MLB DFS Optimizer Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers & Stacks
MLB DFS Optimizer Picks Today: Spotlight Pitchers
Both pitchers are at home, which gives the advantage to Woo, since T-Mobile Park is consistently the most pitching-friendly venue in the league. The roof is likely to be closed at Globe Life Field in Arlington, which also helps hurlers. Woo has been the most efficient starter in the league, averaging 14.38 pitches per inning. He is tied for the league lead with 18 quality starts and he has closed out the sixth inning in all 24 of his appearances.
There are some strikeouts available in the A’s lineup, with four hitters striking out at a 24.5% or higher rate against righties this season. Of course the tradeoff is running a power gauntlet of brawny bats, including lefties Nick Kurtz (.394 ISO, 255 plate appearances), Tyler Soderstrom (.239 ISO, 399 PAs) and Lawrence Butler (.181 ISO, 408 PAs).
Eovaldi will be battling against one of the most complete bats in the game, with switch-hitting maestro Jose Ramirez holding down the middle of the Cleveland lineup, though the back of the order has plenty of strikeout upside, with a lack of power in Gabriel Arias, Angel Martinez and Brayan Rocchio. Catcher Bo Naylor and prospect CJ Kayfus have pop, though they also look like wind machines at the plate, getting lots of air when they do not make contact.
Let personal preference be your guide when deciding between these aces, with both being a strong pairing for DraftKings “cash games” (H2Hs, 50/50s, 3-mans, etc.).
Across ten starts this season and nine last year, Matthews has struck out nearly one batter per inning, increasing his strikeout rate from 24.3% last year to a robust 29.9% in 2025. The White Sox have been pesky of late, though the youth and inexperience up and down the lineup card tends to create inconsistent results between the lines.
There are no longer any easy outs in the Chicago lineup, which has a nice mix of youngsters and veteran journeymen. However, there also are no terrifying hitters. Matthews has allowed four round-trippers in his last two starts, though he gets a bit of a mulligan as a trio of taters occurred in Yankee Stadium. On the positive side of the ledger, he has a hefty 21 strikeouts in his last 14.2 innings, with matchups home and away against Detroit on either side of the New York visit.
For those not enthralled with Matthews, veteran LHP Jose Quintana is in Milwaukee, taking on the San Francisco Giants. The well-travelled Quintana does not have anything close to the strikeout potential of Matthews, but he has experience and savvy, which should position him for a chance at the win bonus and a quality start.
MLB DFS Optimizer Picks Today: Top Stacks
Main Slate Target: Tampa Bay Rays
In a scheduling twist, these teams get Saturday off, with the game having been moved to Thursday in order to accommodate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills preseason game, taking place in the same complex. That does not have any impact on today’s action, but it is an advanced note as to why the teams are off tomorrow.
Over his last two outings, RHP Miles Mikolas has managed to avoid home runs, though he does have six walks in these 11.2 innings, against only four strikeouts. The Lizard King will do his best to absorb innings, but the cost is likely to be extracted by the Tampa offense in the form of multiple runs. Since the start of July, Mikolas has made nine starts, with a 6.15 ERA, 6.58 FIP and 4.87 xFIP across 45.1 frames. In this stretch he has also suffered 14 home runs and 24 total extra base hits, with only 24 strikeouts.
Look to Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero as a strong lefty-righty combo, as the foundation for any Tampa stack as well as a duo or one-offs in all formats. Catcher Hunter Feduccia is a screaming value on DraftKings ($2,200) and Yahoo ($9), fulfilling the pesky backstop requirement.
St. Louis collectively is not particularly effective at preventing steals, which bodes well for rookie Chandler Simpson, who is second in the league this season with 36 steals, only four behind former teammate Jose Caballero, despite not being called up to The Show until mid-April and also spending three weeks in June with Triple-A Durham, to work on his skills in the batter’s box.
Lowe, Caminero and Simpson have all cracked the $5,000 salary level on DraftKings, though in addition to Fedducia, switch-hitting rookie Jake Mangum is also cheap and first baseman Bob Seymour is likely to get the start, with Yandy Diaz suffering an injury on Thursday. Seymour had 28 home runs at various levels in the minors last year and he had 30 at Triple-A Durham, prior to his mid-August callup.
Turning our attention to the Cardinals, they will be facing RHP Adrian Houser, who has made three road starts for the Rays, with tonight being his first at Steinbrenner Field. In that trio of tilts, Houser has been very mediocre, with a 5.17 ERA, 4.65 FIP and 4.63 xFIP. These appearances were in San Francisco, Seattle and Anaheim, which are three of the more pitching friendly parks in the league.
Lefty power has long been an issue for Houser, regardless of his uniform, so prioritize Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman. This trio will be spread out across the top-six hitters, so catcher Willson Contreras and shortstop Masyn Winn are options to create a more synergistic stack, by filling the gaps.
Late Slate Contrarian Target: Los Angeles Dodgers
This will be the second-consecutive start against Los Angeles, with the Dodgers getting to Darvis for a pair of longballs and four runs, in four innings. To his credit, the five-time All-Star has been challenging hitters, getting 34 strikeouts in his 37.2 innings. Of course, that means plenty of in-play action as well, with opposing batsmen getting a fair amount of contact.
Freddie Freeman profiles well against Darvish, with Shohei Ohtani always a priority play. After that duo, let personal preference and of course salary constraints guide your selections, with Teoscar Hernandez, Andy Pages and catcher Will Smith the next wave of options. No, Mookie Betts was not inadvertently left out, but skipping over the struggling former MVP is an easy way to create differentiation from other Los Angeles stacks.
To be clear, the boys in blue have a low stack probability on the featured-slate. That makes sense, when considering the upgrades made to the San Diego bullpen and manager Mike Shildt ready to have a quick hook, with every game being crucial for the season standings as the league heads towards the finish line.
Gamers are going to be looking to the Chicago Cubs in Anaheim against LHP Tyler Anderson as the priority late-slate play, while Houston looks good on the road in Baltimore against LHP Cade Povich and the Minnesota Twins face RHP Aaron Civale in Chicago as other featured-slate stacking candidates.
Today’s Top Sports Betting Picks
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