Best MLB DFS Picks Today: Top Value Plays for Thursday, June 18

Thursday’s MLB slate is loaded with opportunity across both afternoon and evening windows, giving DraftKings and FanDuel players nine games to work with on June 18. The main slate kicks off at 6:40 p.m. ET with five matchups, while the afternoon window adds four additional contests including one of the best pitching values of the week. With a struggling Aaron Nola inviting punishment at Citizens Bank Park, an affordable Kansas City starter rounding into elite form, and a Brewers outfielder posting absurd numbers over the past two weeks, the value is stacked in today’s lineup.

The approach here is to anchor around a Mets stack against Nola in the evening, grab a discount starter who is quietly posting ace-level numbers, and pair them with a red-hot bat from the early slate. Here are the five MLB DFS picks to target for DraftKings and FanDuel contests on Thursday.

Noah Cameron, SP — Kansas City Royals ($6,900 DK)

If there is one pitcher on Thursday’s full board who has turned a corner and is priced like he hasn’t, it’s Noah Cameron. His full-season numbers — a 3-4 record, 4.11 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP across 70 innings — do not tell the current story. In his last five starts spanning 28.1 innings, Cameron has posted a 2.22 ERA, 2.40 expected ERA, 2.69 xFIP, and a 2.92 SIERA. FanGraphs grades him at 99 stuff+, 113 location+, and 111 pitching+ during that stretch, and his 26.8 percent called strikes plus whiffs rate signals real swing-and-miss potential.

The matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals is workable. St. Louis is hitting just 87 wRC+ against left-handed pitching over the past 30 days and carrying a 25.9 percent strikeout rate in that same window. Kauffman Stadium plays as a pitcher-friendly environment, and the Royals come in as -120 favorites with the game total set at nine runs. At $6,900 on DraftKings, Cameron is the top salary-saving pitcher on Thursday’s slate and a strong cash game anchor. He gives you the salary flexibility to build an aggressive lineup around him.

Joe Ryan, SP — Minnesota Twins ($9,800 DK)

When you spend up at pitcher, you want someone who walks nobody and misses bats. Joe Ryan checks both boxes on Thursday’s early slate. He has put together a 3.17 ERA across 82.1 innings this season with a 28 percent strikeout rate and a 23 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate that ranks among the best available starters today. Ryan has racked up 92 strikeouts on the year while maintaining one of the cleanest walk profiles in the American League at just 6 percent.

The matchup at Globe Life Field against Jack Leiter is as favorable as Ryan is likely to see all season. Leiter carries a 4.97 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 76 innings this year with a 3-6 record, and he has struggled to limit hard contact throughout June. While Globe Life Field plays slightly hitter-friendly, Ryan’s ground-ball tendencies and pinpoint command limit the big-inning risk that comes with pitching in Texas. At $9,800 on DraftKings, Ryan is not cheap, but his floor rivals any pitcher on the board. He is the clear SP1 for cash games on the early slate, and his ceiling in tournaments is a 40-plus point performance. If you want a look at updated MLB betting odds before locking in, that data can help confirm Ryan’s run support picture as well.

Juan Soto, OF — New York Mets (~$6,000 DK)

Aaron Nola has one of the worst ERA marks among established starters in 2026, sitting at 5.86 with a 1.47 WHIP on the season. He has recorded fewer than 5.5 strikeouts in seven of his last eight starts and has been getting hit hard all year. Juan Soto at Citizens Bank Park against that version of Nola is one of the best matchups on the entire main slate.

Soto is hitting .297 with 15 home runs and a .555 slugging percentage across 57 games this season. His numbers against right-handed pitching since 2024 are staggering — 71 home runs, a .288 batting average, .576 slugging rate, and .289 ISO across 1,114 plate appearances. Citizens Bank Park consistently ranks as one of the most homer-friendly venues in the league, and Soto’s pull-side power makes it a natural fit. He is the premium bat on tonight’s main slate and should appear in the majority of winning cash game lineups. New users looking to play on both sites can use the FanDuel promo code and the DraftKings promo code to get extra value going into tonight’s slate.

Jackson Chourio, OF — Milwaukee Brewers (~$6,000 DK)

There is no hotter hitter in baseball right now than Jackson Chourio, and his form over the past week demands a lineup spot on Thursday’s early slate. The 22-year-old Milwaukee outfielder is slashing .316 with nine home runs, 26 RBI, and a .928 OPS for the season — but the recent stretch is the real story. Over his last seven games, Chourio is hitting .406 with five home runs, 10 RBI, and a 1.265 OPS. He bats leadoff for the Brewers at American Family Field today against Cleveland’s Parker Messick.

The honest caveat here is that Messick has been excellent this year — 2.68 ERA and 26 percent strikeout rate across 80.2 innings. That is not the matchup you draw up for a hitter-friendly selection. But Chourio’s production over the last two weeks is so overwhelming that his floor remains elevated regardless of opposing pitcher. He is a dangerous GPP play at his salary given his power-and-speed combination, and the volume of hits he has been racking up makes him viable even in cash games. Chourio is the top early-slate bat of the day. For a deeper look at the DFS platforms available for today’s slate, our DFS platform reviews break down the best options.

Carson Benge, OF — New York Mets (~$2,800 DK)

Here is the punt play that unlocks your entire Thursday lineup. Carson Benge is a 23-year-old rookie outfielder for the Mets who has been one of the best value bats in daily fantasy since the beginning of May. From May 3 through June 16, Benge posted five home runs, 28 runs scored, 20 RBI, four stolen bases, a .358 on-base percentage, .150 ISO, .355 wOBA, and .381 expected wOBA across 176 plate appearances — good for a 130 wRC+ in that span. He had a triple and a run in the game prior to today’s start as well.

Tonight Benge gets Aaron Nola in the same Citizens Bank Park environment that makes Soto a must-play. The combination of a ~$2,800 salary and elite recent production against one of the worst pitchers available tonight makes this the highest expected value at the punt position on the entire main slate. You can pair Soto and Benge in the same Mets stack, spend up on Ryan and Cameron at pitcher, and still have room to fill out the rest of your lineup with productive middle-tier pieces. Benge’s stolen base upside also adds a scoring dimension that most value bats cannot offer.

Building Your Lineup

The Mets are the clearest stack target on tonight’s main slate. With Soto and Benge both targeting Nola at Citizens Bank Park, adding a third piece from New York’s batting order is the obvious tournament move. Jeff McNeil has posted a .312 wOBA against right-handed pitching since 2024 and is worth considering at an affordable price. The Mets lineup depth makes this one of the more stackable teams on the slate regardless of where you open the batting order.

For salary construction, pairing Cameron at $6,900 with Ryan at $9,800 gives you two legitimate pitchers without overpaying at the position. Slotting Benge at $2,800 as the punt frees up significant cap space to load up on premium hitters. In GPP tournaments, pivoting off the heavily owned Soto to a stack of McNeil, Benge, and a mid-range outfielder is worth considering if ownership feels concentrated. On the early side, Chourio can replace a main-slate hitter if you want multi-game exposure and do not want to leave his seven-day hot streak on the table. Lock in the Cameron-Soto-Benge combination as your base and build from there.