MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 5/10/21

Xander Bogaerts has been terrorizing opposing pitching. Is he in line to do it again tonight?

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.

Alex Wood, SP, San Francisco Giants ($8,900)

When there are only six baseball games total on the slate -- and one has already been postponed -- the term "stud" for a pitcher can be an interesting term. However, Alex Wood could be ready to smash in tonight's matchup.

Facing the Texas Rangers, who have a pile of lefty bats, this could be a great spot. Texas strikes out eighth-most in baseball (26.3%) while pairing that with a mercurial .155 isolated power (ISO).

Wood's ranked high on our projections, clocking in second-best, and I think he offers an elite floor/ceiling combination in this matchup.

Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox ($3,600)

With the Coors slate getting postponed, finding high-end value can be a bit tricky. But Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox could be in line for a big evening.

Why the Baltimore Orioles keep running out Jorge Lopez is a little bit beyond me, but here we are. The right-hander hasn't kind of struggled this season -- it's been horrific. He's been the same pitcher he has always been, logging a 6.49 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 26 1/3 innings pitched.

Bogaerts, who's cracked the 20-run, 20-RBI combo, has slugged 7 home runs already this year. Don't be surprised if he makes it eight.

Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Miami Marlins ($3,900)

Since Jesus Aguilar plays for the Miami Marlins, his excellence gets a bit overlooked at times, at least in my opinion. But a few things are going his way tonight, and he could be a monster play.

So far this year, Aguilar has driven in a whopping 25 runs with 6 long balls. But what makes him even juicier is a matchup with Luke Weaver. The former St. Louis Cardinals farmhand, who was involved in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, sports a 6.07 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 29 2/3 innings pitched.

Searching for big-play bats could be hard with Coors off the table, but peep Aguilar for some serious production.


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.