MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 5/7/19

Jason Schandl  —  @JasonSchandl May 7th, 2019
Nolan Arenado produces ridiculous numbers against lefties at Coors Field. Are there any other Rockies in play against Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday?

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.

Noah Syndergaard, P, New York Mets ($10,400)

As of writing, there still aren't betting lines set for every game today, but as of Tuesday morning, the San Diego Padres' 3.52-run implied total is the slate's lowest while Syndergaard and the New York Mets sit as -138 favorites in a game with a low 7.5-run over/under.

The Padres' offense hasn't been especially dangerous this year, and they sit bottom-10 in wRC+. Making the matchup even more appealing for fantasy purposes, San Diego's 26.8% strikeout rate is also the highest in the majors and is backed up by the third-highest swinging-strike rate (12.5%).

Syndergaard doesn't quite sit among the MLB's elite for punchouts, but his 27.4% strikeout rate in 2019 is right in line with his 27.1% career average. He's also posting a solid 3.49 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), and the Padres' lineup shouldn't give him much trouble.

Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies ($4,600)

As favorites in a Coors Field game with a 10.5-run over/under, the Colorado Rockies boast Tuesday's highest implied total as they take on southpaw Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants.

The Rockies' offense overall has left a lot to be desired this season, but as usual, they get a huge boost from hitting at home. Going up against a left-handed pitcher also helps.

Bumgarner posted a career-worst 4.42 SIERA last year, and while he's bounced back so far in 2019 (3.72 SIERA over seven games), he's giving up a career-high 42.2% hard-hit rate and a career-low 12.8% soft-hit rate while also allowing a 37.0% fly-ball rate. That contact is even more worrying than what he allowed last season, and allowing a ton of hard fly-balls at Coors isn't exactly a recipe for success.

Trevor Story is making the best contact of his career -- on pace for personal bests with a 47.0% hard-hit rate and 11.0% soft-hit rate while also managing a 44.0% fly-ball rate.

That batted-ball profile is obviously encouraging at home, and adding in the platoon advantage tonight makes this spot even better. He has 243 career plate appearances at home against southpaws, and in that split, he boasts a massive .471 wOBA and .440 ISO.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies ($4,800)

Going right back to the same spot, Bumgarner has given up especially strong contact to right-handed bats going back to last season, with his hard-hit rate jumping to 43.2% in that split.

Arenado is having a pretty solid season overall, with a .378 wOBA and .270 ISO, and while he's not quite making career-best contact, his 41.9% hard-hit rate is the second-best clip he's ever posted.

He's also an absolute killer at home against southpaws. Over his first six MLB seasons, he has never posted a wOBA lower than .417 or an ISO lower than .260 at home versus lefties, with his career averages sitting at a .484 wOBA and .378 ISO.

The Rockies' offense is an obvious source of massive upside tonight, and stacking Arenado and Story gives your lineup a ton of home-run potential.


Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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.