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 outfielders.

Outfield

TJ Friedl, Cincinnati Reds

One of the biggest W’s for me personally in 2023 MLB Best Ball was the Reds. With the new stolen base rules, we heard reports from the Reds about how aggressive they were going to be on the basepaths, and boy did that come true. Friedl served as the near every day leadoff hitter for the Reds and swiped 27 bases. But it wasn’t just speed, but also power that drove Friedl to a huge season. He hit 18 HRs and posted a .189 ISO last year, which combined with his speed is an elite profile for an OF in fantasy, especially with Underdog scoring.  And all he’s ever done across every level of the minors for the Reds is hit… and run. He also earned a near full time role against LHP, which really helped any playing time concerns, and he should set the table (and keep running) for a mega upside offense in Cincinnati in 2024.

Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers

Langford is one of the top prospects in all of baseball, largely due to his A++ offensive talent. We know OF is the most scarce position (and priced up) in best ball, and yet arguably the top hitting prospect OF who is set to play every day in a top 5 offense can be had outside the top 100. Sure, he has the same concerns of any rookie or young player, but that’s offset by his price. Across all levels of the minors last year, he never posted a wRC+ lower than 177. Or a wOBA lower than .480. I’m sure there will be struggles in his rookie season, but that’s the beauty of Best Ball. I get to draft a bunch of OF/hitters and I don’t have to use their score every single week. It’s the perfect format for upside rookies like him, but the market still gets scared away just enough due to projections for rookies to give us solid prices.

Lars Nootbar, St. Louis Cardinals

Nootbar is not as sexy as some other names on my Core Picks list, but he’s easily just as valuable. As the market on Underdog has gotten sharper, they have really pushed OFers up in ADP due to the positional scarcity. But they’ve left really high quality hitters in really high level offenses at solid prices for us, specifically Noot. He should hit somewhere in the top 5 or so for the Birds in 2024, and I’m a bit more bullish than the projections on his median playing time expectation. He has been awesome vs RHIP, specifically last year with a .386 xwOBA and .202 xISO. He’ll need to improve against to play every single day, but the Cardinals don’t have as many right handed bat options to turn to for platoon situations. At an ADP barely cracking the top 120, any concerns of a platoon are more than baked in, and he makes for a critical piece of Cardinals stacks given how pricey all OFers have become in Best Ball.

Will Benson, Cincinnati Reds

Benson is my top guess for player who shoots up the most in ADP during spring training. I think once people see him in the lineup and flashing his insane upside, they’ll realize how foolish his ADP outside the top 225 is. After getting off to a horrific start last year, Benson was demoted back to the minors. He then proceeded to be recalled and post a 128 wRC+ with 11 HRs and 19 SBs as a part time player over 108 games. He strikes out frequently, but he he walks a ton as well (12.2% walk rate). He projects to start for the Reds, and yes there are platoon concerns.  But show me a late round pick (or even earlier round picks in the OF) without any concerns? There are almost none. And most of them don’t have this kind of power, speed and just overall upside while filling the most scarce position at a cheap cost in a mega upside offense (and great park). Benson should be my highest owned hitter of 2024.

Honorable Mention – Jared Kelenic, Atlanta Braves. Nick Castellanons, Philadelphia Phillies. Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles.