Major League Baseball presents FanDuel baseball fans with an American League matchup featuring the Seattler Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays 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 tonight’s Mariners vs. Rays matchup.
FanDuel MLB DFS Picks
MVP-Javier Baez, Shortstop, Detroit Tigers $6,600
On Friday night, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a three-game American League series featuring the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers.
How are these two teams playing entering this evening’s MLB game? The Detroit Tigers arrive at the first game of this three-game series with the Seattle Mariners playing below good baseball. The Tigers have won five of the team’s last six games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays two days ago.
In direct contrast to the Detroit Tigers, the Seattle Mariners are playing below average baseball entering this evening’s MLB game. More specifically, the Mariners have lost three of the team’s last four games played this season, including a 10-3 loss to the New York Yankees earlier this week.
Now that we have determined how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to tonight’s game. Veteran shortstop Javier Baez has certainly been a solid performer for the Detroit Tigers this season. With that said, how has the talented shortstop performed from a statistical perspective? Let’s examine Baez’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In the 77 games that Javier Baez has played for the Detroit Tigers in the 2025 MLB regular season, Baez has compiled a .276 batting average, ten home runs, nine walks, 39 RBIs (runs batted in), 41 runs scored, a .312 OBP (On-Base Percentage) and a .760 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging).
More recently, in the Detroit Tigers 11-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds last month, Tigers shortstop Javier Baez amassed three hits (one home run, one double), three runs scored, one walk and two RBIs. Looking closer at the data just presented, in the Tigers defeat of the Reds, Baez tallied a robust 40.6 FanDuel points.
In my opinion, Javier Baez’s low FanDuel price of only $6,800 presents the best fantasy value on this DFS slate. Having stated that, I am backing Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez at the MVP position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like in this game (FanDuel price noted): Riley Greene, Outfielder (Detroit Tigers) $13,600: Randy, Arozarena, Outfielder (Seattle Mariners) $10,800: Spencer Torkelson, First Baseman (Detroit Tigers) $12,200.