Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds
July 31, 2025 7:10 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents FanDuel baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves 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 today’s Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds matchup.
FanDuel MLB Showdown Picks
MVP-Elly De La Cruz, Shortstop, Cincinnati Reds $13,800
On Thursday night, Major League Baseball presents the first game of a three-game National League series featuring the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB contest? The Cincinnati Reds arrive at the opening game of this three-game series with the Atlanta Braves playing good baseball. The Reds have won five of the team’s last seven games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an impressive 5-0 shutout victory over the Washington Nationals last week.
In direct contrast to the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves are playing below average baseball entering the final game of this series. Let me be more specific. The Braves have lost seven of the team’s last eight games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 9-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals two 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. Veteran shortstop Elly De La Cruz has certainly been a standout performer for the Cincinnati Reds starting lineup this season. With that said, how has the talented shortstop performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s examine De La Cruz’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In the 109 games that Elly De La Cruz has played for the Cincinnati Reds in the 2025 MLB regular season, De La Cruz has compiled a .282 batting average, 18 home runs (29th in MLB), 50 walks, 69 RBIs (runs batted in), 29 stolen bases (second in MLB), 78 runs scored, a .361 OBP (On-Base Percentage) and an .843 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging).
In my opinion, De La Cruz is the most likely player to accumulate the most FanDuel points in this MLB game. For that specific reason, I am backing with Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz at the MVP position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like in this MLB game (FanDuel price noted): Marcell Ozuna, Outfielder (Atlanta Braves) $9,200: Spencer Steer, Outfielder (Cincinnati Reds) $6,200.
