3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 9/21/18

Gerrit Cole, SP, Houston Astros

Price: $10,800

Gerrit Cole may not have Jacob deGrom's 1.78 ERA or 2.85 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), but Cole's 2.88 ERA, and especially his 2.93 SIERA, don't trail far behind. And more importantly for fantasy purposes, his 34.5% strikeout rate sits ahead of deGroms' 31.9% mark.

The two both offer huge fantasy upside on a nightly basis, but tonight the edge between them goes to Cole, who also happens to be slightly cheaper on FanDuel.

The Houston Astros are Friday's third-biggest favorites, and their -235 moneyline implies them for a 12.5% higher chance of winning their game than the New York Mets have. That leaves the Los Angeles Angels with a 3.25 implied total (Friday's second-lowest), compared to a 3.76 mark for the Washington Nationals in their matchup with deGrom.

Just looking at active rosters, the Angels also strike out against righties at a slightly higher rate than the Nats (20.5% to 19.8%).

With a better chance of scoring a win, fewer projected runs against and more promising strikeout numbers, Cole really stands out as the top arm on the slate.