3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target for Wednesday 7/5/23

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.

Pablo Lopez, SP, Minnesota Twins ($10,800)

A lot has been made of Luis Arraez and his pursuit of a .400 batting average. The player he was traded for, Pablo Lopez, is having a pretty good season of his own.

Lopez has switched over from the National League to the American League, and his numbers have gotten better. He has a career-best 29.8% strikeout rate. While his 4.24 ERA might not look great, his expected ERA (xERA) of 3.10 is actually a career-best mark.

He'll get a matchup tonight against the Kansas City Royals that sets up nicely for him. The Royals have the second-worst weighted runs created plus (wRC+) against right-handed pitching. They also strike out at the third-highest rate against righties.

The Minnesota Twins are -275 favorites, according to the MLB Odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. Lopez stands out as the highest-projected pitcher in numberFire's model and is a great ace to use in lineups.

Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets ($4,100)

Pete Alonso missed some time earlier in the year due to injury, but he is back and continues to be one of the game's best power hitters.

Alonso is currently carrying the best expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) of his career. He also has his second-best isolated slugging percentage (ISO), behind only his 50-homer rookie season. His 15.0% barrel rate should serve him well in this matchup.

The New York Mets will face the Arizona Diamondbacks, who will have lefty Tommy Henry on the mound tonight. Henry allows fly balls at a 44.3% rate, which is why he has struggled to keep the ball in the yard in his career. He's allowed 1.72 homers per nine innings in the MLB.

Alonso has a .293 career ISO against lefties, and he checks a lot of boxes for this one.

Mookie Betts, OF/SS/2B, Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,400)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently in second place in the NL West, but Mookie Betts is doing his best to keep them in the hunt for first.

When looking for a stud in DFS baseball, we want someone who can provide big events -- such as home runs or stolen bases. Betts can certainly do that, with 23 dingers and 7 steals so far this season. That's not to say his rate stats aren't good, as well, as he currently has a .396 wOBA and .288 ISO.

Betts will face Osvaldo Bido for the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight. Bido has just 19 MLB innings under his belt, having finally made The Show at age 27. He failed to record an expected fielding independent pitching (xFIP) number below 5.00 in the minors in each of the last three seasons, which doesn't bode well for him against this Dodgers team.

Mookie is numberFire's highest-projected hitter tonight, and the fact that he bats leadoff and is eligible for three different positions makes him an all-around excellent pick on Wednesday.

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.