3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/5/19
Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-priced studs. These guys take up by far the biggest chunk of your cap space, but they also offer the highest ceiling, and in the case of pitcher, by far the highest floors for production.
For hitters, we're looking for guys with big numbers, strong matchups, and with players around them that are likely to produce well too, increasing our chances for runs and RBI. For pitchers we want big strikeout numbers, while the ability to go deep in a game and pick up a win is also valuable.
Taking up so much salary, and playing such a big role in your lineup's ceiling, you're not going to want to whiff on these guys, so lets take a look at a few top-end options that you can count on to anchor your lineup today.
Charlie Morton, P, Tampa Bay Rays ($10,100)
This one gets a bit easier with the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom playing in an afternoon contest that removes him from main slate consideration. If he were to be included, his recent run of form forces you to consider rostering him.
Luckily, there's a pretty fantastic fall-back option in Charlie Morton. We have him pegged as the highest-scoring pitcher of the day and simultaneously have him pegged as a great return on investment (3.94 points per $1,000). So what makes him a solid play?
As excellent as the right-hander was a year ago, notching a 28.9% strikeout rate and 3.13 ERA over 167 frames, Morton has been even better this season with a 2.78 ERA and 30.9% strikeout rate over 136 innings. His batted-ball profile has remained excellent, as well, holding opponents to a 30.2% fly-ball rate.
That'll be key tonight against a Toronto Blue Jays offense that ranks 24th in team wOBA (.302) and whiffs at a 24.1% strikeout rate. While young hitters like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette can provide some punch, it's an offense we want to consider targeting tonight, and Morton makes for a great play.
Cody Bellinger, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,800)
The breakout is happening for Cody Bellinger, and he's gone absolutely nuts this year.
Part of what makes the lefty slugger so tough is some downright silly plate discipline. He's walked (14.6%) nearly as much as he's struck out (16.1%), and his .346 isolated power (ISO) mark ranks fourth in baseball. It's no surprise that he's upped the ante with the best exit velocity of his career (91.5 miles per hour).
He's got a gorgeous matchup against Michael Wacha -- who returns to the rotation and will likely continue to get pummeled. Spanning 85 2/3 innings pitched, Wacha has posted a 5.23 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), 39.0% hard-hit rate, and an 18.1% strikeout rate in 2019
With the Los Angeles Dodgers holding a 5.23 implied run total, you'll want some exposure to this lineup, and Bellinger could go bananas yet again.
J.D. Martinez, OF, Boston Red Sox ($4,200)
The Boston Red Sox are at home with a crazy 6.99 implied team total against Mike Montgomery of the Kansas City Royals -- a perfect recipe for J.D. Martinez to tap into his upside.
Moving back into the starting rotation, Montgomery hasn't fared too hot this year, owning a 6.34 ERA and 13.2% strikeout rate over 38 1/3 innings. He's been rocked by hard contact left and right, holding a 43.0% hard-hit rate. And righties have slammed him -- in 124 batters, they've notched a .354 wOBA, .486 slugging percentage, and 1.55 home runs per nine (HR/9) innings pitched.
Martinez has hammered right-handed hitters for his entire career. More recently, dating back to 2017, Martinez has come up to the dish 390 times in this instance, and he owns a .364 batting average, 1.197 OPS, and .398 ISO in the split.
If you are looking to load up tonight on some star power, peep Martinez.
Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
