MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 8/22/22

Rhys Hoskins and the Phillies will tangle with the Reds' bullpen for extended period on Monday. Which other players could score well on Monday's slate?

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.

Max Scherzer, SP, New York Mets ($11,500)

The New York Yankees' slide in the last month is a pretty obvious reason why they have struggled to win a lot of ball games. And, while they seem to have an insurmountable lead, they face a stiff task with Max Scherzer on the bump.

In these last 30 days, the Bronx Bombers have been one of the league's worst offensive attacks including team wOBA (.303), strikeout rate (24.2%), and isolated power (.157).

Despite all of the mileage on his right shoulder, the Mets right-hander has been brilliant yet again in 2022. He's logged a 31.4% strikeout rate in addition to a nasty 4.7% walk rate. He's also sporting just a 26.5% hard-hit rate -- one of the best marks of his career.

It's no surprise he is lapping the field in our projections, and he makes for a great play tonight.

Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins ($3,600)

There are some ugly metrics when we peek under the hood of Texas Rangers starter Cole Ragans, and we need to get all of those Minnesota Twins bats we can stuff into our lineups.

Ragans has one of the more dreadful strikeout-to-walk marks you can see. In fact, it's negative. In 14 1/3 innings pitched, he's recorded a 10.9% strikeout rate but an ugly 12.5% walk rate. He's also coughed up 2.51 HR/9.

Ragans, a southpaw, hasn't allowed a base runner to a fellow lefty, but he's been smashed for a .510 slugging percentage and a 50.0% fly-ball rate by right-handed batters this season.

That all leads me to roster a heavy dose of Byron Buxton, who's popped lefties for a 155 wRC+ in 2022.

Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies ($3,200)

Opener Luis Cessa takes the ball for the Cincinnati Reds tonight, and this could be a long evening for the NL Central cellar dwellers.

Cessa has been okay this season. His 55.2% ground-ball rate is certainly a solid mark, but his marginal 8.0% K-BB% rate leaves quite a bit to be desired. But the bleeding won't stop at Cessa; the Cincinnati bullpen sports a league-worst 4.58 FIP, bloated by 1.29 HR/9 allowed.

Right now, there may not be a hotter hitter on the Philadelphia Phillies than slugger Rhys Hoskins. In August, he has bopped his way to a 143 wRC+ in addition to a .290 ISO mark. He will definitely be in my lineups 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.