MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 5/13/21

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.

Zach Plesac, SP, Cleveland Indians ($8,400)

There's so many juicy reasons to watch this game, including the Seattle Mariners calling up young prospects Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert.

But what I am most intrigued about is Zach Plesac's ability to continue to take steps forward in his growth process. After struggling to begin the year, the right-hander has significantly upped his curveball usage, and that's led to some outstanding results. Over his last three starts, he's recorded 30-plus FanDuel points in each outing, including 40-plus in back-to-back games.

The Mariners have a meh 3.96 implied total, and Plesac tops our projections.

Mike Moustakas, 2B, Cincinnati Reds ($3,500)

Playing at Coors, Mike Moustakas and the Cincinnati Reds will look to terrorize Chi Chi Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies.

After missing some time early in the year, Moustakas has shown signs of life recently, including a long ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday. He could continue to get healthy against Gonzalez, who owns a 5.97 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 28 2/3 innings pitched.

We peg Moustakas as the second-best bat on the slate, per our model, so spend up for the second baseman.

Giancarlo Stanton, OF, New York Yankees ($3,600)

With nine long balls to his name, Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees is showing off his prodigious pop at the dish. After four consecutive games without a homer, he will look to get back on track against veteran Rich Hill.

Hill has been a bit up and down as he has attempted to settle into a groove in 2021. He twirled six scoreless innings last time out, recording a quality start, but he's also logged four starts this season with fewer than five innings.

One problem for Hill this season is that he has been burned by the long ball -- giving up 1.44 home runs per nine to be exact. In 98 batters faced, he's been torched for a .467 slugging percentage this season, and Stanton -- who had a 55.6% hard-hit rate with the platoon advantage in 2020 -- may give him some trouble.



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.