3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 4/27/21

Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-salary 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 pitchers, the high-salary options typically come with the highest floors, too.

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.

With your high-salary picks playing such a big role in your lineup, you need to be right on these guys, so let's take a look at a few top-end options you can count on to anchor your lineup today.

Lucas Giolito, SP, Chicago White Sox ($10,600)

While he wasn't available on the main slate in his last start, Lucas Giolito put up an absolute stink-bomb with -18.0 FanDuel points at the Boston Red Sox. Yikes.

Fear not, friends -- he's back and ready to cook in today's outing. Giolito faces a Detroit Tigers team that leads major league baseball in strikeout rate (28.9%) and has the worst wOBA (.279). The Tigers sport a lowly 3.23 implied total.

Our model expects a monster night out of Giolito, with him clocking in as the highest-ranked hurler of the night, and that's saying something since Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler are on this slate. We actually project him for 8.0 more points than any other pitcher.

Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels ($4,500)

All offseason, many players were listed as better draft options in season-long leagues ahead of perennial superstar Mike Trout. There's so much young talent; it's hard to quibble with names like Ronald Acuna or Fernando Tatis Jr..

But as Trout showed with a four-hit, 22-FanDuel-point night on Monday, he's still at the top of the sport.

And, oh, baby, Trout and the Los Angeles Angels have a juicy matchup tonight against Mike Foltynewicz. Folty has been bombed for a 5.32 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. The Halos carry a 4.86 implied total, so they're on the stacking radar, especially with Anthony Rendon back in the lineup.

We have Trout pegged for 17.6 FanDuel points and slot him as the slate's top stick.

Bryce Harper, OF, Philadelphia Phillies ($4,300)

Somewhat overlooked in a wonky start to the 2021 season, Bryce Harper is batting .319 with six homers and 17 runs scored. What in the world?

Yup -- Harper has been that good. And tonight, we couldn't ask for a better matchup. Carlos Martinez has been absolutely awful this season -- in 21 innings, he's whiffed only 13 hitters, and he's been lit up for a 6.00 ERA.

Mind you, that 6.00 ERA includes a sparkling performance in which he allowed only one earned run in six innings. Prior to that, in his first three starts of 2021, Martinez surrendered 13 earned runs in 15 innings pitched.

Against righties this season, Harper is sporting a .394 wOBA, 40.5% hard-hit rate and 46.7% fly-ball rate. We forecast him for 15.2 FanDuel points and rank him as the fifth-best bat on the slate.

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.