MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 6/9/22

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Jun 9th, 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.

Max Fried, SP, Atlanta Braves ($9,800)

While it's hard passing on a talented arm like Gerrit Cole, he faces a Minnesota Twins squad that ranks in the top third of nearly every statistical category. He could go off, but I'm fading this top-flight option for Max Fried, who's been brilliant as of late.

Over 69 innings pitched this season, the southpaw has recorded a 2.92 FIP, emboldened by a 22.1% strikeout rate, 0.64 HR/9, and a minute 28.9% hard-hit rate.

And the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fried's opponent, have been downright horrid at the plate this season. Their .291 wOBA, .133 isolated power (ISO), and 24.2% strikeout rate are the bottom-of-the-league marks that we so desperately love to target.

No surprises here -- Fried checks in with the second-best projection on tonight's main slate (36.9 FanDuel points), making him a great play.

Nelson Cruz, OF, Washington Nationals ($3,200)

While Nelson Cruz hasn't had his typical performance this year, he has been heating up a bit at the dish. Facing struggling arm Trevor Rogers, he could continue his recent strong run.

The first month of the season was a bit rough, with Cruz only hitting .155, but he improved in May, logging a 135 wRC+ and .838 OPS.

After a dazzling rookie season where Rogers was tough to hit, he's been far different this year. He's allowed 1.60 HR/9, and his strikeout rate has dipped all the way down to 19.2%. Rogers has also allowed a 39.3% fly-ball rate on the year, adding to his woes.

Cruz makes for a great option tonight.

Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Guardians ($4,500)

The Oakland Athletics have sadly been in full fire sale mode in recent seasons, and that leads to players like James Kaprielian playing key roles in key spots. Unfortunately, that's not necessarily a good thing.

Kaprielian has been absolutely torched this season. He's allowed 1.93 HR/9 this year, and he's striking out only 15.6% of batters on the season. Hitters have logged an egregious 48.1% fly-ball rate so far in 2022.

Jose Ramirez has slugged his way to some outstanding numbers this year, including a .611 slugging percentage and a career-best 55.6% fly-ball rate. We project Ramirez for 13.7 FanDuel points and rank him as the night's ninth-best bat.


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.