3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 6/29/21
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.
Lucas Giolito, SP, Chicago White Sox ($9,800)
Since a blowup outing in an early morning start at Fenway Park, Lucas Giolito has been a bit of a forgotten commodity in DFS. With five aces listed at $9,800 or more on this slate, it's easy to take a wandering gaze at some of the other arms.
But some flaws seem to make some of these other choices a bit dicey. Kevin Gausman may win the NL Cy Young, but he faces a powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. Walker Buehler will pitch in the same contest, abd the San Francisco Giants are one of the league's best offensive attacks.
Enter Giolito, who faces a solid Minnesota Twins offense that doesn't walk much (8.9%) and sports an appealing strikeout rate (22.9%). In June, Giolito owns a 32.7% strikeout rate and 3.49 xFIP, so he is back to the level we've seen in recent years.
Per our projections, Giolito and Gausman are tied as the slate's top arm, with each projected for 34.9 FanDuel points.
Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies ($4,400)
While yesterday's Coors game was a bit more lower scoring than we had anticipated, it probably won't occur on back-to-back days -- especially with Chase De Jong pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
There are more than just a few warning signs here, and they are flashing red lights that won't go off. De Jong sports a 4.93 SIERA with a 39.4% hard-hit rate. He certainly doesn't profile as a guy who should have success in Coors.
Story has been much better at home (.372 wOBA) than at home (.283 wOBA), and he should feast in this spot.
The Colorado Rockies boast an implied team total of 6.16 runs, so they'll be very popular. While he will likely be a chalky selection, Story has huge upside tonight.
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians ($4,300)
After starting the year on a surprising run of decent starts, Jose Urena has really hit the skids and now holds a 5.14 xFIP. The sinkerballer has generated plenty of ground-balls (51.9% rate), but he is having a tough time commanding the strike zone, which is evidenced by his ugly 10.1% walk rate.
Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians looks like a stellar play tonight. Ramirez is enjoying a monster 2021 campaign, rocking a scintillating 132 wRC+ with 17 dingers and 6 steals. He is terrorizing opposing pitchers with a .264 isolated power (ISO).
The Indians are sporting a healthy implied team total (5.41 runs), so they should make for a plenty fine stacking choice. Ramirez is a great way to get a piece of Cleveland.
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.
