MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Wednesday 4/28/21

Tim Anderson has been red hot since returning from the injured list. Is he in a good spot to smash tonight?

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 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.

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 Rodon, SP, Chicago White Sox ($11,000)

This is not a typo -- Carlos Rodon, not Tyler Glasnow, is the highest-salaried pitcher on tonight's main slate. Is he really worth it?

Well, there are a lot of factors here. First and foremost, we can certainly understand and appreciate the greatness of Cy Glasnow. Adding a slider to his nasty arsenal, Glasnow has been ripping off strikeouts left and right (39.7% strikeout rate).

However, Rodon has been pretty darn good in his own right, too, with a 32.4% strikeout rate -- and for me, the tipping point between these two is that Rodon owns the better matchup. He faces the team striking out the most in MLB (the Detroit Tigers), and their offense is one of the worst in the league (.278 wOBA).

The salary is up there, but we expect a monster night out of Rodon, as well, to the tune of 34.1 FanDuel points with upside for so much more.

Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox ($4,000)

Leadoff man Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox is back after a slight injury and battling young hurler Casey Mize could be a scoring explosion.

A power-speed threat every single time he steps onto the field, the shortstop owns three homers and steals apiece, and that's not good for the young right-hander, who sports an ugly 5.23 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 20 2/3 innings pitched.

Since returning from the injured list, Anderson has ripped base knocks in all six games. It's likely to be seven straight after today.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals ($3,600)

One of the lone bright spots for the St. Louis Cardinals, Nolan Arenado has been en fuego with his new team, slamming four long balls to start the year.

Can he make it five? Well, against veteran Vincent Velasquez, he sure might. Velasquez, in a small sample of only eight innings, continues to struggle on the bump. He's logged a 6.75 ERA and 2.12 WHIP, and while he has generated plenty of strikeouts throughout his career, he's prone to fits of wildness and the long ball.

In his prior start, VV headed to the showers early by lasting a mere four innings against a poor Colorado Rockies lineup. That's good news for Arenado, as he could perform additional damage against a Philadelphia Phillies bullpen that clocks in with a league-worst 5.14 ERA.


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.