Best Ball is largely a strategy game, but we ultimately have to identify the players who we believe are the most important chess pieces for us to utilize in a given year, or what I like to call Core Picks.

These players are the players who I am targeting the most and building my portfolio around in the 2024 MLB Best Ball season. The reasons may be slightly different for each player – draft structure, my ranking vs. ADP, positional scarcity, raw upside, or various other reasons – but these are ultimately the players that are pillars of my portfolio, specifically the infielders.

Infielders

Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies

It’s extremely difficult to have an ADP in the top few rounds and make it into my core picks. So Trea is a very rare player for me in all of Best Ball. But I’m not sure if I can think of a more perfect player for MLB Best Ball than him in 2023. Trea was a 1st round pick in 2023 in his first year with the Phillies thanks to his insane run of fantasy production over 8 years. What really set expectations for him over the top were the rules changes which created more stolen base upside across the entire sport. Unfortunately, Trea did not quite deliver on the lofty expectations, finishing with just a 108. wRC+, his lowest since 2018. But despite the down year, he still scored 1,448 fantasy points using Underdog scoring… led largely by a huge 2nd half resurgence. He posted an 84 wRC+ in the 1st half, but surged to a 140 wRC+ in the 2nd half, including a .262 ISO while increasing his hard contact rate from 32% to 39%. We can’t just write off the 1st half from Trea, but he’s hitting in one of the best lineups in baseball in a great hitting park with the dual threat upside we love in this scoring format, and I think he may be discounted due to a random blip in the 2023 1st half.

Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

Elly is one of the more polarizing players in the entire player pool, but his upside is undeniable. One of the top prospects in baseball, he set the world on fire once he got called up to the Reds last year. However, he suffered from typical rookie struggles down the stretch after teams got some more information on him, culminating in just an 84 wRC+ in his rookie year. However, despite his 2nd half, the fantasy production was outrageous. In just 98 games, he hit 13 home runs and stole 35 bases. I completely understand all the red flags, but I just cannot deny the ceiling here. It’s not like we are paying a first or even second round draft price. Especially hitting in an elite park in the middle of a dynamic Reds lineup, the upside here is that Elly is a first round pick next year, and we are all laughing at the fact he was going at an ADP around 40 this spring. That’s the type of profile I want to get way overweight on, and if he busts, I will happily live with the results.

Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals

I am born and raised in St. Louis, so call me a homer, but I’m actually the kind of fan who is way tougher on the teams he roots for than just about anybody else. And yet, I cannot comprehend the price on Gorman. In 119 games in 2023, the 2nd year lefty slugger hit 27 home runs, posted a strong 11.4% walk rate, .241 ISO, 118 wRC+ and was actually even better against LHP (he’s left handed) than he was against righties, albeit in limited ABs. Projections have him for only around 129 games, yet they all project him for near 30 home runs and approaching 10 steals to boot. Everyone on the planet knows this is a well above average hitter who scores really well for fantasy with his power and on base ability, hitting in an extremely strong Cardinals lineup. With Goldschmidt and Arenado aging out of their prime and Jordan Walker not quite there yet, we may look back after 2024 and view Gorman as the best hitter on the Cardinals, but he barely cracks the top 200 in Underdog ADP.

Ryan Mountcastle, Baltimore Orioles

Mountcastle is probably not as sexy as the other names on this list, but he’s a critical piece to my 2024 plans nonetheless. Flat out, this is a just a really good hitter who is in his prime in the middle of one. of the highest upside stacks on the board. The Orioles would be my “break out” offense in 2024 if I had to pick one, even though they sort of already did that in 2023. But almost all the young talent from their system is hitting the bigs this year, and Mountcastle is of getting lost in the shuffle among them.  In 4 big league seasons, he has never posted a wRC+ lower than 108, and he has hit 33, 22 and 18 HRs (115 games) in each of the last 3 seasons. He ended with a 114 wRC+ and .3576. xWOBA last year,  and the counting stats should only increase as the 1B/DH in a potentially potent Orioles offense. Like I said, he’s not as sexy as the other names on this list, but a hitter of his caliber in the last round of drafts who happens to be on one of my favorite stacks of the year is going to be a key component of my drafts.

Honorable Mention – Ryan McMahon, Colorado Rockies. Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates. Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins.