MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/8/19

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.

Domingo German, P, New York Yankees ($9,400)

When Luis Severino was injured earlier this season -- and he has yet to throw a pitch for the New York Yankees in 2019 -- it was presumed that the rotation would be doomed. And it likely would have been -- had Domingo German not stepped up in a major way.

With a sparkling 14-2 won-loss record paired with a juicy 3.98 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 114 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched, he's emerged as the clear lead of the staff that they needed.

Tonight, he will take that 26.6% strikeout rate on the season and attack a Toronto Blue Jays offense that can give up big nights to opposing arms. They rank seventh in baseball with a 24.4% strikeout rate, and their .306 team wOBA is eight-worst in the league.

Outside of a poor start against the fantastic Minnesota Twins offense, German has also been extremely consistent. He's racked up 37-plus FanDuel points in each of his last five starts, save for that rough Twins outing.

If you want to target a stud arm tonight, German is a lock for your roster.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies ($4,100)

The Boston Red Sox and Yankees may have the highest implied totals on tonight's slate, but there are other spots we find studs in exploitable spots.

While it may seem odd recommending Nolan Arenado outside of Denver, he avoids the Coors Field tax and gets a southpaw tonight in Eric Lauer of the San Diego Padres. Ooh mama.

If you need a quick reminder on how good the Colorado Rockies third baseman is against lefties, consider his cool 1.041 OPS and .611 slugging percentage against them this season. His batting eye, always a staple of his strong career, ratchets up a notch against lefties, too -- he's walked and struck out exactly 22 times this season.

While Lauer has been good this season, especially in San Diego, he's only recorded a 19.3% strikeout rate. That gets a bit scarier when you notice that against righties, he's posted a 43.3% hard-hit rate and 37.9% fly-ball rate in 2019.

Don't be scared off by Arenado outside of the thin Colorado air and grab him at a slightly cheaper price point.

Kris Bryant, OF, Chicago Cubs ($3,900)

With the fourth-highest team total on the main slate, the Chicago Cubs may be highly targeted this evening, and at the top of that list is Kris Bryant.

Over 101 plate appearances this season, Bryant has been outstanding against lefties like Alex Wood, tormenting them for a .463 wOBA and .369 isolated power (ISO). Like Arenado, he's been more than solid with his batting eye, posting a 16.8% walk rate and 18.8% strikeout rate.

Still working his way back into form this season, we can see from Wood's 2018 stats that righties saw the ball well at the dish, posting a 41.4% hard-hit rate versus a 28.9% mark for left-handed batters. With only 11 1/3 innings this season under his belt, it's difficult placing a lot of weight in this year's numbers, but we can feel confident in rostering Bryant 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.