3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/9/19
Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-priced 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 pitcher, by far the highest floors for production.
For hitters, we're looking for guys with big numbers, strong matchups, and with players around them that are likely to produce well too, 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.
Taking up so much salary, and playing such a big role in your lineup's ceiling, you're not going to want to whiff on these guys, so lets take a look at a few top-end options that you can count on to anchor your lineup today.
Walker Buehler, P, Los Angeles Dodgers ($11,400)
Land mines are everywhere in the top tier of hurlers tonight. Trevor Bauer is making his second start as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, but takes on a tough Chicago Cubs squad, and Shane Bieber has been whiffing everyone in sight, but has to address the nasty Minnesota Twins offense.
For my money, Walker Buehler is the man to pay up for.
Now, rostering Buehler may feel reactionary to his complete game, 15-strikeout masterpiece his last time out, but that's a lazy reason to consider the top flight ace. Peep how good he has been this season -- he's fifth in strikeout rate on the main slate (29.0%), he has the lowest allowed implied team total (3.26 runs), and he is the second-largest favorite on the board (moneyline -186).
While a matchup can certainly have different results from start to start, Buehler has dominated the Arizona Diamondbacks in June and July starts, striking out 20 batters in 15 innings. Lock and load the righty if you can fit him into your lineups.
Mike Tauchman, OF, New York Yankees ($3,500)
With all of the prolific hitters in this New York Yankees lineup, who would have guessed that Mike Tauchman, acquired in a trade right before the season, would be having such a big impact?
Tauchman has been on an insane stretch of production. In his last seven starts, the outfielder has blasted his way to 5 homers and 15 runs batted in over 31 at-bats, good for a crisp 1.036 slugging percentage and 1.520 OPS over that time frame.
While it's a small sample size, it's one we shouldn't ignore, especially as he gets to slam baseballs against Sean Reid-Foley, who has nearly walked (14.1%) as many batters as he has struck out (18.3%). Fold in Reid-Foley's 45.5% fly-ball rate this season, and Tauchman makes for a great play.
Alex Bregman, 3B, Houston Astros ($4,000)
While Mike Tauchman has been beasting out, Alex Bregman has been no slouch himself at the dish. Going back to a small sample size in the St. Louis series (44 plate appearances), Bregman has been a hitting machine, rapping out 14 hits on his way to a 1.167 OPS over that time frame.
And while Bregman doesn't have a platoon advantage tonight, facing Dylan Bundy of the Baltimore Orioles, he's been pretty adept in same-sided matchups, too. He owns a .505 slugging percentage and .913 OPS in this split, and Bundy has struggled this year against righties -- they've tagged him for a .366 wOBA, .566 slugging percentage, and 2.41 home runs per nine innings pitched.
It's no secret that we think runs will be scored tonight -- Houston has one of the highest implied team totals on the board with 6.22 runs. Getting exposure to this lineup is a must, and Bregman looks like a solid play.
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.
