Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-salary 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 pitchers, the high-salary options typically come with the highest floors, too.
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.
With your high-salary picks playing such a big role in your lineup, you need to be right on these guys, so let's take a look at a few top-end options you can count on to anchor your lineup today.
(Editor's note: Jacob deGrom has been scratched with side tightness. Be sure to remove him from your lineups.)
High-Salaried Play
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
At St. Louis Cardinals
FanDuel Salary: $12,500
It really is starting to get pretty simple, but if Jacob deGrom is on the slate and you can roster him, you should.
The St. Louis Cardinals, even despite a hot winning streak, really are a bad offensive baseball team. They have a 24.6% strikeout rate and are one of the league's worst teams in terms of wOBA at a .294 clip. It also comes with very little pop -- they have a pretty weak .157 isolated power (ISO) mark, too.
For a better return on investment, Aaron Nola ($9,200) could be worth a look. Our algorithm projects deGrom for 43.2 FanDuel points, giving him a solid 3.5X value.
Mid-Salaried Play
Nick Pivetta, Philadelphia Phillies
Vs. Detroit Tigers
FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Some of these 2021 redemption stories are pretty fun, and one that's a blast so far is Nick Pivetta of the Boston Red Sox.
Is the veteran right-hander going to turn into a pumpkin tonight? Well, he might, but all signs point to no. He's whiffed 25 in 25 2/3 innings, and he gets to attack a Detroit Tigers team that's very averse to contact -- they sport a league-worst 29.6% strikeout rate.
Expect a big night from Pivetta.
Low-Salaried Play
J.A. Happ, Minnesota Twins
Vs. Texas Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $7,900
Last night, teammate Kenta Maeda was pretty brilliant, generating eight whiffs over 5 1/3 innings against the Texas Rangers.
At a slightly higher salary point, J.A. Happ takes the ball for the Minnesota Twins, and he's been another feel good story. The skinny on the Rangers if you didn't read the piece -- like the Tigers, the Rangers swing and miss a ton (28.6%) with a similarly poor .299 wOBA.
If you want to save some money, peep Happ.
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.