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.
Carlos Carrasco, SP, New York Mets ($9,000)
The Pittsburgh Pirates bullied the Cincinnati Reds, but Carlos Carrasco would be a very different story.
Pittsburgh's offense is still far from perfect. Over the last 30 days, the Buccos have still whiffed a ton (25.7% strikeout rate), and they still rank in the bottom five of the league in team wOBA. That's really good news for the New York Mets right-hander.
While Carrasco may still be rounding into shape following various maladies, he's had a nice year. He's always a constant for a healthy ground-ball rate (46.4%), and he doesn't walk a ton of guys (6.2%). His called-strike-plus-whiff rate (27.5%) isn't among the best of the best, but it'll do on this small slate.
We project Carrasco as our top pitcher on the evening at 34.6 FanDuel points, and I think he makes for a very worthy investment.
Juan Soto, OF, San Diego Padres ($3,800)
If the San Diego Padres want to stay in the Wild Card hunt, they better get to getting those bats going. Drey Jameson could provide the spark they are looking for tonight out in the desert.
Jameson has a middling profile. In 114 Triple-A innings this season, he has been really hurt by the long ball, allowing 1.66 HR/9. The righty also logged only a 21.2% strikeout rate on the season.
While Juan Soto hasn't really been at his best this year, perhaps the young righty can spark his bat. Soto still has a 161 wRC+ mark versus righties this year, so he's still been very productive, but his .493 slugging percentage is on pace to deliver the lowest mark of his precocious young career.
With the platoon advantage against a debuting pitcher, it might be fruitful to bet on a Soto rebound tonight.
Carlos Correa, SS, Minnesota Twins ($4,000)
Like we just highlighted for the Padres, the Minnesota Twins are quickly losing some ground to the Cleveland Guardians, and they better get things going before they see their playoff chances slip away.
Carlos Correa has been very strong in his first season as part of the Twins. In 506 plate appearances, he's recorded a 137 wRC+, popped 20 homers, and a .465 slugging percentage. He's also taken his share of free passes (10.5% walk rate).
He's been at his best with southpaws on the mound, logging a 156 wRC+ this year. That's where Kansas City Royals starter Daniel Lynch comes in handy. The lefty has allowed 1.37 HR/9 this year, and righties have bashed him harder to the tune of a .452 slugging percentage and 1.44 HR/9.
The Royals' bullpen also is struggling, posting the eighth-highest xFIP since August 1st (4.19).
Correa is a sweet header to an affordable Minnesota stack that easily allows you to get back to "Cookie" Carrasco if you so choose.
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.