Major League Baseball continues a great weekend of matchups with nine games under the lights as part of Saturday night’s main MLB DFS contests. Seven of the nine games start between 7:10 p.m. ET and 7:15 p.m. ET, with two late-night closers in Seattle and Arizona. After landing on your core pay-up plays to build around, you may need to dive into the bargain bin for a value option 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 cheap options, check out my three MLB DFS value picks in this post, who bring big upside at a small salary:
- SP Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers at San Francisco Giants, $6,800: Jobe is a former top prospect coming back from Tommy John surgery. He was strong in his rehab with a 1.76 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings, and he’ll look to resume his path to becoming a regular part of the rotation in this favorable value spot against San Francisco.
- OF Cam Smith, Houston Astros at San Diego Padres, $2,800: Smith has averaged 13.1 FPTS per start over his last seven games with an at-bat. He went 13-for-30 (.433) during that timeframe with a 50% hard-hit rate, two doubles, a triple and two homers.
- 3B Blaze Jordan, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies, $2,400: Jordan is another young bargain hitter with momentum.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at these options that come with low salary, but high ceilings on Saturday night.
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Top MLB DFS Value Plays
SP Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers at San Francisco Giants, $6,800
Jobe was the Tigers’ No. 1 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline in 2025, just ahead of Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. He made 10 starts in 2025, posting a 4.22 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with 39 strikeouts in 49 innings, but he was shut down due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Although his overall totals weren’t outstanding, he did have a few very strong outings and looked to be ready to be a contributor.
After missing more than a full year, Jobe will return to the mound on Saturday night in San Francisco. He looked sharp in his five rehab starts, compiling a 1.76 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings. He threw 69 pitches in his last appearance, which was in High-A, after he threw seven successful innings in Double-A.
Obviously, this will be a huge jump in competition level for Jobe, but at such a low salary, he has the potential to be a great value if he can be successful in his return. Jobe won’t likely go deep into the game, but he is stretched out enough to potentially qualify for a win if he pitches well. He has the potential to be a key contributor in the Tigers’ rotation the rest of the season if he’s ready to live up to his top prospect pedigree.
OF Cam Smith, Houston Astros at San Diego Padres, $2,800
Smith is another former top prospect with plenty of potential to produce at this value salary. Smith is only hitting .222 on the season with a .301 wOBA, but he has been trending up lately and had a massive two-homer game to start this series on Friday. Smith finished with 33 FPTS on Friday night and has hit safely in seven straight starts, averaging 13.1 FPTS per game over that stretch. In those seven starts, Smith is 13-for-30 (.433) with a 50% hard-hit rate, two doubles, a triple and two homers.
While his averages and production rate have been disappointing this season, he has still shown flashes of upside and is up to 15 homers to go with his 10 stolen bases. His ISO and wOBA are both up from last season, along with his contact metrics across the board. Since he’s still only 23 years old and loaded with raw talent, he has plenty of time to continue to improve. Even in a tough matchup against Michael King ($7,400), he’s hot enough to bring some serious value potential under $3,000 on Saturday night.
3B Blaze Jordan, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies, $2,400
Jordan is another young hitter starting to put up good numbers in the majors. The 23-year-old had 11 homers and a .403 wOBA in 57 games in Triple-A and joined the Cardinals’ MLB roster in mid-June. He’s only hitting .252 with one homer and a .278 wOBA in his 42 games in the majors, although his Statcast numbers indicate his contact has been better than those numbers indicate.
He has started picking up more hits lately, going 9-for-26 (.346) with two doubles and a triple over his last seven starts. He didn’t start on Friday against the Rockies but came on as a pinch-hitter and was hit by a pitch, not recording an official at-bat. During his seven-game hitting streak, he averaged 5.7 FPTS per game with a 57.1% hard-hit rate and 14.3% barrel rate. He is hitting the ball well enough to continue to trend in the right direction, and he gets a favorable matchup on Saturday night at home against lefty Kyle Freeland ($5,000). Jordan is hitting .283 with a .345 wOBA against southpaws and should be in the lineup and ready to roll for Saturday night as one of the best MLB DFS value plays on the slate.
