MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 7/1/22

A juicy matchup at Coors Field could be exactly what Kris Bryant needs to get on track. Who else should we think about?

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, as well, 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 ($10,900)

Pegged to lap the field using our projections, Corbin Burnes looks like a great play tonight. Can we trust him?

Hell yeah, we can.

History shows that Burnes' opponent, the Pittsburgh Pirates, have historically been tough to strike out, but that's not the case this season. Their 25.2% strikeout rate has been one of the league's worst marks, and they also have the third-worst team wOBA (.291) and an ugly .151 isolated power (ISO).

Burnes needs virtually no introduction to anyone who's played season-long fantasy or DFS over the last few seasons. In 93 1/3 innings pitched, he's struck out 119 batters with a 32.4% strikeout rate while logging a 2.78 xFIP and 0.92 WHIP.

It all makes for a great play.

Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets ($4,000)

Our dong calls have been straight fire as of late, and one guy we should trust to launch a long ball tonight is Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.

Let's peep the matchup that the big polar bear has on his hands with Glenn Otto of the Texas Rangers. A quick glance at Otto's numbers reveals only 1.06 HR/9 allowed this season, but poking some holes in the data shows he's really struggling against same-sided bats. On the season, he's allowed a .487 slugging percentage to righties, including a 38.1% hard-hit rate.

According to oddsmakers, the Mets have an implied total of over five runs, so while Coors Field makes a ton of sense tonight, an interesting leverage play is certainly in the cards for the Mets.

Kris Bryant, OF, Colorado Rockies ($3,600)

After a bit of a lengthy stint on the injured list, tonight seems like a great time for Kris Bryant to regain his power stroke at home in suburban Denver.

Bryant certainly has not been at his best this season -- he's yet to homer this season -- but Merrill Kelly may be just what the doctor ordered to regain that swing. For Kelly's career, he's really had a hard time getting righties out away from Arizona, allowing a .496 slugging percentage and 1.89 HR/9.

Meanwhile, Bryant has bashed both lefties and righties with aplomb. In nearly 3,000 career plate appearances, the righty has slugged same-sided arms for a 127 wRC+ and a .209 ISO. He could increase those totals tonight.



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.