MLB DFS Plays for July 3

Finding the best pitchers and lineups to stack in Tuesday's DFS contests.

Mark Brown / Getty Images

Tuesday brings the usual full 15-game schedule in the majors, although only 12 games will make up the main slate in DFS due to a few early start times. Consider using the picks below and plugging them into our MLB Lineup Optimizer to help fill out the rest of your lineup.

Starting Pitchers

Zack Greinke, vs. Cardinals (FD: $10,100, DK: $10,900)

Greinke doesn’t rack up strikeouts like other aces such as Chris Sale or Max Scherzer, but he’s putting together another excellent season with a 3.41 ERA, 3.70 FIP and 1.11 WHIP. He’s been great at limiting baserunners throughout his career, finishing with a WHIP of 1.15 or lower in four of the last five seasons. His 9.4 K/9 isn’t off the charts, but it certainly still leaves him with plenty of upside regardless of his opponent. He also loves pitching at Chase Field, posting a 2.40 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP across eight starts there this year. The Cardinals got to Greinke for five runs in five innings earlier this season, but that game came at Busch Stadium. He’s a better bet on Tuesday.

Zach Eflin, vs. Orioles (FD: $9,100, DK: $9,900)

Eflin has been one of this season’s biggest surprises, pitching to a 3.02 ERA and a 2.86 FIP across 10 starts. He’s cut his WHIP down to 1.13 and has allowed only four home runs in 55 2/3 innings. His average fastball velocity is up to 95.1 mph from 93.7 mph a year ago, and he sports a career-high 10.5% swinging-strike rate. The Orioles have scored the second-fewest runs (305) in baseball and won’t have the use of the DH in Philadelphia, setting Eflin up nicely to add another strong start to his breakout campaign.

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Chris Bassitt, vs. Padres (FD: $7,000, DK: $6,300)

Bassitt hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2016, and even that year he only made five appearances. His last significant action came in 2015 when he finished with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 18 appearances, 13 of which were starts. He’s had mixed results in four starts this season, but he’s also been done in by the Athletics defense as five of the 12 runs he has allowed have been unearned. He shut down two bad offenses in the Royals and Tigers, allowing just one run and recording 11 strikeouts across 13 innings. The Padres have scored the fifth-fewest runs (321) in baseball, leaving Bassitt as a viable option in tournament play.

Offensive Stacks

Colorado Rockies vs. Chris Stratton, San Francisco Giants
Stadium – Coors Field

Stratton has a respectable 4.45 ERA and 4.08 FIP, but his numbers could be much worse considering his 1.40 WHIP. He has allowed a 42.5% hard-hit rate and doesn’t strike out many hitters either with an 18.1% strikeout rate. He has already faced the Rockies twice this season, giving up nine runs, eight earned, in nine innings. Both of those starts were in San Francisco, so this will be an even tougher task in Coors Field. The Rockies only have a .686 OPS on the road, but they have a .802 OPS at home. This game could get out of hand in a hurry for Stratton.

Cleveland Indians vs. Danny Duffy, Kansas City Royals
Stadium – Kauffman Stadium

Duffy can be tough to hit when he’s on top of his game, evident by the fact that he has allowed one or zero runs in three of his last four starts. On the flip side, he has allowed at least five earned runs in a game six times this season. The Indians have hit him hard in two starts this year, scoring 12 runs in nine innings. The Indians are tied for the fifth-most runs (418) and have hit the third-most home runs (118) in baseball, so don’t expect Duffy to be able to slow them down this time either.

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Houston Astros vs. Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Texas Rangers
Stadium – Globe Life Park in Arlington

Bibens-Dirkx has a 3.57 ERA and a 3.24 FIP in four starts this season, but he has allowed plenty of baserunners with a 1.32 WHIP and doesn’t get many strikeouts. A big reason for his success is likely the fact that three of his four outings have come against the Royals and Padres. In the one outing where he faced a tougher lineup, he surrendered four runs to the Mariners in 4 2/3 innings. This will be a significant test against the Astros who still have a potent lineup despite Carlos Correa (back) being on the DL. The Astros also have the highest road OPS (.805) in baseball.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Alex Cobb, Baltimore Orioles
Stadium – Citizens Bank Park

The Orioles have had a hard time finding reliable starting pitching, but were hoping they solved at least one spot in their rotation bringing in Cobb this offseason. To say the signing hasn’t gone well up to this point is an understatement. Cobb has a 6.75 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP, making him one of the worst performing starters in the majors this season. He has allowed at least five runs in three of his last four starts and seven times this season. The Phillies are middle of the pack in terms of runs scored, but this matchup against Cobb gives them significant upside.