3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Friday 9/23/22
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.
Carlos Rodon, SP, San Francisco Giants ($11,000)
Remember when the Chicago White Sox refused a qualifying offer for stud arm Carlos Rodon?
Wow, does that feel like a mistake at this point?
Look, it's not like the Sox didn't have reason to be skeptical about Rodon having shoulder issues, but whatever ailed him seems to have been fixed. Spanning 167 2/3 innings pitched this season, the lefty has dominated to the tune of a 2.27 FIP and a nasty 32.8% strikeout rate.
And over the last two weeks, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been putrid at the dish. They are worst in team wOBA (.263), have just a .134 isolated power (ISO), and have struck out 24.9% of the time.
We project Rodon for 39.0 FanDuel points -- just behind both Brandon Woodruff and Shane Bieber. However, the San Francisco lefty is my ride-or-die arm tonight.
Manny Machado, 3B, San Diego Padres ($4,400)
There are a lot of low totals tonight, but one that is sky-high is the contest inside Coors Field. That game features the visiting San Diego Padres versus the Colorado Rockies.
Ryan Feltner is taking the ball tonight, and he's allowed 1.57 HR/9 on the season. That's including a .545 slugging percentage and 1.91 HR/9 against same-sided righty batters. The batted-ball profile stands out, too; he's allowed a 44.1% hard-hit rate.
Manny Machado is going to need help to shoulder some of the offensive load if the Padres want to make the playoffs, and he's been brilliant yet again this year. He's posted a .236 ISO this season, and his 152 wRC+ is on the path to being the best mark of his career.
Machado should be a fine investment and projects as our top hitter on the day.
Mookie Betts, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers ($3,500)
As we get a potential preview of a playoff matchup in the National League, table-setter Mookie Betts is ready to rip some balls tonight in his home digs against southpaw Jose Quintana.
Quintana possesses a very unique arsenal. He really hasn't given up much hard contact this season, including only 0.56 HR/9 to right-handed batters. While lefties have yet to take him deep this year, righties have at least enjoyed some small modicum of success with a 33.0% fly-ball rate.
But the numbers start to drop off precipitously there -- Quintana has posted only a 7.8% K-BB% rate against righties, and Betts has hammered southpaws this season to the tune of a 191 wRC+ mark in 2022.
On a slate lacking a ton of obvious plum spots, Betts and the Dodgers are always a decent place to turn.
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.
