Recently, I was having a conversation with Erik about how we can attempt to research, then apply NFL Best Ball concepts to MLB. An easy item to research is, how does week 17 translate? I took a view of this on both DraftKings and Underdog as each site has unique playoff rounds based on how they broke out the schedule. I looked to see if there is any advantage to be gained based on the number of games played in each round. I’ve also outlined what teams play in the three most hitter advantageous ball parks during the finals on each site.

DraftKings

• Round 1: There are some minor differences in the amount of games played, ranging between 116 (LAD) and 120 (CIN, SF). At the end of the day this is about a 3% difference in volume of games played between them and will not lead me to fade the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Rounds 2 and 3: Everyone in the league is at 12 or 13 games played, with the exception of Miami only having 11 games in Round 2.
• Round 4: This may be the most actionable difference. Cleveland plays the most games in the finals, this increases the at bats available and potential for a pitcher to get to 3 starts. San Diego plays only 11 games, making it tough to get the 3 start pitcher round. San Diego also has a low round 1 number of games played. I won’t be moving players into different tiers based on this information, but it will dictate my order within tier.
• Round 4 Home Games:
  • Boston Red Sox – Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins
  • Cincinnati Reds – Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Colorado Rockies – Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs

Underdog

• Round 1: Every team in the league is between 105 and 108 games played.
• Round 2: Many teams play 12 or 13 games, the exceptions are the Chicago White Sox, Oakland, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego and Tampa Bay only having 11 games. This isn’t modifying my draft plans.
• Round 3: All teams play 12 or 13 games, with the exception of Miami playing 11.
• Round 4: All teams play 12 or 13 games. Not very interesting from a strategic perspective.
• Round 4 Home Games:
  • Boston Red Sox – Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays
  • Cincinnati Reds – Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics
  • Colorado Rockies – Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins