Fantasy Baseball 2019: PlayDraft MLB Best Ball Rankings

Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games! Available from now until the start of the Fantasy Baseball 2019 season are “Best Ball” drafts and, to help you get ready, we have our Best Ball Rankings!

Welcome to the second of two installments of Fantasy Baseball 2019, covering best ball drafts on DRAFT.com from FantasyCPR. My plan here today is to discuss some of my favorite targets this year, and their relative ADP’s. Then I will wrap it up with my current personal top 150 Best Ball Rankings.

I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. They offer 3-man, 6-man, 10-man, and 12-man best ball drafts, that start upon filling. In the DRAFT lobby, you will find me mostly in the 6-man and 12-man best ball drafts. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here!

I have currently finished ten best ball drafts, and am still working on that same slow draft I talked about in part one of this series. I have to say now that I see the benefit to these slow drafts considering how much news has broken over the course of the past couple of weeks that this draft has taken place.

However, it is in no way shape or form for me. I even had the first pick in this draft, and while I am OK with the results so far, a lot of my guys got snagged in this one. Regardless, I can see how some people might like it, but I would rather just finish up a draft and move on to the next one personally.

With that said, before we hit the top 150 Best Ball Rankings, let’s find out who I have targeted the most in my drafts up to this point, and who I have multiple shares of. These are of course my favorite targets for any point in the draft, and not just the top players in the game.

Best Ball Rankings: Top Pitcher Targets

Jose Berrios – Minnesota Twins – (54.4)

One thing is for sure about Berrios, and this seems like a fitting place to start for what we are doing here. His ADP has pretty much skyrocketed over the last couple of weeks since I first starting drafting, as I seem to remember it somewhere near the mid-to-high 60’s.

Just a couple of days ago, Berrios was announced as the opening day starter by new Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, and this Twins team has a lot of new faces and looks ready to compete in the less than mediocre American League Central Division.

In 32 starts last season, Berrios compiled a record of 12-11, and struck out 202 hitters in 192.1 innings pitched. On average, he is going in the late fifth to early sixth round range in my drafts, and I currently have four shares out of my ten drafts up to this point.

J.A. Happ – New York Yankees – (105.5)

Yankee pitchers always get a little hit rankings wise because of that short porch to left. However, left-handed like pitchers like Happ and James Paxton will have an advantage that most I think are ignoring.

Happ was awesome in New York after the trade from Toronto, compiling a 7-0 record with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts, and even though he is getting up there in age at 36 years old, Happ looks to have plenty left in the tank.

The Yankees will win ball games, and Happ will likely rack up quality starts along the way. His ADP sits at 105.6, and he seems to be there a bit longer than that in most drafts. I currently have five shares of Happ, and he is going anywhere from early 10th to late 11th round in my 12-man drafts.

Nick Pivetta – Philadelphia Phillies – (112.3)

It’s no secret the Phillies pitching staff isn’t very good after Aaron Nola, but much like Happ, I think Pivetta showed at times last season that he is worthy of a roster spot this season. When you look at how good this offense got with the additions of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, I think a case can made for at least Jake Arrieta on this staff in the late rounds as well.

Pivetta is another pitcher who is also moving up the ADP board in a hurry. Much like Berrios, I believe Pivetta has moved up at least ten spots since drafts were launched, as I can remember him being in the 120’s.

Pivetta went 7-14 with a 4.77 ERA last season in 32 starts, but with some new faces to help on offense my guess is he improves on those numbers dramatically while becoming a solid number two starter behind Nola. He is my highest owned pitcher with seven shares in ten drafts, so it is safe to say I am all in on this one in that tenth round.

Yu Darvish – Chicago Cubs – (120.3)

Speaking of a spike in ADP, Darvish was at 133 or so just a week ago. He has been dynamite in spring training thus far, and while he is said to be back to 100% and looking the part, I am willing to put the last couple seasons of injury behind him, and roll the dice he can stay healthy all season.

In fact, as I went back to check and see what round I am drafting Darvish in, I noticed ADP’s have been updated again, and he continues to move up as he now sits at 118.2. In all of these early drafts I have done I have been able to get him as late as the 12th and 13th rounds, but that obviously is not the case any more.

My most recent Darvish pick up was in a 12-man at pick 11.12, but my guess is he will not be there in the next one I do at that point. I only have three shares at the moment, but that is a fair amount at this point.

Yusei Kikuchi – Seattle Mariners – (151.5)

Much like Minnesota, there are a lot of new faces in Seattle this year. Domingo Santana and Tim Beckham will get fresh starts here, along with incoming 27-year-old rookie Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi is progressing as the spring rolls on, and right now he slated as the number two starter behind Marco Gonzales in this Mariners rotation.

To keep the trend going, we have yet another pitcher getting drafted earlier and earlier as the season approaches. Kikuchi was going as late as the last couple rounds when the best balls were first launched, now as you see, he is creeping up into the 14th round often.

I have four shares of Kikuchi, and I can show a prime example of this ADP movement. One draft I did yesterday, I took him at 14.1 as my fifth and final pitcher to go with Sale, Berrios.

Kershaw, and Happ. However, in another draft I did a couple of weeks ago, I drafted him as my sixth pitcher at pick 16.9. If there is one thing all of these pitchers have in common, they are all trending the right direction as the regular season approaches.

Best Ball Rankings: Top infield Targets:

Francisco Lindor – Cleveland Indians – (17.5)

Back in early February when I initially starting researching fantasy for the year, the one player that stood out the most in terms of who I want early, and who I will likely be able to get in every draft if I want him, is Francisco Lindor.

What I like to do for my initial rankings, is compile a rankings based off of nothing but transactions and last season’s stats, and completely ignoring early ADP’s. When I did that, I had Lindor as my third ranked overall player for H2H category style fantasy baseball.

Then as I started doing some mock drafts and diving into best balls, and it dawned on me that I am way, way higher on Lindor than most, and my mid-to-late first round projection turns out be too high. I currently have six shares of Lindor, as he has been my staple second round pick with his ADP, and I am very happy to be able to get him a round later than I expected to pay.

It seems like most experts seem to think he will not replicate last years numbers, but I look at it the other way. Lindor was a highly touted prospect, and I believe his .277 batting average will be improved this season. He hit 38 home runs last year and stole 25 bases, so there is little doubt in my mind that if he stays healthy, he will be a top fantasy producer this season once again.

Ozzie Albies – Atlanta Braves – (65.3)

Albies had an incredible first half last season, then hit a slump over the second half as the Braves struggled down the stretch. He ended up finishing the season with 24 home runs and 14 stolen bases, so he plays offensively very similar to Lindor, just not quite to that level.

If I had to pick just one player that I think will outperform their ADP by a mile this season, this is it. He has been hovering in the high 60’s since the drafts began, and with where I have him ranked, he looks like a fourth round pick.

However, that is why all of this is so important. I am willing to take him in the fourth, and I keep getting him in the sixth. In my last draft in fact, I was even trying to avoid him for once, and he fell to the seventh and I could not refuse.

My point is, everyone is scared of that second half slump last season, and Albies is a flat-out steal in my opinion. I really hope I am right on this one because I am all in. Eight shares in ten drafts makes Albies my highest owned overall player for the 2019 best ball season.

Adalberto Mondesi – Kansas City Royals – (76.6)

Since the news broke about two weeks ago that Mondesi is the leader in the clubhouse to bat leadoff for the Royals this season, his ADP jump had to be the highest of any player by far. The speedy 23-year-old had a brilliant second half last season as he finally settled into an every day role, and ended up stealing 32 bases in just 275 at-bat’s, while also slugging 14 home runs.

The hype is real on this kid, and that 76.6 ADP was once close to the 120’s! If you were fortunate enough to grab him late in some early drafts that is why you do it. I know I was.

My latest I waited to get him looks like it was 8.10, and I can vividly remember him getting sniped from me in multiple drafts. I currently have five shares and will welcome more. I have seen him sneak into the sixth round, but that may be a bit high. Seventh round still seems fair though.

Miguel Andujar – New York Yankees – (105.6)

It was a pretty phenomenal rookie season for Andujar offensively last season, but there was still talk this team would sign Manny Machado. He isn’t a great defensive third baseman as of yet, but he just entering the second year of his career, and I think the good will far outweigh the bad eventually.

Andujar hit mostly at the bottom of the Yankees lineup last season, and I think that may have brought him along a bit quicker at the plate. He put together a very solid all around line, hitting .297 with 27 home runs and 92 RBI’s.

Now here is what I don’t get. Yankee teammate Gleyber Torres is getting drafted ahead of Andujar, and in this format I am not so sure I agree with that. I have four shares of Andujar up to this point, and I have taken him in the 10th round every time I was not targeting a pitcher.

Once you get to the 10th round, 30+ home run guys will be starting to get very hard to find. I am not saying he will, but Andujar has the power and skills to hit 40.

Jonathan Villar – Baltimore Orioles – (177.2)

Another player I feel is a steal to his relative ADP, is Orioles likely at least part-time leadoff hitter Jonathan Villar. He was kind buried on the depth chart in Milwaukee, and never really did anything with his multiple chances to start there. Then he gets shipped to Baltimore and gets a change of scenery, and now seems to be in a key role on what looks like will be a bad team.

If he hits over .250 on the season I will be surprised, but I think with every day run, 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases is not out of the question. Villar stole 14 bases with Milwaukee last year in 279 plate appearances, then added 21 more in just 236 plate appearances with the Orioles.

When he is still there in the 16th round go ahead and grab him, or if you are like I have been, it won’t matter because you will be so comfortable with your team in the 15th round, that it will be OK to draft him then. I have Villar in seven out of ten of my drafts, and he is one of just three players that I have seven shares or more of, with Albies and Pivetta.

Best Ball Rankings: Top Outfield Targets:

Cody Bellinger – Los Angeles Dodgers – (40.1)

I was high on Belly last year, and he was kind of a disappointment as his power numbers dipped dramatically. What is really bothersome about it to me, is that he had almost 100 more at-bats last year as he did in 2017, when he hit 39 home runs as a rookie. Last year however, he only left the yard 25 times, and my thought was that he would be an easier get this year with that dip in power production.

That has not been the case however, as I try every draft to get him in the fourth, and I keep getting sniped. I do have four shares, but I have taken him in the late third round a couple of times. I think Bellinger will benefit from the addition of a veteran like AJ Pollack, and will also benefit from the departure of Manny Machado.

With Corey Seager back healthy and Justin Turner also healthy and manning third base, there is just no room even for Machado with no designated hitter in the National League. When you include the emergence of Max Muncy last season, this offense is still as dangerous as any in all of baseball.

Eloy Jimenez – Chicago White Sox – (102)

The 22-year-old future superstar Eloy Jimenez who has yet to see a pitch in an MLB game is a hot commodity in the best ball drafts. He came over to the White Sox from the Cubs in the Jose Quintana trade in 2017, and while it looks like he may start the season in the minor leagues, that is not stopping his ADP from rising consistently.

It isn’t like the White Sox have a plethora of solid outfielders, so if this is not an issue of time served and rights to him, he will be up in the majors sooner rather than later. With Daniel Palka and Jon Jay as competition, it shouldn’t take very long.

I have three shares of Jimenez, but it is only because I have not been willing to go as high as round eight where he has been going recently. If there is still a solid starter there I would rather have that luxury, but outfield does get very thin at that point in the draft. Late eighth round, early ninth round seems pretty fair at this point.

Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels – (133.8)

Remember that stretch that last year when Ohtani hit like six bombs in like nine days or something? I do. We did not get a great overall look at the young lefty, but from what we saw it looks to be as good as advertised. He hit 22 home runs and hit .285 in just 326 at-bats while also pitching lights out until his injury was finally too much.

Ohtani had Tommy John surgery last year, and will return to DH in May, and will not pitch this season. I love the fact that he does not have to think about pitching this year, and can just hit, because I have ended up with five shares, all coming in the later rounds.

If he DH’s all year for the Angels when he returns, he easily has a shot at 30 home runs assuming he stays healthy. Now that we are this late in the draft and Ohtani is likely your fourth or fifth outfielder, this risk is well worth it.

Corey Dickerson – Pittsburgh Pirates – (162.5)

Speaking of late round opportunities for power, I am really surprised Dickerson isn’t getting drafting higher for one, and I am also kind of disappointed I do not have more than three shares. Last year, Dickerson hit .300, but only hit 13 home runs. However, at just age 29, I think there is still a chance he can reach 20 once again. He did hit 27 for Tampa Bay just two years ago.

Although the ADP would suggest differently, I seem to have him going earlier in my drafts. Once you get to the 14th and 15th round, if you still need an outfielder, I think it is time to pounce on this one. There is only one more guy I will take any later, and you won’t find him in the top 150 rankings.

Harrison Bader – St. Louis Cardinals – (177.2)

24-year-old Harrison Bader has been brought along slowly, but looks poised to be the Cardinals starting centerfielder to start the season. Bader hit 12 home runs and stole 15 bases in just 379 at-bats in his rookie season, and with a lineup that improved dramatically by adding Paul Goldschmidt, Bader looks to be in position to drive in some runs this season as well.

He is projected to hit sixth at this point, and is a great option for your last pick if you are still sitting with four outfielders and are struggling to find a fifth.

Best Ball Rankings: Top 50 Pitchers:

Each Players Best Ball Ranking will be followed by two numbers. The first number is my current overall ranking for that player, and the second is their current ADP

1. Max Scherzer – (4) – (4.3)

2. Chris Sale – (9) – (9.3)

3. Jacob deGrom – (11) – (8)

4. Justin Verlander – (15) – (14.8)

5. Aaron Nola – (24) – (21.7)

6. Gerrit Cole – (25) – (18.2)

7. Blake Snell – (26) – (26.3)

8. Corey Kluber – (29) – (23.3)

9. Luis Severino – (31) – (31.8)

10. Carlos Carrasco – (34) – (35.6)

11. Noah Syndergaard – (35) – (36.5)

12. Trevor Bauer – (39) – (32.1)

13. Clayton Kershaw – (40) – (48)

14. Walker Buehler – (42) – (37)

15. James Paxton – (43) – (49.3)

16. Stephen Strasburg – (44) – (58.2)

17. Jose Berrios – (47) – (54.4)

18. Patrick Corbin – (52) – (42.8)

19. Mike Clevinger – (55) – (48.2)

20. Jack Flaherty – (58) – (61)

21. Zack Greinke – (61) – (56.9)

22. Jameson Taillon – (65) – (64.5)

23. Mike Foltynewicz – (74) – (77.3)

24. Madison Bumgarner – (75) – (77.7)

25. Chris Archer – (76) – (75.5)

26. David Price – (81) – (66.3)

27. German Marquez – (82) – (70)

28. Robbie Ray – (83) – (83.1)

29. Miles Mikolas – (96) – (93.2)

30. Charlie Morton – (97) – (89.2)

31. J.A. Happ – (98) – (105.5)

32. Rick Porcello – (99) – (96.2)

33. Cole Hamels – (101) – (97.4)

34. Zack Wheeler – (102) – (78.7)

35. Nick Pivetta – (105) – (112.3)

36. Luis Castillo – (106) – (97.7)

37. Yu Darvish – (109) – (120.3)

38. Tyler Glasnow – (113) – (126.3)

39. Shane Bieber – (114) – (120.8)

40. Andrew Heaney – (118) – (128.4)

41. Kyle Hendricks – (119) – (115.2)

42. Masahiro Tanaka – (120) – (108.7)

43. Kyle Freeland – (128) – (122.6)

44. Sean Newcomb – (129) – (135.2)

45. Dallas Keuchel – (130) – (122.8)

46. Rich Hill – (131) – (150.1)

47. Yusei Kikuchi – (139) – (151.5)

48. Nathan Eovaldi – (141) – (148)

49. Carlos Martinez – (142) – (168.9)

50. Zack Godley – (143) – (145.9)

Best Ball Rankings: Top 50 Infielders:

1. Jose Ramirez – (4) – (5.7)

2. Nolan Arenado – (6) – (6)

3. Francisco Lindor – (13) – (17.5)

4. Paul Goldschmidt – (16) – (13.8)

5. Trea Turner – (17) – (21)

6. Freddie Freeman – (18) – (18.6)

7. Manny Machado – (19) – (20.8)

8. Alex Bregman – (20) – (19.1)

9. Trevor Story – (21) – (26.6)

10. Jose Altuve – (22) – (25)

11. Rhys Hoskins – (28) – (32.9)

12. Anthony Rizzo – (32) – (35.5)

13. Kris Bryant – (36) – (34.3)

14. Javier Baez – (37) – (35.3)

15. Carlos Correa – (41) – (47.7)

16. Anthony Rendon – (45) – (49.8)

17. Joey Votto – (46) – (46.4)

18. Ozzie Albies – (49) – (65.3)

19. Whit Merrifield – (50) – (54.3)

20. Eugenio Suarez – (51) – (61.3)

21. Xander Bogaerts – (56) – (54.3)

22. Vladimir Guerrero – (59) – (51)

23. Matt Carpenter – (62) – (45)

24. Corey Seager – (68) – (82.8)

25. Jose Abreu – (69) – (75.5)

26. Adalberto Mondesi – (72) – (76.6)

27. Daniel Murphy – (78) – (73.6)

28. Matt Chapman – (79) – (83.6)

29. Jean Segura – (84) – (93.9)

30. Gleyber Torres – (87) – (90.9)

31. Miguel Andujar – (88) – (105.6)

32. Matt Olson – (89) – (90.4)

33. Carlos Santana – (90) – (94.1)

34. Jesus Aguilar – (91) – (89)

35. Josh Donaldson – (95) – (100.3)

36. Justin Turner – (104) – (100.6)

37. Max Muncy – (107) – (122.2)

38. Yoan Moncada – (108) – (127.8)

39. Travis Shaw – (110) – (103.8)

40. Rafael Devers – (111) – (131.5)

41. Eric Hosmer – (115) – (121.7)

42. Mike Moustakas – (116) – (117.8)

43. Scooter Gennett – (121) – (111.9)

44. Robinson Cano – (122) – (107.4)

45. JT Realmuto – (123) – (132.2)

46. Brian Dozier – (124) – (133.9)

47. Justin Smoak – (134) – (143.2)

48. Jonathan Villar – (135) – (177.2)

49. Wil Myers – (136) – (142.5)

50. Rougned Odor – (144) – (139.8)

Best Ball Rankings: Top 50 Outfielders:

1. Mike Trout – (1) – (1.1)

2. Mookie Betts – (2) – (2)

3. J.D. Martinez – (3) – (3.9)

4. Bryce Harper – (7) – (9.7)

5. Christian Yelich – (8) – (8.4)

6. Ronald Acuna – (10) – (13.2)

7. Aaron Judge – (12) – (10.3)

8. Giancarlo Stanton – (14) – (14.7)

9. Charlie Blackmon – (23) – (23.3)

10. Andrew Benintendi – (28.1)

11. Juan Soto – (30) – (31.2)

12. Cody Bellinger – (33) – (40.1)

13. George Springer – (38) – (41.2)

14. Khris Davis – (48) – (33)

15. Mitch Haniger – (53) – (56.3)

16. Starling Marte – (54) – (51.5)

17. Nicholas Castellanos – (57) – (59.7)

18. Michael Conforto – (60) – (66.3)

19. Nelson Cruz – (63) – (57.4)

20. Lorenzo Cain – (64) – (67.4)

21. Marcell Ozuna – (66) – (72.1)

22. Tommy Pham – (67) – (78.4)

23. Yasiel Puig – (70) – (64.9)

24. Joey Gallo – (71) – (53.4)

25. David Dahl – (73) – (82.5)

26. Justin Upton – (77) – (79.4)

27. Andrew McCutchen – (80) – (77.3)

28. Eddie Rosario – (85) – (86.9)

29. Aaron Hicks – (86) – (89.8)

30. Eloy Jimenez – (92) – (102)

31. Edwin Encarnacion – (93) – (86.6)

32. Michael Brantley – (94) – (93.8)

33. AJ Pollack – (100) – (97.2)

34. Brandon Nimmo – (103) – (110.9)

35. David Peralta – (112) – (101.1)

36. Victor Robles – (117) – (109)

37. Shohei Ohtani – (125) – (133.8)

38. Kyle Schwarber – (126) – (121.4)

39. Stephen Piscotty – (127) – (115.5)

40. Nomar Mazara – (132) – (121.9)

41. Ender Inciarte – (133) – (128.6)

42. Byron Buxton – (137) – (137.5)

43. Adam Eaton – (138) – (150.1)

44. Mallex Smith – (140) – (146.3)

45. Max Kepler – (145) – (140.5)

46. Brian Anderson – (146) – (150.9)

47. Shin-Soo Choo – (149) – (126.4)

48. Corey Dickerson – (153) – (163.6)

49. Odubel Herrera – (158) – (170.4)

50. Ryan Braun – (163) – (169.5)

Fantasy Baseball 2019: The MLB Best Ball Championship

Now that you have found the MLB home page on DRAFT, the first thing you are going to want to do is set those pre-draft rankings. Part two of this series will touch more on that, but now that you are there, right below that is the basic cash leagues that draft upon filling.

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Any draft you click on will have payouts listed, along with a link to rules and scoring and well. They start as they fill, so again, make sure you have least have toyed with the pre-draft rankings before diving in.

You will see varying buy-in’s and league sizes. $1 contests are either six-man or 10-man, and they offer some 3-man’s, and of course the big 12-man contests, all at different buy-in levels.

What I want to talk about it a bit further in-depth however, is the three tournaments scrolling back and forth at the top of your screen.

The MLB Best Ball Championship is a $25 buy-in tournament, with a $100,000 prize pool. It is capped at 4608 entries, and pays $20,000 to the eventual champion.

If there is any negative about these it is the fact that the max entry-level is too high at 138, but I don’t see this being that type of contest.

Max entering something like this with the uncertainty of injuries seems highly -EV in my opinion, but I am sure there will be still be handful of folks that do max it out.

Unlike the normal leagues which carry on throughout the regular season, tournament entries will wrap up the regular season earlier to allow for the six-week playoff run.

If you win your 12-man league you advance to the playoffs. Second place is the first loser in these, thanks for playing basically if you do not win your league through the first 14 weeks.

After all the winners are set, the quarterfinals will run for weeks 15 and 16, and you must finish in the top three of your new league of all regular season championship teams to advance to the next round.

If you have made it this far, and do not finish in the top three, you have made the money at this point, and are guaranteed a $100 payday. To see the rest of the rules for the championship and the minor differences opposed to the regular leagues, you can find that information here.

Is $25 a little too steep for your budget? Or who knows, maybe not even worth your time? DRAFT has you covered either way. There is the MLB Mini Best Ball Tournament with a $5 buy-in, with a larger field of 11,520, and a $50,000 prize pool.

For the high rollers, there is the MLB Mega Best Ball Championship with a smaller field of just 1152, and a $125 buy-in, and a $125,000 prize pool. Any way you look, there is plenty of action for all bank rolls over on draft, and we are now inside the three-week mark until the regular season begins. It is officially MLB Draft season!

That will be all for the top 150 rankings for MLB best ball drafts on DRAFT. If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter with the link on the top of the page, and feel free to ask.

You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond. Always stay tuned to FantasyCPR as we have you covered for all things fantasy sports!