Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for August 22, 2026

Saturday’s MLB slate is loaded, with 15 games on the board and a full afternoon-to-night rotation that gives DFS players plenty of salary tiers to work with. From Tarik Skubal anchoring a Dodgers home date against Pittsburgh to a Coors Field matinee that always demands attention in cash and tournament builds alike, there’s no shortage of angles for today’s DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

Our approach today blends a top-of-the-slate ace with a couple of mid-range value arms and bats who’ve been trending in the right direction over the last week. The goal is to build a roster with a high floor for cash games while still leaving enough salary flexibility to pivot into a GPP-friendly build if the ownership shakes out predictably.

Tarik Skubal, SP — Los Angeles Dodgers ($11,500 DK)

Skubal remains one of the safest strikeout anchors in the sport, and today’s home matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates is about as clean a setup as you’ll find at the top of the pitcher pool. On the season, Skubal has posted a 2.85 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP and 135 strikeouts across 113.2 innings, numbers that put him firmly among the game’s elite arms even after a mid-August cold stretch that saw his ERA tick up slightly.

Since being dealt to Los Angeles, Skubal has made three starts and carries a 3.18 ERA with a 19:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 17 innings in Dodger blue. His last outing came against Milwaukee, where he allowed just one earned run over six innings while striking out seven, a sign the underlying stuff is still ticking even when the box score doesn’t look overwhelming. His career home splits since 2024 sit at a stingy 2.38 ERA with an 11.0 K/9, and Pittsburgh brings one of the league’s more strikeout-prone lineups into Chavez Ravine.

At $11,500, Skubal is priced like the ace he is, but the strikeout upside against a Pirates offense that struggles to make consistent contact makes him a justifiable price-tag play in cash lineups where a stable floor of innings and punchouts matters more than saving salary elsewhere.

Patrick Sandoval, SP — Boston Red Sox ($6,700 DK)

Sandoval represents the classic mid-tier DFS value target today, drawing a home date against a Giants lineup that just handed the ball to rookie Blade Tidwell on the other side. Sandoval’s season-long 4.76 ERA and 1.85 WHIP through seven starts don’t jump off the page, but the process behind those numbers has been trending better, and he strikes out hitters at a healthy clip with 35 strikeouts in 34 innings.

Before his most recent rough patch, Sandoval had strung together four consecutive outings allowing two runs or fewer, posting a 2.61 ERA across 20.2 innings in that stretch. He’s shown the swing-and-miss stuff is there when his command holds, and Fenway Park has actually treated him better than the road this season, with a 3.68 ERA at home compared to 5.59 away. San Francisco’s offense has struggled on the road and doesn’t provide a heavy right-handed power threat that would exploit Sandoval’s platoon issues.

At $6,700, Sandoval sits in that sweet spot for GPP builds where the strikeout ceiling justifies rostering him even with some risk attached, and pairing him with a stack against Tidwell on the other side is a natural correlation play for tournament lineups.

Corey Seager, SS — Texas Rangers ($4,900 DK)

Seager has quietly turned into one of the hottest bats on the slate over the past week, and today’s home matchup against the Angels gives him another favorable spot to keep it going. Since returning from his latest absence, Seager has hit .293/.341/.488 across 11 games, and over his last seven contests specifically he’s slashing .458/.519/.833 with two home runs, three RBI and five runs scored in 24 at-bats.

The power has come in bunches lately, and Seager’s exit-velocity readings back up the surface numbers, with a 91.5 mph average exit velocity and a 15.1% barrel rate that both rank comfortably above league average. The Angels have been among the league’s weaker pitching staffs down the stretch, and Los Angeles ranks near the bottom of the American League in both runs allowed prevention and team ERA on the road, which sets up well for a Rangers lineup looking to pile up runs at Globe Life Field.

At $4,900, Seager offers premium-caliber production without a premium price tag, making him one of the stronger stud-value plays on the board for both cash games and larger-field tournaments.

Wilyer Abreu, OF — Boston Red Sox ($5,500 DK)

Abreu slots in as a strong complementary piece to the Red Sox stack against Tidwell, and the underlying platoon data makes the matchup particularly appealing. The left-handed hitting Abreu has actually posted better numbers against lefties this season with a .911 OPS, but more importantly, he’s shown he can handle inexperienced right-handed pitching, and Tidwell’s rookie-year track record against Boston specifically remains unproven at the big league level.

Over his last seven games, Abreu is hitting .370 with a homer, four RBI and five runs scored, and the 15-day window looks even better: a .346 average with three home runs and 12 RBI in that span. For the season he’s at .261 with 22 home runs, 68 RBI and eight stolen bases, numbers that reflect a legitimate five-category contributor rather than a one-dimensional power bat. Fenway’s short porch in right field only adds to the appeal for a pull-heavy left-handed hitter like Abreu.

At $5,500, Abreu gives DFS players a correlated piece to attach to the Sandoval strikeout play or to build a mini-stack around if the Red Sox offense gets rolling early against Tidwell.

Nathaniel Lowe, 1B — Cleveland Guardians ($3,900 DK)

Lowe rounds out the value tier today with a road trip to Coors Field, still the most extreme run-scoring environment in baseball with a park factor sitting around 114 for runs and roughly 116 for home runs. Any Guardians hitter drawing a start in Denver deserves a look in cash and tournament builds simply based on the ballpark, and Lowe’s recent form adds another layer of appeal.

Since joining Cleveland, Lowe has hit safely in a majority of his appearances, and his season-long numbers of a .263 average with 14 home runs, 46 RBI and an .808 OPS make him a steady source of production even outside of Coors. His monthly split shows he’s actually heating up in August, posting a .326 average and a .929 OPS for the month before today’s game. Colorado’s pitching staff has been among the league’s most hittable all year, and a Rockies rotation option like Gabriel Hughes gives Cleveland’s lineup another favorable look.

At $3,900, Lowe is a low-cost, high-correlation piece to pair with the rest of a Coors Field-driven lineup for tonight’s slate.

Building Your Lineup

With Skubal anchoring the pitcher pool at a premium price, the roster construction today likely comes down to how much salary you’re willing to commit to the top of the mound before pivoting to value. Pairing Skubal with Sandoval gives you two strikeout-driven arms without draining the entire budget, freeing up room to build around the Seager and Abreu combination as correlated offensive pieces from two different favorable matchups.

For cash games, prioritize the floor plays: Skubal’s strikeout equity, Seager’s recent surge, and Lowe’s ballpark boost all offer dependable production without excessive bust risk. In GPPs, consider fading a portion of the field that will overload on Coors Field bats by pairing your Rockies exposure with a Red Sox stack against Tidwell, since ownership on the rookie-facing matchup may not be as heavy as the raw matchup rating suggests. Whichever DraftKings lineup or FanDuel picks you land on, always confirm lineups closer to first pitch, since batting order shuffles can change the value equation in a hurry on a 15-game slate like this one.

If you’re still building out your account for tonight’s action, the DraftKings promo code is worth a look before you set your cash game and GPP lineups for the night.