Covering The Bases: MLB DFS Picks Today for Saturday 8/22

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84)

Created Aug 22, 2026

Last Updated 2026-08-22 13:29:37 Premium Content Part of the product MLB DFS

Long-time grinder Justin Van Zuiden (aka stlcardinals84) is here to cover the bases for the upcoming MLB DFS slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. Whether you are looking for the top pitchers or the best stacks, Justin has you covered with an extensive deep dive into his favorite MLB DFS picks today on August 22, 2026.

Happy Saturday, Grinders! Welcome to another weekend as we draw ever closer to the final month of the MLB regular season. As usual, it’s crazy how fast the summer flies by. We have a rare Saturday where the games are heavily skewed toward the evening slate, with a healthy 11-game docket on tap tonight.

Outside of some rain chances in Baltimore, this looks to be a day where the weather will cooperate, so I am assuming things are all clear for lineup building as of now. Of course, we always need to keep an eye on this just in case something pops up later. We have a slate that offers one clear ace at the top of the board, and otherwise there is a tangled mess of good-but-not-great pitching behind that ace. This also looks like an evening that could have some offensive fireworks. It should be a fun slate!

I will focus today’s article on the main evening slate given that is where most of the games land. If you are playing the 3-game afternoon slate, we’ll have Expert tags and analysis available in our MLB DFS optimizer, LineupHQ, to help get you rolling.

Let’s dig in and see what the start to this weekend has to offer!

Saturday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel

ONE CLEAR ACE STANDS ATOP THE LIST

• Tarik Skubal vs. Pirates

Tarik Skubal is the clear head of the class for pitching tonight. While he has yet to have a dominant performance since getting traded to the Dodgers, I am not concerned at all in the long run. It’s simply a matter of time. He still has a 2.85 ERA and 2.72 xFIP on the year to go along with a 30.3% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate. His metrics are just fine. He also draws a matchup as a huge home favorite against the reeling Pirates, who rank 26th in the league in wOBA and 28th in ISO over the last 30 days. Oneil Cruz is back to help out, but that adds more strikeout potential to this matchup if he starts against the lefty pitcher. The Pirates have also been striking out a lot more as a team of late.

Of course, the question of whether or not to play Skubal comes down to salary. He is $1,800 (DK) and $1,200 (FD) more expensive than the next most expensive pitcher. That is not a massive difference, but it’s certainly notable. As of now, I am leaning toward finding a way to get Skubal as my SP1, but let’s not make any final decisions just yet. Perhaps a clear approach will present itself after I dig through the secondary group of arms. Let’s head there now, and then I will circle back to make a final conclusion on Skubal.

SECONDARY ARMS

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