Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Saturday, July 12th!

We’re diving into the action with a 7-game afternoon slate on DraftKings and main slate on FanDuel kicking off at 4:05 PM ET.  With a packed day of baseball ahead, our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether you’re hunting for GPP glory or locking in cash game success, we’ve got tailored insights to help you conquer today’s matchups. Let’s dive into the key plays and strategies to dominate the slate!

 

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 are favorite lineups stacks for the day and which players we would look to include in those stacks based on matchups and pricing.

Check out the MLB DFS Show to get an initial outlook on the day's MLB DFS slate to 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 Weather: Saturday, 7/12

Miami Marlins vs Baltimore Orioles

  • Chance of rain near game time that could lead to a delay.

San Diego Padres vs Cincinnati Reds

  • Chance of rain later this afternoon could lead to a potential delay.

Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago White Sox

  • Chance of rain throughout the day that could lead to a potential delay or postponement.

Warm temperatures and wind blowing out expected for the following games:

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

We have an interesting slate in terms of pitching options today.  We have a mix of solid pitchers and back-end of rotation pitchers toeing the rubber today.

High-end options include Garrett Crochet and Shane Baz.  The mid-range include Brandon Woodruff and Brady Singer.  Paydown options include Trevor Rogers and Sean Burke.

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox - DraftKings $10,900 | FanDuel $10,700

Crochet is the lone ace on today’s slate.  He enters Saturday with 2.39 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 151 Ks in 120.1 IP.

Crochet enters this matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays with good but limited history against their hitters in the past.  He did not pitch against the Rays during the 2024 season.  Look for Crochet to continue his success against the Rays today.

Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers - DraftKings $8,600 | FanDuel $9,800

Woodruff looked impressive in his first MLB start since 2023.  He enters Saturday with 1.50 ERA, 0.33 WHIP and 8 Ks in 6 IP.  

Woodruff enters this matchup against the Washington Nationals with limited history against their hitters in the past.  This is typically something that favors the pitcher.  He did not pitch against the Nationals during the 2024 season.  Look for Woodruff to have a strong 2nd start of the season on Saturday.

Brady Singer, Cincinnati Reds - DraftKings $7,800 | FanDuel $8,300

Singer has had an up and down season but gets an ideal matchup today.  He enters Saturday with 4.32 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 83 Ks in 93.2 IP.  

Singer enters this matchup against the Colorado Rockies with decent history but limited history against their hitters in the past.  He had one start against the Rockies during the 2024 season.  He put up 49 FanDuel points and 27 DraftKings points.  Look for Singer to continue his success against the Rockies.

Trevor Rogers, Baltimore Orioles - DraftKings $6,600 | FanDuel $8,500

Rogers has looked excellent in 3 of his 5 starts this season.  He enters Saturday with 1.57 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 24 Ks in 28.2 IP.  

Rogers enters this matchup against the Miami Marlins with no history against their hitters in the past.  This is typically something that favors the pitcher.  Also if you are into revenge game narratives, the former Marlin fits the bill.  He did not pitch against the Marlins during the 2024 season.  Look for Rogers to be a great value play on today’s slate.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

It is an interesting slate for hitters.  We have a smaller sample size in terms of hitter vs pitcher history.  Feel free to mix and match your hitters across multiple lineups.

Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals should be the front runners in terms of top teams to stack.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds - DraftKings $5,700 | FanDuel $4,000 

De La Cruz has been solid throughout the 2025 season.  He has at least one hit in 7 of his last 9 games.  He has 4 multi hit games and 0 HRs during this stretch.

De La Cruz has good history in the past against expected Rockies starting pitcher Bradley Blalock.  He is 2 for 2 against Blalock in his career.  Look for another strong performance out of Elly De La Cruz and the Reds lineup on Saturday.

Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox - DraftKings $4,900 | FanDuel $3,400 

Abreu has been heating up lately.  He has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 games.  He has 3 multi hit games and 4 HRs during this time span. 

Abreu has good history in the past against Rays expected starting pitcher Shane Baz.  He is 2 for 6 vs Baz in his career.  Abreu looks like a solid one-of play for today’s slate.

Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals - DraftKings $3,700 | FanDuel $3,000 

Perez has been on a tear as of late.  He is currently on a 4 game hitting streak.  He has 2 multi hit games and 4 HRs during this stretch.

Perez has the most history of any Royals hitter against expected New York Mets starting pitcher Frankie Montas.  He is 3 for 14 with 1 HR against Montas in his career.  Perez looks like a solid one-of play or key piece of a Kansas City Royals stack for today’s slate.

Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox - DraftKings $4,000 | FanDuel $3,200

Rafaela has kicked the bat into gear lately.  He is currently on a 7 game hitting streak.  He has 4 multi games and 4 HRs during that time span.

Rafaela is 1 for 3 against Shane Baz, the expected starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays.  He also has some added flexibility on FanDuel where he qualifies at 2B, SS and OF.  Look for another strong performance out of Ceddanne Rafaela on Saturday.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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