Happy Friday and welcome to Fantasy Alarm’s MLB DFS Playbook for July 18th, covering the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates! 

Our team of experts has poured over the matchups, stats, and trends to bring you a curated selection of top plays and value picks to help you build winning lineups. 

Whether you’re chasing big GPP prizes or looking to cash in head-to-heads, we’ve got you covered with insights designed to give you an edge. Let’s dive into today’s slate and get ready to crush it!

 

 

This season's MLB DFS picks and playbook will consist of a pitcher and hitter core players section with written analysis, player pool grid and core stacks section.

The core player section should be used as a starting point for all lineups, you may not be able to use all players in the same lineup, but those players should be the building blocks for you on a given night.

The player pool grid will feature both players from the core player section along with additional plays to help you build a complete lineup. The grid will be broken into top priced players, mid-priced players and value tier players.

The stacks section will bring you our favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

There will also be a daily MLB DFS Show with a variety of hosts ranging from myself, Jon Impemba, Howard Bender, and James Grande. The MLB DFS Show will give you an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate and should give you a good base for the start of your research each day! 

Make sure you subscribe to the Fantasy Alarm YouTube channel so you never miss a show! Also, join the Fantasy Alarm Discord to get your DFS lineup questions answered by our MLB DFS team! Plus, as always, be sure to check in with our MLB DFS Tools, with the Daily MLB Projections, MLB DFS Rostership Projections, and our MLB DFS Lineup Generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting.

 

MLB DFS Picks & MLB Playbook

MLB DFS Weather Conditions for July 18, 2025

New York Yankees @ Atlanta Braves
A late start or early in-game delay is possible, but unlikely there are issues beyond that.   

Baltimore Orioles @ Tampa Bay Rays 
Storms likely miss the ballpark and they play a dry game, but pop-up storms are always possible in the region. 

Minnesota Twins @ Colorado Rockies 
A late start is possible, but there should be no issues beyond that.

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves

Spencer Strider is still working on getting back into top form, but this version still has plenty of DFS upside as he demonstrated with an 11-strikeout performance against the Athletics before the All-Star break. His strikeout rate for the season sits at a very healthy 29%. The matchup against the Yankees is not ideal but there are some strikeouts in the lineup. The Yankees have also been more of a top-10 offense over the past month rather than the best offense in baseball they were over the season's first few months. Strider is the top overall option on the slate despite the power threat posed by the Yankees. 

Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners 

Castillo has seen his strikeouts dip all the way to 20.6% this season, down from 24.3% last season and 27.3% the season prior. The lack of strikeouts does limit his DFS upside, but this is an intriguing matchup against the Astros, who have been just an average offense against right-handed pitching this season. Castillo has wide splits and strikes out 23.9% of righties compared to 16.9% of lefties. The Astros project to roll with just two lefties in the lineup today, so it does set up as a decent spot for Castillo. He also pitches in one of the best pitchers parks out there and comes at a fair mid-range price point. 

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers

The DK price of $8,000 on Glasnow is extremely appealing and will likely leave him as a popular pitching option today. He is priced up on FD and more of a tournament option there. Glasnow has made just one start since returning from an IL stint that began back in April and it came against the same Brewers team he faces today. The Dodgers righty tossed five innings with five strikeouts and no runs in that start before the break. There isn't too much worry about him being limited, although I don't think the Dodgers will push him much beyond the 85 pitches from last start as they attempt to keep Glasnow healthy.  

Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays

Rays righty Taj Bradley has had an inconsistent season that has seen his strikeout rate fall to 20.4% and his ERA check-in at 4.60. Estimators believe he has pitched a bit better than his results, with his 3.60 xERA making the strongest case. It is not ideal that Bradley projects to face five lefties in the Orioles lineup, as lefties have done far more damage against him than righties. Bradley is playable as a tournament dart-throw, but I do prefer Manaea on DK and Alcantara on FD if looking to save some salary. 

Sean Manaea, New York Mets

Manaea worked as a bulk reliever in his first outing of the season and he was dominant over 3.1 innings and 65 pitches. He moves back into the Mets rotation after the All-Star break today and presumably will see a longer leash. I still wouldn't expect a full workload, but something in the range of 80 pitches seems plausible. That expected workload is enough for me to have interest at the $7,000 DK price tag. He is a touch too expensive at $8,800 on FD where length is more of a priority than the strikeout upside. 

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins 

Not much good can be said about the season Sandy Alcantara has put together, but I can't help chasing a respectable performance from the former NL Cy Young winner at these dirt cheap prices. At least the advanced metrics like xFIP and SIERA are more favorable, but even they show a below average pitcher. Maybe the All-Star break allowed Alcantara a chance to reset and he comes out for the second half looking like the pitcher many still think he can be. It is a good matchup against the Royals who have been a bottom-5 offense against right-handed pitching this season. 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Minnesota Twins in Coors Field 

The Twins travel to Coors Field for a three-game set and are clearly the top offense of the day. The Rockies league-worst pitching staff and best-in-baseball hitting environment are an ideal setup for the Twins bats today. Byron Buxton has been appropriately priced up and is the top hitter on the slate. He has been especially dominant against left-handed pitching this season with a .375 ISO. Willi Castro, Carlos Correa and Harrison Bader all boast an ISO of at least .200 against lefties this season. Ryan Jeffers can be considered another priority option as a catcher at the top of the lineup with a strong .359 wOBA against lefties. The bottom of the lineup is cheap (for Coors) and can be used in full stacks. 

Toronto Blue Jays vs Justin Verlander 

The Blue Jays were the hottest team in baseball as we entered the All-Star break and they get a strong matchup to begin the second half against the aging Justin Verlander. The former Cy Young winner has been hit hard this season and enters play with a 4.70 ERA and a strikeout rate under 20%. His 10.4% barrel rate allowed is the highest full-season mark of his career by a significant margin. Addison Barger has enjoyed a breakout season and is still underpriced for the damage he has delivered against righties. George Springer is having a resurgent season and owns a .224 ISO against righties. Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette are both above average hitters against righties, and Nathan Lukes and Alejandro Kirk both own a wOBA above .345 against righties.  

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Quinn Priester 

The Dodgers were in need of the break as much as any team in baseball. They get a chance to avenge a recent sweep at the hands of the Brewers right out of the gate in the second half. The recent struggles of many Dodgers hitters have them attractively priced for a matchup with a right-handed pitcher that allows a lot of hard contact. The overall offensive numbers are still elite, led by the incredible Shohei Ohtani. Freddie Freeman and Will Smith both have strong numbers against righties with solid power. Mookie Betts had a disastrous first half, but he is less than a year removed from being an elite hitter. Andy Pages is the other hitter with standout numbers against righties.  

Detroit Tigers vs Patrick Corbin 

Patrick Corbin has actually had a decent season, but the Tigers have been elite against left-handed pitching, ranking 5th in ISO and 4th in wOBA. Good on Corbin for providing some much needed quality innings for a struggling Rangers staff, but the Tigers are clearly the preferred side in this matchup. Gleyber Torres and Spencer Torkelson have been elite bats against righties this season, while Riley Greene struggled with same-handed pitching. Javier Baez is another standout performer with a .362 wOBA against righties, while Jahmai Jones and Wenceel Perez have both had a lor of success in limited samples. 

Baltimore Orioles vs Taj Bradley 

The Orioles have been a major disappointment this season, but they still boast a solid offense and rank 6th in ISO against right-handed pitching. Their ability to get left-handed against Taj Bradley should benefit them in this matchup, as Bradley has allowed a .172 ISO to lefties since the beginning of last season. Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O'Hearn, Colton Cowser and Cedric Mullins all swing from the left side and own an ISO of at least .197 against righties this season. Jackson Holliday is another LH bat and he has above average numbers against righties. Righties are playable as well with the friendly hitters park in Tampa. Jordan Westburg and Ramon Laureano have both been excellent against righties this season. 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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