3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 8/25/22
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.
Aaron Nola, SP, Philadelphia Phillies ($10,800)
On today's pitching slate, I feel like I am making a horrific choice between two starters that I absolutely love -- Jacob deGrom and Aaron Nola.
This clearly is nowhere near as challenging as Meryl Streep's Sophie's Choice, but I digress nonetheless.
DeGrom is nearly an auto-play, but facing a very solid Colorado Rockies offense (ninth in team wOBA, 20.2% strikeout rate), I am pivoting over to Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cincinnati Reds are one of the league's worst offenses, ranking in the bottom third in team wOBA, isolated power (ISO), and strikeout rate.
In 157 2/3 innings pitched, the right-hander has been incredible, logging a 28.2% strikeout rate with only a 30.7% hard-hit rate.
He clocks in just behind deGrom in our projections, but he could showcase plenty of upside tonight.
Kyle Schwarber, OF, Philadelphia Phillies ($3,200)
I swear I am not from Philly, but there are too many damn good plays tonight to ignore.
Justin Dunn takes the ball opposite Nola tonight, and the power right-hander has really struggled this season. In three starts, he's nearly posted an equivalent strikeout-to-walk rate, and his 23.8% ground-ball rate portends some big-time problems. He's also allowed 3.38 HR/9 this year.
With the platoon advantage, Kyle Schwarber seems like a big-time play that we need in our lineups tonight. Schwarber clocks in with a 131 wRC+, a .361 wOBA, and a juicy .308 ISO versus righties.
Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets ($3,700)
With the switch-hitting Francisco Lindor getting to hit from the left side in a plus matchup, I gotta find a way to jam him into DFS lineups tonight over at FanDuel.
Ryan Feltner gets to escape suburban Denver tonight, but that may not mean he's out of trouble. He's really struggled against left-handed bats this season, logging a 5.17 FIP this season to lefties. A batted-ball profile reveals perhaps some of the reason for his struggles -- a 37.6% hard-hit rate and 45.2% fly-ball rate aren't something to brag about.
Lindor, meanwhile, has exploded as a lefty. He's posted a 140 wRC+ mark from the left side but he's simply been league average (101 wRC+) from the right side. With these marks on his resume, he could be primed to explode.
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.
