MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 4/29/21

Eduardo Escobar has a dope matchup versus Antonio Senzatela. Which other high-salary players should you turn to on Thursday night?

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.

Trevor Bauer, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers ($11,000)

Thursday main slates can be funky at times -- and this Thursday is certainly no exception. With only a handful of games, we are left with two starting pitching options priced above $9,000. I'm not totally sold on the Kyle Gibson, so let's dive into why making room for Trevor Bauer makes a lot of sense.

For starters, Bauer has picked up right where he left off after winning the Cy Young a season ago. Bauer owns a 2.37 SIERA and 37.8% strikeout rate, and he's thrown at least 96 pitches in every outing in 2021.

Bauer has averaged 47.6 FanDuel points per start this season, and he's got a great matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers. With Christian Yelich out and Keston Hiura struggling mightily, the Brewers are whiffing at a prodigious 27.8% clip.

The salary is up there, but we expect a monster night out of Bauer to the tune of 42.4 FanDuel points -- whopping 14.9 more FanDuel points than any other pitcher. Just swallow the chalk and find room for Bauer's salary.

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves ($4,000)

Even though he struck out yesterday against Anthony Rizzo (not a typo), Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves' offense is really starting to cook.

After piling a 10-spot on the board last night, Freeman and his teammates will try to exploit Adbert Alzolay today. Freeman has posted 15-plus FanDuel points in each of his last three contests, and it's no surprise this offense has found its sweet spot with him inserted into the second spot in the lineup.

Over his last 11 games, Freeman has rocked a .605 slugging percentage, and he should keep up his fine run of form tonight with Atlanta holding a slate-high 5.01 implied total. He is the slate's top bat, per our model.

Eduardo Escobar, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks ($3,500)

After a very rough 2020 campaign, Eduardo Escobar of the Arizona Diamondbacks has gotten off to a blazing start to 2021. Can he keep this up?

He's torched opposing pitchers for seven home runs this season, and he's even fired in a stolen base to boot. His opponent tonight? Antonio Senzatela, who has struggled this season. While he gets the benefit of leaving the friendly confines of Coors Field, Senzatela has been bombed for a 5.76 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 25 innings pitched this year.

With the platoon advantage, Escobar should mash tonight, and the D-Backs are on the stacking radar thanks to a 4.65 implied total, the slate's second-best mark.



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.