MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 7/9/21

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Jul 9th, 2021
Charlie Morton has been firing on all cylinders as of late. Which other top plays can we think about?

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.

Charlie Morton, SP, Atlanta Braves ($10,000)

Charlie Morton has a good matchup against a struggling Miami Marlins offense (91 wRC+ last two weeks), and they strike out a plenty with a 25.5% whiff rate. Morton's 27.6% season-long strikeout rate shows he's been more than adept at putting hitters down. Miami has one of the night's lowest implied totals at just 3.57.

With Blake Snell now unexpected to make his start tonight, Morton is the top pitching option on Friday's slate, per our projections, estimated for 32.8 FanDuel points.

J.D. Martinez, OF, Boston Red Sox ($4,000)

After an ugly 2020 season that rightfully had many folks worried, J.D. Martinez of the Boston Red Sox has bounced back in a big way this season. In 353 plate appearances this year, Martinez has logged a 142 wRC+ mark, including a .548 slugging percentage.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies' starting pitcher, Vincent Velasquez, has reverted back to the same old hurler. He walks too many batters (12.1% walk rate) and allows far too many home runs (1.54 HR/9).

Pay up for Martinez and you should be happy.

Max Kepler, OF, Minnesota Twins ($3,400)

Yesterday, we recommended Nelson Cruz of the Minnesota Twins, so that's our only reason for not recommending him yet again. With tonight's delicious matchup on tap with Matt Manning, all hitters on this squad should be in play, including Max Kepler.

So what's the story on Manning? He has flashed plenty of upside during his minor league career, but this trip in The Show is not going so well. He's logged a 7.4% strikeout rate, which is one of the lowest marks I have truly ever witnessed.

Kepler has historically slammed righties in his career, and he owns a .225 isolated power (ISO) in 2021. He has plenty of tournament upside against Manning and a struggling Tigers bullpen.


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.