The Major League Baseball regular season only has two more weekends remaining before the end of the 162-game marathon comes to a close. With a new set of series on tap for this weekend, 13 games are on the slate for the main DFS contests on Friday night. Only four of those 13 games are divisional contests, but several are key series with significant playoff implications, especially in the American League. The main slate starts at 7:05 p.m. ET, with the first pitch in Baltimore, but there are some great matchups across the board. Finding just the right MLB DFS value picks is one of the keys to maximizing your fantasy lineup’s production across the board on each slate, since the right bargain plays can help with some serious production of their own and also save significant salary cap space to use on stars in other spots.
To help you as you search through the bargain bin, check out my three MLB DFS value picks in this post, who bring big upside despite their small salaries:
- SP Tyler Mahle, Atlanta Braves at Houston Astros, $7,700: Mahle has a 1.25 ERA and 3.03 FIP in seven starts for ATL, with two ER or fewer in each game. After 20.2 FPTS on Saturday, he has 20+ FPTS in four of his last seven outings, averaging 21.3 FPTS.
- OF Emmanuel Rodriguez, Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels, $3,000: The Twins No. 5 prospect is 5-for-23 with a double, a triple, a home run and a .308 wOBA in his first six games in the MLB. He has a great matchup vs. Grayson Rodriguez and brings good power and speed potential.
- 2B/3B Shay Whitcomb, San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, $2,800: Whitcomb is a post-hype sleeper whom the Astros let go earlier this season after several big minor-league seasons but struggles in the majors. In September, he’s hitting .302 with two doubles, a home run, and a .330 wOBA for the Giants.
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Top MLB DFS Value Plays
SP Tyler Mahle, Atlanta Braves at Houston Astros, $7,700
The Braves picked up Mahle from the Giants at the MLB Trade Deadline, and the 31-year-old veteran has been a surprisingly huge addition to the rotation. After posting a 5.13 ERA and 4.37 FIP in 18 starts with the Giants, he has a 1.25 ERA and 3.03 FIP in seven outings with the Braves. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of those seven starts, picking up 38 strikeouts across 43 1/3 innings.
He had 20.2 FPTS in his last start against the Phillies on Saturday and has 20+ FPTS in four of his seven outings, averaging 21.3 FPTS over those contests. The Astros are one game ahead of the Rangers in the AL West coming into the weekend, but they have only scored 21 runs over their last seven games, and their offense hasn’t been especially strong. With Mahle’s current form, he brings enough momentum to be a solid play under $8,000 even though he’s not taking on a team that’s out of the race.
OF Emmanuel Rodriguez, Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels, $3,000
Rodriguez is the Twins’ No. 5 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and the 23-year-old lefty has made a strong first impression in the MLB. He was called up last Saturday and hit safely in each of his first four games, including his first MLB home run in his debut. He is 5-for-23 with a double, a triple, a home run and a .308 wOBA in his first six games with the Twins, and he should continue to get plenty of playing time down the stretch now that Byron Buxton (hip) is done for the season
Rodriguez slashed .262/.414/.500 with 11 homers, 33 RBI, 36 runs scored and seven stolen bases in Triple-A this season in just 49 games. He has shown good power and speed upside and gets a favorable matchup on Friday night against Grayson Rodriguez ($6,000), who has struggled against lefty hitters this season. Lefties have hit .318 with nine homers and a .401 wOBA against Rodriguez this season, with a .424 wOBA and 55.4% hard-hit rate against him at Angel Stadium. The hitting environment should also be good for the Twins in Anaheim with the wind blowing out and warm weather in the forecast. Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the series opener but will look to bounce back with a big game on Friday in this very favorable spot.
2B/3B Shay Whitcomb, San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers, $2,800
Whitcomb had 8 FPTS on Wednesday with a pair of hits against the Cardinals in the series finale in St. Louis. While he’s still hitting only .194 for the season, he is hitting .302 in his 15 games in September, with two doubles, a home run, and a .330 wOBA. He has at least 7 FPTS in four of his last five games with multiple at-bats and seems to be settling in as an everyday part of the infield for the rest of the season.
The 27-year-old was claimed by the Giants earlier in August after he was designated for assignment by the Astros. He had some strong seasons of minor-league production but hasn’t been able to translate it to the MLB until recently. He had 25+ homers in 2023, 2024 and 2025 in the minors while also stealing at least 20 bases in each season. Whitcomb may be starting to translate some of his minor-league success to the next level, and he’s a great bargain option in Friday’s MLB DFS Value Picks with multiple positional eligibilities as he takes on Tyler Glasnow ($10,500) and the Dodgers.
