MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 9/20/19

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Sep 20th, 2019
Nelson Cruz has been elite at the dish in 2019, and he's on tap for another monster evening on Friday. What other top notch plays should we think about?

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 let's take a look at a few top-end options that you can count on to anchor your lineup today.

Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets ($11,000)

It could be the last time we get a full outing from Jacob deGrom in 2019, so enjoy it while you can.

While he likely won't win the NL Cy Young award again, he has arguably been just as effective on the mound this year as he was last year. He owns a slate-best 31.6% strikeout rate, has posted a 2.61 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over 190 innings pitched.

He also matches up with a Cincinnati Reds offense that has been terrible this season, who clock in 22nd in team wOBA (.312), paired with an inflated 23.4% strikeout rate.

Go ahead and roster the ace hurler tonight with confidence.

Trey Mancini, 1B, Baltimore Orioles ($4,000)

While the Baltimore Orioles have screeched their 2019 season to a halt, Trey Mancini has been one of the pleasant breakouts of the season, and he has been on fire at the dish.

With a seven-game hitting streak under his belt, Mancini has racked up 15 hits over his last 32 at-bats, and he has slammed four home runs for 16 runs batted in over the time frame.

He also gets to face aging arm Felix Hernandez, who is in the twilight of his career. In 2019, he has posted a mediocre 18.6% strikeout rate over 60 1/3 innings pitched, including an ugly 41.2% hard-hit rate.

Look for the first baseman to add to his resume tonight.

Nelson Cruz, OF, Minnesota Twins ($4,000)

It's the year 2027. Frank Gore is still an NFL running back. The New England Patriots are still a dynasty. And Nelson Cruz is still slamming home runs in his Age-48 season.

Father Time be damned, Cruz is having another monster year, regardless of whether the ball is a bit bouncy. He now owns 39 home runs this year, slamming another two last night and he owns 21 dingers since the All-Star break.

Cruz also gets to face one of his favorite targets tonight -- a southpaw, where he has launched missiles against them this year at the rate of a .750 slugging percentage and 1.153 OPS.

He may be getting up there in years, but he has the home runs to match and makes for a great DFS option.

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.