MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 4/29/22

Adam Wainwright has been an absolute beast at home. Which other star players should we think about?

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.

Adam Wainwright, SP, St. Louis Cardinals ($8,500)

Friday's main slate is chock full of games, and the soon-to-be 41-year-old Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals may be the best pitching option.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are really struggling at the plate. Middle of the order bat Ketel Marte is mired in an 0-17 slump, and as a team, they have recorded dreadful marks, including a .269 wOBA, .131 isolated power (ISO), and 25.1% strikeout rate.

Like a fine wine, Wain-O only continues to get better with age. This season, he's up to a 24.6% strikeout rate on the season, and we project him for the third-highest pitching score of the slate.

And his numbers at Busch Stadium are beyond spectacular. In over 1,200 innings pounding Busch Light after starts, Wainwright has allowed a .284 wOBA, 2.84 ERA, and only 0.83 HR/9.

Austin Riley, 3B, Atlanta Braves ($4,100)

Boasting a .411 wOBA and .288 ISO this month, Austin Riley is crushing it to begin the year, and he and the Atlanta Braves get a plus matchup tonight against a pair of mediocre righties.

While Garrett Richards is listed as the starter, he's functioning in the opener role leading up to Spencer Howard as the bulk reliever in the game. And Howard has really struggled with right-handed batters. For his career in 198 total batters faced, he's allowed a .549 slugging percentage to same-sided batters, including 2.36 HR/9 allowed.

Get Riley into your lineups.

Jonathan India, 2B, Cincinnati Reds ($3,400)

If you want some cheaper exposure to Coors Field (and who doesn't!), Jonathan India makes a ton of sense.

India should be manning the leadoff spot for the Reds against Antonio Senzatela. The veteran righty has allowed a .450 slugging percentage to same-sided bats this season, including only a 17.1% strikeout rate.

It's a young career, but it's clear that India smacks right-handed pitching. He owns a .198 ISO and 119 wRC+ in this split, which are far better marks than against southpaws. He's an outstanding play tonight.



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.