MLB DFS: Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy baseball picks, lineups, advice, stacks for July 25, 2024

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw is expected to make his season debut for the Dodgers on Thursday after missing nearly the first four months following offseason shoulder surgery. Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history, but what can daily Fantasy baseball players expect from him in his first start of the 2024 MLB season against the San Francisco Giants ? The last time we saw Kershaw on the mound didn't go well as the future Hall of Famer allowed six runs and only recorded one out in a postseason start against the Diamondbacks . Should that performance worry those making MLB DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings on Thursday?

With only eight games on Thursday's MLB schedule, there are limited ways to form an MLB DFS strategy. The Mets play their NL East rival Atlanta Braves after completing a two-game sweep and four-game season sweep over their crosstown rival New York Yankees . Will Mets hitters such as Pete Alonso , Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo be strong options from the MLB DFS player pool for your MLB DFS lineups? Before locking in any MLB DFS picks for Thursday, be sure to check out the MLB DFS advice, strategy and projections from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure .

McClure is a daily Fantasy pro who has won more than $2 million in his career. And when it comes to daily Fantasy baseball, McClure is at his best. Recognized in the book " Fantasy Football (and Baseball) for Smart People: How to Turn Your Hobby into a Fortune" as a top MLB DFS player, McClure's proprietary projection model simulates each game 10,000 times, taking factors such as matchups and recent results into account. This allows him to find the best values on every site.

On Wednesday, McClure identified Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar as one of his top MLB DFS picks. The result: Profar went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored, returning 28.4 points on FanDuel and 21 points on DraftKings. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

Now, with the 2024 MLB season rolling, McClure has locked in his top MLB daily Fantasy picks for Thursday, July 25. You can head to SportsLine now to see them .

McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Thursday

One of McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Thursday is Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson at $6,300 on DraftKings and $4,500 on FanDuel. Henderson leads all shortstops in home runs (28) while ranking in the top three in his position in categories such as runs scored, RBI, hits, slugging percentage, and OPS. The 23-year-old has a .287/.373/.574 slash line for a .946 OPS this season at the top of a Baltimore lineup that is second in the AL in runs scored and win percentage.

The Orioles wrap up a three-game series against Miami on Thursday and the Marlins are scheduled to start Roddery Munoz . The right-handed pitcher has a 5.14 ERA in his rookie season and he's struggled against left-handed hitters like Henderson. Left-handed hitters are batting .302 with a 1.072 OPS against Munoz this season. Henderson is hitting .304 with a .982 OPS against RHP this season, making this a strong matchup for the power-hitting shortstop on Thursday.

McClure is also rostering Padres second baseman/shortstop Xander Bogaerts ($4,000 on DraftKings and $2,800 on FanDuel). Bogaerts went 4-for-4 with two runs scored on Wednesday for his fourth straight multi-hit contest. The 31-year-old missed roughly six weeks with a shoulder injury but showed no signs of rust upon his return on July 12. Bogaerts is hitting .483 with a .983 OPS over seven games since his return with six multi-hit performances over that span.

Bogaerts should also feel comfortable in the batter's box against Nationals probable starter Patrick Corbin . Bogaerts is 3-for-5 with a home run in his career against Corbin, a left-handed pithcer. Bogaerts is a career .306 hitter with an .853 OPS against LHP. Corbin has a 5.35 ERA over 20 starts this season and right-handed hitters are batting .301 with an .855 OPS against him. Given Bogaerts' red-hot return and Corbin's struggles against him over his career, McClure views this as a strong matchup for Thursday's MLB DFS lineups. See McClure's full MLB DFS player pool right here .

How to set your MLB DFS lineups for July 25, 2024

McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Thursday. The stars are aligning for him to return tournament-winning value and he comes at a price that won't break the bank. You can only see who it is, and get the rest of McClure's MLB DFS picks, here .

So what are the top MLB DFS picks for Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete player pool and picks for FanDuel and DraftKings, all from the DFS expert who has won more than $2 million .