FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball NLDS Helper: Braves at Phillies, Game 4

The Atlanta Braves find themselves on the brink of elimination, but will have their ace on the mound tonight. Can they avoid the upset and force a Game 5 against the Philadelphia Phillies?

For those unfamiliar with the single-game daily fantasy baseball format, scoring is identical to its full roster cousin, except you only roster hitters, and lineups consist of five flex spots. The one twist? One of the five roster spots is your designated "MVP," who receives twice his total fantasy points, along with a "STAR" slot that gets 1.5 times the points. Naturally, it's crucial that you choose your MVP and STAR carefully if you want to be at the top of the leaderboards when it's all said and done.

On that note, let's highlight some of the top options for today's FanDuel single-game slate.

Pitching Breakdown

The Braves may be down in the series, but they should have the pitching advantage in Game 4.

While his ERA didn't quite reflect it, Spencer Strider was arguably the best pitcher in baseball this season, and he did what he was supposed to do in Game 1, holding the Phillies to one earned run over seven innings while racking up eight Ks. Atlanta would ultimately drop that game, but that had more to do with a pair of errors and their bats failing to put up a single run.

In the regular season, Strider produced a 2.86 SIERA, 36.8% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate. Despite allowing a 43.7% fly-ball rate, hard contact wasn't typically an issue, helping him minimize home runs and earn a pristine 3.04 xERA.

Frankly, there's nothing positive about this matchup for Philadelphia.

On paper, Atlanta has the far easier matchup against Ranger Suarez -- but this is the same Suarez who was used in tandem with the Phillies' bullpen to shut them down in Game 1. The left-hander logged 3 2/3 innings scoreless innings with four strikeouts before giving way to six different relievers, a strategy that ought to play out again tonight.

So, once again, that makes it rather difficult to make any matchup-based decisions when picking out Braves hitters.

Other than AJ Smith-Shawver, who threw 53 pitches for Atlanta last night, both bullpens should have everyone available, too.

Ultimately, while the Braves have the edge, this feels more like a slate where we'll want to focus more on hitting talent and roster percentages to dictate our lineups rather than the pitching matchups.

Slate Strategy

The presence of Strider should push more attention to the Braves' bats, but a red-hot Bryce Harper ($9,000) figures to still be a popular play at MVP or STAR.

Following a slow start to the regular season, Harper posted a .287 ISO in the second half and finished with a stellar 15.2% barrel rate. After a somewhat quiet Wild Card round, Harper has slugged three home runs in the Division Series, bringing his postseason OPS up to 1.382. That OPS is second in the NL behind just Corbin Carroll.

My fear is that Harper will draw more eyeballs after his two-dinger, stare-down performance on Wednesday, but no one would be surprised if he has another memorable outing.

For the Braves, Ronald Acuna Jr. ($9,500) and Matt Olson ($8,500) should be chalky MVP/STAR options by default.

Acuna has been fairly quiet at the plate but has still scored over 18 FanDuel points in back-to-back games by adding a pair of stolen bases -- because of course he has. Olson led the league with 54 home runs, so a slow series shouldn't mean much. Their MVP upside needs little explanation.

Among the other Braves, I'm hoping someone between Marcell Ozuna ($7,000), Austin Riley ($7,500), and Ozzie Albies ($7,000) falls through the cracks at MVP.

This trio hit 40, 37, and 33 home runs, respectively this year, and Albies also has some stolen base upside (13). Ozuna and Riley have the second and third-shortest odds to hit a dinger on FanDuel Sportsbook, which also adds to their multiplier appeal.

Perhaps my favorite MVP is Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber ($7,000), though. At this salary, he should be a popular flex, but he's yet to make much noise this postseason, so people will likely be hesitant to put him at MVP against Strider. Let's not forget that Schwarber slugged 47 bombs this season, and he actually has the shortest odds to hit a home run (+290) tonight.

Trea Turner ($8,000) has power/speed upside, so he's another multiplier slot possibility. With eight hits, a home run, and four stolen bases this postseason, he won't fly under the radar but should still see a lower MVP roster percentage than the top Braves and Harper.

There's a lot of value on the Braves between Travis d'Arnaud ($5,500), Kevin Pillar ($5,000), Michael Harris II ($5,000), and Orlando Arcia ($4,500). They'll go a long way toward fitting in the top bats, but d'Arnaud -- if he even starts over Sean Murphy ($5,500) -- is the only one who's done anything thus far, slugging a home run in Game 2. Batting order could help determine which of these guys to prioritize.

While Philadelphia's other bats tend to come at mid-range salaries, J.T. Realmuto ($6,000) and Nick Castellanos ($6,000) both have two homers apiece in these playoffs, and they were two of the team's better power hitters this year. Brandon Marsh ($5,500) gives us another $500 back in our pockets, and while he'll likely hit eighth, he also has some pop and knocked one out of the park last night.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.