Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Saturday 7/19

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) Last Updated 2025-07-19 15:48:00 Premium Content Part of the product MLB DFS

Long-time grinder, Justin Van Zuiden (aka stlcardinals84), is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Cards has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks.

Welcome to the weekend, Grinders! I hope you were all able to enjoy the 4-day break earlier this week and are ready to head back to the DFS streets. This Saturday brings us a surprisingly odd schedule that is heavily tilted toward the evening games — something that generally isn’t the case on Saturdays. I am happy that the scheduling bosses allowed me to get an extra hour of sleep this morning. Thank you for that!

We will focus today’s article on the 9-game main slate, which at first glance seems to be a bit of a dud. The pitching options are underwhelming, and the offense is jumbled. Maybe things will look better as we dig deeper into the weeds. If you are playing any of the early slates, we will have things covered with our MLB DFS projections so that you can build lineups with our MLB DFS optimizer, LineupHQ.

Let’s dive in and see what the evening games have to offer!

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Saturday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on FanDuel & DraftKings

TOP TIER PITCHERS

Freddy Peralta at Dodgers
Sonny Gray at Diamondbacks
Shota Imanaga vs. Red Sox

This isn’t supposed to happen. Today is the second day after the All-Star Break. Teams can set up their pitching rotations as they desire, and this is what I am given for pitching? The pitcher with the 4th-highest salary on DraftKings is Brayan Bello. On FanDuel, it is Ryne Nelson. Ryne Nelson! I am not trying to knock these pitchers, especially Bello, as he has been strong of late. I just was expecting more fun arms to discuss. It’s a bummer. Alas, we are all dealing with the same player pool. As usual, let’s start with a look at the 2025 data:

Peralta – 2.66 ERA, 3.97 xFIP, 25.9% K, 8.1% BB
Gray – 3.50 ERA, 2.87 xFIP, 27.3% K, 4.4% BB
Imanaga – 2.65 ERA, 4.85 xFIP, 18.2% K, 6.1% BB

Let’s get the easy part out of the way. I have zero interest in Shota Imanaga. While fly-ball pitchers do tend to pitch to a better ERA than their advanced metrics indicate, Imanaga is going to experience some negative variance at some point. Even if we do say the 2.65 ERA is legit, do you want to pay for a pitcher with an 18% strikeout rate on a night where the wind is blowing out at Wrigley Field? That’s not great for a fly-ball pitcher either. I’m out.

That leaves the discussion between Freddy Peralta and Sonny Gray. While Peralta has the better ERA, Gray gets the better of him in xFIP, SIERA, strikeout rate, and walk rate. Peralta is also facing the Dodgers. Gray is the “correct” choice on paper for your SP1, especially since the Diamondbacks are likely going to be without Ketel Marte again.

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