MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 5/13/22

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle May 13th, 2022
Seiya Suzuki has a mouth-watering matchup against Zach Davies. Which other high-salary players should you lock in?

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, as well, 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, Toronto Blue Jays ($9,800)

When there's free-agent signings in the offseason, every GM wants to knock it out of the park and justify their increased spending. I don't think anyone can quibble with the Toronto Blue Jays' signing of Kevin Gausman.

After inking a monster deal this offseason, the veteran right-hander has been nothing short of brilliant this year. Spanning six starts and 38 innings pitched, Gausman has recorded a 1.97 xFIP and 31.3% strikeout rate while walking only one batter. That's right -- he's got a 46-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio so far this year.

And his matchup tonight? It's somewhat obvious why we have him ranked as the second-best starter on the day. The Tampa Bay Rays strike out quite a bit (23.8%), and they sport only a .144 isolated power (ISO) and .307 wOBA on the year.

It all stacks up for Gausman to have a big night.

Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City Royals ($3,300)

While the Kansas City Royals have certainly struggled as a team at the dish this year, recording a .096 ISO and a .271 wOBA, a trip to Denver may cure a lot of their offensive ails this evening.

The Royals square off against Kyle Freeland, and his home digs have been unkind to him. For his career against opposite-handed batters at home, Freeland has allowed a .493 slugging percentage and 1.46 HR/9.

Salvador Perez has been an above-average hitter against lefties in his career, including a 113 wRC+ and .217 ISO. He is in a smash spot at Coors and doesn't break the bank.

Seiya Suzuki, OF, Chicago Cubs ($3,200)

Zach Davies has really struggled since the beginning of 2021, especially against right-handed batters.

Facing 441 total batters in that split, Davies has allowed a .475 slugging percentage and .357 wOBA. It shouldn't be surprising that those numbers lead to a 4.85 FIP over that span. While Davies did work 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his last start, that seems to probably have been an aberration.

In Seiya Suzuki's brief major league career, he has really slammed right-handed pitchers, logging a .190 ISO and .842 OPS in the split with a 54.3% fly-ball rate. He's a superb option on Friday.


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.