3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 4/28/22

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.

Zack Wheeler, SP, Philadelphia Phillies ($8,100)

This early slate provides some interesting options, and one arm I am going to be heavily investing in is Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Colorado has actually been decent so far on the road this season, and they certainly won't be a pushover. But Wheeler can thrive in this spot.

Wheeler hasn't yet been able to replicate last season's success, but he does have some positives in his 2022 resume. His 25.6% called-plus-swinging-strike rate is in line with career norms, and his 5.4% walk rate show he's been stingy with free passes.

We project Wheeler for a slate-best 39.4 FanDuel points, giving him plenty of room to rip, and he's easy to like at his modest salary.

Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees ($3,700)

Surprisingly, the Baltimore Orioles have been carried by their pitching, not their offense, in the early going of this 2022 season.

Bruce Zimmermann takes the mound today for Baltimore, and he's pitched very well thus far. He currently sports a career-best 27.1% strikeout rate, and he's limited big-time damage with only 0.60 HR/9.

Now, that being said, the New York Yankees sport a gaudy 5.02 implied team total, and Aaron Judge is a bat we want to roster. For Judge's career, he's been a great hitter overall, but he steps things up a notch against southpaws, rocking a 163 wRC+ and .982 OPS in the split.

Get Judge into your lineups.

Alex Bregman, 3B, Houston Astros ($3,500)

Martin Perez takes the ball in a Lone Star state showdown, and that's good news for the Houston Astros -- especially Alex Bregman.

Perez, a lefty, has struggled against opposite-handed batters throughout his career. For his career, in nearly 4,000 total batters faced, righties have popped him for a whopping .461 slugging percentage, and he's got a 4.82 FIP in the split.

Enter Bregman. He's currently walking (16.4%) more than he's striking out (15.1%), and he boasts a .200 ISO.

Bregman should be in line for a big day.

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.