MLB DFS Picks Today: Daily Fantasy Baseball Strategy and Tips For FanDuel, DraftKings (7/3/25)

Zach's top DraftKings and FanDuel MLB DFS picks for today, Thursday, 7/3/25. His favorite daily fantasy baseball lineup sleepers and value picks for DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Happy Thursday, RotoBallers! After a few early games on getaway day, a solid main slate is on tap for under the lights tonight. FanDuel starts the slate at 6:45 p.m. ET to included the Tigers at Nationals matchup in Washington, D.C., while the DraftKings slate gets fired up at 7:07 p.m. ET in Toronto, where the Blue Jays can take over sole possession of first place in the AL East with a win to complete a four-game sweep of their rivals from New York. That matchup is one of the two divisional clashes on the board, along with three interleague matchups.

On the mound, some crafty veterans with good strikeout upside lead the way on an interesting slate with many ways to approach starting pitching. On the offensive side, a few juicy spots stand out for stacks, but value is spread throughout the salary spectrum and the many different matchups. In good news, the weather looks mostly clear and should present no complications.

This article will provide my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 7/3/2025, with the slate starting at 6:45 p.m. ET on FanDuel and  7:07 p.m. ET on DraftKings. 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

Robbie Ray - SF - SP ($10K DK; $10.2K FD)

Ray and the Giants are in a tight race for second place in the NL West with the Diamondbacks and Padres. After snapping a four-game losing streak on Wednesday, they'll look to get a series win on Thursday behind Ray. After making just eight starts in the last two seasons due to injury, Ray has had a great bounce-back campaign so far in 2025. He is 8-3 in 17 starts with a 2.75 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, and a 27.5% K%.

He had 23.5 DraftKings points and 46 FanDuel points when he faced the Dbacks earlier this season and has at least 13 DraftKings points in 11 of his last 12 outings. The veteran lefty hasn't given up more than three earned runs in an appearance since April 16 and has logged at least six innings in 10 of his last 12 starts. His strikeout numbers have been slightly down in his last few outings, keeping him under 20 DraftKings points, but facing the lefty-heavy Arizona lineup should help him get back in the groove and put up more strikeouts to return value on Thursday night at Chase Field.

Seth Lugo - KC - SP ($8.3K DK; $9.5K FD)

Veteran righty Seth Lugo has been spinning his way to success over his last three outings, with over 25 DraftKings points and at least seven strikeouts in excellent outings against the Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers. His high-RPM curveball has been a key to his success.

Seth Lugo, Three 3200+ RPM Curveball K. 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/3siwSPC4A1

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2025

He improved to 5-5 with a 2.74 ERA and 4.18 FIP on the season by beating the mighty Dodgers in his last start and has allowed a total of just two runs over 23 2/3 innings in his last four starts. The Mariners are a tough matchup on the road, which is why Lugo's salary is in the midrange instead of the top end of the salary structure, but he has been effective enough to overcome the matchup and bring a very nice ceiling if he stays locked in on Thursday.

Jose Soriano - LAA - SP ($7.4K DK; $8.6K FD)

Soriano is a high-risk, high-reward value option as the Halos close out their three-game set in Atlanta. Soriano has shown a very high ceiling when he's on his game, but he was shelled in his last start, giving up eight runs in four innings to the Nationals and finishing with -5.6 DraftKings points and -32.03 FanDuel points. He had a few disastrous outings like that this season, but has also had several dominant outings. Before that rough start against Washington, he had three straight starts with over 23 DraftKings points, with two outings over 33 DraftKings points and 55 FanDuel points.

Overall, the righty has a 3.99 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.47 WHIP, and 84 strikeouts in 97 innings this season. He's best used as a "boom-or-bust" play in GPP lineups due to his volatility, but his upside has been high enough that even in cash games, you can give him a look at least on DraftKings with the two-pitcher format.

Also Consider: Dustin May - LAD - SP ($7.8K DK; $8.8K FD)

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DraftKings, FanDuel Infielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Bobby Witt Jr. - KC - SS ($5.2K DK; $3.8K FD)

Witt has swiped a bag in each of his two games in July while also picking up multiple hits in each game in Seattle to produce 17 and 19 DraftKings points. He has hit safely in six straight, going 11-for-25 (.440) with three doubles, a home run, and an average of 14.3 DraftKings points per game. He and the Royals have a favorable matchup against Logan Evans, who will be recalled from Triple-A for Thursday's start.

Evans has been hit well in both Triple-A and the majors this season, so the Royals have nice late-night upside, starting with their star player, who seems to be heating up. If Witt stays aggressive on the basepaths, he can take his fantasy ceiling even higher.

Addison Barger - TOR - 3B/OF ($3.9K DK; $2.8K FD)

Barger is a great mid-priced option with dual eligibility on Thursday's slate. The 25-year-old lefty stayed hot on Wednesday to help the Blue Jays build a big lead over the Yankees.

Addison Barger continues to be a catalyst for this scorching Jays offense!

He’s hitting .274 with a .905 OPS and 8 homers in his last 30 games 🔥

pic.twitter.com/7TXRvAqwcD

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 2, 2025

Barger has 10 homers on the season after that blast and ranks in the top five percent of qualified hitters in the majors in bat speed and average exit velocity on the season. He has a 52.9% hard-hit rate on the year with a 13.7% barrel rate and continues to mash. All 10 of his home runs have come against right-handed pitchers, and he has a .364 wOBA in that split. He and the Blue Jays' smoking hot offense will look to keep rolling against Clarke Schmidt, who has given up a .311 wOBA to lefties along with six of his eight home runs allowed.

Ronny Mauricio - NYM - 2B/3B/SS (FD only) ($2.9K DK; $2.5K FD)

Mauricio has been starting against lefties after sticking in the majors even after the return of Mark Vientos from his hamstring injury. Mauricio continues to bring a good blend of power and speed potential. He has two stolen bases and three home runs in his 21 games in the majors this season, and even though he's only hitting .217, he has averaged 5.9 DraftKings points per game.

As a bargain option to fill in your roster, Mauricio brings a high ceiling, especially if he bats ninth against lefty Jose Quintana, putting him right in front of the top of the order if he gets on base. He went 0-2 on Wednesday but still had eight DraftKings points by working two walks and scoring two runs.

Also Consider: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - TOR - 1B ($5.5K DK; $3.4K FD), Jazz Chisholm - NYY - 3B/2B (FD only) ($5K DK; $3.8K FD), Chase Meidroth - CWS - SS/2B (FD Only) ($3.2K DK; $2.7K FD)

DraftKings, FanDuel Outfielders - MLB DFS Lineup Picks

Shohei Ohtani - LAD - OF/1B (DK only) ($6.4K DK; $4.7K FD)

Ohtani and the Dodgers get a great matchup at home against the White Sox and Aaron Civale, who has a 5.92 road ERA and 6.21 road FIP. On Tuesday, Ohtani opened this series with a home run and 14 fantasy points, and on Wednesday, he had a stolen base and 16 fantasy points. He has 30 homers and 12 stolen bases on the season. He can produce huge fantasy nights in multiple ways, which makes him always a strong pay-up play to consider, especially at home, where he has an average of 12.4 DraftKings points per game, a .295 batting average, and a 1.016 wOBA.

Pete Crow-Armstrong - CHC - OF ($5.7K DK; $3.7K FD)

Crow-Armstrong's breakthrough this season has been spectacular, and he has powered plenty of fantasy teams to top spots in their season-long leagues and the top of many DFS leaderboards as well.

Pete Crow-Armstrong on July 2, 2024: .188/.238/.271 (.538 OPS), 1 HR, 15 SB, 44 wRC+

PCA on July 2, 2025: .268/.305/.542 (.847 OPS), 21 HR, 64 RBI, 26 SB, 132 wRC+ and – more importantly – an NL All-Star starter.

Craig Counsell on the Cubs' budding star: pic.twitter.com/vCIxP1fofi

— Andy Martínez (@amartinez_11) July 3, 2025

Like Ohtani, PCA has multiple ways to produce big fantasy games, either with his speed, his power, or both. He brings both a high ceiling and a high floor as a result, and he is in a good matchup on Thursday at home against Joey Cantillo and the Guardians. Crow-Armstrong had 22 DraftKings points Wednesday and has averaged 8.6 DraftKings points per game over his last 11 contests.

Jorge Soler - LAA - OF ($3.1K DK; $2.8K FD)

Soler is still hitting only .202 on the season, which is why his salary is so low on both sites, but he has looked good in his two games since returning from the injured list. He went 1-for-2 with a double and 13 DraftKings points on Tuesday after being activated after missing 10 days with nagging back soreness. He homered and had 14 DraftKings points on Wednesday, and he should be in a good matchup against Bryce Elder, giving him a nice ceiling for such a bargain player in the heart of his team's batting order.

Also Consider: Riley Greene - DET - OF (N/A DK; $3.6K FD), Sal Frelick - MIL - OF ($4.3K DK; $3.2K FD), Giancarlo Stanton - NYY - OF ($3.5K DK; $2.8K FD)

DraftKings, FanDuel MLB DFS Stacks

Los Angeles Dodgers (vs. Aaron Civale - CWS)

The wind is forecast to be blowing softly out again at Dodger Field on another warm SoCal evening. Civale has gone 1-4 with a 4.74 ERA in his eight starts for the Brewers and White Sox and has seven homers and a 9.9% barrel rate. He has especially struggled on the road and against lefties, so stacking Ohtani with last night's hero Freddie Freeman ($4.9K DK; $3.5K FD) and Max Muncy ($4.7K DK; $3.2K FD) makes sense as a power trio. You can mix in Tommy Edman ($3.6K DK; $2.9K FD) and Andy Pages ($4.2K DK; $3K FD) as lower-cost plays to round out the stack as well.

Kansas City Royals (vs. Logan Evans - SEA)

Evans is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA and 4.76 FIP in his seven major league starts, but has been knocked around at Triple-A lately with a 5.40 ERA and 3.58 FIP in his nine starts in Tacoma. He gave up eight runs in three innings in his last Triple-A outing but still will move to he majors to fill in as the Mariners' fifth starter on Thursday. Witt is a great place to start your Royals stack (as noted above), and I also like Maikel Garcia ($4.2K DK; $3.1K FD), Jonathan India ($3.2K DK; $2.9K FD), and Salvador Perez ($3.3K DK; $3K FD) to bring good upside at their affordable price points.

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