MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 5/27/21

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle May 27th, 2021
Tim Anderson and crew will look to keep up a gaudy streak against lefties. Which other top plays should we think about?

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.

Chris Bassitt, SP, Oakland Athletics ($9,100)

It's been a long time since the Oakland Athletics had a trio of monster arms like Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder leading their rotation, but quietly, this bopping team is also built around a new set of arms.

One of those major players is Chris Bassitt, who is consistently underrated as a DFS and season-long asset. The veteran sinkerball has really stepped his game up this season -- over 61 innings pitched, Bassitt owns better than a whiff per inning, and his 1.10 WHIP shows his elite control and command.

Bassitt also gets the benefit of facing a Los Angeles Angels offense that is Mike Trout-less. Our projections have Bassitt generating 31.1 FanDuel points, tops on the slate.

Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox ($3,600)

The Chicago White Sox have defeated a southpaw 21 consecutive games, and tonight, they will face another in lefty Bruce Zimmermann of the Baltimore Orioles. Good luck, young fella.

It would be one thing if Zimmerman was an ace lefty like teammate John Means, but he's not -- he's sporting a 5.59 ERA and 1.58 WHIP over 38 2/3 innings pitched this season. Ouch. And part of the problem has been the long ball -- as evidenced by the grand slam he allowed in his last outing to Josh Harrison.

Anderson and friends should be in a solid spot for a crooked number.

Adolis Garcia, OF, Texas Rangers ($3,800)

Have the St. Louis Cardinals fully admitted that their front office is a true disaster? Randy Arozarena. Luke Voit. Zac Gallen. Sandy Alcantara. And now, Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers has decided to haunt them as well.

If you are unfamiliar with Garcia, he now is tied for the league-lead in major league baseball with 16 long balls this season. Oh, and he's fired in five steals to boot, too. It's not a major shock that he has topped the 40 RBI mark this season.

And against Chris Flexen, who has a 1.60 WHIP in 40 2/3 innings, expect Garcia to slam another long one tonight.

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.