3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 9/30/22

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.

Corbin Burnes, SP, Milwaukee Brewers ($10,300)

While he maybe hasn't been in top form recently, Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers looks like he could be an outstanding play tonight.

The right-hander hasn't been exactly at the top of his game recently. Spanning 77 1/3 second-half innings, Burnes has logged an ugly 4.54 ERA and a mediocre (for Burnes) mark of a .407 slugging percentage allowed.

But overall, the peripherals are still nasty. He's posted a 27.2% strikeout rate in the second half, paired with a solid 6.9% walk rate. And he gets the benefit of facing a Miami Marlins squad that's struck out a whopping 24.1% clip in the last two weeks.

Burnes is my jam tonight, and we have him popping off for 42.8 FanDuel points -- 5.5 more than anyone else.

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,400)

Getting ready for some postseason glory, the Los Angeles Dodgers get a home matchup tonight against the Colorado Rockies, and Chad Kuhl should be in for a long night.

The Dodgers sport a nasty implied total of 5.26 runs -- by far the best mark on the day -- and a big part of that reason is Kuhl. He's struck out 18.8% of batters and allowed a 36.7% hard-hit rate.

I like lefties against Kuhl thanks to their slightly improved batted-ball data, which includes 1.62 HR/9 and hard-hit and fly-ball marks that are each over 40%.

Freddie Freeman has enjoyed his first season in LA, and the batting marks show it. In 683 plate appearances, he's pounded his way to a 157 wRC+ and 20 home runs. He's on the cusp of a 100-run, 100-RBI season.

Get Freddie in your lineups.

Juan Soto, OF, San Diego Padres ($3,900)

The Chicago White Sox will hand the ball to youngster Davis Martin, who's been pretty average this year.

In 12 appearances and 7 starts, Martin has logged a 4.13 FIP. That's not too scary, but his 9.5% K-BB% rate is a bit perturbing. Hitters aren't making a ton of hard contact (32.4%), but they are getting plenty of loft on the ball (38.4% fly-ball rate).

Martin hasn't been great against lefties this year, allowing a .423 slugging percentage, 1.23 HR/9, and a 36.3% fly-ball rate in the split.

For all of those reasons, I like Juan Soto a ton tonight. Soto's 146 wRC+ and 26 home runs aren't too far off of career norms, and he's pounded righties this year for a 168 wRC+ mark.

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.