MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Friday, July 26
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Published: Jul 26, 2024
We have a 12-game MLB DFS main slate on Friday, July 26th, headlined by the diversity between the elite pitching and hitting options we have. Top tier pitching options like Freddy Peralta, George Kirby, and Grayson Rodriguez take the hill while Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt and Juan Soto step into the box with great matchups.
Before you finalize your daily fantasy lineups with help from our MLB DFS picks, it's important to check out today's MLB DFS projections and MLB DFS ownership projections. Take advantage of our MLB Lineups Page to identify players who are in and out of the lineup, along with utilizing our MLB DFS Lineup Generator!
MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, July 26
MLB Weather Today, 7/26
It’s going to be cold in San Francisco tonight and they’re already playing in a park that it’s hard to hit in. I love the pitchers in this game and I’m not afraid of telling the world that.
Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options For Strikeouts
- Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers - 7.5 (+115)
- George Kirby, Seattle Mariners - 6.5 (+105)
- Kodai Senga, New York Mets - 6.5 (+120)
Best Odds For A Win
- Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles (-110)
- Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers (-110)
- George Kirby, Seattle Mariners (-105)
- Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals (+125)
Core MLB DFS Pitchers
Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
There are few pitchers on this slate with a higher ceiling than Freddy Peralta. Peralta has two games of 11 Ks this season and has 138 punchouts in 109 innings. That pairs perfectly with a Marlins offense striking out 25.9% of the time against righties in July. He has the greatest strikeout odds on the slate and is tied for the best odds to pick up a win. Hard to get away from Peralta here.
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
Earlier this year, there may have been concerns about Kirby being on the road, but those issues have been debunked. He’s only allowed 7 ER in his previous five road starts and hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER in any start since May 29th. Since that date, Kirby has a 2.05 ERA and a 27.3% K-rate (10 starts). He faces the White Sox who are an awful offense ranking dead last in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ against right-handed pitching in July.
Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals
Singer has been really, really good outside of a start against the Red Sox. Since June 16th, which includes the Red Sox start, he has a 2.48 ERA while getting a ton of ground balls and limiting hard contact. He faces the Cubs at home where he’s thrived this season pitching to a 2.43 ERA along with an elevated K-rate at 24.7%. He has a robust 54% GB rate at home compared to 43% on the road, so more strikeouts and ground balls are an elite recipe for success. The matchup against a worse-than-league-average team in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ against righties in July plays really well here.
Kyle Harrison, San Francisco Giants
It’s already a tough place to hit, but now it’s also going to be cold? Check and mate. Harrison has strung together a decent stretch here in three of his last four games allowing 1 ER or fewer, including five scoreless innings IN Coors Field last time out. Harrison draws an offense that is hitting a LOT of home runs against southpaws but is also striking out 27% of the time against them. The park should help neutralize the Rockies' power bats too.
Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies
I could have mentioned Drew Thorpe here as my value, but I’m saving an extra $1,000 and going down to Kyle Freeland who’s just 5.5K on DK. Freeland got off to an awful start to the year allowing 17 ER in two starts, then got injured in April. Since returning on June 23rd, he’s pitched to a 1.95 ERA and held his opponents to a .233 AVG. Where things get interesting is seeing the Giants' 33.9% K-rate against left-handed hurlers in July. That leads baseball. Even if you don’t trust that sample and look at the data since June 1st, they have the fourth highest K-rate at 24.5%.
Recommended MLB DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
- Baltimore Orioles - 5.2
- New York Yankees - 5.2
- Boston Red Sox - 5
- Kansas City Royals - 5
- Arizona Diamondbacks - 4.9
Core MLB DFS Hitters
Bobby Witt, Kansas City Royals
Over his last 28 days, which spanned 20 games, Witt has hit .487 with an .846 SLG% and 1.363 OPS. There is only one other hitter on planet earth as hot as he is right now (Also on this list) and he gets a great matchup against Kyle Hendricks. Against right-handed pitching over the last month, Witt is hitting .452 with a 1.295 OPS, .342 ISO, and .538 wOBA.
Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles are my top stack of the day and I don't care who knows it. The lefties have an especially good match-up against right-hander Adam Mazur. Lefties have pounded Mazur as they've slashed .343/.452/.582 with a .438 wOBA, 1.69 HR/9, and a 37.9% hard-hit rate. Two of these players are over $5K and two of them are below $4K, so there is great balance with a full Baltimore lefty stack. Both Santander and Kjerstad have posted an OPS over 1.000 vs. RHP over the last month while Cowser's at .931 and Henderson's at .889. Lets feast!
Juan Soto, New York Yankees
Brayan Bello struggles most with lefty power and feast your eyes on Juan Soto who is hitting everything pitched in his vicinity of late. Since the All-Star break, Soto has notched nine extra-base hits (three homers) in six games, while hitting .520 with an OPS of 1.731. Lefties have a .505 SLG%, .370 wOBA, and 1.97 HR/9 against Bello this year.
Tyler O'Neill, Boston Red Sox
Tyler O'Neill has absolutely demolished left-handed pitching this year and that's the bottom line. In every which way he's been elite. Average? .333. Slug? .711 SLG%. ISO? .378. wOBA? .477. He gets to face off against Nestor Cortes who's been horrendous away from Yankee Stadium. On the road against righties, Nestor Cortes has allowed 10 HR and a .592 SLG%. Now he has to try and navigate Fenway Park? Good luck against O'Neill.
Vladimir Guerrero, Toronto Blue Jays
Since June 1st, Guerrero has dominated left-handed pitching to the tune of an 1.100 OPS and .380 ISO, but he has crushed everything pitched at him recently. He's homered in five of his last seven games and has a 1.500 OPS, .619 ISO, and .623 wOBA since the All-Star break.
Lawrence Butler, Oakland Athletics
The month of July has been an absolute fever dream for Lawrence Butler and he's still under 4K for absolutely no reason whatsoever. In July alone, he's hit nine home runs with 19 runs scored, 26 more driven in, and has swiped six bags in just 19 games. He has slashed .412/.467/.956 in July too. It's lunacy. There's simply nobody playing better than Butler at the current moment.
Tyler Fitzgerald, San Francisco Giants
I love Kyle Freeland today, but I'd be doing everyone a disservice if I didn't mention Fitzgerald and how good he's been lately. He's been great against southpaws, posting team-leading 1.585 OPS, .667 ISO, and .651 wOBA. All video game numbers. All of that is aided by his homer streak of five-straight games, but since that ended he's had two straight games with an extra-base hit and RBI. He's been so good for the price.
Kyle Isbel, Kansas City Royals
It's a smaller sample than most of his teammates, but he's been great over the last month against right-handed pitching. Isbel's posted a .564 SLG%, .942 OPS, .282 ISO, and .400 wOBA against righties. Kyle Hendricks has been bad against everyone this year, but it's been horrendous against left-handed bats. LHH have a .546 SLG%, 2.7 HR/9 and .390 wOBA against him.
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