FanDuel Best MLB DFS Picks: Astros vs. Athletics 9/23/25
Houston Astros vs. Athletics
September 23, 2025 10:05 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents FanDuel baseball fans with an American League matchup featuring the Houston Astros and the Athletics. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Houston Astros vs. Athletics game let’s review the rules for the FanDuel single game showdown contest.
FanDuel Single Game Contest Rules
Here are the FanDuel single game contest rules. You have $60,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team MVP. The MVP accumulates 1.5x times the standard FanDuel fantasy points value. Additionally, the MVP is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining five players in your lineup will be flex plays. The five flex positions will receive the standard FanDuel points value. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your MVP position if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) FanDuel single game contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game contest, I highly recommend that you check out the FanDuel website for more details.
*It should be noted that FanDuel does not utilize the pitcher position in single game MLB contests. Having stated that, only batters are available for single game MLB lineups on the FanDuel platform.
Here are my FanDuel picks for this evening’s Astros vs. Athletics matchup.
FanDuel MLB DFS Picks
MVP-Nick Kurtz, First Baseman, Athletics $14,000
On Tuesday night, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a three-game American League series featuring the Houston Astros and the Athletics.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The Athletics arrive at the first game of this three-game series with the Houston Astros playing below average baseball. The Athletics have lost three of the team’s last five games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an 11-0 shutout loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates two days ago.
Similar to the Athletics, the Houston Astros arrive at tonight’s American League game playing subpar baseball. More specifically, the Astros have lost three of the team’s last four games played this season, including a 6-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners last week.
Now that we have identified how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this evening’s contest. Talented first baseman Nick Kurtz has been a standout performer for the Athletics this season. With that said, how has Kurtz performed from a statistical standpoint? Let’s examine the rookie first baseman’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In the 111 games that Nick Kurtz has played for the Athletics in the 2025 MLB regular season, Kurtz has compiled a rather impressive .291 batting average, 33 home runs (12th in MLB), 60 walks, 81 RBIs (runs batted in), 83 runs scored, a .384 OBP (On-Base Percentage) and a .998 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging) which ranks fifth in MLB.
What did we learn from the data just presented? The data clearly illustrates that Nick Kurtz can post a high number of DFS points on any given night. Having stated that, I fully expect that trend to continue in this evening’s matchup with the Houston Astros.
In my view, Nick Kurtz is the most likely player to accumulate the most FanDuel points in this MLB game. For that specific reason, I am backing Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz at the MVP position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like in this MLB regular season game (FanDuel price noted): Jose Altuve, Second Baseman (Houston Astros) $8,800: Lawrence Butler, Outfielder (Athletics) $8,400.
