3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 4/21/22
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, as well, 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.
Carlos Carrasco, SP, New York Mets ($10,100)
On a main slate that starts early today, it's tough to feel amazing about any of the hurlers. As such, I nearly wrote up three hitters.
But thank goodness for Carlos Carrasco of the New York Mets.
Cookie has been very solid this season, sporting a gorgeous 33.3% strikeout rate over 10 2/3 innings pitched. He's attempting to bounce back from an injury-marred 2021 campaign in which the right-hander was able to log just 51 2/3 innings.
Carrasco is facing a San Francisco Giants offense that is still finding its footing in 2022. On the season, they rank smack dab in the middle of the pack with a .303 wOBA, and they also sport a 25.6% strikeout rate.
We project Carrasco for 26.6 FanDuel points, but I think there's room for more upside.
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, New York Yankees ($3,500)
The New York Yankees have been a bit up and down this season, getting out to a 7-5 start in the highly competitive AL East. Today, they take on former Yankee Michael Pineda and are hoping to wake up their bats on the righty.
One thing the Yankees seem to be missing so far is that their isolated power (ISO) mark of only .129 leaves a bit to be desired. However, Pineda may be able to supply all of the power they need. Recalled from Triple-A to make this start, the veteran recorded an ugly 1.40 home runs per nine (HR/9) allowed in 109 1/3 innings pitched a season ago.
Pineda has basically shown even splits in his career versus righties and lefties, with a slight nod to lefties in terms of slugging percentage. With the Yankees boasting the highest implied team total (4.66 runs) on this slate, Rizzo is a guy I'm rolling with.
Jorge Polanco, 2B/SS, Minnesota Twins ($3,300)
The Minnesota Twins' offense is certainly struggling so far this season. They have logged only a .286 wOBA, .137 ISO and ugly 25.5% strikeout rate on the year. And they flopped yesterday in a great spot. They are usually nothing to get excited about rostering.
However, the wheels seem to be falling off for veteran starter Zack Greinke. It's early, so there's plenty of time to improve, but some of the marks for the righty are downright putrid so far. On the year, spanning 11 innings pitched, he has struck out one single batter with a 4.1% swinging-strike rate. Aye carrrrrumba!
Enter Jorge Polanco.
Like the rest of his teammates, Polanco has been very cold to start the season. But Polanco boasted a .235 ISO in 2021, and he could be primed for a big day in a friendly matchup.
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.
