3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 9/13/21

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.

Clayton Kershaw, P, Los Angeles Dodgers ($10,900)

After missing several weeks, Clayton Kershaw returns to the mix, and despite a limited pitch count, he could be in a total smash spot tonight.

While there's reason to be a bit concerned with Kershaw coming off the injured list, he threw three solid innings at Triple-A last week and should be in line for around 60 pitches tonight. It is not a ton of pitches, but Kershaw has been so excellent this season that it may not matter. He's logged a 30.1% strikeout rate on the year -- his best mark since 2016. He also has a 2.92 xFIP on the year overall, which is 8th in all of baseball amongst starters with at least 75 innings.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, his opponent tonight, have really struggled recently. They've logged only a .308 wOBA and 23.1% strikeout rate in the last month, and they have just a 93 wRC+ against left-handed pitching since August 1st.

While Sandy Alcantara is around for those targeting a full workload, if Kershaw can scratch out five innings, he could be in for a big night at low popularity.

Carlos Correa, SS, Houston Astros ($3,600)

On a six-game main slate, there's normally a solid set of studs to pick from. But with a lot of excellent arms like Clayton Kershaw, Yu Darvish, Adam Wainwright, Rich Hill, Sandy Alcantara, and Alek Manoah all going tonight, there's not a bevy of outstanding targets to attack.

However, Spencer Howard of the Texas Rangers is one that we can exploit.

The young, right-handed starting pitcher has really struggled with same-sided bats this season. On the year, righties have pounded him for a .486 slugging percentage in addition to a .371 wOBA mark.

That makes Carlos Correa a very attractive option tonight. Correa has slammed his way to a 132 wRC+ and .492 slugging percentage facing right-handed pitching. He profiles with a chance to bop a couple of longshots tonight.

Mookie Betts, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,000)

Zac Gallen has had a bit of a peculiar season.

Gallen has a desirable 26.8% strikeout rate, but his 10.1% walk rate is higher than hoped. Overall, he has largely cooled lefties with a 3.89 xFIP. However, he has struggled with righties so far this season against him, as they've blasted him for 2.30 HR/9 and 45.7% hard-hit rate.

Targeting Dodgers' right-handed batters is where Mookie Betts comes into play. While it's been not a typical year for Betts -- limited significantly by injuries -- he has been magnificent when he has played. He has logged a .514 slugging percentage and a gorgeous .240 isolated power (ISO) in what is still a solid sample of 465 plate appearances.

With Gallen struggling against righties, and Betts posing as one of the most fearsome right-handers in the game, it could be a great night to spend up for the Dodgers' star outfielder.

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.