MLB DFS Playbook July 15: Top Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Published: Jul 15, 2023
We have a 12-game MLB DFS main slate on Saturday, July 15th, on DraftKings and a 10-game slate on FanDuel. Both slates include Coors Field, however, so the Yankees and Rockies are featured on both slates and it's a pretty good match-up for both teams as they have the two highest implied run totals of the day. Be sure to check out our tools including the MLB Lineups page, MLB DFS Projections – powered by FanJections –, MLB DFS Ownership, and all of our tools HERE! Let's dive into today's playbook, core plays, and top stacks of the day!
MLB DFS Weather Center
Miami Marlins @ Baltimore Orioles
This game has a chance for a delay, but nothing we should take too seriously.
San Diego Padres @ Philadelphia Phillies
Much like the game in Baltimore, a delay is possible but nothing beyond that is expected.
San Francisco Giants @ Pittsburgh Pirates
There is definitely a delay risk and potentially even one that impacts pitchers in this game if the delay turns out to be a lengthy one.
Milwaukee Brewers @ Cincinnati Reds
Another spot that looks as if a delay is very likely. It doesn’t look worse than that, but a length delay is possible.
Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Mets
Another game with delay risk, but that’s if the storms even show up above the stadium or not.
Recommended DFS Starting Pitchers
Top Options for Strikeouts
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago White Sox: 9.5 Ks (-115)
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics: 7.5 Ks (-165)
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels: 6.5 Ks (+105)
Lance Lynn, Chicago White Sox vs. Atlanta Braves: 6.5 Ks (+115)
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers: 6.5 Ks (+115)
Best Odds for a Win
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves (-302)
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins (-237)
Cooper Criswell, Tampa Bay Rays (-230)
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners (-212)
Favorite Starters to Use for DFS Lineups
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
You look at the price and wonder if it’s worth it each and every time, considering he’s been over 12K for five straight slates, and in each of the last four he’s put up 28+ DKP. He’s topped 34 twice over that span. He has 166 strikeouts in 104.2 innings and is 11-2. He gets a subpar-offense White Sox offense that is right-handed heavy.
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins
Lopez is coming off the best start of the season twirling a complete-game shutout in which he struck out 12 Royals and has now put up three straight quality starts, and has 22+ DKP in five of six starts. Oakland has a top-three strikeout rate against right-handed pitching and is bottom-five in every offensive category including OPS, wOBA, and ISO against righties. Lopez is in a great spot.
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants
Over the last month, no team has been worse against right-handed pitching across the entire league than the Pittsburgh Pirates. They rank last in OPS, wOBA, and ISO along with a 23.7% K-rate which is tied for 11th in baseball. Insert Alex Cobb coming off six scoreless innings his last time out and has five shutouts this entire year, which is a lot in only July. Cobb has had a good season pitching to a 2.91 ERA up to this point.
Kyle Gibson, Baltimore Orioles
This is tricky because Gibson hadn’t been great until his last outing. He has twice this season put up double-digit strikeout games and has a pretty good match-up against the Marlins. Miami has not been great against right-handed pitching this year ranking in the bottom-10 in OPS and wOBA while posting a 22% K-rate and we saw their strikeout propensity just yesterday with Dean Kremer on the mound. He has put up 16+ DKP in four of his last seven starts and is his lowest price of the year.
Recommended DFS Hitters
Highest Expected Run Totals
New York Yankees - 6.21
Colorado Rockies - 5.44
Philadelphia Phillies - 5.42
Cincinnati Reds - 5.41
Favorite Hitters to Use for DFS Lineups
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
Olson opened up the second half of his 2023 campaign with a bang hitting a first-inning grand slam, which was his 30th bomb of the year. The Braves take on Lance Lynn in this spot and Lynn has struggled mightily with left-handed hitters this season. Lefties have a .300 ISO and a .438 wOBA against Lynn, which are both robust marks. Olson himself leads the team with a .354 ISO against righties and has a .426 wOBA to boot.
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
When using Giancarlo Stanton you have to be very selective and pick a time when he’s feeling good at the dish. He homered for the third time in three games on Friday and has two multi-hit games over his last three. He has a .187 ISO against righties and gets to hit in Coors Field again Saturday. He faces Connor Seabold who’s been crushed by both splits, but righties have a .254 ISO and a .370 wOBA against him.
Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies
Bohm picked right up where he left off before the break going 2-for-3, reaching base three times, while driving in and scoring one run a piece. Bohm’s hit .405 over his last 10 games and has raked against left-handed pitching this season notching a .277 ISO and .398 wOBA, both second on the team and both elite marks. A sub-4K price on DK is criminal as he faces Ryan Weathers who’s allowing a .220 ISO and .410 wOBA to right-handed bats this year.
Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals
Donovan has really hit his stride at the dish coming into Saturday’s double-header he was hitting .400 in July after hitting .320 in June. He homered in the first game on Saturday and continues to lead off each and every day. He’s done all of his damage against right-handed pitching this year and has a .358 wOBA against righties. Jake Irvin, Nationals starter, has allowed a .161 ISO and .343 wOBA against left-handed bats this season.
Mike Yastrzemski, San Francisco Giants
The Giants are criminally priced and you can get to them as an entire stack if you’d like, but I really like Yastrzemski here. I like Conforto too, but after leaving Friday’s game it’s a TBD if he suits up here. Yas leads today’s projected Giants lineup with a .228 ISO and his .365 wOBA is third. He faces Johan Oviedo who struggles with left-handed hitters specifically as they’ve posted a .190 ISO and .342 wOBA against him.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | SP | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Spencer Strider  $11,600 | Matt Olson $4,200 | Ozzie Albies $3,900 | |||
 Pablo López $10,900 | ||||||
| Medium |  Alex Cobb $9,100 |  Christopher Cron $3,000 | Gleyber Torres $3,300 |  Ryan McMahon $3,300 |  Giancarlo Stanton $3,500 | |
 Kyle Gibson $8,800 | Austin Riley $3,500 | Harrison Bader $3,500 | ||||
 Michael Conforto $3,000 | ||||||
| Low |  LaMonte Wade $2,900 |  Brendan Donovan $2,800 | Josh Donaldson $2,900 | Anthony Volpe $2,900 | Lars Nootbaar $2,900 | |
| Mike Yastrzemski $2,900 | ||||||
| Michael Harris $2,900 |
Stacks
| Phillies | Nick Castellanos | Trea Turner | Alec Bohm | J.T. Realmuto |
 DraftKings | 4300 | 5500 | 3800 | 4800 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - | - |
| Yankees | Josh Donaldson | Anthony Volpe | Gleyber Torres | Giancarlo Stanton | Harrison Bader |
| DraftKings | 3600 | 4000 | 5300 | 5000 | 4300 |
| Fanduel | 2900 | 2900 | 3300 | 3500 | 3500 |
| Rays | Jose Siri | Taylor Walls | Randy Arozarena | Harold RamÃrez | Isaac Paredes |
| DraftKings | 3300 | 3500 | 5600 | 3400 | 4000 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - | - | - |
| Giants | LaMonte Wade | Mike Yastrzemski | Patrick Bailey | Michael Conforto |
| DraftKings | 3800 | 3000 | 3800 | 3500 |
| Fanduel | 2900 | 2900 | 2900 | 3000 |
| Braves | Ozzie Albies | Matt Olson | Michael Harris |
| DraftKings | 5600 | 6100 | 4300 |
| Fanduel | 3900 | 4200 | 2900 |
Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.