MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 4/25/22

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Apr 25th, 2022
Jose Ramirez and the Guardians have been surprisingly solid at the plate so far this year, and they have a great matchup tonight. Who else should we consider?

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.

Walker Buehler, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers ($9,400)

It's a bit of a smaller slate today, which leaves us with only a sparse few options to consider today.

Walker Buehler and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the only team that's favored on the moneyline greater than a -150 spot, and it's because they face their divisional rivals in the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are really struggling on the field.

Offensively, the D-backs rank fifth-worst in wOBA (.137), and their 26.0% strikeout rate is one of the league's worst marks, as well.

Buehler hasn't gotten off to his usual jump in terms of strikeout rate (16.2%), but his CSW mark of 26.7% is in line with career norms. And with the right-hander facing the woeful Snakes, he could get back on track.

We project him as the best starter on the main slate (35.4 FanDuel points), so invest in him with confidence.

Trea Turner, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,900)

Most teams today have an implied team total under 4.50 runs -- in fact, to be factually accurate, all of them do except for one team, which is of course the heavyweight favorite, the Dodgers.

And we would be remiss to talk about this team without highlighting number three hitter Trea Turner. It has not been the hottest of starts for Turner -- he has smacked only one home run so far this season -- but it's early.

He will square off against Merrill Kelly, who's been really good this season with increased velocity on the year. For his career, though, same-sided batters like Turner have hit the righty harder, including a .461 slugging percentage and a 1.60 HR/9 rate.

Turner could be a great buy at only $3,900.

Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Guardians ($4,000)

It's early, and I get it -- but who would have guessed that the Cleveland Guardians would be a top-five offense in nearly every statistical category?

It certainly wasn't me.

But the Guardians and Jose Ramirez will look to continue to add to that gaudy profile with Michael Lorenzen taking the hill for the Los Angeles Angels.

Lorenzen could be in for a long night. He has gotten roughed at times this season, allowing 1.93 HR/9 and a 40.0% fly-ball rate. Lefties have especially given Lorenzen trouble throughout his career, logging a .423 slugging percentage.

Expect J-Ram and the Guardians to continue their blazing start.


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.