288/.362/.430 with 16 home runs in 579 at-bats, but he’s homered twice in the postseason so far (heading into Game 3 of the NLCS).
Like Smith, Freeman has a long enough track record to take a chance on as we’re building out an affordable Dodgers stack against Dustin May. We need to make sure not to break the bank because we paid up for pitching.
Travis Bazzana – CLE/2B ($3,600)
Travis Bazzana had a rock-solid rookie season, slashing .245/.335/.408 with 15 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 449 at-bats. You have to like his plate discipline, as his .335 OBP despite a .245 BA is quite impressive.
Since I’m playing Gavin Williams, I want to build a Guardians’ stack. At the same time, I need to save salary. That’s why Bazzana makes a lot of sense here. He’s hit safely in three of his last four games, so he’s worth a shot in this spot.
Max Muncy – LAD/3B ($4,400)
Max Muncy took a seat in Game 3 of the NLCS because the Dodgers were facing a lefty in Robert Gasser, but I love the spot against right-hander Dustin May. We saw Muncy slash .252/.348/.490 with 29 home runs in 488 at-bats, so he was quite productive this season.
We’ve seen homer three times during the postseason so far, so he’s a great play here at $4,400.
Bryan Rocchio – CLE/SS ($3,200)
Yet again, I’m going with Bryan Rocchio for salary relief at shortstop. He had a bit of a power boom this season, hitting 15 home runs with a .253 batting average in 534 at-bats. He hits at the bottom of the order, making him a solid pairing with Travis Bazzana.
While he’s gone hitless in four straight games, we needed salary relief with a Guardian since we don’t want hitters against Gavin Williams, so Rocchio makes the most sense here.
Chase DeLauter – CLE/OF ($4,200)
Chase DeLauter continues to be underpriced, so we’ll play him yet again. The rookie outfielder slashed .287/.363/.457 with 16 homers and 11 steals in 495 at-bats this season.
He’s been red-hot at the plate for the Guardians, hitting safely in six consecutive games, with one homer and five runs during that stretch. That’s the kind of production that we want at this reasonable cost, so we’ll fire him up here.
Teoscar Hernandez – LAD/OF ($4,100)
Teoscar Hernandez slashed .267/.334/.425 with 16 home runs in 442 at-bats this season, so his power was a bit down by his standards. However, we’ve seen him homer in the postseason so far, making him worth a look at $4,100.
He’s also been bumped to the No. 3 spot in the Dodgers’ lineup, right behind Freddie Freeman, making him the ideal addition to our Dodgers stack.
Garrett Mitchell – MIL/OF ($3,400)
We’ll finish off our Thursday DFS lineup with Garrett Mitchell, who is much better against righties, and he’ll get one in Tyler Glasnow here. Mitchell slashed .262/.354/.416 with 11 homers and 14 steals in 461 at-bats. That’s the kind of power-speed profile you want to bet on at a reasonable cost of $3,400.
I know that it’s never good to play hitters vs. your own pitcher (Glasnow), but this is the case where I’m fine with the move because of his price.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
