MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 7/26/21

Luis Garcia is an outstanding pitching option on a condensed main slate. Who else should we consider tonight?

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.

Luis Garcia, SP, Houston Astros ($10,000)

It's a bit of a tricky main slate on Monday, but Luis Garcia sticks way out as the best arm tonight.

The Seattle Mariners, Garcia's opponent, have been whiffing at just an absurd rate. Against right-handed pitching, the M's rank fourth-worst at a 25.9% clip, and this certainly provides both cash game safety and tournament play upside.

Garcia has been outstanding for the Houston Astros this season -- he owns a 28.5% strikeout rate on the year paired with a 3.33 FIP -- and he makes for a great option tonight.

Akil Baddoo, OF, Detroit Tigers ($3,500)

One of the best under-the-radar stacks tonight is the Detroit Tigers -- Michael Pineda gets the ball tonight for the Minnesota Twins, and he's been pretty average with a 4.27 SIERA over 13 starts this season.

The bats we really need to hone in on are lefty bats -- he's been bombed for a .500 slugging percentage so far this season against them -- and the table-setting Akil Baddoo makes a ton of sense.

On the year, he has bombed righties for a .377 OBP and .277 ISO mark, so if you want an outfielder with a ton of upside, peep Baddoo.

Marcus Semien, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays ($3,600)

The Toronto Blue Jays have absolutely roasted right-handed pitching this year -- they own just an absolutely silly 114 wRC+ mark along with a spicy .197 isolated power (ISO) on the year. That'll play well.

And perhaps one bat we just gotta own? Fam, it's Marcus Semien and it ain't close. Like at all. He absolutely hammers same-sided arms to the tune of a 137 wRC+ and .258 ISO. Those marks are juicy.

And Nick Pivetta has come back to earth a bit -- he rocks a 4.20 SIERA and 1.31 HR/9 this season in a park that is fourth-friendliest in terms of park factor. Get Semien in your lineups.


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.