MLB DFS Picks Today: Daily Fantasy Baseball Strategy and Tips For FanDuel, DraftKings (8/14/25)

Zach's top DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks for today, Thursday, 8/14/25. His favorite daily fantasy baseball lineup sleepers and value picks for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Welcome back, RotoBallers! Thursday night features a five-game slate on both DraftKings and FanDuel that includes the games starting at 6:40 p.m. ET or later. Three new divisional series are starting in Washington, Minnesota, and Colorado, while the Mets and Guardians are hosting the Braves and Marlins, respectively, to finish their three-game series that started on Tuesday.

With the Colorado Rockies hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks, Coors Field is in play with the highest run total on the board by a wide margin. That's not the only offense-friendly matchup on the board, though, with the Phillies and Mets also checking in with implied run totals of at least five runs. On the mound, there are some solid options as well, led by AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 8/14/2025, with the slate starting at 6:40 PM ET. The lineup picks will showcase elite players, mid-priced options, and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for other sports here. Monitoring injury news and today's MLB starting lineups is always essential.

DraftKings, FanDuel Pitchers - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Tarik Skubal, SP - DET ($11.9K DK/$11K FD)

Skubal is the top pay-up arm available, and he gets a very favorable matchup as he takes on the Twins in Minnesota. He comes into the game averaging 25.9 DraftKings points and 43.7 FanDuel points per game on the season with a 2.35 ERA, 2.12 FIP, 0.86 WHIP, and 187 strikeouts in his 145 1/3 innings this season. He has given up at least three runs in each of his last two starts, though, while still posting double-digit strikeouts in four of his last seven outings.

He faced the Twins once this season and racked up 13 strikeouts in seven shutout innings, dominating over seven shutout innings and earning 70 FanDuel points and 44.55 DraftKings points. Here's all 13 of the punchouts from that start:

Dan Dickerson and Dan Petry call all 13 of Tarik Skubal’s strikeouts against the Twins,#RepDetroit pic.twitter.com/JDgvY2EO9S

— will: Riley Greene Truther (@wrhiv_72) July 1, 2025

He needs a bounce-back outing, and the Twins are a favorable spot to find just that. Since August 1, they have only hit .220 as a team with 4.2 runs per game and a 24.2% K% that ranks in the top 10 in the majors during that span.

Edward Cabrera, SP - MIA ($8.7K DK/$8.9K FD)

The Marlins and Guardians split the first two games of their series in The 'Land, and Miami will look to claim a series win by giving the ball to Cabrera, who has been outstanding all season, but especially in his last four starts. In each of those four starts, Cabrera has allowed just one earned run while compiling a 1.40 ERA, 3.15 FIP, and 28 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings.

He had a season-high 11 strikeouts in his most recent outing, which was last Friday against the Braves, racking up 64 FanDuel points and 40.2 DraftKings points. Cabrera only allowed two hits for a second straight start after also silencing the Yankees in his first start of the month. Cleveland's offense has been much better over the last month, but Eury Perez held them in check on Wednesday, and I think Cabrera can continue his momentum with a similar outing on Thursday.

Others To Consider (Cash/GPP):

• Kodai Senga, SP - NYM ($8.9K DK/$8.2K FD)
• Brad Lord, SP - WSH ($6.3K DK/$6.2K FD)

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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Ketel Marte, 2B - ARI ($6.4K DK/$4.6K FD)

The Diamondbacks are in a smash spot against Bradley Blalock at Coors Field, and Marte is a pay-up play worth considering after back-to-back massive games in Texas that he ended with his go-ahead smash on Wednesday.

Ketel Marte's 4th hit of the game is a GO-AHEAD HOMER in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/CTKCGlxRU1

— MLB (@MLB) August 13, 2025

He's averaging 13.5 DraftKings points per game over his last 10 contests while going 15-for-39 (.385) with a 40% hard-hit rate, three home runs, 11 runs scored, and 12 RBI. This season, he has also averaged 15.7 DraftKings points per game in his nine matchups against the Rockies. He has hit .296 with nine homers in his career at Coors Field and is the centerpiece of my top stack highlighted below, since the Dbacks should pile up plenty of runs in the latest game on Thursday's slate.

Brett Baty, 3B/2B - NYM ($3.7K DK/$2.5K FD)

Baty has hit safely in five of his last six games and is in a good spot against righty Bryce Elder on Thursday night as the Mets close out their series against the struggling Braves. Baty had two hits in each of the first two games of this series and is hitting .271 in his 19 games since the All-Star break with four homers, a .353 wOBA, and a .220 ISO.

The 25-year-old lefty has hit 11 of his 13 homers this season against righties and 11 of his 13 homers at home, where he has a .298 batting average and .390 wOBA. Since he's on the strong side of both of those splits, he's a good bargain to consider on Thursday night.

Ezequiel Tovar, SS - COL ($3.7K DK/$3.4K FD)

Don't forget that the Diamondbacks aren't the only team playing at Coors Field this Thursday. The Rockies come home to a solid matchup against Eduardo Rodriguez, and Tovar remains relatively affordable at shortstop despite the elevation boost. He has been limited to just 54 games this season by injury, but the 24-year-old has still been productive when available, despite a dip in power production.

He is hitting .306 since the All-Star break with three homers, two stolen bases, and 16 runs scored in 22 games. He has spent most of that time hitting second or third in the lineup and getting on base in front of the Rockies' power bats. He is 17-for-49 (.347) so far in August, and he usually hits lefties well, including going 3-for-8 with a double in his career against Rodriguez.

• Pete Alonso, 1B - NYM ($5.5K DK/$3.6K FD)
• Tyler Locklear, 1B - ARI ($3.6K DK/$3K FD)
• Blaze Alexander, 3B on DK, SS/2B/3B on FD - ARI ($4K DK/$3.1K FD)
• Kyle Karros, 3B - COL ($3K on DK/$3.2K FD)

DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Juan Soto, OF - NYM ($5.8K DK/$4.2K FD)

Soto stayed hot with his fourth homer in his last six games on Wednesday, and he's 9-for-30 (.300) over his last nine games with an impressive 61.9% hard-hit rate. The Mets are in a favorable matchup with Elder, who has a 7.97 ERA and 4.98 FIP since the All-Star break. Soto has homered against him in the past, going 2-for-3 in their previous meetings.

Soto is a solid pay-up play with a high ceiling when he's in this kind of form, and he has especially thrived against righties at Citi Field during his first season with the Mets.

Jakob Marsee, OF - MIA ($3.7K DK/$3.1K FD)

Marsee is a great option in the outfield who brings a high ceiling and a hot bat to Thursday's series finale in Cleveland. He snapped the Marlins' four-game losing streak almost single-handedly on Wednesday. He had two homers, a double, a stolen base, and seven RBI to finish 4-for-5 with 51 DraftKings points.

Jakob Marsee had 7 RBI tonight after he had 3 SB on Saturday.

In the live ball era (since 1920):
-No other rookie has had a 7+ RBI game and a 3+ SB game in a season
-The only other player to have a 4-game span with a 7+ RBI game and a 3+ SB game is Grady Sizemore (Aug. 2008) pic.twitter.com/HDJMT7wyKc

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 14, 2025

Marsee has averaged 13.8 DraftKings points and 18.2 FanDuel points per game in his 13 games in the majors. He has 10 extra-base hits and six stolen bases over that span, showing dual-threat potential that gives him a high ceiling. While it remains to be seen if he can keep this up long-term, he's definitely hot enough to be a great value play this Thursday.

C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF - CLE ($2.7K DK/$2.3K FD)

Another rookie bargain play with good momentum coming into Thursday's game is the Guardians' C.J. Kayfus, who hit .300 with 14 homers and a .409 wOBA in Double-A and Triple-A before getting the call to the majors on August 2.

In his 10 games, he is hitting a solid .258 with three doubles, a home run, a stolen base, and a .325 wOBA. The Guardians are giving the lefty top prospect a long look to see if he's ready to help them either at first base or a corner outfield spot for next season. He brings solid upside if he's in the lineup against Cabrera and the Marlins on Thursday night.

Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): 

• Corbin Carroll, OF - ARI  ($6.6K DK/$4.7K FD)
• James Wood, OF - WSH ($5.1K DK/ $3.8K FD)
• Michael Harris II, OF - ATL ($3.3K DK/$2.7K FD)

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks

1. Arizona Diamondbacks (Implied Run Total - 7.0) vs. Bradley Blalock

The Diamondbacks are an obvious play against the Rockies at Coors Field, but that doesn't mean they are not also the correct stack to build around. Blalock has gone 1-3 in his 10 games this season with a 7.89 ERA, 5.90 FIP, and nine homers allowed in 43 1/3 innings. Lefties are hitting .347 with a .414 wOBA against him on the year, with six of his nine homers allowed. The Diamondbacks got five runs on seven hits off Blalock in his last start on Saturday in Arizona. With Coors Field in the mix, they should be ready for launch once again on Thursday.

Favorite Combo: Marte, Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Locklear, Alexander

2. New York Mets (Implied Run Total - 5.0) vs. Bryce Elder

The Mets scored 13 runs to snap a seven-game losing streak in the first game of this series and jumped out to an early lead on Wednesday before the Braves rallied past them to get the win. They can still win the series, though, with a good showing against Elder on Thursday. Elder is 4-9 in his 19 starts this year with a 6.12 ERA, 5.15 FIP, and a 45.9% hard-hit rate against him. He has given up 15 runs in 15 1/3 innings over his last three starts and 43 runs over 42 2/3 innings in his last nine starts dating back to early June.

Favorite Combo: Soto, Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Baty, Francisco Alvarez

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