MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 5/27/22

J.D. Martinez is locked into a rockin' matchup tonight against Kyle Bradish. Which other star players 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.

Sean Manaea, SP, San Diego Padres ($9,700)

Sean Manaea was acquired by the San Diego Padres just before the season started, and he's been quite outstanding.

The southpaw has fired a 3.73 FIP and 27.6% strikeout rate over 49 innings pitched. Hitters have really struggled to square up Manaea, logging a 13.8% swinging-strike rate.

His matchup is quite the delight tonight, too. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have really struggled at the dish, have logged a woeful .291 wOBA (6th worst) and 24.2% strikeout rate. Their .128 isolated power (ISO) is also one of the league's worst marks, too.

All of it means Manaea could go nuts tonight.

J.D. Martinez, OF, Boston Red Sox ($3,900)

Coming off a day where we recommended teammate Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez is our pick to click on Friday's main slate, and boy could he go nuts.

After a slow start to the season, the Boston Red Sox offense has been straight cookin' at the dish over the past two weeks, rocking a league-best .396 wOBA with a .549 slugging percentage and .238 ISO. The whole team has been ballin'.

And they may continue their torrid run of play, facing Kyle Bradish of the Baltimore Orioles. The youngster has been absolutely annihilated by righties in this debut season, slamming him for a .714 slugging percentage and a whopping 3.77 HR/9. Yikes.

Get Martinez into your lineups.

Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets ($3,800)

The switch-hitting Francisco Lindor has been incredible this season. Among shortstops, he ranks in the top five in nearly every offensive statistical category to start the season.

Lindor may be adding to those totals tonight against Bailey Falter. For his career, he's been absolutely pummeled by righties, allowing 1.52 HR/9 and a 47.8% fly-ball rate.

As a righty, Lindor has been outstanding in his career, sporting a 122 wRC+ and a .182 ISO for his career. Those splits are encouraging, the matchup is great, and Lindor is in line for what seems like a massive 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.