MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 5/7/21

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.

Trevor Rogers, SP, Miami Marlins ($10,400)

There are several solid pitching options at the top of the main slate tonight -- Carlos Rodon ($11,200), Julio Urias ($10,000) and Jack Flaherty ($10,200) all make dandy picks who you can roster with confidence. But one arm sticks out above the rest, and that's Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins.

Part of the attraction to Rogers tonight is his excellent numbers. The rookie southpaw has dazzled opposing hitters for 44 strikeouts over 33 innings pitched so far in 2021. That will play.

The other part of the allure to Rogers today is the opponent. The Milwaukee Brewers are striking out at an egregious 27.3% clip with only a .296 team wOBA. They're basically a dream matchup for DFS, and we saw that play out yesterday as Zack Wheeler roasted them for 61.0 FanDuel points.

Admittedly, our projections aren't super high on Rogers, projecting him for just 29.0 FanDuel points, but I think he offers an elite floor/ceiling combination in this matchup.

Giancarlo Stanton, OF, New York Yankees ($3,800)

Giancarlo Stanton, batting champion, has a nice ring to it -- don't you think?

Over Stanton's last five games, the dude has turned into an absolute machine -- going for 18-plus FanDuel points four times in that span, including two games of 35-plus fantasy points. He's rocked a homer in each of his last three games, and he's amassed 12 hits over the past five contests.

His opponent, Patrick Corbin, hasn't exactly been ace-like. Over 23 1/3 innings, Corbin has been bombed for an 8.10 ERA and 1.78 WHIP. He's wild, and he's putting too many dudes on base. He should have a tough time against a New York Yankees lineup with several righties -- Stanton being one -- who maul lefties.

With the highest implied team total of the night (5.11), the Yankees will be chalky, but Stanton is still under-salaried given his recent run.

Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox ($3,900)

I am still shocked that Matt Harvey throws a baseball in the major leagues, but here we are.

The former Dark Knight, Harvey has found a home in possibly the worst pitching venue in baseball outside of Denver -- Camden Yards. That's bad news for him but great news for opposing offenses -- like the juggernaut lineup of the Boston Red Sox.

Quietly, Xander Bogaerts has been smashing the baseball -- he continues to be perpetually underrated, and 2021 is no exception. The slugging shortstop has mashed his way to a .356 average and six home runs this year, and he can add to those impressive totals tonight as Boston sports a healthy 4.67 implied team total versus the Baltimore Orioles.



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.