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

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.

Justin Verlander, SP, Houston Astros ($11,100)

Coming off a major injury with tons of miles on the tires, Justin Verlander is having a truly incredible season for the Houston Astros.

In 157 innings pitched this year, Verlander has posted a 2.64 FIP, bolstered by a 22.7% K-BB% ratio this season. He's allowed only 0.64 HR/9, and his 29.2% hard-hit rate is one of the best marks of his career. What's he done is remarkable.

Verlander squares up with the Baltimore Orioles, who have really struggled over the last 30 days. In that span, they clock in with a .115 ISO and .289 wOBA. Those are both in the bottom 10 of the league.

We project Verlander for 34.1 FanDuel points, just behind both Brandon Woodruff and Shane Bieber, but he's my ride-or-die arm tonight.

Willy Adames, SS, Milwaukee Brewers ($3,500)

Which version of Hunter Greene is likely to show up tonight?

Greene has had an interesting rookie campaign. In his last start, we got to see the upside -- he fanned 11 over six scoreless innings en route to a dominant win.

On the flip side, Greene's 4.65 FIP is supported by the fact that his fastball has been absolutely obliterated this year. He's allowed 1.90 HR/9 overall thanks to a sub-30% ground-ball rate.

Righties have enjoyed more success against Greene, notably a .484 slugging percentage this season. It's a big reason why I love Willy Adames, who has quietly logged 31 home runs and seven steals on the year.

The Milwaukee Brewers' 4.07 implied total is the night's second-best, and Adams is a great way to get exposure to it.

Anthony Rizzo, 1B, New York Yankees ($3,700)

The New York Yankees are one of the few teams that has an implied team total north of 4.0 runs tonight -- their clip is a slate-leading 4.33 -- and they have a tasty matchup against Michael Wacha.

Lefties have enjoyed success against Wacha to the tune of a 1.07 HR/9 and a 42.9% fly-ball rate. Interestingly, Wacha has posted a 1.72 ERA at home this season, but that's almost doubled on the road -- and he will be in Yankee Stadium tonight.

That leads me to Anthony Rizzo, who's been solid this campaign. Over 505 plate appearances in 2022, he's rocked his way to a 135 wRC+ and 31 home runs. His .267 ISO would be the best mark of his career.

Grab Rizzo and fire him in tonight.


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.