3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/16/18

Clay Buchholz, P, Arizona Diamondbacks

Price: $8,600

Clay Buchholz is probably the least studly arm to be included in this article in 2018, but the makeup of tonight's slate calls for it.

Thursday's seven-game main slate includes only three pitchers priced above $8,500, with no one cracking the $9,500 mark. That means that none of the usual names are available.

On the main slate, the biggest favorites are only -153 on the moneyline, while the next three all come in about the same, ranging from -133 to -127 (a difference of only 1.2 percentage points in implied win probability). So while being a -127 favorite doesn't look great for the Arizona Diamondbacks, that's actually a pretty strong mark in the context of the slate.

The San Diego Padres also have the lowest implied total, at 3.81, while nobody else comes in worse that 3.99.

Buchholz's 4.12 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) suggests that he hasn't been nearly as good as his 2.67 ERA might lead you to believe, but notching a 20.9% strikeout rate with a 10.1% swinging-strike rate does leave him offering solid fantasy appeal.

Just looking at active rosters, the Padres rank bottom-five in wRC+ against right-handed pitching, while also striking out at a top-five rate. Even the middling Buchholz could be in for a huge game in this matchup.