3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target for Thursday 6/29/23

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 Thursday's main slate.

Advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.

Max Scherzer, SP, New York Mets ($9,700)

Max Scherzer -- a three-time Cy Young Award winner -- is still throwing the ball well in Year 16.

On the current season, Scherzer is 7-2 with a 3.70 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA). His strikeout rate of 26.2% is also quite good, and his efficient walk rate of 5.5% is even better.

At numberFire, Scherzer is projected to tally 36.2 FanDuel points -- the most of any pitcher on Thursday's slate. In fact, no one else is projected for more than 30.0 FanDuel points.

He is set to pitch at home against the Milwaukee Brewers, who show the second-lowest projected run total (3.59) on numberFire. The Brewers have the fourth-worst weighted on-base average (.298, wOBA) and third-highest strikeout rate (25.8%). They're a fantastic matchup.

Scherzer has earned wins in each of his last two games, producing eight strikeouts in both tilts. Scherzer will be back in Queens tonight, where he has been a little better than he's been on the road. At home, he has kept opposing hitters to an OPS of .576, compared to .777 OPS when away from Citi Field.

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,500)

In terms of selecting batters for MLB DFS, it can be wise to first check if anyone is playing at the elevated confines of Coors Field. With the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors against right-hander Chase Anderson (5.09 SIERA in 2023), we want some exposure to LA.

Freddie Freeman is a great place to start.

Freeman is swinging it well in 2023, and he's enjoyed Coors so far this series. Over the previous two days, Freeman has totaled three hits with one run and one RBI. With the platoon advantage against Anderson, Freeman has the potential for a big night at 5,280 feet of elevation.

With an OPS of .938, Freeman is having one of his top offensive seasons to date. He has the fourth-most hits in all of the MLB, and he leads baseball in doubles (27).

numberFire projects Freeman to produce 16.3 FanDuel points -- the most among all first basemen on Thursday and the second-most among all batters.

Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays ($3,500)

Set to close out an interleague series with the San Francisco Giants, Bo Bichette and the Toronto Blue Jays will look to take the rubber match on Thursday.

For the Giants, Keaton Winn (only 12 career innings pitched) is making his first Major League start and will likely be used in an "opener" role.

Regardless of who is pitching, Bichette has had a very active season in 2023. At the moment, he boasts a weighted on-base average (wOBA) of .370, and he combines that with a Statcast hard-hit rate of 44.5%; both of those figures can translate into huge DFS upside.

As a member of the Blue Jays, Bichette will always have the luxury of hitting around other talented players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Matt Chapman.

Worth noting: Bichette has hit safely in both previous games against the Giants.

For Thursday, numberFire's model sees Bichette scoring 13.8 FanDuel points and ranks him as the second-best shortstop.

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.