MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/29/19

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 let,s take a look at a few top-end options that you can count on to anchor your lineup today.

Lance Lynn, P, Texas Rangers ($9,300)

One of baseball's biggest surprises this season is Lance Lynn, who has been absolutely dominant on the mound. He could continue his excellent with a monster game tonight in a matchup against the Seattle Mariners.

Over the last 30 days, Seattle has been an offense we want to target -- from a pitching perspective. They've recorded a 26.2% strikeout rate (third-worst), .310 wOBA (eighth-worst), and an egregiously bad 28.3% hard-hit rate.

That all bodes well for our second-highest projected pitcher, who has the second-best strikeout rate on the main slate (27.4%). Fire Lynn in to your lineups and reap the benefits.

Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates ($4,100)

There's not a lot of times I'm recommending you to target Pittsburgh Pirates hitters as a true stud. I'm breaking that rule tonight with Bryan Reynolds, who is facing off against Chi Chi Gonzalez.

When there are pitchers taking the mound who walk (13.1%) more guys than they strike out (12.5%), it's generally a good idea to stack against them. When that pitcher is throwing at Coors Field, whoo boy.

Chi Chi is also allowing a 45.8% hard-hit rate, and lefties (like the switch-hitting Reynolds) have bombed their way to a .569 slugging percentage against him. The Pirates' 7.25 implied team total doesn't seem so absurd.

With an opportunity like this tonight, peep Reynolds, who's in a great spot.

Aristides Aquino, OF, Cincinnati Reds ($4,100)

So this Aristides Aquino guy might be pretty good.


No matter how you slice the data, this dude was meant to hit bombs, and against Robert Dugger of the Miami Marlins, Aquino could be in for another long ball.

Dugger has a very small sample size to draw from, as the 24-year-old hurler has made only one MLB appearance. If we look at his minor league numbers, he has been good, but only once has he posted a strikeout rate over 26.5%, which was in his first minor league stop.

His batted-ball profile is a bit scary, too -- he's posted fly-ball rates north of 35% in five of his six minor league stops. If you can fit Aquino into your lineups, he's ready to roll, and he might go a bit under-owned if the masses flock to the pricey bats at Coors.



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