FanDuel Best MLB DFS Picks: Braves vs. Padres 10/1/24

On Tuesday night, Major League Baseball presents FanDuel baseball fans with a playoff matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres game let’s review the rules for the FanDuel single game showdown contest.

FanDuel Single Game Contest Rules

Here are the FanDuel single game contest rules. You have $60,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team MVP. The MVP accumulates 2x times the standard FanDuel fantasy points value.

The remaining four players in your lineup will be one star and three flex plays. The star player will receive 1.5x the standard fantasy points value. The final three flex positions will receive the standard FanDuel points value. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your MVP position if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) FanDuel single game contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game contest, I highly recommend that you check out the FanDuel website for more details.

*It should be noted that FanDuel does not utilize the pitcher position in single game MLB contests. Having stated that, only batters are available for single game MLB lineups on the FanDuel platform.

Here are my FanDuel picks for this evening’s Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres matchup.

FanDuel MLB Player Selections

MVP-Manny Machado, Third Baseman, San Diego Padres $8,500

On Tuesday night, Major League Baseball presents the first game of a National League Wild Card playoff series featuring the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres.

How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB playoff game? The Atlanta Braves arrive at the opening game of this National League Wild Card series with the San Diego Padres playing rather good baseball. More specifically, the Braves won six of the team’s last eight games played in the 2024 MLB regular season, including a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals two days ago.

Similar to the Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres have been playing quality baseball recently. The Padres have won seven of the team’s last ten games played in the regular season, including a 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks last week.

Now that we have ascertained how both of these Major League Baseball teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this evening’s National League Wild Card game. Talented San Diego third baseman Manny Machado has certainly been a key contributor to the San Diego offense in the 2024 MLB regular season. Let’s review Machado’s game data from the 2024 MLB regular season to better shed light on my previous statement.

In his last ten games played for the San Diego Padres in the 2024 MLB regular season, San Diego third baseman Manny Machado has compiled ten hits (three home runs), six RBIs (runs batted in), six runs scored, and three walks. It has to be said, those are the type of DFS numbers I need to see from a player that I select for the MVP position.

As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct MVP is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest. In summary, I am rolling with San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado as my MVP for this one game MLB DFS slate.

Star-Jackson Merrill, Outfielder, Detroit Tigers $7,500

In his last nine games played for the San Diego Padres in the 2024 MLB regular season, Jackson Merrill tallied 11 hits (four doubles) three runs scored, and five RBIs (runs batted in) in 34 plate appearances. Clearly, Jackson Merrill is swinging the bat well for the Padres entering tonight’s National League Wild Card game.

Flex plays I like to play well this evening (FanDuel price noted): Fernando Tatis Jr., Outfielder (San Diego Padres) $9,500: Matt Olson, First Baseman (Atlanta Braves) $7,000: Ozzie Albies, Second Baseman (Atlanta Braves) $8,000.