MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 6/4/21

Despite leaving the friendly confines of Denver, Nolan Arenado has been incredible as a Cardinal. Which other studs should we peek at?

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.

Max Scherzer, SP, Washington Nationals ($11,200)

There are some monster arms on today's main slate, and it's a tough choice between Zack Wheeler, Max Scherzer, and Julio Urias -- all have been outstanding in 2021.

Among these three, Scherzer seems to have the best matchup. He faces a woeful Philadelphia Phillies offense missing regulars Didi Gregorius and Bryce Harper, and they own a .312 wOBA and 25.3% strikeout rate over the last two weeks.

Scherzer -- who has a 2.60 SIERA and 36.5% strikeout rate -- should feast. Our projections have him generating 33.9 FanDuel points.

Nolan Arenado, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals ($3,600)

While many folks were nervous about Nolan Arenado leaving Denver, he's put a lot of those concerns to rest with his early-season performance.

And despite some gaudy totals that he has posted so far in 2021, he could add to those totals against presumed Cincinnati Reds ace Luis Castillo. Logging a 1-8 record, his 7.22 ERA isn't a total surprise with a 19.3% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate.

Arenado could have a huge game in this spot. He's produced a .243 ISO with 11 home runs this year.

Mark Canha, OF, Colorado Rockies ($4,000)

Dual-threat Mark Canha has put up an outstanding season so far for the Oakland Athletics, and playing in Coors makes him an even better option on tonight's main slate.

Jon Gray has been strong so far in 2021 -- a sub-4.00 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 60 2/3 innings has been solid. But Denver is always a tricky beast to tame, and the Oakland Athletics are a powerful offense. The Athletics check in with the night's highest implied total.

Canha, in particular, has been a great asset. He has posted 10 homers and 7 steals on the young season and could be ready to explode 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.