3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 4/8/19

Justin Verlander, P, Houston Astros

Price: $10,700

Playing a pitcher against the New York Yankees is always going to carry some risk. They smacked over 30 more home runs than any other team in 2018, and they rank third in the Majors with 20 (through nine games) in 2019.

The stellar play of Justin Verlander goes a long way to reducing that risk, though, as the Houston Astros sit as the slate's biggest favorites (-152 moneyline), and the Yanks' 3.44-run implied total is the second-lowest on the slate.

The Yankees' power also doesn't limit the potential upside for opposing pitchers, as they've opened the season striking out at a slightly higher rate (22.9%) than league-average, which is backed up with a 14th-ranked swinging-strike rate (11.3%), which stabilizes much more quickly than strikeout rate.

Not many pitchers get hitters to swing and miss the way Verlander does either. He finished sixth in the Majors with a 14.5% swinging-strike rate in 2018, and he's got that mark up to 15.3% through a small two-game sample in 2019.

Our models project him well ahead of anyone else in both strikeouts and fantasy points scored tonight, so he's a top play in all formats.