3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 7/16/21

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.

Kevin Gausman, SP, San Francisco Giants ($10,600)

There weren't many people buying in Kevin Gausman winning the NL Cy Young, but here we are -- in 114 2/3 innings pitched, he's posted a brilliant 1.73 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, including a sparkling 133 strikeouts.

And the best part? He faces a horrific St. Louis Cardinals offense that clocks in fourth-worst in the league in team wOBA (.297), and their .150 isolated power (ISO) is downright awful.

Gausman is the top pitching option on Friday's slate, per our projections, estimated for 38.2 FanDuel points.

Max Muncy, 1B/2B, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,400)

It may be a bit of a chalky play, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are sure to be a popular choice -- their offensive attack was heating up before the All-Star Break, and now they stay in Denver with a 6.56 implied team total.

Now, to be fair, Antonio Senzatela has been decent this season -- the ground-ball specialist has logged a 3.75 ERA over 24 innings in the last month, and he's allowed only 0.86 HR/9 this season.

And Max Muncy has been one of the league's best hitters -- he actually has walked (18.2%) more than he has struck out (17.9%) and his .289 ISO is out of this world. Pay up for Muncy and you should be happy.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays ($4,400)

I think I have a sickness, and the only prescription that will heal me besides more cowbell is some Vladimir Guerrero Jr..

The matchup tonight is just flat out brilliant -- it is not only in Sahlen Field, a bandbox, but it's against Jordan Lyles -- the Texas Rangers righty has been blasted by same-sided bats for a .540 slugging percentage over 243 total batters faced.

I don't have to explain the greatness of Guerrero -- he's already hit 28 home runs and driven in 73 batters -- and with the second-highest implied team total tonight, he makes for a monster play.

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.