MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 8/30/21

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Aug 30th, 2021
Marcus Semien has been incredible this season, and he's got an unreal matchup tonight. Who else should we consider tonight?

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.

Robbie Ray, P, Toronto Blue Jays ($10,900)

This is a really unique, shortened main slate on Monday. But that doesn't mean it is bereft of mega salaried aces on the night -- quite the contrary, actually.

Corbin Burnes, possibly the NL Cy Young award winner, faces off against the NL West leading San Francisco Giants. While the Giants aren't normally a team we expect to be an offensive juggernaut, they boast a .327 wOBA and .196 isolated power (ISO) marks over the last 30 days.

That leaves us with two other big-time choices between Robbie Ray and Zack Wheeler. And you know we love us some Zack Wheeler, but Ray seems to have a slightly better matchup.

The Baltimore Orioles provide a bit more strikeout juice (23.3%) over the Washington Nationals (21.2%), Wheeler's opponent, and the two offenses are basically the same over the last 30 days.

Ray's near the top of our projections and is a guy I'll be locking in -- but certainly, there are a plethora of great options tonight.

Marcus Semien, 2B/SS, Toronto Blue Jays ($3,900)

The Toronto Blue Jays are a good offense -- there's no doubt about that one. In season-long terms, they are at the top of the charts in nearly every way.

While they have struggled in the last month (.169 ISO, .317 wOBA), they could get right against Chris Ellis of the Baltimore Orioles. Ellis has provided plenty of whiffs recently, but his history reveals giving up plenty of long balls. He's allowed 2.21 HR/9 in Triple-A over 57 innings this season, and 1.48 HR/9 in 2019 at Triple-A, as well. Woof.

Marcus Semien has been a wonderful signing for the Jays. He's ripped 32 home runs this season, and he's fired in 13 steals to boot. He could add to those gaudy totals tonight.

Manny Machado, 3B, San Diego Padres ($3,900)

Tyler Gilbert of the Arizona Diamondbacks has an interesting profile, starting his career off with a no-hitter, and in his 75 innings pitched this season, he's done a very solid job in allowing only five home runs.

Uniquely, the pitch-to-contact arm allows a lot of fly balls, and that's generally a recipe for disaster against the big-time hitters in the Majors. His 41.0% fly-ball rate is elevated, and that could lead to a long evening.

Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres is trying to continue to add to an impressive season. He's posted a 119 wRC+, including a .211 ISO against southpaws in 2021. He should make for a very strong option 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.