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

by Justin Van Zuiden (stlcardinals84) Last Updated 2026-08-08 15:47:30 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 8, 2026.

The dog days of summer are officially here, with many teams falling out of the playoff picture and some teams going into extended slumps. However, there is still plenty of money to be won in the DFS world as we all look to pad our bankrolls before football season.

This lovely Saturday brings us a 9-game main slate at the usual evening start time. At first glance, it definitely looks to be skewed toward the pitching side of the ledger. I am not seeing a ton of offense to love. We’ll see if that changes with a deeper look. The good news is that the weather looks like it will cooperate today, so it should be all clear for lineup building.

I will focus the article today on the main evening slate given that is where most of the games land today. 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 dive in and see what today has to offer!

Saturday Pitching: MLB DFS Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel

A TRIO OF ACES

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto at Diamondbacks
• Gavin Williams at White Sox
• Jacob deGrom vs. Orioles

It’s a clear-cut slate with 3 aces standing above the field tonight, and all of them are capable of elite performances when they bring their best stuff. As usual, let’s begin with a peek at their 2026 numbers.

Yamamoto – 2.76 ERA, 3.43 xFIP, 23.8% K, 5.7% BB
Williams – 3.56 ERA, 2.79 xFIP, 32.3% K, 7.1% BB
deGrom – 3.96 ERA, 3.26 xFIP, 28.8% K, 6.2% BB

I’m actually going to discuss these pitchers in the reverse order that I have them listed, as it’s easier to convey my thoughts that way. Starting with deGrom, there’s nothing alarming in his season-long numbers. The advanced metrics do suggest improvement from his 3.96 ERA, but I am mildly concerned about his recent outings. He has a 6.50 ERA over his last 4 starts, he hasn’t gone longer than 5 innings in any of them, and he hasn’t topped 7 strikeouts either. The Orioles can be beaten by good pitching, but I just need to see some form again before I feel comfortable. The projections do like him tonight, and deGrom is a bit discounted now (especially on FD). If that leads to high ownership, this is an easy pass for me.

Let’s contrast those performances of deGrom with those of Gavin Williams. The budding star has now logged SIXTY-ONE strikeouts over his last 6 starts, and he is riding a string of 5 straight double-digit strikeout games. He has allowed just 6 total hits in his last 3 starts. His stuff has been unhittable. The White Sox have been a pleasant surprise in 2026, but their offense has been sputtering a bit more of late, and they have the 4th-highest team strikeout rate in baseball over the past month. I absolutely love Gavin Williams in this spot, and I’ll gladly play him over deGrom as my SP1.

Finally, there’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto. I generally like playing him often even though he doesn’t bring the same strikeout ceiling as many other aces. He always goes deep into games, and the Dodgers will be desperate for a strong outing tonight as they look to break a 7-game losing streak. Arizona is not a high-upside offense, but they also aren’t a high-strikeout offense. Yamamoto is a safe choice with a somewhat limited ceiling, and I’ll just place him in between Williams and deGrom in my overall rankings.

SECONDARY ARMS

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