MLB DFS Picks for Fantasy Baseball Today & Strategy

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) are rising in popularity by the day, with over 30 million players per year. With countless options, such as Underdog, Sleeper Fantasy, Dabble Fantasy, PrizePicks, Chalkboard Fantasy, Boom Sports, DraftKings and many more, there are several ways to get into the DFS scene.

DFS users will enjoy their experience, no matter if they’re an MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL or college sports type of person. And with Major League Baseball guaranteeing your favorite team at least 162 games a year, there are plenty of opportunities to draft a squad and make some money playing MLB DFS contests!

The regular season is almost here and will provide plenty of excitement, so check out the links below to join in on the MLB DFS fun!

Fantasy Baseball ADP (Average Draft Position): Week of April 13, 2026

This is a section you’ll want to pay attention to come spring.

Average Draft Position (ADP) is an important thing to understand before diving into the world of MLB DFS.

Check out the average draft position (ADP) for Underdog DFS contests for the 2026 regular season below:

Daily Picks: MLB DFS

We finally made it! The 2026 MLB season is here, bringing fresh matchups, new storylines, and plenty of daily DFS opportunities to attack.

With the regular season in full swing, it’s a great time to find early edges and build momentum. Featuring a mix of proven stars and value plays to help you start the season strong, these are our favorite picks for Friday, April 17, 2026, via Underdog:

But first, Underdog is giving you a 40% boost on an MLB only parlay, 3-8 max picks, $50 max bet. Use these picks below and throw that boost on there!

For Friday, April 17, I am taking a trio of MLB picks from tonights slate. First, I am taking Edward Cabrera of the Cubs to have higher than 6+ strikeouts vs. the Mets. Next, I am taking Tajuan Walker of the Phillies to have lower than 16 pitching outs, a number he has yet to hit all year. Lastly, I am taking Aaron Judge of the Yankees to have 2+ hits+runs+rbis vs. the Royals tonight.

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My Favorite MLB DFS Contests To Play

I love pick’em contests, especially over at Underdog. And when it comes to baseball, I really enjoy playing pitcher strikeout contests. If you’re going to settle in and watch a particular game, it can be a lot of fun to have the chance to win some money by picking strikeout totals for each pitcher.

You know when you are letting your wife take a nap and you’re watching your infant daughter and there’s an afternoon baseball game on TV, so you’re locked in on it? (Or is that a situation that was specific to me during the early months of the 2026 season?) Either way, I managed to win some money on a White Sox-Blue Jays game, and I didn’t even wake up my wife when José Berríos struck out his sixth batter:

A variation on the pitcher strikeout contests is to play contests involving pitching outs. I especially enjoy this when it comes time for playoff baseball.

When Houston and Texas were squaring off in the 2023 postseason, this contest was about the biggest no-brainer I could find:

I only wish I’d upped my normal entry fee a bit for that one, as it won pretty comfortably.

And though this is an MLB DFS page, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention all of the professional baseball offerings over at Underdog. Heck, you can score a win before you wake up here in America by playing pick’em contests involving KBO (the Korean professional baseball league) action:

Are you more interested in the guys who swing the bat rather than the guys who hurl the ball? Well, there are plenty of pick’em options available for you, too! Just head over to your favorite DFS app to see all the offerings each and every day during the regular season.

MLB DFS: Why We Love Fantasy Baseball

MLB DFS is growing in popularity because of its availability, and that’s exactly why I love getting in on the fun during the long regular season. From late March to October there are games on every single night. More games, more drafts, more contests and better potential earnings, right?

I’ll be the first to admit MLB is not my go-to league for watching games, but that has changed now that I can put real money on the line. If you’re in a similar boat, playing MLB DFS is a great way to make every pitch matter more. If you’re the type trying to get into baseball but find the whole thing daunting, DFS is a perfect way to better learn the game, its players and the overall atmosphere of the league. Not to mention you can win real money by using your knowledge of the game in DFS drafts, pick’em contests, best-ball contests and more.

Fun ones to get in on before Opening Day are any of the preseason best-ball contests available, specifically on Underdog Fantasy. I recently entered a $5 lobby called “The Warmup” that consisted of a 20-round draft that took around 45 minutes. It’s your standard fantasy draft, but you don’t have to go through the hassle of changing your lineup every week! I’d like to think I drafted a pretty strong group of players, too!

Drafts not necessarily your thing? Thrive and Underdog both have you covered with higher/lower prop contests. You can pick from dozens to hundreds of props depending on the slate that night. Feeling like Brandon Woodruff can eclipse 6 strikeouts? Smash that higher option. Feel like a Phillies player like newly acquired shortstop Trea Turner will have an off night? Take the lower on his total bases option. Not to mention, you can live bet your favorite team and follow along in the action for twice the fun.

I’m an Atlanta Braves guy myself. I’m very excited to see what Michael Harris can do under his new contract. I also firmly believe Dansby Swanson can make an impact in Chicago with the Cubs. You’d better believe I’ll be placing some higher/lower picks on the two of them this season.

What MLB DFS looks like

Below are some screenshots from a variety of MLB DFS contests via Underdog Fantasy. Underdog brings so much to the table — everything from your typical daily fantasy contests for a weekday slate of games, to best-ball tournaments that span the entire season or the entire MLB playoffs in October. You can also find pick’em contests, similar to prop bets.

Here are a few screenshots of what this looks like. We’re big fans of playing NBA DFS on the Underdog platform. But with the MLB regular season here, we are eager to get after these contests:

MLB DFS Prop Contests (Higher/Lower)

If you’ve ever placed a bet on sports before you likely know what prop bets are. Essentially, there is a line that Thrive and Underdog create that you will weigh certain players against. The line could be over/under (or as Underdog calls it, higher/lower) 5 strikeouts for Blake Snell or higher/lower 2.5 hits for Juan Soto.

Here’s a screenshot that shows you what this looks like for a MLB slate of spring games. This is a winning contest featuring spring training strikeout totals:

Next, we have a losing contest, where 1 pitcher (Jack Flaherty of the St. Louis Cardinals) didn’t hit the “higher” option on his strikeout total for a spring training game:

Even though Chris Sale did strike out the required number of batters, the contest was a loss because Flaherty came up short.

If a player hits his higher/lower line exactly, that part of the contest is voided. Here’s an example of a contest that was a draw, as Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox recorded exactly 4 strikeouts, giving me my $3 contest entry fee back:

You’ll notice you are required to make at least 2 picks for an entry to be legitimate on Underdog. You also have to pick from at least 2 separate teams, so you can’t team up on Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge on the same night, etc. If the Yankees were playing the Braves, you’d have to put something on Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña or 1 of the other Braves players, too.

MLB Daily Drafts

Daily drafts are my go-to when it comes to MLB DFS. You can enter a number of drafts with a number of different pool sizes, rounds, etc. Something that’s important to remember is that you may be thrown into pools of 5 other players drafting, but you’ll be matched up against upwards of 5,000 other players for the contest! The goal is for your squad to meet a certain percentile to earn cash. The better your team does, the more you win!

MLB action begins in late-March. Once the season begins, you’ll be able to get in on the daily-draft action. And with a game every night, there are plenty of opportunities to get your feet wet.

MLB Best-Ball Contests

Now is the time to enter some best-ball drafts! There are $3, $5, $25 and even a $250 pool you can enter before the season starts. Each yields a proportionate cash prize for the winner and the upper percentiles. For example, the $250 pool has a cash prize of $100,000 with a smaller participant group.

Best-ball contests are the closest thing Underdog (Thrive does not do best-ball) offers to a full-season fantasy baseball experience. You’ll draft an entire squad of pitchers, infielders and outfielders. Drafts usually take some time, but they’re super easy to understand and a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. Best of all, it’s completely hands off. The best players are automatically put in the game each week on a roster consisting of 3 pitchers, 3 infielders, 3 outfielders and 1 flex player. Ten more players who don’t perform so well will sit the bench each week.

One Underdog best-ball MLB DFS contest that is very popular is “The Dinger.” For a $10 entry fee, you can compete against 56,160 other players for a share of $500,000. First place wins $100,000. Not bad for a season of work!

Here’s a look at some of the featured MLB best-ball contests on Underdog:

MLB Rivals contests

MLB rivals take the term pitcher’s duel to a whole new level. It’s Jacob deGrom vs. Gerrit Cole, straight up: who will have more strikeouts, allow less hits, etc.? You have the option of picking which player will outperform the other. It’s that simple!

You can root for you favorite players or root against your team’s rival. Why not make the Subway Series that much more interesting!?

MLB DFS strategy

The biggest mistake you can make with MLB DFS, in my opinion, is failing to understand the scoring, roster and idiosyncrasies of the Daily Fantasy system, especially for Underdog best-ball and daily fantasy contests. Higher/lower is less about strategy and more about picking the lines that favor you most. When drafting a group of players, winning your pool can come down to just one pick.

For Underdog Fantasy drafts, scoring for hitters is the same across both best-ball and daily contests. A single is worth 3 points, a double is worth 6 points, a triple is 8 points and a home run is 10 points. Walks and hit-by-pitches are worth 3 points. RBI and runs are 2 points and a stolen base earns you 4 points.

For pitchers, it varies from best-ball to daily contests. The points system for best-ball contests: Wins and quality starts are worth 5 points, strikeouts and innings pitched are 3 points and each earned run is -3 points.

And here’s the point system for pitchers in daily contests: Wins and quality starts are worth 2 points, strikeouts are 2 points, innings pitched are 1 point each and each earned run is -1 point.

Where to play MLB DFS

Daily Fantasy Sports are legal in most jurisdictions, though it differs from state to state. Underdog Fantasy is legal in 41 U.S. states: all but CT, DE, HI, ID, IA, LA, MI, MT, NV, and ON (Canada). Thrive is slightly less available, but is still able to be accessed in 31 U.S. states. It is not available in AL, AZ, HI, ID, IN, IA, LA, ME, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VT, VA, WA.

Some options are not allowed on some sites. For example, Underdog Fantasy does not allow pick’em (prop contests) in AZ, CO, MD, MO, NH, NJ, OH, PA, TN, WA, WV.

Underdog Fantasy Promo Code: SDS

Using our promo code “SDS” will unlock $50 in bonus credit after you play your first entry with Underdog. That’s a great welcome bonus! To claim your MLB DFS bonus money, all you need to do is sign up at Underdog and play $5 to claim $50 in bonus credit.

How does Underdog Fantasy work? Well, that’s simple! Check out the table below to learn more about what Underdog is and what competing in MLB contests on the app entails:

Underdog is one of the top fantasy apps around, and it is very convenient to use. There are contests every day across a variety of sports, but Underdog specifically has some of the best MLB contests of all the DFS apps.

Sign up quickly! MLB regular season is underway, so make sure to get in on the fun from the very beginning. It’s a marathon, after all — not a sprint.

FAQs MLB DFS

How to build a MLB DFS lineup?

To build a MLB DFS lineup, research players' recent performance, matchup, and ballpark factors. Look for value plays with low ownership percentages and select a mix of high-ceiling and high-floor players. Consider stacking players from the same team and allocate salary effectively to stay within the salary cap.

How to win MLB DFS?

Our top tip to win in MLB fantasy, is to focus on identifying players that are likely to outperform their salary expectations in any given gameweek. Try to spot the favourable matchups in advance, to pick out your highest value targets!

How to stack in MLB fantasy?

To stack in MLB fantasy, you just need to pick out any team you think have a favourable matchup, or scout their recent performances to see if you think their team is on the rise. Pick out your top players from that team, and align them in your DFS lineup!

Our Team

The Saturday Down South team has spent hundreds of hours analyzing and participating in the various daily fantasy apps and contests, so that we can bring you expert advice and opinions on MLB DFS and DFS for other sports. Our daily fantasy team is led by the following:

Adam Spencer

Adam has been on the editorial team at Saturday Down South for several years and has covered college football and fantasy sports. Adam loves playing daily fantasy involving a variety of sports including college football, college basketball, NFL, NBA, soccer and even PGA. With a long history of fantasy sports participation, Adam has recently become a major participant in daily fantasy pick’em contests. He appreciates when daily fantasy apps offer a great app experience with live scoring and accurate player cards.

Ethan Stone

Ethan joined the editorial team at Saturday Down South in 2022 and has covered college football, college basketball and fantasy sports. Ethan plays daily fantasy with a variety of sports including college football, college basketball, NFL, NBA and more. Ethan has recently become a big fan of daily fantasy best ball drafts. He appreciates when daily fantasy apps offer plenty of options and a variety of daily drafts.