3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Monday 5/16/22
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.
Freddy Peralta, SP, Milwaukee Brewers ($9,700)
As the Three Little Pigs would say, by the slimmest of hairs on his chinny chin chin, I'm going with Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers today. Let's explore the why as we construct our rosters today.
Peralta will face an Atlanta Braves team that whiffs at a 25.5% rate, and he has also been lights out. After getting torched by the St. Louis Cardinals in his second start of the year, check out his recent run of form, which includes 21 2/3 innings pitched with a 11.63 K/9 and 1.49 FIP.
Although the Braves have a strong lineup, they only have a 3.73 implied total, and with the high strikeout potential, I like Peralta.
Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox ($3,500)
The Boston Red Sox boast a juicy implied team total (4.71 runs) on Monday's main slate, and quite a bit of that has to do with the opposing hurler Jake Odorizzi.
Historically, Odorizzi has really struggled with same-sided bats, which makes guys like Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez great plays tonight. Righties have popped him for 1.40 HR/9 in his career, including a 44.8% fly-ball rate and 35.3% hard-hit rate.
Bogaerts has been solid in this split throughout his MLB career, logging a 113 wRC+ mark thanks to a .169 ISO. He ratchets things up a notch against righties in Fenway, too, blasting them for a career-best .500 slugging percentage and .865 OPS. The Sox may be a popular tonight, but Bogaerts has tremendous potential.
Willson Contreras, C, Chicago Cubs ($3,800)
Journeyman Dillon Peters has struggled mightily in his major league career, and his 5.08 ERA is undone by a double-digit walk rate he sports spanning 178 innings.
As we peek under the hood a little bit further, we will notice some ugly splits against right-handed batters, and the Chicago Cubs have a plethora they are likely to roll out tonight including Seiya Suzuki, the switch-hitting Ian Happ, Frank Schwindel, and my best recommendation, Willson Contreras. Peters has allowed a whopping .486 slugging percentage to righties in his career, including 1.63 HR/9.
Contreras has been a great hitter against either-handed pitchers, but a 131 wRC+ mark and .227 ISO showcases his prowess in this split. If you can make his salary fit in a great opportunity tonight, do it.
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.
