3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 5/17/22

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.

Jameson Taillon, SP, New York Yankees ($9,200)

While we have him positioned as the third-best hurler on the day, per our model, Jameson Taillon could be oozing with upside in tonight's contest against the Baltimore Orioles.

The O's have made their name with a strong pitching staff this season, but their hitting has left quite a bit to be desired. On the year, they rank in the bottom of the league in terms of wOBA (.292) and isolated power (.116), and they pair it together with a delightfully inflated 24.5% strikeout rate.

While Taillon hasn't generated the most strikeouts himself (19.4% strikeout rate), he's done a heck of a job limiting free passes (2.3%), and he's allowed only a 7.1% barrel rate on the season. With other top arms like Logan Gilbert (Blue Jays) and Nathan Eovaldi (Astros) locked into tough matchups, Taillon could end up being the standout starter on the slate.

Matt Olson, 1B, Atlanta Braves ($3,700)

While the Atlanta Braves may not draw a ton of eyeballs tonight on the slate, one hitter worthy of a long look is Matt Olson.

Olson will square off against Adrian Houser, who has been out over his skis just a touch. His 3.86 ERA doesn't look too bad on the surface, but he's had a real issue with walks, giving them out at a double-digit clip (11.2% rate). That doesn't even begin to discuss the problem he's had with lefty bats in his career -- they've smacked him around for a 4.72 FIP and .440 slugging percentage.

Olson is off to another solid start in 2022. Spanning 159 plate appearances, the lefty has recorded a 130 wRC+ and 40.6% hard-hit rate. He's a solid play on Tuesday.

Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees ($4,500)

Aaron Judge has been off to a torrid start at the dish. Can he keep things cookin'?

While many are complaining about the mush-like ball MLB has introduced, it doesn't seem like Judge has had much of a problem with it. He's smashed 12 home runs this season already, and he's very close to surpassing 30 runs and 30 RBI already. He's currently sporting a .336 ISO, the second-best mark of his career, and he boasts a 47.1% hard-hit rate.

While it's been a nascent career for Spenser Watkins, he's clearly exhibited a propensity to struggle with same-sided bats. He's allowed a whopping .663 slugging percentage in this split, including an almost hard-to-believe 2.71 HR/9 to righties.

Judge is way up in salary, but this is a fantastic spot for him.

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.