3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 8/17/21
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.
Corbin Burnes, SP, Milwaukee Brewers ($11,500)
Let me save you some DFS prep time -- roster Corbin Burnes.
Burnes has the strikeout upside we crave. For the season, he's racked up a 36.1% strikeout rate and 16.6% swinging-strike rate. Pair that with Burnes' 4.4% walk rate, and that's how you get a 2.47 SIERA. Over his past five starts, he has games of 15 and 12 strikeouts. The guy can break a slate.
The St. Louis Cardinals are swinging it well of late, sitting seventh in wOBA (.337) over the last 30 days, but they also carry an above-average 23.4% strikeout rate in that time. Burnes has fanned 18 Cards in 11 innings in two starts versus St. Louis this season.
While Framber Valdez ($9,700) checks some boxes, Burnes is where I'm going tonight.
Trea Turner, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,900)
Trea Turner -- the owner of a .375 wOBA, 18 jacks and 23 steals -- is one of the game's best players, and he's taken his talents to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's almost unfair as he's now hitting atop a lineup that was already one of the game's best. Today that lineup will be up against Wil Crowe, who has allowed an 11.1% walk rate this season and is surrendering 2.02 homers per nine. This isn't going to go well for Crowe.
As such, the Dodgers have a 5.69 implied total, the top non-Coors number, and Turner could have a field day from the leadoff spot.
Randy Arozarena, OF, Tampa Bay Rays ($3,900)
Doesn't it seem like a long time ago that John Means threw a no-no?
Means has been obliterated lately, giving up 15 long balls in his past nine starts. His high-strikeout ways from early in the campaign are no longer a thing as he's got a meager 15.0% strikeout rate in the second half. Means has gone from a guy we wanted to use in our pitcher slot to a dude we can stack against.
It probably comes as no surprise -- 18 of the 20 taters Means has allowed this season belong to right-handed hitters.
Enter Randy Arozarena, who has ripped southpaws for a 40.2% fly-ball rate, 143 wRC+ and .372 wOBA this season. He's been red-hot overall in the second half, mashing his way to a .457 wOBA in the split. He is in a great spot versus Means.
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.
