3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 7/6/21
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.
Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets ($11,800)
Jacob deGrom's salary is $1,200 more than anyone else's. Is he worth it? I think so.
After back-to-back starts with five and six punchouts, deGrom got back to his high-strikeout ways last time out, fanning 15 against the Atlanta Braves. The strikeout ability gives deGrom a ceiling few -- maybe no one -- can realistically match.
Tonight he's up against a Milwaukee Brewers offense that is 21st in wOBA (.304) with the 6th-highest strikeout rate (25.9%). The Brewers have shown more pop lately, but they're still striking out at the sixth-highest rate in that time (24.8%).
Per our projections, deGrom is the best pitching option on Tuesday's slate as we forecast him to total 38.8 FanDuel points, 5.5 more than any other hurler.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays ($4,600)
Imagine making your major league debut -- you call your loved ones and friends excitedly, culminating in a lifelong dream to make it to The Show. And then you get your first opponent -- the Toronto Blue Jays -- and your excitement wants a bit. That's what Spenser Watkins is dealing with today.
The Blue Jays are one of the league's most dynamic offensive attacks, clocking in second in wRC+ (111), wOBA (.337), and striking out only 21.9%. Poor Watkins. With just a 20.0% strikeout rate in 32 2/3 Triple-A innings this season, Watkins doesn't profile as a guy who will hit the ground running in the bigs.
The Blue Jays sport an implied team total of a whopping 6.25 runs, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has to be licking his chops. Vladdy will surely be popular -- even at his lofty salary -- but he's the slate's number-five bat, according to our model.
Bryce Harper, OF, Philadelphia Phillies ($3,800)
You probably haven't met a bigger Jake Arrieta fan than me -- when the dude was on, even as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, man was he on. Just a nasty two-seam fastball mixed with a slider, and he was unhittable.
But those days are gone -- long gone. Arrieta has been bombed in 2021. Spanning 72 2/3 innings (why are they still running him out there?), the veteran has been lit up for a 5.84 FIP, 47.0% hard-hit rate and 1.98 homers per nine innings
As such, the Phillies have the night's second-highest implied total (5.34), and that makes Bryce Harper a go-to pick. Harper owns a .405 expected wOBA this season and holds a .390 wOBA with the platoon advantage.
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.
