MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 6/15/21

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.

Julio Urias, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers ($9,600)

There are some interesting options at pitcher tonight. There are five arms above $8,800, and Trevor Rogers is the most expensive arm on the slate. Rogers is up against the St. Louis Cardinals, who have a .341 wOBA (third-best) with a 22.1% strikeout rate (seventh-lowest) against lefties, so I'm fading Rogers today.

My pick to click is Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Why? He can get punchouts, and he's got a smashable matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils have recorded a 27.6% strikeout rate versus southpaws this season, which is the fifth-highest.

Urias owns a 3.25 SIERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate. On a night where every pitcher has a red flag or two, Urias is where I'm leaning.

Manny Machado, 3B, San Diego Padres ($4,000)

We faded Coors last night, and it wound up being a 3-2 game. Don't expect a repeat performance of that tonight, especially from the San Diego Padres

San Diego is taking on Chi Chi Gonzalez, who has been arguably the worst starting pitcher in baseball this season. Gonzalez has been rocked for 1.52 homers per nine innings and has recorded a 5.05 SIERA and a mediocre 13.4% strikeout rate. Bringing those numbers into a Coors clash with the Padres is a recipe for disaster.

Machado boasts a .344 expected wOBA this year, which is much better than the .319 wOBA he's showing. Away from home, he's carrying a .338 wOBA, and he has a 43.8% hard-hit rate on the road against righties.

With a 6.48 implied total, the Padres are going to be immensely popular, and Machado -- our number-three bat -- is a great way to get a piece of their offense.

Shohei Ohtani, OF, Los Angeles Angels ($4,100)

Shohei Ohtani is an absolutely unreal talent, and he gets to continue to crush the baseball tonight in a warm Bay Area evening versus Frankie Montas.

Ohtani could post a strikeout rate north of 30% while also hitting 40 home runs and stealing 20 stolen bases. That is truly, truly crazy. His .332 isolated power (ISO) is just bonkers. And he'll have the platoon advantage tonight, a split in which he's put up .412 wOBA in 2021.

Montas is a good pitcher, checking in with a 3.92 SIERA, but he's prone to dingers. He permitted 1.71 jacks per nine last year and is giving up 1.41 per nine this season.

Ohtani could go yard once again tonight, and he may slip through the cracks with the masses likely loading up on the Padres.



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.