3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 8/13/21
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.
Zack Wheeler, SP, Philadelphia Phillies ($11,200)
There's a clear top dog on this slate -- Zack Wheeler.
The Philadelphia Phillies' righty has been downright outstanding this season. His 2.42 FIP ranks first among all pitchers, and that's supported by an incredible 29.4% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. Batters are having a very hard time squaring up Wheeler as his 22.7% hard-hit rate allowed is the best mark of his career.
The Cincinnati Reds have some pop, but Wheeler's projection of 39.0 FanDuel points -- per our model -- is 8.0 points more than any other pitcher's. He's the dude to roster tonight.
Jonathan Schoop, 2B, Detroit Tigers ($3,400)
The Detroit Tigers are an offense that could go off tonight, and they may not be popular.
Why might they cook? Zach Plesac has been truly awful this season. The pitch-to-contact artist has seen a massive decline in his strikeout rate (15.6%), and that's not great when you couple it with a career-worst 1.71 dingers per nine.
Jonathan Schoop has been having a nice year for Detroit. His .175 isolated power (ISO) is solid, as is his .463 slugging percentage. He could pop today, and I like the idea of using Schoop in Detroit stacks.
Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox ($4,400)
Spenser Watkins going against the Boston Red Sox could be a bloodbath.
Watkins has struggled in his rookie season. While Watkins' 4.22 ERA may not necessarily indicate how bad he's been, a lowly 16.2% strikeout rate and elevated 40.0% fly-ball rate could be a harbinger that danger is on the horizon. His 8.6% swinging-strike rate is far below the league average. Boston has a 6.59 implied total, so we know what oddsmakers are expecting.
Rafael Devers has smacked the baseball to the tune of a .568 slugging percentage and 28 home runs on the year. His .283 ISO is the best mark of his career. He could add to those totals again tonight against the right-handed Watkins.
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.
