MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/2/18

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Max Scherzer, P, Washington Nationals

Price: $11,800

The Washington Nationals are Thursday's biggest favorites by a wide margin (-285 moneyline), and the Cincinnati Reds' 3.05 implied total is also the day's lowest.

It's not that the Reds have a bad offense, sitting in the middle of the pack in both wRC+ (98) and strikeout rate (21.2%) against right-handed pitching.; it's more that Max Scherzer is just that good.

He ranks second among qualifying pitchers with a 2.73 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) this season, while his 34.4% strikeout rate ranks third, his 16.6% swinging-strike rate is first, and his 28.2% strikeout-minus-walk rate is tied for second.

As far as pitchers in action tonight go, Scherzer ranks first in all of those categories. His 45.8 FanDuel points per game are also the most among today's hurlers, and even in a middling matchup with the Reds, he's easily Thursday's top fantasy arm.