Rules, requirements on how to play MLB Best Ball this year

This year will mark the first season that bettors will be able to play MLB Best Ball on the DraftKings Sportsbook app, a fantasy game that’s a mashup of some of the best parts of DFS and regular fantasy baseball. Before the season starts, here’s a primer on what you can expect from Best Ball this season.

What is “Best Ball”?

In Best Ball contests, participants will draft a lineup via a live snake draft and contests will last multiple weeks of the season. After the draft there are no trades or roster management. Each week of the contest your highest scoring players are automatically your starting lineup and count toward your team’s overall fantasy point total. Overall contest payouts are based on the cumulative fantasy points scored by your starting lineup each week.

How many players do I draft?

Lineups will consist of 20 players and must include players from at least 2 different MLB teams. Starting lineups will consist of 9 players. The four roster positions are 3 IP, 3 OF, 3 P and 11 bench (IF, OF, P).

Who can I draft?

The Player Pool will consist of all MLB players expected to be on an active roster during the 2023 season.

How does the draft work?

DraftKings Sportsbook offers both slow and fast drafts for Best Ball.

How much time do I have to pick?

In fast drafts you will have up to 30 seconds to make each pick. Fast drafts typically take a few minutes to a few hours to complete, and in slow drafts you’ll have up to 8 hours to make each pick. Slow drafts typically take a few days to complete.

Can I auto-draft?

Yes, with a catch. Prior to the draft, all players will need to edit the pre-draft rankings, add a player to your queue during the draft, or make a manual draft pick during the draft. Failure to take at least one of the prior three actions will result in an invalid entry and the entry will not be eligible for prizes.

After the first pick, players will be able to auto-draft. If a player doesn’t make a pick before the clock expires, the game will auto-draft a player based on the highest ranked player from your pre-draft rankings or the highest ranked player from your pre-draft rankings,

The game will not auto-draft more than 7Ps, 7IFs, or 7OFs for your team when auto-drafting from the pre-draft rankings. It is possible to exceed these limits when auto-drafting from the queue.

What happens if a player gets hurt?

There are no transactions, meaning that if one of your starting pitchers gets hurt they’ll be replaced with a pitcher from your bench. Because of this, it’s best to have a backup plan in place for all of your positions.

How do I sign up?

You can sign up for a Best Ball league on the Daily Fantasy hub on the DraftKings Sportsbook app or on Draftkings’ website.

What are the entry fees, max entries, and prize pools?

Entry fees range from $1 to $530. Prize pools range from $2.70 to $6,000.

What kind of Best Ball Tournaments can I play?

Sit & Go’s

Sit & Go’s are Best Ball contests that are played for the entire season or for just a specified number of weeks. They can range from three teams to 12 teams. You’ll pick your squad in a Snake Draft and you’ll use it for the entire contest.

Tournaments

Tournaments are Best Ball drafts that are played out over multiple rounds of contests. Our tournaments are played out over four rounds.

• Round 1: 18 weeks (03/30 - 08/13)
• Round 2: 1 double week (8/14 - 8/27)
• Round 3: 1 double week (8/28 - 9/10)
• Round 4: 1 double week (9/11 - 9/24)

At the end of each round, a specified number of entrants from each contest advances to the next round based on their placement in the contest standings. Each tournament will have specified contest sizes for each round, number of advancing entries per contest for each round, and maximum number of Round 1 contests you can enter.

How does scoring work?

Hitters

Single: 3 points
Double: 5 points
Triple: 8 points
Home run: 10 points
Runs batted in: 2 points
Run scored: 2 points
Stolen base: 5 points

Pitchers

Innings pitched: 2.25 points
Strikeout: 2 points
Win: 4 points
Earned run allowed: -2 points
Hit against: -0.6 points
Base on balls against: -0.6 points
Hit batsman: -0.6 points
Complete game: 2.5 points
Complete game shutout: 2.5 points
No-hitters: 5 points