Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for August 26

Wednesday’s MLB slate is stacked with 15 games on the board, headlined by a marquee Dodgers-Braves clash in Atlanta and a full afternoon-into-night rotation of matchups that give DFS players plenty of angles to attack. With contenders like the Phillies, Brewers, and Blue Jays all in action alongside rebuilding clubs fielding weaker arms, there’s a nice split of chalk plays and under-the-radar value hiding in plain sight.

Today’s approach leans on confirmed lineups, favorable same-handed and platoon matchups, and pitchers who’ve been trending in the right direction over their last several turns. Two arms anchor this article, with three hitters rounding out a build that should work in both cash games and GPP formats.

Jesus Luzardo, SP — Philadelphia Phillies (vs. Seattle Mariners)

Luzardo gets the ball on the road against Seattle carrying a 11-5 record, a 3.35 ERA, and 194 strikeouts across 156.2 innings this season — a strikeout total that ranks him among the top five in the majors. His K/9 sits at an elite 11.2 with a WHIP of 1.15, and while his last outing against St. Louis got a bit bumpy, the underlying stuff hasn’t wavered: over his last seven turns dating back before that hiccup, he carried a sub-3.00 ERA with a strikeout-to-walk ratio that made him nearly unplayable against for stretches.

Seattle’s lineup, while capable of power, has been susceptible to swing-and-miss arms all year, and Luzardo’s left-handed slider-changeup combination plays well against a Mariners squad that skews right-handed in the middle of the order. At his DraftKings price in the $8,000-plus range, he’s not a bargain-bin play, but the strikeout ceiling alone makes him one of the safer building blocks on tonight’s MLB DFS slate for anyone stacking DraftKings lineup points at the pitcher spot.

Bettors weighing today’s MLB odds will notice Philadelphia is favored on the road, which lines up with the model: a good team getting a quality start from a top-10 strikeout arm is exactly the type of chalk-but-correct play cash game rosters are built around.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B — Toronto Blue Jays (vs. Kansas City Royals)

Guerrero draws a plus matchup at home against Kansas City right-hander Randy Dobnak, who enters with a modest strikeout profile compared to the arms Toronto has faced recently. Vladdy is hitting .262 with 7 home runs, 46 RBI, and a .689 OPS on the season, and while the power numbers haven’t matched his peak years, he’s still making consistent, hard contact against right-handed pitching — exactly the look Dobnak brings to the mound tonight.

Over his last 10 games, Guerrero has gone 11-for-41 (.268) with a homer and six runs scored, showing signs of heating back up after a quieter stretch against the Yankees. Dobnak works with sink and soft contact rather than swing-and-miss stuff, which theoretically caps some upside, but it also means fewer strikeouts and more balls in play for a lineup that can simply out-hit a script like this. At a DraftKings price in the $4,000 range, Guerrero represents legitimate stud-level production without the premium price tag of the top first basemen on the board, making him one of the better DFS value plays for a Blue Jays stack.

Alejandro Kirk, C — Toronto Blue Jays (vs. Kansas City Royals)

Catcher is almost always the thinnest position on the MLB DFS player pool, and Kirk gives lineup builders a real advantage there tonight. He’s hitting .283 with 7 home runs and 29 RBI in 191 at-bats this season, and his August has been a monster: a .371 average with a 1.024 OPS over 20 games this month, with four home runs and 17 RBI in that stretch alone.

Kirk’s contact-oriented, all-fields approach is a good stylistic fit against Dobnak’s contact-management style — Kirk doesn’t chase and doesn’t strike out much (11.4 K% this season), which means he’s likely to see pitches he can drive rather than get overpowered. Priced in the $3,300-$4,100 range depending on the site, he’s a legitimate stacking partner next to Guerrero in the Toronto order, giving DFS players a two-for-one shot at capturing this favorable Blue Jays matchup without breaking the salary cap. For anyone building around Toronto tonight, Kirk is about as safe a cash game piece as the catcher slot offers.

Brooks Lee, 3B — Minnesota Twins (at Athletics)

Lee has quietly put together a strong 2026 season, hitting .247 with 20 home runs, 69 RBI, and a .735 OPS through 125 games, and tonight’s road trip to Sutter Health Park to face Athletics left-hander Connor Prielipp sets up nicely. Prielipp carries a 5.57 ERA and has struggled with the long ball this season, and switch-hitting Lee gets to hit from his stronger side against a southpaw who has had trouble putting hitters away.

Lee is coming off a week where he’s shown flashes of his power upside, and batting in the heart of a Minnesota order that also features Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers gives him plenty of opportunities to drive in runs even on nights he’s not squaring the ball up perfectly. Sutter Health Park has played as one of the more hitter-neutral environments this season, but a struggling lefty starter is the bigger factor here. At a salary in the $4,200 range, Lee offers a nice blend of power upside and lineup protection for those building a Twins stack or simply looking for a mid-range third base option to fill out a DraftKings lineup.

Sean Burke, SP — Chicago White Sox (vs. Texas Rangers)

Burke has quietly turned into one of the more reliable strikeout arms in the American League, sitting at 7-6 with a 3.27 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and 158 strikeouts across 146 innings this season. His second-half surge has been real: since the All-Star break, he’s posted a 2.90 ERA over seven starts, missing bats at a 9.7 K/9 clip while limiting free passes to a manageable 2.6 BB/9.

Tonight’s matchup against Texas comes with a home-park boost — Burke’s numbers at Rate Field this season (3.41 ERA, 9.5 K/9) are actually a shade better than his road splits, and the Rangers lineup he’s facing has had stretches of feast-or-famine production against right-handed pitching. At a DraftKings price around $9,000, Burke isn’t cheap, but he offers a strikeout ceiling that rivals arms priced a full tier higher, making him a strong pivot away from the most popular arms on tonight’s board for anyone building a differentiated GPP roster.

Building Your Lineup

Tonight’s board rewards a barbell approach: lock in one of the two strikeout-heavy starters — Luzardo or Burke — to anchor the pitcher spot, then use the salary saved at other positions to build around the Toronto stack. Guerrero and Kirk both profile as strong value plays against Dobnak, and pairing them with another Blue Jays bat gives cash game lineups a correlated floor without requiring a full-blown stack commitment.

For tournament lineups, consider pivoting off the highest-owned Toronto pieces late if news breaks on lineup changes, and lean on Brooks Lee as a lower-owned power source that still offers real ceiling against a struggling lefty. As always, confirm every lineup card closer to first pitch — Wednesday afternoon starts mean some batting orders may not lock in until just an hour or two before the opener, so double-check before you submit. Balancing the two pitcher plays against a thin catcher pool and a couple of everyday power bats should give you a well-rounded roster capable of cashing in both single-entry and larger-field GPP contests tonight.