Hitting on value plays in MLB DFS on FanDuel can make or break a lineup on any given day, but locking in strong performances with some of baseball's star players provides the backbone for any good DFS lineup.

These stars rightly come with high salaries as they usually live up to expectations and have the ability to outclass their peers at their position.

Here are three studs to target for Friday's main slate.

All advanced statistics come from FanGraphs. All projections are via numberFire.

Yusei Kikuchi, SP, Toronto Blue Jays ($9,000)

Making his 28th start of the season, southpaw Yusei Kikuchi of the Toronto Blue Jays is comfortably enjoying his best MLB campaign to date. In his fifth year since coming over from NPB, his current 1.26 WHIP is the lowest of his career.

Kikuchi will open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Not only has K.C. been a pretty poor offensive side throughout 2023 (showing a low team OPS of .696 at the moment), but Kikuchi has been masterfully efficient behind a 3.95 SIERA.

According to numberFire, Kikuchi is in line for a productive evening against the Royals; their model has the lefty producing 39.2 FanDuel points on Friday, which is second-most of any player in action.

Also from numberFire's model, the Royals show the lowest projected run total of tonight's main slate (3.55). At home, Kikuchi appears circumspectly in a favorable spot.

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,100)

August turned to September more than a week ago, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are still smacking the ball. Naturally, slugging first baseman Freddie Freeman has been a major perpetuator of that. In his past 13 games, the lefty has produced an OPS of .934.

On the heels of a 10-0 thumping over the Miami Marlins, the "Hollywood Swingers" will next head to the nation's capital to face the last-place Washington Nationals for a weekend series. On Friday, Freeman and the Dodgers will see left-handed MacKenzie Gore throwing for the Nats. Gore has been mediocre at best in 2023, pitching to a 4.28 ERA while allowing 1.63 home runs per 9 innings.

Citing numberFire, Freeman is yields a 17.7 FanDuel DFS projection on Friday-- the highest figure among all batters. Even in a lefty-on-lefty matchup, I like Freeman's chances in this one. The 2020 NL MVP currently has a better batting average against southpaws (.335) compared to righties (.332).

Corey Seager, SS, Texas Rangers ($4,300)

The Texas Rangers are sliding out of the American League playoff picture rapidly, but know that it has not been caused by lack of production from shortstop Corey Seager. The ball club from Arlington was just swept by the rival Houston Astros as part of losing 7 of their past 10 contests, but to the contrary, Seager has been hot.

Over the past dozen games, Seager shows a .856 OPS with four homers and seven RBI. On the season, he is yielding a career-best wOBA (.432).

Seager and the Rangers are ready to welcome the struggling (in more ways than one) Oakland Athletics to Globe Life Field, which is still the newest venue in Major League Baseball. Speaking of the stadium, Globe Life Field has been the most prolific ballpark for home runs this year, according to Baseball Savant.

That means Athletics right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn will have his work cut out for him on Friday. Blackburn and Seager have not faced-off head-to-head in many at-bats, but Seager -- holding the platoon advantage -- has taken Blackburn deep once already.

Back to numberFire's projections, Seager shows 14.1 expected FanDuel points to start the series with Oakland. Considering he is hitting .500 against the division rival A's this season -- in addition to other noted factors -- I like him on Friday in DFS.

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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.