3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 7/2/21
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.
Lance Lynn, SP, Chicago White Sox ($10,000)
There are a few big-time options on Friday's main slate, and the one who stands out the most to me is Lance Lynn of the Chicago White Sox.
Both Lynn and Max Scherzer are superb picks -- they are the only two hurlers salaried above $10,000 -- but Lynn has the edge in terms of matchup. He will face a Detroit Tigers offense that is very weak offensively with a .302 wOBA and 27.0% strikeout rate. They're a lineup we've targeted often this season in DFS. Scherzer, meanwhile, is taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lynn has been really good this campaign. His 2.06 ERA sparkles and is backed up by a 3.11 FIP and juicy 28.5% strikeout rate. He also has a huge workload, surpassing 100 pitches in five starts this season.
Per our projections, Lynn is the best option on Friday's slate as we forecast him to total 34.9 FanDuel points, 3.1 more than anyone else.
Nick Castellanos, OF, Cincinnati Reds ($4,000)
It feels like ages ago, but Alec Mills, today's starter for the Chicago Cubs, threw a no-hitter in the shortened 2020 season. It hasn't been puppy dogs and rainbows for him so far in 2021, however.
Mills has struggled to the tune of a 5.11 ERA and 4.62 FIP. While has done a solid job of limiting home runs (0.97 per nine), Mills' 15.6% strikeout rate and 6.6% swinging-strike rate are pretty miserable clips.
Nick Castellanos can feast in this spot. Castellanos owns a .423 wOBA this year along with a 41.6% hard-hit rate. He's got a .429 wOBA in righty-righty matchups, and he has a massive .523 wOBA at home. Yes, please.
The Reds sport an implied team total of 5.18 runs, and if you want some exposure to Cincy, Castellanos should be in the thick of things.
Ryan McMahon, 2B/3B, Colorado Rockies ($4,000)
With two average pitchers on the bump at Coors last night, I don't think that many DFS pundits, myself included, expected a 2-2 score entering the ninth inning. But that's what happened. However, with a massive over/under (12.5) for tonight's game, I wouldn't expect more of the same.
Johan Oviedo gets the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he's got an interesting set of numbers. He doesn't allow a ton fly-balls (29.3%) or a lot of hard contact (29.6%), but he does walk too many batters (12.6%) without a whole lot of swings and misses (17.7% strikeout rate). Walks and a lot of balls in play usually don't go well for anyone at Coors.
While the Rockies have struggled this year, McMahon hasn't. He's ripped 16 home runs and carries a .478 slugging percentage. At home against righties this season, McMahon boasts a .398 wOBA and 50.0% hard-hit rate. He's in a smash spot 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.
