On Monday night, Major League Baseball starts the first full week of action after the All-Star break as all 30 teams start new series. The Twins and Guardians start early, but the other 28 teams are all part of the MLB DFS main slate that gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET. With so many options on the board, plenty of strong pay-up options are on the board to build around. However, you may also need to shop for a value play or two to help balance out your spending. Finding the right MLB DFS value picks is key to maximizing the production of your roster across the board, since some affordable players can go off with big nights of their own.
To help you as you search through the bargain bin for just the right options, check out my three MLB DFS Value Picks in this post, who bring big upside at a small salary:
- SP Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers at Chicago Cubs, $7,300: In three starts since returning from the IL, Flaherty has posted 26.2, 24.4, and 21.9 FPTS in three starts, allowing only two runs in 16 2/3 innings over that span while racking up 20 strikeouts
- 1B Ty France, San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves, $3,100: France has caught fire, going 11-for-24 (.458) over his last seven games with four homers and an average of 15.3 FPTS per contest. He has a 83.3% hard-hit rate over his last four.
- OF Griffin Conine, Miami Marlins at Houston Astros, $3,100: Conine has hit .310 in his last 20 games with five homers. He has averaged 9.3 FPTS over his last nine games and has a good matchup vs. Ronel Blanco, coming off the IL.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at these options that come with low salaries, but high ceilings on Monday night.
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Top MLB DFS Value Plays
SP Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers at Chicago Cubs, $7,300
The Tigers took two of three games against the Angels to start the second half, and now they’ll go to Chicago to take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Detroit needs to get moving in a hurry to keep its season alive and faces a critical decision regarding impending free agent Tarik Skubal ahead of the Trade Deadline. The Tigers have been trending up, and one of the main reasons has been improved starting pitching, including Jack Flaherty.
Flaherty missed about two weeks with a left peroneal strain, and he has been excellent since returning with 26.2, 24.4, and 21.9 FPTS in his three starts. He has allowed just two runs in 16 2/3 innings over that span while racking up 20 strikeouts. Flaherty was very impressive against the Phillies in his most recent outing, and he’ll look to take down another NL foe on Monday night. He should know the Cubs and Wrigley Field very well since he has made 10 appearances in Wrigley as a member of the Cardinals, although he had mixed results with a 5.75 ERA in those starts.
1B Ty France, San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves, $3,100
France has caught fire for the Padres over the last few weeks, going 11-for-24 (.458) over his last seven games with four homers and an average of 15.3 FPTS per contest. France had a game-tying homer late on Friday, had a pair of doubles on Saturday, and then smashed two homers on Sunday.
Against righties like France, opposing starting pitcher Bryce Elder ($7,500) has allowed a .297 batting average and a .797 OPS. Getting him at just over $3,000 is a great solution at 1B, given how hot he has been. Over his last four games, he has an average exit velocity over 100 miles per hour and a hard-hit rate of 83.3%.
OF Griffin Conine, Miami Marlins at Houston Astros, $3,100
Conine homered in three straight games before going 1-for-4 with just a single on Sunday. The lefty has hit .310 in his last 20 games with five homers. He has averaged 9.3 FPTS over his last nine games and has been locking in to a critical role against righties for the surging Fish.
On Monday, he’ll take on Ronel Blanco, who is just returning from the injured list after tearing his UCL in June of 2025. He has worked his way back after the injury, but struggled against lefties throughout his career, allowing 25 of his 42 career homers against him and a .311 wOBA on that side of the splits.
