Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for July 24, 2026

Friday’s MLB slate is loaded with 15 games, and that means plenty of paths to build a winning DraftKings or FanDuel lineup for cash games and GPPs alike. From a Dodgers-Mets matchup in Queens to an Athletics offense walking into the worst team ERA in baseball, tonight’s board has clear separation between the plays worth paying up for and the value spots hiding underneath.

Our approach for today’s MLB DFS picks blends two premium Dodgers bats in a plus matchup, a starting pitcher getting a discount price against a shorthanded lineup, a mid-range arm at home with a favorable park shift, and a cheap power bat facing one of the league’s most beatable pitching staffs. Here’s where the value lives on tonight’s slate.

Kyle Tucker, OF — Los Angeles Dodgers ($5,600 FD / roughly $5,000 range DK tiers)

Tucker has quietly rounded back into form after missing time with back spasms in late June. Over his last nine games he’s posted a .940 OPS with a double, a homer, five RBI and seven runs scored, a clear step up from the .244/.348/.383 line he carried into that stretch. He’s currently hitting cleanup-to-two-hole in a Dodgers order that ranks among the most dangerous in baseball, and tonight he draws Sean Manaea and the Mets bullpen at Citi Field.

Manaea has been shaky in 2026, sitting at 2-5 with an ERA pushing toward 4.75 on the year, and the Mets pitching staff overall has struggled to keep the ball in the park against left-handed power. Tucker’s price tag still reflects his early-season slump more than his actual current form, which is exactly the kind of gap DFS players want to exploit in cash games. He’s a foundational piece for lineups targeting the Dodgers’ road trip into Flushing.

Freddie Freeman, 1B — Los Angeles Dodgers

Freeman is in the middle of one of the best stretches of his season. Over his last seven days he’s hitting .360 with four home runs, five RBI and a preposterous 1.107 OPS, and he’s carried that momentum into a .343 average over his last 30 days with six homers and 15 RBI. Batting fifth in the Dodgers order behind Mookie Betts and ahead of Andy Pages, Freeman is going to see plenty of pitches to hit against a Mets pitching staff that ranks near the bottom of the league defensively and on the mound.

The matchup context matters here too. New York’s rotation has been forced to piece things together, and Manaea’s fastball has been especially hittable against left-handed power bats like Freeman’s this season. With this level of recent production, Freeman is priced more like a solid complementary piece than the true stud he’s playing like right now, making him one of the better cash-game building blocks on the board.

Roki Sasaki, SP — Los Angeles Dodgers ($6,800 DK range) vs. New York Mets

Sasaki has had a rocky 2026, sitting at 3-5 with an ERA hovering around 5.00 and a WHIP near 1.40, and that ugly season-long line is exactly why he’s still priced as an affordable arm on tonight’s slate. What matters for DFS purposes is the matchup, not the cumulative numbers: he draws a Mets lineup that ranks near the bottom of MLB in on-base percentage and slugging this season, with several regulars hitting well under .260.

Sasaki still misses bats at a solid clip when his control is working, and a lineup that’s without some of its more dangerous right-handed bats gives him a real path to a quality strikeout total even on an off night for his command. In tournament formats, a discounted Dodger with strikeout equity against a punchless lineup is a classic GPP pivot away from the higher-owned arms on the board. In cash games, treat him as a game-stack complement rather than the anchor of your lineup given the WHIP risk.

Grant Holmes, SP — Atlanta Braves ($6,700 FD / $7,600 DK range) vs. Baltimore Orioles

Holmes has quietly turned into one of the more reliable innings-eaters in the Atlanta rotation, sitting at 5-4 with a 3.83 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 17 starts, and he’s trending in the right direction. Over his last seven games he’s posted a 2.97 ERA, and he was efficient in his most recent outing, working five innings of one-run ball. Tonight he gets a home matchup against Baltimore at Camden Yards conditions that lean pitcher-friendly.

Holmes carries a career mark of a 3.27 ERA and 1.22 WHIP at home since 2024, a notable split from his 4.48 ERA on the road over that stretch, and Baltimore’s lineup has had its share of swing-and-miss issues against quality right-handed stuff this year. At his current price relative to arms like Grayson Rodriguez or Tanner Bibee-caliber pitchers on comparable slates, Holmes offers rotation-anchor upside without eating into premium salary, making him a strong split-slate option for cash and GPP builds alike.

Josh Bell, 1B/DH — Minnesota Twins vs. Athletics

Bell is one of the cleanest cheap plays on the entire board tonight. He’s been on a real power surge, hitting .263 over his last 15 games with four home runs and 11 RBI, and he’s carried a .586 slugging percentage over his last 30 days. That kind of pop from the middle of Minnesota’s order at a rock-bottom salary is precisely the profile DFS players hunt for in punt spots.

The matchup could not be better suited to that power. Oakland’s pitching staff carries a 5.13 team ERA, the worst mark in the majors this season, and their rotation has struggled to consistently miss bats or limit hard contact against left-handed power bats like Bell’s. With the Twins at home and Bell locked into everyday at-bats, he gives lineups a legitimate source of ceiling without requiring much of the salary cap, freeing up room to pay up at pitcher or in the outfield.

Building Your Lineup

Tonight’s slate rewards stacking the Dodgers-Mets game from the Los Angeles side. Tucker and Freeman pair naturally in the same lineup since both benefit from the same soft matchup against Manaea and a shaky Mets bullpen, and adding a third Dodgers bat further up or down the order is a reasonable way to leverage that game environment in both cash games and GPPs. If you’re checking a MLB odds board before building, the Dodgers’ short line against New York lines up with the offensive profile these DFS projections are pointing toward.

At pitcher, consider pairing a value arm like Holmes with a Dodgers stack rather than doubling up on Sasaki, since rostering a pitcher against the same lineup you’re stacking creates unnecessary correlation risk if that game turns into a slugfest. For salary relief, Bell is a strong way to access power at a punt price, which frees up cap room to pay full price at the premium outfield or third-base tiers. If Tucker and Freeman carry heavy ownership tonight given how public their recent form has become, differentiating in GPPs by pivoting off one of them and onto a similarly matchup-driven bat further down the Dodgers order — or onto Bell’s cheaper power profile — is a sound way to build uniqueness without sacrificing correlation to a game script you like. As always, check final confirmed lineups and any late scratches before locking your DraftKings lineup or FanDuel picks, since bullpen usage and late lineup shuffles can shift the calculus in either direction right up to first pitch.