2024 Underdog BestBall Cheat Sheet (Highlighted - Free Link) Note: I added four drafted teams.

2024 Underdog BestBall Cheat Sheet

With the baseball season less than two weeks away from starting, Underdog still needs about 27% more entries to fill their Dinger Contest ($10 entry fee). The winner takes home $100,000. Each draft is 20 rounds with only three positions (pitchers, infield, and outfield).

Here’s a link to Underdog Bestball Rules and the Dinger Playoff Format Rules -$10 entry

I dumped many of the dead players, and this player list can uploaded to the site - Under the Rankings tab then, click MLB to get to this page:

To upload, the spreadsheet must be in CSV form. I have that file in Excel if someone doesn’t know how to convert the Google sheet to it (only the first tab is needed—Underdog ADPs 3_15).

In this format, big events create winning scores, which are the most important at the end of the year. I’m looking for power hitters that deliver big games. If they have speed, it is a bonus as well. Playing time is a must, and avoiding injuries will be the key to winning. I want pitchers who offer quality starts with strikeouts. When deciding between a young arm and a cloudy veteran pitcher later in the draft, I want the pitcher who will still be on the mound in September. Here’s a look at the scoring:

When I put up the Steamer Projections in late January, I added a column with Underdog scoring for hitters and pitchers (highlighted in yellow). I’ll add that scoring to my projections tomorrow to help get a feel for each player’s value in that format.

Here’s an example of a draft if I was picking from seat 10 in a 12-team league:

1.10 - Spencer Strider (The bats in the second round are similar to the ones available in the first round). I’ll take the edge in pitching and hope he makes 32 impactful starts.

2.3 - Based on their ADPs, I’d hope for Bobby Witt while settling for Bryce Harper, Austin Riley, Jose Ramirez, or Trea Turner.

3.10 and 4.3—If I didn't get Witt, I’d like to come out of this turn with Bo Bichette. With my other pick, I would be interested in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Elly De La Cruz, or Gunner Henderson.

5.10 and 6.3 - Based on this turn, there are excellent starting pitching choices, so I may take two (Tyler Glasnow, Geroge Kirby, or Tarik Skubal) if I have one pitcher after four rounds. If Manny Machado fell, I would take a shot with him. I’m never drafting Jazz Chisholm. I don’t trust his ability to stay healthy.

7.10 and 8.3—Wyatt Langford is the first target. I would also be interested in Cody Bellinger or Jordam Walker. I’m gambling on the upside. I will never draft Riley Greene or Steven Kwan.

9.10 and 10.3 - CJ Abrams and Xander Bogaerts would be my infield options. I’d want a safer other bat for the outfield, but it gets dicey in this area of the draft. Looking back, an outfielder in round two may be the better play. Based on the choices expected to be available. I may add Bobby Miller or Chris Sale and probably back out of my thoughts on Bogaerts.

11.10 and 12.3 - I’ll gamble on Vinnie Pasquatino. I drafted him a lot last year, and they take a swing with the impact steals of Esteury Ruiz.

13.10 and 14.3 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand is a must while looking for the best outfield option - Lourdes Gurriel…maybe JD Martinez (he has to sign soon).

15.10 and 16.3 - Henry Davis and Bryce Miller make sense.

With four picks to go, I look something like this:

P - Strider, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Miller, and Miller

IF - Bichette, Abrams, Machado, Pasquantino, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand

OF - Harper, Langford, Walker, Ruiz, Gurriel, and Davis

I need one more infielder and pitcher while deciding what to do with my final two selections.

17.10 and 18.3 - I’ll pull Kenta Maeda forward and hopefully get 30+ starts. The other pitcher is Paul Skenes. He’s in the minors, so I'll ride with eight arms on this team.

19.10 and 20.3 - Nolan Schanuel with either Andrew Abbott, Reese Olson, or Max Meyers.

Now, I have to try this for real to see what the actual playing field looks like. Here are four drafts I did at Underdog after making this post:

The last team is a $100 entry with a much smaller field to win $10,000. Looking back, The outfield position is the weakest at the backend, so my future drafts will have this format:

7 Pitchers

6 Infielders

7 Outfielders

Pitchers get hurt the most, so I want one extra arm. My teams have been pitching strong. The back end of the infield pool is much stronger due to more positions to draw from. Finding a better balance than I would be the goal, at least at the outfield positions, which probably comes from different draft slots. I picked 4th, 1st, 3rd, and 4th. I’m hoping to draft 15 $10 teams.