Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for August 14

Friday’s MLB slate is stacked with 14 games and first pitch as early as 2:20 p.m. ET, giving DFS players a full afternoon-into-night board to build around. With Chris Sale on an ace-level run in Atlanta, a marquee Padres-Guardians pitching duel, and the red-hot Rays riding a nine-game win streak into a series with Baltimore, there’s no shortage of chalk plays and value angles on both DraftKings and FanDuel today.

Our approach for today’s MLB DFS picks blends two premium arms locked into favorable strikeout matchups with a trio of hitters who fit into cash games and GPP lineups depending on how you want to build. We’re targeting confirmed lineup spots, recent hot streaks, and matchups that hold up under the numbers — not just name recognition.

Chris Sale, SP — Atlanta Braves ($10,400 DK)

Sale has been the best version of himself in 2026, sitting at 12-7 with a 2.20 ERA and 151 strikeouts, a strikeout rate north of 30% that ranks among the best marks in the league. His last time out against the Yankees he worked six innings, allowed three earned runs and still punched out eight, and over his last three starts he’s carried a sub-2.50 ERA with well over a strikeout per inning.

Today he draws Arizona at Truist Park, a lineup that ranks in the bottom half of the league in strikeout rate against hard-throwing lefties this season. Sale’s expanded arsenal — a mid-90s fastball paired with a slider that’s been nearly unhittable in 2026 — plays especially well at home, where Truist Park has suppressed offense all year. At $10,400 on DraftKings, he’s priced like the ace he is, but the swing-and-miss upside and win equity in a game where Atlanta is favored make him a strong anchor for cash lineups willing to pay up.

Gavin Williams, SP — Cleveland Guardians ($10,200 DK)

Williams has quietly turned into one of the best strikeout arms in the American League, sitting second in the AL with 185 strikeouts to go with an 11-6 record, 3.55 ERA and an excellent 1.04 WHIP over 144.2 innings. He’s been even better lately — a 2.93 ERA with 68 strikeouts over his last seven starts, and just 0.72 WHIP over his last 15.

He faces a Padres lineup tonight that strikes out at a well above-average clip, and Progressive Field has played as one of the more pitcher-friendly parks in the league in 2026. San Diego counters with Michael King, who’s been solid but not dominant (3.37 ERA, 120 strikeouts), setting up a tight pitching matchup where Cleveland’s home-field edge and Williams’ swing-and-miss stuff give him a real floor even in a game that shouldn’t produce a ton of run support either direction.

Junior Caminero, 3B — Tampa Bay Rays ($6,300 DK / $3,800 FD)

Caminero is tied for the MLB lead with 35 home runs and is slashing .279/.370/.553 with a .923 OPS, both marks ahead of his breakout 2025 season. He’s gone deep in six of his last 11 games, including a two-homer, three-RBI night on August 10th against the Athletics, and he’s been particularly dangerous at home this year with a 1.110 OPS at Tropicana Field compared to .794 on the road.

Tonight’s matchup against Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish (7-11, 3.69 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) sets up well — Bradish has struggled with the long ball and Caminero has feasted on right-handed pitching all year with a .925 OPS against righties. The Rays enter on a nine-game winning streak, hitting .294 as a team over that stretch, and at $3,800 on FanDuel, Caminero is a legitimate stack-anchor price for a hitter with top-three power in all of baseball.

Yandy Diaz, DH/1B — Tampa Bay Rays ($5,200 DK)

Diaz has been one of the steadiest bats in Tampa Bay’s lineup all season, hitting .302 with a .837 OPS, and he’s been on an absolute tear lately — 14-for-46 (.304) with two homers and six RBI over his last 10 games. He bats in the middle of a Rays order that’s scoring 4.6 runs per game and has outscored opponents by 23 runs during its current nine-game win streak.

Like Caminero, Diaz gets the benefit of facing Bradish, who’s allowed a well-above-average number of hard-hit balls to right-handed contact bats in 2026. Diaz’s contact-oriented, line-drive approach makes him a strong cash-game piece — he doesn’t strike out much, gives you a high floor for hits and RBI production, and pairs naturally in a Rays stack with Caminero if you want to attack this Baltimore pitching staff from multiple spots in the order.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP — Los Angeles Dodgers ($9,800 DK)

Yamamoto has been excellent all season, sitting at 11-7 with a 2.65 ERA, a sparkling 0.89 WHIP and 127 strikeouts over 139.1 innings. His last start against Arizona was vintage Yamamoto — 5.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts on just three hits allowed — and he continues to locate his splitter and curveball as well as any starter in baseball.

He gets Milwaukee at home tonight at Dodger Stadium, a park that has depressed offense all year, against a Brewers lineup that will counter with journeyman starter Robert Gasser on the other side. Milwaukee has been a middle-of-the-pack offensive club against right-handed pitching, and with the Dodgers heavily favored, Yamamoto carries strong win equity to go with his strikeout floor. He’s a shade below Sale and Williams in salary, making him a natural pivot if you want to roster a Rays stack and still get access to an elite starting pitcher.

Building Your Lineup

If you’re building around today’s MLB DFS slate, the two-ace approach with Sale and Williams eats up a big chunk of salary but gives you swing-and-miss upside in what should be lower-scoring games at Truist Park and Progressive Field — a sound cash-game foundation. If you’d rather diversify pitching costs, pairing Yamamoto with a cheaper strikeout arm frees up salary to pay up on hitters like Caminero.

On the bat side, the Rays stack of Caminero and Diaz against Bradish is one of the more appealing offensive builds on the board tonight given Tampa Bay’s win streak and both hitters’ recent form — and it’s a spot the field may be light on given the late start time and lower total public buzz compared to games like Yankees-Blue Jays. In tournaments, consider pivoting off the most popular chalk (Sale and Caminero will likely carry high projected ownership) by rostering one of the cheaper Rays bats further down the order, or building around Williams and Yamamoto together for a lower-owned pitching pairing with legitimate strikeout equity. As always in DraftKings and FanDuel cash games, prioritize the plays with the safest floor — confirmed everyday bats in favorable park and platoon spots — and save the highest-variance, boom-or-bust bets for your GPP builds. For those still shaping their bankroll approach for the stretch run, it’s also worth checking the DraftKings promo code offer if you haven’t already gotten set up on the platform.