MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Sunday, July 28th

Happy Sunday! The hot stove is cooking as the trade deadline approaches. Randy Arozarena is a Mariner, Jazz Chisholm is a Yankee, Carlos Estevez is a Philly, and many other significant moves have already been made. I am sure there will be more to come today, but we only care about where everyone is playing today as we prepare to build some more winning MLB DFS lineups.

We have a great 10-game slate in store for us today, starting at 1:35 PM ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel, so be sure to get those lineups set in time! We have just as much excitement on the field as on the trade wire today, with some great matchups. There are plenty of great pitchers and hitters to look at today, so let’s jump right into today’s playbook and my favorite MLB DFS picks of the day. 

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, July 28

MLB Weather Today, 7/28

• The weather looks clear for this afternoon.

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

There are some quality pitchers taking the mound today. While you could take a shot at Garrett Crochet as the top pitcher, I am worried about the White Sox limiting his innings today, keeping me away. Outside of my favorites, some other considerations for the day include Reynaldo Lopez, Tobias Myers, and Jon Gray.

On the offensive side, some of my favorite lineups to target today include the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Houston Astros.

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

• Garrett Crochet vs. Seattle Mariners
• Cole Ragans vs. Chicago Cubs
• Bryce Miller vs. Chicago White Sox
• Spencer Arrighetti vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Best Odds For A Win

• Cole Ragans vs. Chicago Cubs
• Bailey Ober vs. Detroit Tigers
• Tobias Myers vs. Miami Marlins
• Bryce Miller vs. Chicago White Sox

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals

Cole Ragans is an ace, and with concerns around Garrett Crochet’s usage right now, he is my favorite pitcher to go after today as he faces a struggling Chicago Cubs team. Ragans had his third straight quality start in his last outing, and while his strikeouts were down a bit with only 5, he is still averaging over 7 strikeouts a game over his last 6 starts. 

The price tag is high, but the last time Cole Ragans was priced over $10,000 on DraftKings, he put up 33.3 points, so I am not worried about him being able to be worth this price. He has the biggest upside of anyone on this slate (except maybe Crochet if Chicago doesn’t restrict him), so I am absolutely willing to pay this high price.     

Bryce Miller, Seattle Mariners

Outside of Cole Ragans, Bryce Miller probably has the best combination of strikeout upside combined with win potential. He doesn’t quite have the strikeout stuff of Cole Ragans, but we have seen double-digit strikeouts once this season already, and he struck out 8 the last time he faced the White Sox.

I am expecting a similar line to his last time facing them, which was 7 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 8. If he even comes close to that level of production this time out he will be well worth his price up near the top of this slate. 

Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins

A lot of people discredited Bailey Ober for his recent amazing run because it was against such weak opponents, but the production was still incredible. He has now followed it up with a solid start against a good opponent in the Philadelphia Phillies, where he threw 7 innings, only giving up 2 runs and striking out 4. 

Faced with Detroit again today, I am expecting the strikeouts to jump back up to the 7+ range with another quality start and a great chance at a win. He could easily put together just as good an outing as Cole Ragans and Bryce Miller, but you get him for even cheaper. 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

• Baltimore Orioles vs. Randy Vasquez
• Philadelphia Phillies vs. Joey Cantillo
• Milwaukee Brewers vs. Kyle Tyler
• Minnesota Twins vs. Alex Faedo & Kenta Maeda

Core MLB DFS Hitters

*Note: Will Be Updated As Official Starting Lineups Are Released

Vladimir Guerrero, 1B Toronto Blue Jays

Vladimir Guerrero is currently on a 9-game hitting streak, during which he has slashed .485/.553/1.030, along with three separate 3-hit games and 5 homers. While the Blue Jays are likely to be sellers here at the deadline, Vlad is proving that he is still ready to lead this Blue Jays team into the future. 

Vladd is now batting over .300 on the season; this is the production we have been expecting from him since that explosive 2021 season. Now, the question will be how long he can maintain this, but for now, I am riding with his hot bat as he continues to produce. 

Marcus Semien, 2B Texas Rangers

Marcus Semien is on a great run of hitting right now. Over his last 15 games, he has hit in all but one game. Over that time, he has slashed .357/.463/.589, and while the Texas Rangers offense as a whole has been struggling, the top of the lineup is still very strong. 

In addition to Semien’s great production recently, Jose Berrios has been hit pretty well by right-handers this year, giving up a .278/.330/.425 slash line. While we know that Berrios can be great on any given day, he can also get blown up, and I think, at the very least, Semien can provide some solid production against him here today. 

Royce Lewis, 3B Minnesota Twins

Royce Lewis is back! Who knows how long he will stay healthy, but while he is healthy, he will be a go-to bat for us. The Minnesota Twins' offense has been fantastic recently, and they should have no shortage of production today, facing Faedo and Maeda. 

Royce, in just his second game back, had two hits, including a double and a homer yesterday. He was priced up over $6,000 before he got injured earlier this month and I am absolutely taking the discount in his return before we see his price jump back up to those levels. 

Anthony Santander/Colton Cowser/Heston Kjerstad/Cedric Mullins, OF Baltimore Orioles

I am stacking Baltimore's lefty bats once again today, especially these outfielders. Randy Vasquez has been atrocious against lefties this season. In 27 total innings against lefties, Randy Vasquez has given up a .390/.432/.593 slash line against lefties.

While Anthony Santander is my clear favorite, if you have to pick just one with the power he brings from the left side of the plate, I would happily put as many lefty Oriole bats in my lineup as I can. It is likely that one of these outfielders isn’t starting today, but you can also add guys like Ryan O’Hearn or Gunnar Henderson to get extra Oriole bats in your lineup today.

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Cole Ragans $10,000	Adley Rutschman $5,600	Vladimir Guerrero $5,000	Marcus Semien $5,000	Royce Lewis $5,200	Bobby Witt $6,400	Shohei Ohtani $6,500
		William Contreras $5,000				Gunnar Henderson $6,200	Marcell Ozuna $5,800
							Yordan Alvarez $5,700
							Anthony Santander $5,100
Medium	Bryce Miller $9,400	Yainer Diaz $4,200	Vinnie Pasquantino $4,800	Luis García $4,400	Manny Machado $4,900	Willy Adames $4,300	Jurickson Profar $4,600
			Ryan O'Hearn $4,100	Michael Massey $4,200	Alex Bregman $4,300	Masyn Winn $4,200	George Springer $4,500
					Nolan Arenado $4,200		Nick Castellanos $4,400
							Jackson Merrill $4,100
							James Wood $4,000
Low	Bailey Ober $8,500	Travis d'Arnaud $3,800	Nathaniel Lowe $3,800	Xander Bogaerts $3,900	Jake Burger $3,600	Xavier Edwards $3,400	Colton Cowser $3,700
		Andrew Knizner $2,100	Juan Yepez $3,500	Andrés Giménez $3,800		Orlando Arcia $2,800	Heston Kjerstad $3,600
				Colt Keith $3,700			Cedric Mullins $3,500
				Gavin Lux $3,200

Stacks

Orioles	Gunnar Henderson	Ryan O'Hearn	Anthony Santander	Colton Cowser	Cedric Mullins
DraftKings	6200	4100	5100	3700	3500
Fanduel	4200	3000	3900	3000	2700

Royals	Vinnie Pasquantino	Bobby Witt	Hunter Renfroe	Adam Frazier	Michael Massey
DraftKings	4800	6400	3400	3400	4200
Fanduel	2900	4300	2700	2500	2600

Phillies	Nick Castellanos	Trea Turner	Alec Bohm	Bryce Harper
DraftKings	4400	6300	5400	6100
Fanduel	3000	4000	3400	4400

Twins	Royce Lewis	Jose Miranda	Willi Castro	Byron Buxton
DraftKings	5200	4200	4600	4900
Fanduel	3500	3200	2800	3200