Welcome to the Fantasy Alarm MLB DFS Playbook for Thursday, July 24th! 

Let’s start the week on the right foot with some winning lineups today. We have an 4-game main slate in store for us this evening on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 6:40 PM ET. Today, we have plenty of talent on the diamond and many different ways to build your lineup. Our expert analysis is here to guide you through the top pitchers, value plays, and stackable offenses to target.

Whether chasing big GPP prizes or grinding cash games, we’ve got you covered with insights tailored to today’s matchups. Let’s jump right 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: Thursday, 7/24

Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers

There could be a rain delay here and this game could also play completely dry. We'll see how things play out as the day progresses.

Seattle Mariners @ Los Angeles Angels

There are winds blowing out nearly 10 MPH and that's a bump to bats.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Let's get into today's core pitching plays for our DFS lineups

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals

Look, the Padres offense is quite bad against right-handed pitching. In July, the Padres are 29th in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ against righties. They're 24th or worse in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ this entire season. The one downside is that they don't strike out a lot. Gray is a guy who misses bats, so we'll see how this plays out because Gray strikes out 28.6% of lefties and 25.5% of righties.

Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels

Seattle has a good offense and rank out in the top-10 against lefties, but they strike out a lot. They have a 24.6% K-rate against southpaws this year and that's what Kikuchi can do. He has a 24% K-rate on the year and has had that number every season since 2020. 

Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres

I think this could be the best Yu Darvish start we've gotten to this point. Darvish's control has been a concern, but that's common with pitchers returning from arm injuries. The Cardinals are coming off a series loss against the Rockies in which they were shutout on Sunday. Darvish's generating a lot of swings and misses against righties so far, so the Ks should tick upwards moving forward. Pitching pool is shallow and Darvish's xERA is 1.5 runs lower than his actual ERA.

 

 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Let's check out today's core plays to build our lineups around.

Core MLB DFS Hitters

Athletics Stack Looks Great

The Astros are calling up Jason Alexander to make a start for them on Thursday and that's something. At the major league level this year, Alexander has an 8.40 ERA, 5.27 xERA, and 5.81 xFIP. He's also walked nearly 6 BB/9, which is obviously concerning. He's also allowed 1.8 HR/9, which bodes well for ATH.

LH vs. Alexander - .313 ISO, .200 xISO, .419 wOBA, .362 xwOBA

RH vs. Alexander - .161 ISO, .181 xISO, .347 wOBA, .365 xwOBA

The Athletics have a LOT of players with power vs. RHP. Nick Kurtz has a .370 ISO, Brent Rooker has a .212 ISO and .249 xISO, Shea Langeliers has a .232 ISO, Tyler Soderstrom has a .231 ISO, and Lawrence Butler has a .179 ISO and .334 wOBA.

Adding Max Schuemann to player pool/cores since he's leading off and is CHEAP.

Angels in the Outfield (and Infield)

This matchup is pretty perfect for the Angels because they hit a lot of home runs and both splits have a .200+ ISOs against him. He has a 41% FB rate to lefties and a 35% clip against righties.

Including the minor leagues, righties are hitting .303 with a .460 SLG% and an .827 ISO. Lefties have gotten him at the major league level.

The Angels have SIX players that have a .190 ISO or better against right-handed hurlers:

Fernando Tatis & Manny Machado, San Diego Padres

I like Sonny Gray, but it's also hot and there are some winds blowing out in this one. He's also been struggling specifically against righties and the Padres best two players in the SD lineup hit from the right side. Righties have a .192 ISO vs. Gray.

Fernando Tatis has a .201 ISO and .261 xISO and .368 wOBA and .410 xISO vs. RHP while Manny Machado sits at .160 ISO and .224 xISO and .346 wOBA, and .384 xwOBA.

Contrarian Mariners Stack

I like Yusei Kikuchi today, but even in my Kikuchi write-up I mentioned how good Seattle has been against lefties this year. They're top-10 across the board in all major categories. Kikuchi is someone who's allowed a bunch of homers and power to righties, too, allowing a .147 ISO but a .209 xISO. There's wind blowing out in Los Angeles tonight, too.

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

{{stack.team.name}} {{player.name}}
DraftKings {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}-
Fanduel {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}-