Best Ball fantasy baseball offers a fresh take on traditional fantasy sports by eliminating in-season lineup management and shifting the focus to mastering the draft. 

Your team’s performance is automatically optimized each week, making the draft the key period to implement your strategy. Here’s how to succeed in Best Ball for 2025.

 

 

 

What Is Best Ball Fantasy Baseball?

Best Ball is a hands-off fantasy baseball format where you draft your team at the start of the season and don’t make any lineup changes throughout the year. 

Instead of weekly start-sit decisions, the system automatically chooses your best-performing players based on their stats. No more worrying about waivers or trades — your team is optimized automatically.

Drafting Your Team

  • Roster Size: Best Ball leagues typically feature larger rosters to handle injury risks and fluctuating performances. Expect to draft more players than in a standard league.
  • Position Requirements: You’ll still have standard position requirements (e.g., C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, OF, SP, RP), just like in traditional leagues.
  • Draft Style: Drafts are often conducted in a snake format (where the order reverses each round) or auction style (where players are bid on). The draft usually consists of 20-30 players, allowing you to create a deep roster.

 

 

 

Scoring Settings

Scoring systems can vary by platform, but here's a general idea of how it works:

Offensive Categories: These typically include stats like batting average, home runs, runs, RBIs, and stolen bases.

Example scoring for offensive categories:

  • 1 point for a single
  • 2 points for a double
  • 3 points for a triple
  • 4 points for a home run
  • 1 point per run scored
  • 1 point per RBI
  • 0.5 points per stolen base
  • 1 point for a walk or hit-by-pitch
  • Negative 1 point for strikeouts

Pitching Categories: Scoring often includes wins, strikeouts, earned run average (ERA), WHIP (walks + hits per inning), and saves.

Example scoring for pitching categories:

  • 3 points for a win
  • 1 point for a save
  • 1 point for a strikeout
  • Negative 1 point for a walk or hit allowed
  • Negative 1 point per earned run allowed

 

 

 

Player Selection

  • Automatic Lineup Optimization: After the draft, the system automatically selects your best-performing players for your starting lineup each week. You don’t have to manage daily rosters; the system does the work for you.
  • Position Flexibility: Best Ball leagues often offer position flexibility, allowing you to fill utility spots with any player or interchange outfielders. This helps simplify roster construction.

Settings Variations

Different platforms (such as Underdog Fantasy, Sleeper, or Yahoo) may offer slight variations in settings and scoring systems. For example:

  • Roster Depth: Some leagues may allow you to draft more pitchers than others.
  • Scoring Focus: Some formats may place more emphasis on specific categories like on-base percentage or slugging percentage rather than traditional stats.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Best Ball Draft Strategy

  • Target High Upside Players: In Best Ball, where you don’t manage your team during the season, prioritize players with high ceilings, like those with a high chance of hitting home runs or starting pitchers with high strikeout potential. Focus on players who can deliver big points, especially in a high-scoring week.
  • Stacking: While not as crucial in Best Ball as in daily fantasy formats, stacking players from the same team can be a smart strategy if you expect that team to have a strong offensive week. Selecting multiple players from the same batting order can maximize points when that group has a productive week.
  • The Zero Approach: Similar to the “Zero RB” strategy in fantasy football, you can benefit from drafting hitters early in Best Ball, particularly those with high offensive metrics like wOBA (weighted on-base average). As pitchers are more consistent and less injury-prone than running backs, a hitter-heavy draft strategy can work well.
  • Late-Round Pitching: Given the volatility of pitching, you might want to focus on a few top pitchers early and then take chances on sleepers or prospects in the later rounds. This provides balance, as pitchers are riskier but can also yield high rewards.
  • Rookie Considerations: Rookie hitters who emerge later in the season, particularly during the fantasy playoffs, can be valuable assets in Best Ball formats. Similar to the rise of rookie wide receivers in football, rookie hitters can have significant upside.

Best Practices

  • ADP Awareness: Keep an eye on Average Draft Position (ADP) but don’t be too rigid. Sometimes, players with high ADPs (such as top closers) may not be as valuable in Best Ball formats, where points are more important than saves or holds.
  • Schedule Awareness: Knowing when teams have favorable schedules, like seven-game weeks or matchups in hitter-friendly parks, can give you an edge when making draft decisions.
  • Diversify Your Drafts: If you’re entering multiple contests, mix up your strategies. What works in one draft might not be effective in another, so diversifying your approach ensures a range of potential outcomes.

By leveraging these strategies and understanding the nuances of Best Ball format, you can set yourself up for a successful 2025 season.