3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target for Tuesday 6/6/23

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 today's main slate.

Mitch Keller, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates ($11,300)

We'll start with one of the most surprising pitchers so far in the MLB season. Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been excellent this year, posting career-best numbers in a number of different categories, and his matchup today is one we will keep targeting all season long.

Keller's breakout season is really shown through his strikeout numbers. He is whiffing 11.21 batters per nine innings. He also has the lowest walk rate of his career. His Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) and Expected Fielding Independent Pitching (xFIP) are both career lows, as well.

The Pirates will play the lowly Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. Oakland is on pace to be one of the worst teams we've ever seen in baseball history. They have the fourth-highest strikeout rate and second-lowest weighted on base average (wOBA).

Looking at the MLB lines today at FanDuel Sportsbook, Pittsburgh is the biggest favorite on the slate. The A's have the lowest implied team total on the slate and look ripe for picking on tonight.

Ronald Acuna Jr, OF, Atlanta Braves ($4,500)

One of baseball's bright young talents has continued to get better. Ronald Acuna is 25 years old and was already considered one of the best outfielders in the game. This season has seen him take it to even another level.

Acuna's triple-slash line is currently a .331 batting average, .407 on-base percentage and .564 slugging percentage. Those numbers put him in the top five in each of those categories among qualified hitters. Acuna has also been tearing up the basepaths, with his 26 steals ranking second.

The Atlanta Braves are at home tonight against the New York Mets and Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco is beginning to show his age, as the 36-year-old has been getting knocked around this season and has seen his velocity decrease to the lowest it's ever been. This has resulted in his FIP and xFIP being the highest they've been since 2009.

Acuna bats leadoff in a lineup with the third-highest implied team total on the slate. He is a great player to build around.

Marcus Semien, 2B, Texas Rangers ($4,300)

The previous two studs were younger players having the best seasons of their careers. Marcus Semien is also having a career year -- he's just doing it at age 32.

He's always been a good hitter with some pop in his bat against lefties, but he's been even more than that this season.

Semien's currently hitting a career-high .306. Sometimes a batting average that high can seem like a stat bound for regression, but his hard-hit rate also being at a career-high mark makes it less likely to be a fluke. He's not putting up the gaudy home run numbers he did in 2021, but he is still slugging over .500.

The Texas Rangers are at home tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals, the worst team in the National League. Matthew Liberatore will be on the mound for the Cards for just his third start of the season. In 34.2 innings last season, he had an ERA of 5.97 and allowed 1.3 homers per 9 innings.

Texas has an implied team total above five runs. Semien will likely bat leadoff in the lineup and benefits from the hitter's park in Arlington. He's in a similar spot to Acuna but at a salary that is $200 less.

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.