3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 5/24/21
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.
Lance Lynn, SP, Chicago White Sox ($10,000)
Facing his old crew should make for an interesting matchup, but Lance Lynn has been brilliant, and we should rock with him tonight.
Lynn takes the mound for the Chicago White Sox, and he faces a St. Louis Cardinals offense that has been poor against right-handed pitching. There's a reason the Sox are hefty favorites tonight -- the Birds' .297 wOBA and 23.1% strikeout rate in the split ain't pretty.
Our projections have Lynn generating 34.7 FanDuel points, tops on the slate.
Nelson Cruz, OF, Minnesota Twins ($3,500)
Old. Washed up. Falling off a cliff soon.
All these superlatives have been unfairly thrown around related to Nelson Cruz, and yet, here we are. It's 2021, Nelson Cruz is over the age of 40, and he's bopped his way to 10 home runs on the season.
And while his opponent, John Means, has been brilliant with a 1.70 ERA, there's some regression likely coming, including a lucky .194 BABIP and a 96.5% strand rate.
Keep an eye on Cruz -- he did sit out Sunday's contest with a minor wrist injury, but if he's in the lineup, he should smash.
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians ($4,000)
Coming off of a no-hitter, many folks may think that Spencer Turnbull of the Detroit Tigers could likely record back-to-back no-hitters against the Cleveland Indians, who have already been no-hit twice this season.
If Jose Ramirez has anything to say about it, this ain't happening.
After that wonderful-yet-stressful outing, it's interesting to note that it hasn't been all rosy for Turnbull. He was bombed two turns ago by the Boston Red Sox, and while the Indians have struggled at the plate, Ramirez has been a beast. He's already poked 12 home runs and stolen 6 bags on the saeson.
Ramirez has logged double-digit points in three of his last five games, and the over/under is set at 8.5 runs. Expect Turnbull to have a tougher time tonight.
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.
