3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/28/19

Max Scherzer, P, Washington Nationals

Price: $11,700

You're going to notice a theme on this first main slate of the 2019 season -- if you're going to pay up, it's worth going big.

The most expensive pitcher in action, Max Scherzer is also our top-projected fantasy arm for the day -- both in terms of pure fantasy points and in terms of strikeouts, which are at the core of any top pitcher's fantasy value.

Over at FanDuel Sportsbook, this meeting between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets has a small 7-run over/under, and with odds on the under sitting at -118, we could even see that line shift down to 6.5 before the first pitch is thrown.

The Nats are favorites in this one, and it's easy to see why when we look at the work Scherzer did last year. Already coming off a 2017 campaign that saw him post an outstanding 2.98 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), he improved that mark to 2.71 in 2018 -- the second-best mark in the Majors.

He also ranked second in the MLB with a career-best 34.6% strikeout rate, which was held up by a 16.2% swinging-strike rate -- 0.6% better than anyone else notched.

The Mets will be starting an ace their own in Jacob deGrom, but their offense isn't overly concerning. They finished 2018 a middling 14th in wRC+ against right-handed pitching, striking out at a 22.0% clip (17th). They added some offensive pieces in the off-season, including Robinson Cano, but they still don't make for an especially intimidating matchup for right-handed pitchers.

You can get similar strikeout upside for $300 less in Justin Verlander, who topped Scherzer in strikeout rate last year, but it's worth paying up for Scherzer's consistency. Last season was the 36-year-old Verlander's first ever with a strikeout rate north of 30%, while Scherzer has done it in each of the last three seasons. He also beat Scherzer in SIERA last year, but again, Scherzer is coming off multiple years with stellar numbers in that category, while Verlander posted a 4.05 in 2017.