MLB DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Tuesday, July 30th

Welcome to Tuesday! The trade deadline is upon us; the last flurry of moves will finish right before this slate gets underway, as the deadline is 6 PM ET today. We will be keyed in on what final moves will be happening today, but we will be focused on the players on the field today with a great 11-game slate in store for us to build some more winning MLB DFS lineups.

Today’s 11-game slate will be starting almost exactly an hour after the trade deadline at 7:10 PM ET on both DraftKings and FanDuel. We will have to keep a close eye on lineups in case there are any surprises of new players being dealt that end up not being in today’s lineups. However, we will still have no shortage of great options today, so let’s dive into today’s playbook and all of my favorite MLB DFS picks for the day. 

MLB DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, July 30

MLB Weather Today, 7/30

• Texas Rangers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Some rain this afternoon, but it looks like it should clear out by game time.

MLB DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

We have some quality pitching options today. I see merit in many of the guys up top. While Luis Castillo and Robbie Ray are my favorites of the top-priced guys, I think there are arguments for all of Tyler Glasnow, Hunter Brown, Justin Steele, Michael Wacha, and Max Scherzer. On the cheaper side, I also see some intrigue in Cal Quantrill and Griffin Canning, but I prefer Ryne Nelson. 

On the offensive side, some of my favorite lineups to target today include the Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, and Atlanta Braves. 

Recommended MLB DFS Starting Pitchers

Top Options For Strikeouts

• Robbie Ray vs. Oakland Athletics
• Hunter Brown vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
• Tyler Glasnow vs. San Diego Padres
• Justin Steele vs. Cincinnati Reds

Best Odds For A Win

• Tyler Glasnow vs. San Diego Padres
• Michael Wacha vs. Chicago White Sox
• Hunter Brown vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
• Justin Steele vs. Cincinnati Reds

Core MLB DFS Pitchers

Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners

Luis Castillo has been a little up and down this season, with a few rough stretches and some inconsistency in his strikeout numbers. However, he has still been fantastic overall and remains one of the most talented pitchers in the league. He is coming off 6 shutout innings against the Angels with 7 strikeouts.

Facing Boston at home is no easy task, especially for a righty. The Red Sox have some great lefty bats and great numbers against right-handed pitchers, but they still strike out plenty, and I trust Castillo's talent to shut them down today.      

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants

It took Robbie Ray one inning to figure things out in his return from the IL. He started out a little shaky against the Dodgers, giving up a couple of walks and a run, but then immediately settled in to finish with five hitless innings and eight strikeouts. 

We don’t know if he will be that good today, but considering he now faced the Athletics instead of the Dodgers, I think there is a great chance he can go even further into the game today while still getting plenty of strikeouts. 

Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Ryne Nelson struggled with his fastball a bit in his last outing, giving up 4 runs off 9 hits in 6 innings with only 2 strikeouts against the Royals, but that’s the Royals and still only an earned run away from being a quality start. Before that, he 4 solid starts against quality opponents with a 2.22 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 24.1 innings, including a 9-strikeout game against the Cubs. 

I trust him to bounce back a bit from his last outing and give us more of what his previous stretch had been with a great chance at a win facing Patrick Corbin, and he should be able to get back to 6 innings with 5+ strikeouts and a solid line for being the second cheapest pitcher on the board today. 

Recommended MLB DFS Hitters

Highest Expected Run Totals 

• Seattle Mariners vs. James Paxton
• Kansas City Royals vs. Jonathan Cannon
• Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Patrick Corbin
• New York Mets vs. David Festa

Core MLB DFS Hitters

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

Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are one of my favorite lineups to target today, going against Jonathan Cannon and the White Sox. Vinnie P is currently in a bit of a homerless stretch, but he also has 15 hits over his last 9 games with 5 multi-hit games. 

The production continues to be solid, getting to hit after Bobby Witt every day. I am sure we will see some power soon as well, but even without it, he can continue to give solid value in this spot. 

Ketel Marte, 2B Arizona Diamondbacks

This one seems too obvious. It is Ketel Marte against a lefty and even one of our favorite lefties to stack against. Ketel Marte maintains a 1.113 OPS against lefties; only Jose Ramirez and Aaron Judge have been better against lefties.

Patrick Corbin has had some better outings recently, but I don’t trust him at all and think he is still one of the worst starting pitchers in the league. Even if you aren’t stacking other Diamondbacks against him today, I think it is hard not to put Ketel Marte in your lineup in this spot. 

Bobby Witt, SS Kansas City Royals

I don’t care if you are tired of me talking about Bobby Witt, I can’t have a Royal hitter as one of my favorites and not also include Witt. He had another 4 hits, including a grand slam in yesterday’s game.

He still has a hit in every game since the all-star break, over which he has slashed .575/.605/.975, along with 3 homers, a triple, and 5 doubles. He is the best hitter on the planet right now, and even with the sky-high price, it remains difficult to leave him out of your lineup. 

Marcell Ozuna, OF Altanta Braves

Marcell Ozuna has continued to be one of the best hitters in the league. Over his last 16 games, he has been held hitless only twice and has 9 multi-hit games and 8 homers (tied for the league lead over that stretch). He has hit 3 homers in his last 4 games and will look to continue the power production today. 

The Braves will face Joe Ross in his return from the IL, which should provide a great opportunity for their offense to score plenty of runs. I would bet we see some more power production from Ozuna. 

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	SP	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	OF
High	Tyler Glasnow $10,000	William Contreras $5,000	Shohei Ohtani $6,600	Ketel Marte $5,500	Austin Riley $5,100	Bobby Witt $6,400	Marcell Ozuna $5,800
	Luis Castillo $9,200		Matt Olson $5,000	Jose Altuve $5,400		Corey Seager $5,300	Yordan Alvarez $5,700
							Brent Rooker $5,400
Medium	Robbie Ray $8,200	Yainer Diaz $4,300	Vinnie Pasquantino $4,700	Michael Massey $4,100	Matt Chapman $4,500	Willy Adames $4,400	Teoscar Hernández $4,900
	Max Scherzer $8,500		Rhys Hoskins $4,000	Jonathan India $4,200	Josh Smith $4,400	Jeremy Peña $4,100	Lourdes Gurriel $4,100
						Ezequiel Tovar $4,000	Jarred Kelenic $4,100
Low	Ryne Nelson $6,300	Travis d'Arnaud $3,700	Nathaniel Lowe $3,800	Gavin Lux $3,200	Eugenio Suárez $3,700	Amed Rosario $3,300	Hunter Renfroe $3,600
	Griffin Canning $6,700	Gabriel Moreno $3,400	Nolan Schanuel $3,500		Dylan Moore $3,700		Jake Meyers $3,500
		Freddy Fermin $3,200					Victor Robles $3,300
							Eddie Rosario $3,200
							Jake Cave $3,100
							MJ Melendez $3,000

Stacks

Royals	Vinnie Pasquantino	Bobby Witt	Freddy Fermin	Hunter Renfroe	Michael Massey
DraftKings	4700	6400	3200	3600	4100
Fanduel	2900	4300	2600	2700	2600

Braves	Austin Riley	Marcell Ozuna	Travis d'Arnaud	Matt Olson	Jarred Kelenic
DraftKings	5100	5800	3700	5000	4100
Fanduel	3300	4100	2900	3400	2900

Diamondbacks	Ketel Marte	Lourdes Gurriel	Eugenio Suárez	Gabriel Moreno	Randal Grichuk
DraftKings	5500	4100	3700	3400	3200
Fanduel	3800	3000	3200	2800	2500

Astros	Jose Altuve	Alex Bregman	Jeremy Peña	Yainer Diaz	Yordan Alvarez
DraftKings	5400	4300	4100	4300	5700
Fanduel	3700	3400	3000	3000	3700