Draftkings Best MLB DFS Picks: Phillies vs. Padres 7/12/25

Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.

Before we dive into the Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings MLB single game showdown contest.

Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules

You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.

The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.

*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s Phillies vs. Padres matchup.

Draftkings MLB DFS Picks

Captain-Zack Wheeler, Starting Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies $12,400

On Saturday night, Major League Baseball presents the second game of a three-game National League series featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres.

How are these two teams playing entering this MLB game? The Philadelphia Phillies arrive at the second game of this three-game series with the San Diego Padres playing below average baseball. The Phillies have lost three of the team’s last four games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants earlier this week.

In direct contrast to the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres arrive at today’s National League game playing quality baseball. More specifically, the Phillies have won four of the team’s last six games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 1-0 shutout victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks four days ago.

Now that we have identified how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this evening’s contest. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler has certainly been a solid performer for the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitching rotation this season. Having stated that, how has the veteran pitcher performed from a data perspective? Let’s review Wheeler’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.

In 16 starts made this season, Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler has compiled a 9-2 (won-loss record), a 2.17 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 0.84 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) which ranks third in MLB. It should also be mentioned that Wheeler has amassed a massive 148 strikeouts (second in MLB) while allowing 25 walks in 107 innings pitched this season.

More recently, in the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays ealier this season, Philadelphia starting pitcher Zack Wheeler certainly pitched at a high level. Wheeler pitched seven quality innings while scattering four hits and zero walks in the Phillies win over the Rays. Additionally, Wheeler struck out nine Tampa Bay batters in the Phillies defeat of the Rays.

In my view, Zack Wheeler is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in tonight’s National League game. With that said, I am rolling with Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler at the captain position for this one game MLB DFS slate.

Flex plays I like to play well in this MLB regular season game (Draftkings price noted): Yu Darvish, Starting Pitcher (San Diego Padres) $10,000: Bryson Stott, Second Baseman (Philadelphia Phillies) $7,000: Fernando Tatis Jr., Outfielder (San Diego Padres) $8,800.