3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 5/29/19
Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-priced 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 pitcher, by far the highest floors for production.
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.
Taking up so much salary, and playing such a big role in your lineup's ceiling, you're not going to want to whiff on these guys, so lets take a look at a few top-end options that you can count on to anchor your lineup today.
Blake Snell, P, Tampa Bay Rays ($11,800)
The oddsmakers' favorite pitcher tonight, Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays are the slate's biggest favorites (-230 moneyline) while facing down the slate's lowest implied total (3.07 runs) against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Walker Buehler and the Los Angeles Dodgers show similarly appealing numbers (-200 favorites, 3.20 implied total), but Buehler's strikeout numbers don't come close to touching Snell's, making him a far less interesting fantasy option.
Snell broke out with a 31.6% strikeout rate over 31 games in 2018 (better than Buehler has ever posted in his career), and a jump from 15.1% to 18.7% in swinging-strike rate has lifted his strikeout rate to 36.5% over 10 games in 2019.
His ERA doesn't match last year's absurd 1.89, but his skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) has actually improved significantly, from 3.30 to a stellar 2.81.
The Jays are striking out at a top-10 rate (25.2%) against southpaws this year, while they also sit a lowly 27th with a 70 wRC+ in that split. Snell stands out among today's pitching options in both safety and upside, making him an elite play in all formats.
Jarrod Dyson, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks ($3,600)
Dyson is on the cheap end for any "stud" bat, and especially for one at Coors. But likely hitting leadoff in an Arizona Diamondbacks offense that boasts a 5.72-run implied total at Coors Field is about as studly a spot as a hitter can find themselves in.
The Colorado Rockies will roll with Jeff Hoffman on the mound, and Hoffman's career 5.01 SIERA and 36.6% fly-ball rate don't exactly get it done at Coors. The righty has allowed a career 5.20 xFIP and .383 wOBA to opponents at home, and when we just narrow that to lefty bats at home (194 batters faced in the sample) we see jumps to a 5.25 xFIP and absurd .393 wOBA. For context, a .393 wOBA would have ranked sixth among qualifying hitters in the 2018 season.
Dyson doesn't offer anything special from the dish, but being a lefty against Hoffman at Coors has essentially turned the average hitter into 2018 Alex Bregman. That leaves Dyson a much bigger threat to do damage with his bat than we normally see, and he also offers his usual stolen base upside, having already swiped 12 bags in 41 games this season.
Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies ($4,900)
If you can stomach the far steeper price tag, Nolan Arenado is the king of Coors Field tonight thanks to a matchup with a lefty in Arizona's Robbie Ray.
Dating back to 2017, Arenado has turned in a terrific .441 wOBA and .317 wOBA in 768 plate appearances at Coors. His numbers against southpaws are even more staggering, with a .510 wOBA and .408 ISO on a 43.7% hard-hit rate and 43.3% fly-ball rate over 436 plate appearances. When you combine those factors, taking his numbers at home against lefties, that elevates to an unbelievable .552 wOBA and .455 ISO.
For as much as Ray offers some impressive strikeout stuff, often keeping him fantasy-relevant, his 4.08 SIERA on the year isn't especially scary. He's also allowing a hard-hit rate north of 40% and a fly-ball rate north of 37% for the third straight season, and contact numbers like that just don't cut it at Coors.
There aren't many southpaws that should make you fade Arenado in a home game, and Ray certainly isn't one of them.
Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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.
