MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 6/11/21

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.

Lucas Giolito, SP, Chicago White Sox ($10,700)

We have so many great pitching options on this slate that it is hard to narrow it down to just one. But for me, Lucas Giolito has the slight edge over Jacob deGrom ($12,000), Brandon Woodruff ($11,800), Max Scherzer ($11,000) and Clayton Kershaw ($9,800).

The main reasons I'm backing Giolito are the salary -- which isn't that bad -- and his matchup with the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers own the league's highest strikeout rate (27.7%) along with the fourth-worst wOBA (.295). It's about as good as matchups get.

Our projections have Giolito generating 35.9 FanDuel points, and I'm leaning toward him in my pitching spot.

Matt Olson, 1B, Oakland Athletics ($3,800)

Starting tonight for the Kansas City Royals, Brady Singer was an arm I was very bullish on heading into the 2021 season. But, boy, was I wrong.

Over 59 innings, the second-year hurler has taken a step back, recording a 4.88 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. Singer's approach seems to be his undoing. His first-pitch strike rate of 53.2% is one of the lowest marks in the league.

That could spell trouble if he falls behind a hitter like Matt Olson, who has been an elite bat at the dish this season. Olson is mashing righties for a .398 wOBA and 40.5% hard-hit rate.

Expect Olson and his Oakland Athletics teammates to do some damage.

Jesse Winker, OF, Cincinnati Reds ($4,500)

Is there anything that Jesse Winker cannot do with the bat?

Tonight, at his homer-friendly home digs, Winker will take aim at a very poor pitcher in Kyle Freeland. Over 13 innings this season, the southpaw has gotten bashed for a 6.23 ERA and 2.08 WHIP, recording only seven punchouts. In 2020, Freeland had just a 15.1% strikeout rate.

Even in a lefty-lefty spot, Winker is a guy well worth looking at, and the Cincinnati Reds are firmly on the stacking radar.



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.