Happy Sunday and welcome to Fantasy Alarm’s MLB DFS Playbook for July 20th, covering the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates! DraftKings has just an eight game main slate while FanDuel is going with a full 12 games.

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 20, 2025

  • SDP @ WAS: Some showers in the vicinity, minimal but possible delay risk.
  • LAA @ PHI: Some scattered showers a possibility, with rain chances later in the day, so slightly lesser delay risk than WAS.
  • NYY @ ATL: Chance of storms in Atlanta. Should play with no problems, but no guarantee. Hot and humid, with winds blowing out to left at 10 mph.
  • CHW @ PIT: Slight chance of short delay from an isolated shower or storm, slightly greater than some of the other games. Warm and humid, with winds out to left at 10 mph.
  • CIN @ NYM: Slight chance of scattered showers or storms, but the game should be played without an interruption. Warm and humid, with winds out to center at almost 10 mph.
  • ATH @ CLE: Heavier rain should remain south of Cleveland, but still a possibility, though slight, of a delay. Winds blowing in from left at 10 mph.
  • BOS @ CHC: Light steady rain in the vicinity could be problematic. More heavy rain south of the stadium, so they will play, perhaps with showers or a delay. Winds blowing in at 10 mph, favorable for pitchers.
  • MIN @ COL: Should be okay with little risk of problems. An isolated shower or storm may produce a brief delay, but is unlikely.

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Nick Pivetta, San Diego Padres

Pivetta has been fantastic for the Padres this season, posting a 2.88 ERA while striking out 122 over 109.1 innings. He draws a matchup against the Nationals today who have some talent in James Wood and CJ Abrams but for the most part have been an offense that has struggled. I'd look for Pivetta to be among the top scoring pitchers on the slate today.

Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies

Suarez is the second highest priced pitcher on FanDuel but he is once again a solid value on DraftKings. The matchup against the Angels presents a ceiling strike out matchup and nobody is really hitting the ball well off Suarez so while the Angels do hit a lot of home runs, it also seems unlikely we see them do much damage here this afternoon and that is why he is the cover of today's playbook.

Brayan Woo, Seattle Mariners (FD Only)

FanDuel only play today. Woo draws a Houston lineup that lost Isaac Paredes last night which is a major blow. The strikeout upside isn't as high as some of the others on the board but I feel pretty confident in a quality start effort here today.

Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins (FD Only)

Really priced down because of Coors Field but Ryan is an ELITE pitcher and could be making one of his final starts as a member of the Twins with the trade deadline looming. I'd imagine he ends up pretty chalky today on FanDuel because of the price.

Grant Holmes, Atlanta Braves

We've seen Holmes put up some big numbers this season and the Yankees lineup continues to be hit or miss. It's not a safe play by any stretch of the imagination but I don't mind it as as tournament dart.

Janson Junk, Miami Marlins

Junk has been really good for Miami and now draws a start against a Royals offense that we saw get shut down by Cal Quantril of all people yesterday afternoon. Give me some Junk.

Jeffrey Springs, Athletics

Seems like we are always seeing Cleveland drawing a matchup against a lefty as is the case yet again today with this spot against Jeffrey Springs. Like most A's pitchers, his numbers outside of Sutter Health Park have been better so I'd be willing to give him a run out here today as a nice value play.

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Minnesota Twins (FD Only)

German Marquez on the mound for the Rockies today so it makes plenty of sense to load up on some Twins today as they look to close out their series in Coors Field.

Athletics

Listen, I the potential for Gavin Williams but he is prone to some bad outings when his control struggles and this A's lineup is one that can really make you pay if you miss your location. Stacking against Gavin Williams is something I'm looking to do here today.

Atlanta Braves

Marcus Stroman has been OK since returning to the Yankees lineup but all the underlying numbers are just really bad and while the Braves offense is another one that comes and goes, I'm feeling like today is a day where we see them put up a big number.

Los Angeles Dodgers (FD Only)

Another offense that just looks lost despite all of their talent. They lost again last night but did at least put up some runs so I'm hopeful that is something that gets them going as they draw a matchup against lefty Jose Quintana.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox were the hottest team in baseball heading into the All-Star break and have come out completely flat against the Cubs. They draw a good matchup against Cade Horton here today and with Garrett Crochet on the mound the Sox have a good chance to pick up a win. Stacking the Red Sox lefties today against Horton is the play.

Player Pool

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Stacks

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