3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 8/16/21
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.
Kevin Gausman, SP, San Francisco Giants ($10,300)
On an interesting main slate, Kevin Gausman stands far above the pack in tonight's contest.
I think many folks are familiar with Gausman's superlatives this season -- over 137 1/3 innings pitched, the righty sports a beautiful 29.8% strikeout rate, 42.2% ground-ball rate, and 2.94 FIP.
But what's even better is that he gets the New York Mets, who are fading incredibly fast -- over the last 30 days, they've logged mediocre numbers of a .169 ISO and .327 wOBA.
Spend up for Gausman.
Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies ($4,000)
The Colorado Rockies, who surprisingly held on to Trevor Story at the trade deadline, have been hot at the dish. They have a .343 wOBA mark in the last month, and traveling back to Denver tonight, they could be in a smash spot.
While they are likely to be chalky tonight against Ryan Weathers, it's for good reason -- the young hurler has been getting bombed recently, logging a 5.18 SIERA in his last seven starts, including 2.67 HR/9.
That makes Story a must-own play today and he could put up a mega-crooked number.
Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees ($4,300)
If the New York Yankees are going to figure things out, this is the week.
Jose Suarez has been solid yet unspectacular so far this year for the Los Angeles Angels -- but he has been a bit victimized by the long ball recently, allowing dingers in three of his last four starts.
And Judge? Yea, he rips all pitching, but especially southpaws, logging a 156 wRC+ mark for his career, including a .932 OPS.
Spend up for Judge.
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.
