3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 9/27/22
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.
Robbie Ray, SP, Seattle Mariners ($10,200)
After his delightfully hilarious ejection last week thanks to his National Anthem stand off with Luke Weaver, Robbie Ray will hope to see a bit more of Tuesday night's contest against the Texas Rangers.
While Texas has been a bit improved at the plate recently -- logging a .318 wOBA in the last two weeks -- this still is not an offense clicking on all cylinders. They are striking out at a tasty 25.8% clip over the same time, giving Ray a ton of upside today.
Ray's 2022 won't earn him the Cy Young again, but he's been pretty darn good. Over 177 2/3 innings pitched, he's recorded a 3.51 FIP and 27.8% strikeout rate.
Per our model, Ray laps the pack in terms of projections. We have him going for 37.1 FanDuel points -- tops on the main slate. He's easily the best pitcher play tonight.
Austin Riley, 3B, Atlanta Braves ($3,700)
When you take a quick peek at Washington Nationals starter Paolo Espino's numbers, a 4.17 ERA doesn't jump off the page right away as an arm you should be targeting.
That would be a mistake.
On a deeper dive, the righty has been blasted by same-sided bats this season. He's allowed a .487 slugging percentage in this split, including 24 extra-base hits and 2.02 HR/9. That's a lot of hard contact.
It should come as no surprise that the Atlanta Braves boast a 4.95 implied total, and there's no better bat to focus on than slugger Austin Riley. He's mashed his way to a .295 ISO, 37 home runs, and a hefty 39.4% fly-ball rate on the year.
We project Riley to score 14.8 FanDuel points.
Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox ($3,500)
As evidenced by last night's rainy slugfest in Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox still have plenty of pop, and they will look to continue smashing the baseball today against Kyle Bradish.
The Baltimore Orioles' righty has struggled against same-sided bats, the same as we just highlighted with Espino. This year, in 307 total batters faced in the split, the righty has allowed a .475 slugging percentage and 13 home runs. He's been pummeled for 1.64 HR/9 and a 39.6% fly-ball rate in the split.
Xander Bogaerts has been up to his usual tricks this year. He's posted a 136 wRC+ and .463 slugging percentage. Against righties, which is where we want to focus today, he's logged strong marks across the board, including only a 19.7% strikeout rate.
I like Bogaerts to go big tonight, and Boston's 4.67 implied total has them firmly on the stacking radar.
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.
