NL Wild Card Series 2020: Cardinals vs. Padres Odds and Fantasy Picks

The No. 4 San Diego Padres will take on the No. 5 St. Louis Cardinals in what promises to be an intriguing Wild Card Series matchup. 

Game 1 will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. The Padres enter the postseason with 10-1 odds to win the World Series this year, while the Cardinals are considered much longer shots at 33-1, per DraftKings. 

That makes the Padres pretty clear favorites in this series, and for good reason. San Diego has the clear advantage in star power in Manny Machado (.304 with 16 homers, 47 RBI and 44 runs) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (.277 with 17 dingers, 45 RBI, 50 runs and 11 stolen bases). 

Both have been legitimate MVP candidates this year, though they aren't the only players worth paying attention to for fantasy purposes. Don't sleep on Wil Myers (.288 with 15 homers and 40 RBI) or Trent Grisham (10 stolen bases, 10 homers, 42 runs) either. 

On the pitching front, Zach Davies is the only player you really want to target right now, with the health of Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet up in the air heading into this series. Davis has been excellent this year, going 7-4 with a 2.73 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 69.1 innings. 

He isn't as good as Lamet or Clevinger, but if you're looking for a quality spot start, you could definitely do worse. 

The Padres look like a legitimate title contender this postseason, even with some injury concerns in the rotation. Look for them to win this series. 

That doesn't mean there isn't fantasy value to be found in St. Louis, however, though it doesn't really compare to what the Padres offer. Paul Goldschmidt is your best option in the lineup after he hit .304 with six homers, 21 RBI and 31 runs. 

A Cardinals team that finished 28th in scoring (240 runs) and 22nd in team batting average (.234) isn't going to be brimming with offensive juggernauts, however. Where you'll find fantasy value is in the pitching staff. 

Both Game 1 starter Kwang-Hyun Kim (3-0 with a 1.62 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 39 innings) and Game 2 starter Adam Wainwright (5-3 with a 3.15 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 65.2 innings) are fascinating options. 

Granted, keep in mind both are going up against a very dangerous San Diego offense. You probably can find better value elsewhere, but if you're going to roll with players from the Cardinals, this isn't a terrible duo to consider.