Major League Baseball presents FanDuel baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the Tamp Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago Cubs 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 afternoon’s Rays vs. Cubs matchup.
FanDuel MLB DFS Picks
MVP-Ian Happ, Outfielder, Chicago Cubs $12,600
On Friday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the first game of a three-game interleague series featuring the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The Chicago Cubs arrive at the first game of this three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays playing subpar baseball. The Cubs have lost four of the team’s last seven games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals last week.
Similar to the Chicago Cubs, the Tampa Bay Rays are currently playing below average baseball entering this afternoon’s game. The Rays have lost five of the team’s last six games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including a 6-5 loss to the Chicago White Six two days ago.
Now that we have identified how both of these teams are currently playing let’s turn our attention to today’s contest. Veteran outfielder Ian Happ has been a solid performer for the Chicago Cubs this season. With that said, how has the talented outfielder performed from a statistical standpoint? Let’s examine Happ’s relevant game data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In the 126 games that Ian Happ has played for the Chicago Cubs in the 2025 MLB regular season, Happ has compiled a .237 batting average, 20 home runs, 79 walks, 66 RBIs (runs batted in), 80 runs scored, six stolen bases, a .338 OBP (On-Base Percentage) and a .746 OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging).
What did we learn from the data just presented? The data clearly illustrates that Ian Happ can post a large number of DFS points on any given night.
In my view, Ian Happ is the most likely player to post the most FanDuel points in this afternoon’s game. For that specific reason, I am backing Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ at the MVP position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like in this MLB regular season game (FanDuel price noted): Pete Crow-Armstrong, Outfielder (Chicago Cubs) $12,800: Michael Busch, First Baseman (Chicago Cubs) $7,800: Chandler Simpson, Outfielder (Tampa Bay Rays) $6,800.