3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 6/10/21
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.
Max Scherzer, SP, Washington Nationals ($11,000)
It seems like we have had two monster arms per night on the main slate a lot lately, and tonight is no different. We have two good high-end options to pick from -- veteran Max Scherzer, and rookie Trevor Rogers. I side with Max.
While the San Francisco Giants, Scherzer's opponent, have been outstanding against lefties, they provide a lot of strikeout upside against righties. On the season, San Francisco has the second-highest strikeout rate in the split (26.8%).
Scherzer doesn't need any help generating whiffs as he has a 36.1% strikeout rate and 16.7% swinging-strike rate this year. That gives him a juicy floor/ceiling combination every time out -- particularly tonight.
Our projections have Scherzer generating 36.6 FanDuel points, 0.7 more than Rogers. Both are plenty viable.
Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays ($3,500)
The Toronto Blue Jays are in a good spot tonight against lefty Dallas Keuchel, who has a mere 12.0% strikeout rate this year. Against righties, Keuchel has put up a 10.9% strikeout rate while allowing eight jacks in 54 innings.
Bichette has slammed his way to 11 home and 7 stolen bases this season, offering an elite power/speed combination. He could add to those numbers tonight versus Keuchel. We project Bichette as the top bat on tonight's slate.
Juan Soto, OF, Washington Nationals ($4,100)
Healthy and producing, Juan Soto is primed for another big day at the dish.
Across Soto's last five games, the young slugger has posted 18-plus FanDuel points three times, including two homers and a triple in that span. That gives him eight homers on the season, and he's got more walks (38) than strikeouts (31).
Anthony DeSclafani has been very good in his debut season for the San Francisco Giants, but left-handed bats are the best way to attack him. Lefties have a .323 wOBA against DeSclafani, compared to a .220 wOBA for righties.
Soto is our model's number-three hitter on tonight's slate.
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.
