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Nov 05, 2023

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target for Wednesday 6/7/23

In daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel, rostering the right high-salaried studs is

In daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel, rostering the right high-salaried studs is an important aspect of building lineups.

For hitters, we're looking for guys with big numbers, strong matchups, and players around them who 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 these high-salary picks playing such a big role in your lineup, you can't afford to miss on these guys, so let's take a look at a few top high-salary plays for today's main slate.

Pitching has a lot of variance from year-to-year, even for the elite ones. That's what we are seeing from Corbin Burnes, as the 2021 National League Cy Young winner has been closer to just a good pitcher in 2023 instead of the greatness we've seen in previous years.

But on this slate, good is good enough as it's not the best pitching slate.

While Burnes' strikeout rate isn't elite like it has been for the past few seasons, his current 22.8% clip is still respectable. The same can be said about his ERA, as 3.75 would be good for most pitchers in the league, but this is the first time since 2019 where Burnes is sporting an ERA over 3.00. His expected ERA (xERA) is a tad lower at 3.61, so a bit of positive regression and getting a few more whiffs would get him back among the game's best pitchers.

The Milwaukee Brewers are at home tonight against the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore ranks 18th in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) against right-handed pitching this season. They also have the lowest implied team total on tonight's main slate.

There is some weather in parts of the country that isn't great, but we won't have to worry about that for Burnes as he is playing in Miller Park and potentially under the roof if needed. The Brewers are -142 favorites, per the MLB Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook, which should give Burnes a good chance to earn the win tonight.

Corey Seager and the Texas Rangers are sitting in first in the AL West. They've spent a good amount of money on free agents in the past few years, and it's paying off. That's especially true with Seager, as he continues to be one of the game's best shortstops.

Seager hit a career-high 33 homers in his first year in Texas last season. He has six so far in 29 games this season, and all of his other numbers are up. His weighted on-base average (wOBA) is currently .411, the best since he first broke into the big leagues in 2015.

The Rangers will take on the St. Louis Cardinals today, and Jack Flaherty will be on the mound for the Red Birds. Flaherty has not been pitching well this season, with a 4.55 ERA and 4.61 xERA. He's continuing his pattern from last season of poor control, walking 12.6% of batters he faces. This could mean he's out of the game pretty early, and Texas will get to face a St. Louis bullpen that has the seventh-highest ERA in the MLB.

Texas' implied run total is 4.82 tonight, and Seager should be a key piece to any damage the Rangers can do on the scoreboard.

One of the most talented players in the game, Mookie Betts has started to heat up over the past week. Since May 29th, he's gotten 10 hits across his last 33 plate appearances, with 4 home runs in that span . Normally, we wouldn't react too drastically to that small of a sample size, but when it's a player of Betts' track record, it's worth taking notice.

Betts is playing some of his best baseball since joining the Dodgers. His .384 wOBA is his highest since the shortened 2020 season. He also has his highest average exit velocity since his MVP season of 2018.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are on the road tonight against the Cincinnati Reds. Lefty Brandon Williamson will be making his fifth career start for the Reds. He's sporting a 4.29 ERA, but his xERA is a much-worse 6.30. Mookie will have the platoon advantage for as long as Williamson is in the game, and Betts will be at the top of a dangerous lineup.

LA will benefit from playing in Great American Ball Park, which is a great environment for hitters. They have an implied run total of 6.04 runs. Betts is projected for 19.3 FanDuel points, 3.4 more than any other hitter, per numberFire's model, and he's eligible at three positions, making him well worth the $4,000 salary on this slate.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.