MLB DFS Playbook July 8: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Jul 08, 2023
Welcome to Saturday and the second-to-last playbook before the all-star break! We have an early slate today, so make sure to get your lineups together in time to start the weekend strong with a winning MLB DFS lineup. We get an 11-game main slate starting at 1:05 PM EST on DraftKings. On FanDuel, you can either play the 15-game all-day slate starting at the same time or the main slate, which is 7 games and starts at 4:05 PM EST and doesn't include the 4 earlier games on the DraftKings slate. The cheatsheet will be focused on the main slate on FanDuel. While the Atlanta Braves, with their franchise-record 8 all-stars, aren’t on today’s DraftKings slate, we do get the Texas Rangers, who are the first team with 5 all-star starters in 47 years. While we are excited to watch the all-stars take the stage in a few days, we are still focused on the regular season and all the talented players in today’s main slate to make a winning lineup whether you are playing cash games or gpp tournaments, so let’s jump into today’s playbook! 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 Playbook July 8
MLB Weather Updates
Chicago Cubs vs New York Yankees: Some light thunderstorms could cause delays, but should be at any risk of not playing.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers: Also thunderstorms throughout the day, but it looks clear during game time for now.
Texas Rangers vs Washington Nationals: Also some light thunderstorms but like Yankee Stadium, should be short-lived enough to not worry about postponement.
Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians: More thunderstorms. This one worries me more than the first three, keep a close eye on the weather as game time approaches and consider avoiding altogether.
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
Some great pitchers are taking the mound today, highlighted by Kevin Gausman facing the Detroit Tigers and Gerrit Cole facing the Chicago Cubs. While I don’t have either of them as my favorite pitchers, it is mostly because you don’t need to be told they are fantastic. While I prefer going for a few of my favorite pitchers down below, if you want to pay up for one of those two today that is a completely viable option for constructing a lineup as well. Some honorable mention pitchers for me today include Tyler Wells, Braxton Garrett, Gavin Williams, and Ranger Suarez. On the offensive side, some of my favorite lineups to target today include the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Boston Red Sox.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Kevin Gausman vs Detroit Tigers
James Paxton vs Oakland Athletics
Mitch Keller vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Best Odds for a Win
James Paxton vs Oakland Athletics
Kevin Gausman vs Detroit Tigers
Andrew Heaney vs Washington Nationals
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
James Paxton would likely be an all-star if he hadn’t gotten a lot start to the season with how good he has been pitching. He has easily been the Red Sox's best starter since his return to the rotation and has been an ace. He just threw 7.2 innings of shutout ball against the Toronto Blue Jays, along with 7 strikeouts while only giving up 3 hits. Getting his last start before the break against the Oakland Athletics is a fantastic place for him to shine again.
Sonny Gray had been a bit of a strikeout lull recently, having 5 or fewer strikeouts through 6 straight starts, but in his last outing against the Baltimore Orioles, he got back up to 7 strikeouts without giving up a run. He faces the Orioles again today and hopefully can put together a similar outing before heading to Seattle for the all-star game.
Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals
Brady Singer has only given up one earned run in his last two starts totaling 13 innings with 7 strikeouts. While hopefully he can start to get a few more strikeouts, it is still promising back-to-back games for Singer, who has had a disappointing season so far. If he can get back to his old strikeout rates while continuing to limit the runs, Brady Singer can still be a great pitcher like he was for most of last season. I am taking the chance on him at the very low price he is at today with his recent results.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
St. Louis Cardinals vs Touki Toussaint
Boston Red Sox vs Paul Blackburn
Milwaukee Brewers vs Luke Weaver
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Justin Turner, 1B Boston Red Sox
Justin Turner is on a nice little 7 game-hitting streak in which he has 12 total hits, including 2 home runs, and has multiple hits in each of his last 4 games. Taking on Paul Blackburn and the Oakland Athletics today, the Red Sox should continue to score plenty of runs, and Turner should be a great value with how well he is hitting at the top of the lineup, especially with the increased power output he has had recently.
Nolan Arenado, 3B St. Louis Cardinals
Nolan Arenado, after a slow start to the season, has quickly erased it and has been back to being one of the best-hitting third basemen in the league for quite a while now. In the last few days, he had a game with 3 doubles and followed it up with homers in back-to-back games, including 2 homers last night. Facing Touki Toussaint today should be a great spot for Arenado to keep up this hot streak and hopefully make it three straight games with a home run.
Ezequiel Tovar, SS Colorado Rockies
Since May 20th, Ezequiel Tovar only has 5 games without a hit, and over that stretch is slashing .318/.350/.503 and recently had a 15-game hit streak come to an end. He has also been finding himself near the top of the lineup often recently, including his second start in the leadoff spot yesterday. If he continues to stack up hits like he has been and remains in an ideal spot in the lineup, he will be a great value at shortstop with his price remaining quite low.
Christian Yelich, OF Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelich has been looking more like the hitter that won the MVP back in 2018. Over his last 10 games, Yelich has slashed .400/.500/.650, and on top of being an aesthetically pleasing slash line, it is also incredible. On top of that, he has 2 homers, 4 steals and has racked up 13 runs and 11 RBIs over that stretch. He should have no problem continuing this stretch of amazing hitting today against Luke Weaver.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | {{pos.alias}} |
|---|---|
| {{tier.name}} | |
Stacks
| {{stack.team.name}} | {{player.name}} |
 DraftKings | {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}- |
 Fanduel | {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}- |