Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for DraftKings and FanDuel Lineups on July 12

Sunday’s MLB slate is loaded with afternoon baseball, headlined by a marquee pitching matchup in Detroit and a couple of teams playing spoiler before the All-Star break. With most of the day’s 15 games clustered in the 1-2:30 p.m. ET window, DFS players have a good-sized main slate to build around, and there’s real separation at the top of the pitcher pool between the aces and the rest of the field.

Our approach today leans into that separation: pay up for swing-and-miss stuff at the top, then pivot to hitters facing pitchers who are clearly struggling right now. That means fading a couple of shaky arms and stacking the bats lined up against them for both cash game safety and GPP upside.

Tarik Skubal, SP — Detroit Tigers ($10,300 DK / $10,700 FD)

Skubal remains the standard against which every other pitcher on the board gets measured, and he draws his final start before the All-Star break at home against Philadelphia. On the season he’s sitting at a 3.06 ERA with a sparkling 0.95 WHIP, and his 84-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 70.2 innings is elite even by his own lofty standards. That kind of control paired with plus swing-and-miss stuff gives him a strong floor in cash games and one of the highest strikeout ceilings on the slate in tournaments.

He’ll be opposed by Zack Wheeler, who’s been arguably the best pitcher in baseball himself this year (9-1, 2.28 ERA, 98 strikeouts), so run support isn’t guaranteed. But DFS pitcher scoring is about strikeouts and innings more than wins, and Skubal has been death on opposing lineups all year. Paying up for him remains close to a lock in single-entry and cash lineups, and he’s justifiable in GPPs too given how thin the truly elite tier is on this slate. If you’re building your lineup on DraftKings today, a DraftKings promo code can help offset your entry fees.

Freddie Freeman, 1B — Los Angeles Dodgers ($5,800 DK / $3,600 FD)

Freeman gets a fantastic runway today against Arizona’s Zac Gallen, who has been the worst qualified starter in baseball by ERA this season. Gallen is sitting at a brutal 6.34 ERA with a 1.56 WHIP, both of which lead all of MLB among qualified starters, and he’s been especially homer-prone, having already allowed more long balls than in each of his previous two full seasons combined. He’s lined up for another difficult road assignment against a Dodgers lineup that mashes lefties and righties alike.

Freeman himself has been steady all year, and left-handed bats have had real success against Gallen’s diminished fastball, which has bled a much higher opponent average and slugging percentage than it did even a year ago. At a moderate price point on both sites, Freeman offers a strong floor from a professional hitter in a plus park against a pitcher who simply cannot get hitters out right now.

Kyle Tucker, OF — Los Angeles Dodgers ($4,700 DK / $3,400 FD)

Tucker is the more contrarian angle in the same Dodgers-Diamondbacks matchup, and he’s arriving at the perfect time. After a first half that saw his batting average dip below .250 for the first time in his career, Tucker has caught fire over his last nine games, posting a .940 OPS during that stretch with a double, a homer, five RBI and seven runs scored. He’s also drawn walks at a strong clip during the surge, a sign his plate discipline and timing have both rounded into form.

Pairing Tucker with Freeman as a mini Dodgers stack against Gallen makes sense from a correlation standpoint — if Los Angeles gets to Gallen early, both bats are live for extra bases and runs. At sub-$5,000 on DraftKings and a rock-bottom $3,400 on FanDuel, Tucker offers real salary relief that lets you pay up elsewhere, most likely at the pitcher position. Players entering on FanDuel today can also take advantage of a FanDuel promo code for extra lineup entries.

Elly De La Cruz, SS — Cincinnati Reds ($5,700 DK)

De La Cruz brings some of the highest raw power and stolen-base upside on the board, with 14 home runs, 43 RBI and 13 steals already on the season. He’s cooled off a bit over his last week (just a .231 average with one homer in that stretch), but the underlying exit-velocity profile hasn’t changed, and today’s matchup against Chicago’s Matthew Boyd is a favorable one to break out of it.

Boyd has had a homer problem of late — he allowed two home runs in just five innings in his most recent start and has given up multiple long balls in more than one outing over his last month. De La Cruz’s blend of power and speed gives him a rare dual-category ceiling in DFS scoring that few players at the shortstop position can match, and the price remains reasonable relative to his talent level given his recent cold stretch. For a deeper breakdown of platform options, our DFS reviews hub covers the major sites in detail.

Andrew Abbott, SP — Cincinnati Reds ($7,500 DK / $8,300 FD)

For a value arm behind Skubal, Abbott stands out as a strong SP2 option. The Reds lefty carries a 3.92 ERA on the season, but he’s been sharper of late, posting a 3.76 ERA over his last seven starts while racking up 39 strikeouts across 38.1 innings in that span. He’s also shown he can miss bats against the Cubs specifically, and Chicago’s lineup carries some real strikeout risk against left-handed pitching up and down the order.

At $7,500 on DraftKings, Abbott is priced well below the top tier of arms on the slate despite a track record of missing bats and limiting damage in his recent starts. He offers a solid floor for cash lineups looking to save salary at the pitcher spot while still getting the strikeout upside needed to compete in tournaments. New players looking to try daily fantasy for the first time can browse current DFS promotions before locking in a lineup.

Building Your Lineup

The clearest roster construction path today is Skubal at the top of your pitcher pool paired with a mini Dodgers stack of Freeman and Tucker against Gallen, using the salary saved on Tucker to fill out your lineup elsewhere. If you want a pitching pivot to save cap space, Abbott gives you a credible strikeout floor at a fraction of Skubal’s price, which frees up more room to pay up at other hitting spots.

De La Cruz is the most obvious power-speed combo play against a homer-prone Boyd, and he should carry moderate ownership given his cold stretch — that makes him a solid pivot point in GPPs where the field may be underweight on him relative to his talent. Whichever build you land on, prioritize the Gallen and Boyd matchups today; both pitchers have shown real, sustained vulnerability, and stacking bats against them is the highest-percentage way to attack this main slate for both cash games and DraftKings/FanDuel tournament lineups. If you want to compare every legal option side by side, check out our full list of DFS platforms.