FanDuel Best MLB DFS Picks: Phillies vs. Reds 8/11/25
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cicinnati Reds
August 11, 2025 8:10 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents FanDuel baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds 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 Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds matchup.
FanDuel MLB DFS Picks
MVP-Elly De La Cruz, Shortstop, Cincinnati Reds $13,200
On Monday night, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a three-game National League series featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB contest? The Cincinnati Reds arrive at the first game of this three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies playing good baseball. The Reds have won four of the team’s last seven games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs six days ago.
Similar to the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies are playing quality baseball entering the opening game of this series. Let me be more specific. The Phillies have won five of the team’s last six games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an impressive 9-1 victory over the Texas Rangers 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. 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 119 games that Elly De La Cruz has played for the Cincinnati Reds in the 2025 MLB regular season, De La Cruz has compiled a .277 batting average, 19 home runs, 51 walks, 73 RBIs (runs batted in), 31 stolen bases (second in MLB), 82 runs scored, a .353 OBP (On-Base Percentage) and an .820 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging).
In my view, Elly Da La Cruz is the most likely player to amass the most FanDuel points in this MLB game. Having stated that, I am backing Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly Da La Cruz at the MVP position for this MLB DFS contest.
Flex plays I like in this MLB regular season game (FanDuel price noted): TJ Friedl, Outfielder (Cincinnati Reds) $9,400: Harrison Bader, Outfielder (Philadelphia Phillies) $6,000: Trea Turner, Shortstop (Philadelphia Phillies) $11,000.
