3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 5/19/22

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.

Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks ($10,600)

On this tiny slate, there's one pitcher who stands out from the pack -- Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

While we have him projected as just the second-best pitcher on the day, he could be in for a massive performance. Spanning 34 1/3 innings pitched in 2022, he's logged a 44.7% ground-ball rate and 27.1% strikeout -- good for a 2.22 FIP. Batters have only a 15.3% hard-hit rate against Gallen this season, including a 7.1% barrel rate.

And the Chicago Cubs' offense has been pretty meh this year, recording a .305 wOBA (17th), .134 ISO (19th), and 24.7% strikeout rate (fifth-worst).

All of that adds up to Gallen being a great play, and he has by far the best floor/ceiling combination among the slate's six starters.

Yordan Alvarez, OF, Houston Astros ($4,500)

The Houston Astros are likely to be a popular choice on this three-gamer. They rock a 4.91 implied team total, and with their offensive prowess and a solid matchup against Glenn Otto, they'll surely be a chalky stack.

Otto has struggled with the long ball in 2022, giving up 1.96 HR/9. That spicy hard-hit rate isn't a one-time occurrence for Otto. If we peek under the hood for the right-hander's career, he's been pummeled across the board, and lefties have enjoyed facing him to the tune of a .509 slugging percentage and .406 wOBA.

Yordan Alvarez needs no introduction in the power department -- he's recorded a .580 slugging percentage this season to go with a 46.3% hard-hit rate. He's way up there in salary, but he has huge upside in this spot.

Jordan Luplow, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks ($2,600)

This is a weird slate, so let's get a little weird for our last stud pick and highlight a player who can give you a stud output at a non-stud salary.

Facing Marcus Stroman tonight as the hurler makes his return from the COVID-19 IL, Jordan Luplow could find his way into the lineup and could have a big night.

Stroman didn't embark on a rehab start, so he might not be in top form today. He hasn't been good this year against righties, pitching to a 4.21 xFIP in the split while allowing 2.31 homers per nine. It's a small sample, but righties are rocking Stroman in 2022.

Power has never been a problem for Luplow. In just 193 plate appearances last year, he popped 11 home runs and was good for a .252 ISO mark. He's upped that ISO in 2022 to a .308 clip.

Luplow is a top-five projected hitter overall on today's slate, per our model, and he is easy to like at this salary.


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.