Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for August 3, 2026

Monday’s MLB slate features an eight-game main card, and the pitching landscape is more top-heavy than usual, with a pair of aces anchoring the top of the salary board while several teams roll out shaky arms that create real upside for opposing hitters. Cardinals-Yankees, Padres-Diamondbacks, and Giants-Rangers headline the value plays, and there are enough soft matchups scattered across the card to build both a safe cash lineup and a differentiated GPP build.

Our approach tonight leans on swing-and-miss pitching at the top, a couple of correlated bats facing shaky bullpens, and a legitimate power source out of Coors Field. We’re prioritizing confirmed lineup spots and recent form over name recognition, since a few of the bigger names on the board are dealing with rough month-long stretches that make them tougher plays than the salary suggests.

Cam Schlittler, SP — New York Yankees ($11,500 DK)

Schlittler is the priciest arm on the board for good reason. Through 22 starts this season he’s 10-6 with a 2.07 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and 157 strikeouts, ranking second among American League starters in punchouts. He’s been especially dominant lately, striking out 12 Phillies hitters across seven-plus innings in his last outing on four days’ rest, and he’s allowed one earned run or fewer in the bulk of his starts this season.

Tonight he draws the Cardinals, a lineup that ranks 27th in the league in strikeout rate and 29th in isolated power, exactly the profile that plays into his strengths. Schlittler’s 30%-plus strikeout rate against a bottom-tier contact-and-power offense gives him one of the highest cash-game floors on the entire slate, even at the top price point. If you’re paying up at pitcher tonight, this is the arm to target in cash games and as the backbone of GPP builds that fade the Cardinals stack entirely.

Michael King, SP — San Diego Padres ($7,500 DK)

King isn’t going to win anyone a tournament on strikeout upside alone — his FIP sits at 4.12 with an 11.5% K-BB rate over his last stretch — but he’s been a steady source of innings and fantasy points, working at least six innings in five of his last seven starts. Two of those outings produced 20-plus DK points, and he’s cleared double-digit fantasy points in all but one start over that span.

Arizona presents a favorable matchup for a pitcher in King’s mold: the Diamondbacks rank just 23rd in wRC+ as a team, and their lineup hasn’t been forcing deep counts against right-handers of late. At $7,500, King represents one of the safer floor plays in the pitcher pool for cash-game lineups that want to spend up on offense elsewhere, and he pairs well as a value target beneath Schlittler in a two-pitcher build.

Bryce Eldridge, 1B/DH — San Francisco Giants ($3,800 DK)

Eldridge has quieted the swing-and-miss concerns that followed him up from the minors. Across 167 plate appearances this season he’s hitting .285 with a .377 on-base percentage and an .863 OPS, and the underlying numbers back up the production: a 92.2 mph average exit velocity, a 12.4% barrel rate, and a .192 isolated power mark. Against right-handed pitching specifically, his wRC+ jumps to 126 with a .199 ISO, and he’s been hitting near the top of the Giants order in recent games, typically batting first, second, or third.

Tonight’s matchup with the Rangers lines him up against Cal Quantrill, who’s carrying a 5.07 FIP and an 8.6% K-BB rate against left-handed hitters this season — opponents are slashing .273/.355/.446 with five home runs off Quantrill from the left side. At $3,800, Eldridge offers real power upside in a plus matchup for a fraction of what the slate’s premium bats cost, making him one of the better contrarian value plays in both cash and tournament formats.

Mickey Moniak, OF — Colorado Rockies (home vs. Tampa Bay)

Moniak has been one of the more productive outfielders in baseball this season, batting .279 with 15 home runs, 38 RBI, and a .924 OPS through 70 games. His underlying Statcast profile is even more encouraging — a 90.0 mph average exit velocity, a 13.7% barrel rate, and a 22.4-degree average launch angle that plays perfectly into Coors Field’s thin air and expansive gaps. He’s actually outperforming his expected home run total, with 15 actual homers against 12.7 expected, a sign the current power surge isn’t a fluke of ballpark friendliness alone.

Playing his home games at altitude gives Moniak one of the highest offensive ceilings on the slate regardless of opponent, and Coors Field remains the single best park factor for power in the sport. Any Rockies hitter is worth a look on a given night, but Moniak’s combination of contact quality and recent everyday role at the top of Colorado’s lineup makes him a strong stacking piece alongside teammates for tournament builds looking to attack the Coors Field environment.

Cedric Mullins, OF — Tampa Bay Rays ($4,200 DK)

Mullins brings a rare power-speed combination to a value price point — 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases through 269 at-bats this season, with a 26.8% launch angle and a 46.6% pull rate that plays well in the thin Colorado air tonight. He’s shown flashes of the 30/30 form that made him a household name a few seasons back, and while the underlying contact rate has been inconsistent, the raw power and speed floor alone make him a viable multi-category contributor on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Tonight’s matchup at Coors Field against Michael Lorenzen is the key selling point. Lorenzen carries a 6.02 FIP and just a 5.8% K-BB rate against left-handed hitters this season, and 12 of the 16 home runs he’s allowed have come off left-handed bats — exactly Mullins’ side of the plate. At $4,200, pairing Mullins with the Rockies’ own bats in a game-stack build gives you exposure to a Coors Field shootout without breaking the salary cap.

Building Your Lineup

Tonight’s slate rewards a barbell salary structure: pay up at one pitcher spot with Schlittler’s swing-and-miss floor against a weak Cardinals lineup, then get to value quickly with plays like Eldridge and Mullins to afford a stack elsewhere. If you want to save additional salary at pitcher, King’s innings-eating floor against Arizona is the play, freeing up more of your budget for the Coors Field game between Tampa Bay and Colorado.

For cash games, prioritize the safest floors — Schlittler and King both check that box at their respective price points, and Eldridge’s recent everyday role near the top of the order limits his bust risk. For GPP builds, consider rostering both Moniak and Mullins together to attack the Coors Field total from both sides, since a shootout in Denver tends to produce outlier scores that separate you from the field. As always with live MLB odds shifting closer to first pitch, check for any late lineup swaps or weather-related changes at Coors Field before locking your DraftKings lineup, since wind direction there can meaningfully swing projected totals.

Salary-cap discipline matters most on a slate this size. With only eight games, ownership on the obvious plays like Schlittler and the Coors Field bats will run high, so differentiating with a pitcher pivot to King or including Eldridge over a pricier first baseman can be the difference between a middling score and a slate-winning GPP lineup. Whichever direction you build, stick to confirmed lineups and monitor pregame news, since even one late scratch can reshape the entire pool of viable MLB DFS picks for tonight’s card.