3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/30/19

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 let,s take a look at a few top-end options that you can count on to anchor your lineup today.

Shane Bieber, P, Cleveland Indians ($10,600)

It feels like the Cleveland Indians have a bastion of aces that no other team has. Tonight, they'll send Shane Bieber to the mound, and it's hard to argue that he isn't the best pitcher on the staff.

Since July 27th, spanning seven starts, Bieber has averaged 48.6 FanDuel points per outing -- and his lowest output over these starts was 37 points. This season, Bieber has posted a 30.8% strikeout rate and 34.7% fly-ball rate, showcasing how tough he's been to hit.

While Bieber has been incredible, he faces a Tampa Bay Rays offense that has been dreadful recently. Over the last 30 days, the Rays have logged a .316 wOBA and .176 isolated power (ISO), ranking 20th in the league in each category during that span.

Look for a big night from Bieber.

J.D. Martinez, OF, Boston Red Sox ($4,400)

It's a bit bonkers that with an offense as good as the Boston Red Sox have, they are likely to miss the playoffs. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have enjoyed breakouts, Mookie Betts has been outstanding, and perhaps owning one of the quietest monster seasons in 2019, J.D. Martinez is rollin' at the dish.

J.D. has 32 home runs, 85 runs scored, and 87 runs batted in, along with a .576 slugging percentage and .963 OPS. That would normally garner a lot of attention, but not so for Martinez this campaign. He's also popped four home runs in the last five games, so maybe that attention will rise.

He's been outstanding, yet again, against southpaws -- and he's got one opposing him tonight with Jose Suarez on the bump. Martinez has logged a .862 slugging percentage and 1.340 OPS with the platoon advantage this year, so roster the slugging outfielder if you can afford him.

Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees ($4,500)

Our king has arrived, and he has started launching balls into orbit.

With an oblique injury costing a good chunk of the 2019 season, Aaron Judge's mediocre mark of 18 home runs is a bit disappointing. But let's look at his recent performance, which includes six home runs in his last nine games. Not bad, young fella.

He's also been terrorizing left-handed pitching this year, and today he will see Brett Anderson, whose 12.0% strikeout rate and 7.6% swinging-strike rate instills fear in no one. Judge has slammed lefties for a .704 slugging percentage and 1.179 OPS in 2019.

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.