MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 6/25/18

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl Jun 25th, 2018
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Justin Verlander, P, Houston Astros

Price: $11,700

There are no bigger favorites on Monday than the Houston Astros, who are listed at -229 on the moneyline. Combining that with this game's 7.0 over/under, the Toronto Blue Jays are left with a tiny 2.83-run implied total -- over half a run lower than any other team's.

Justin Verlander has been absolutely stellar in 2018. He is one of seven qualifying starters with a skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) below 3.00, and he's one of five with a strikeout rate of at least 32.0%. He's also allowing a 26.0% hard-hit rate, which sits below his career average (27.2%), while forcing the second-highest soft-hit rate (21.6%) of his career. His 48.0 FanDuel points per game also rank second in the majors, behind only Max Scherzer.

The Jays' 10th-ranked wRC+ against right-handed pitching does take some of the shine out of this spot for Verlander, but it isn't nearly a scary enough mark to take him out of play in any format. Their 23.6% strikeout rate (the 11th-highest in the Majors) also goes a long way to make up for any concerns that wRC+ might raise.

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