With Spring Training underway in Florida and Arizona, it’s time for everyone to get ready for another great MLB season! DraftKings is offering a huge set of Best Ball contests at a variety of entry costs a league sizes. As you get ready for yuor draft, check out my top Best Ball outfield targets in 2025 from the National League based on current ADP (average draft position).
In the Best Ball Lobby on DraftKings, you can find both Tournaments and Sit & Go contests. Most of the big contests are 12-player format, but there are also quick 3-player and 6-player Sit & Go’s available. If you’re unfamiliar with the Best Ball offering from DraftKings, check out this helpful information sheet that explains all the rules, terms and scoring.
One key to realize is that hitters in Best Ball are divided into just two positions–infield and outfield. Automatically, the top three infielders and top three outfielders each week are inserted into your lineup as starter. As a result, you want to be balanced and deep at both infield and outfield. Since the infield bucket includes five positions (ok, more like four-plus because of catcher), outfield is a little shallower typically, but you’ll want to be sure to be as deep. as possible no matter what size league you are drafting in. Based on their ADP, these three players stand out as my top Best Ball outfield targets from the NL.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves (ADP: OF15, 27.8 overall)
Acuna isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, but if you build your team smartly, he can be an amazing value as the 15th outfielder drafted. In 12-player leagues, you can target him at the start of the third round as your second outfielder. The key with drafting Acuna in that situation or in 3-player or 6-player leagues is building the depth around him and avoiding other outfield players with early-season injury issues.
Right now, Acuna looks to be on track to return late in April or early in May. Here’s what GM Alex Anthopoulos said about Acuna’s recovery at the start of Spring Training.
#Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said Acuña won’t play in any spring training games but may DH in some games on backfields. No discussion of him DHing at all once he’s off IL, no timetable until late spring on his ETA off IL. Said he’s way ahead of same stage of previous ACL recovery.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) February 14, 2025
Obviously, there’s an elevated risk of setbacks which raises the risk taking Acuna at this point, but the ceiling is worth it. In 2023, Acuna played 159 games and hit 41 home runs with 149 runs scored, 106 RBI, and a .460 xwOBA. He’d be one of the best hitters in the game with those numbers even if he didn’t add a whole additional level by stealing 73 bases as well. At his best, he’s a straight-up league-winner.
In 2024, Acuna was behind that pace even before getting injured, but even if he takes a step back, he’s a top-six outfielder when healthy and hitting at the top of the Braves’ lineup.
If you take the plunge on Acuna, it means you’ll have to make sure to get a very good fourth outfielder, who will basically be a default starter for the first month of the season. You’ll also want to be sure to end up with at least six outfielders or seven if possible, due to the added injury concerns.
As long as you take those precautions though, Acuna’s upside definitely makes him worth taking outside the top-10 at the position making him one of my top best ball outfield targets.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs (ADP: OF42, 125.5 overall)
As you get to the end of 6-player leagues or are in the middle of 12-player shopping for a fourth outfielder, I love the ceiling that Crow-Armstrong brings. I wouldn’t consider him a “safe” pick, so you’ll want to build plenty of depth after him in 12-player leagues, but his ceiling is impressive enough to be worth a shot at this point in drafts.
Crow-Armstrong has been hyped as a top prospect for the Cubs for years, so there is some fatigue from some fantasy players who have grabbed him only to get disappointing results. However, at the end of last season, he showed some interesting potential and will still only turn 23 a few days before Opening Day. It’s way to early to just chalk him up as a “bust.”
In 123 games in the MLB last season, Crow-Armstrong hit just .237 with teb home runs and a .289 wOBA. He did add value on the bases, though, with 27 stolen bases in 30 attempts. Those numbers are also a little weighted down by his early-season struggles. After July 26, he hit .289 with a 343 wOBA, seven of his ten home runs, and a 123 wRC+. He also improved his walk rate and strikeout percentage in the second half of the season.
If you grab Crow-Armstrong, you should at least get stolen base production. Last season, his sprint speed was in the 99th percentile at 30 ft/sec, per Statcast. If he’s able to get on base, he’ll add value with runs and stolen bases, and he also brings elite glove work that should keep him in the lineup even if his offense takes some time to catch up.
The ceiling he brings if he completes his breakout that started in the second half of last year is high enough that he is a great addition at this point in drafts as one of the top best ball outfield targets.
Jake McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks (ADP: OF70, 210.5 overall)
At the end of 12-player drafts, McCarthy is one of my top best ball outfield targets since I still think there’s more upside in his bat if he can claim the starting job in Arizona’s improving lineup.
He was excellent throughout his rise to the MLB, crushing Triple-A pitching with a .369 average and a .453 wOBA in 2022 and a .360 average and a .463 wOBA in 2023. He was used in a platoon for the first part of the season, but he really found his stride as an everyday player with a very promising August.
In that month, McCarthy hit .311 with five home runs and five stolen bases while posting a .373 wOBA and a 139 wRC+. He cooled back off in September to finish with a .285 batting average, and .329 wOBA on the season with a solid 110 wRC+.
McCarthy has a strong enough batting average to stick in the middle of the lineup and his power and speed combo give him plenty of ways to contribute. He may not bring the breakout potential of Christopher Morel or Jordan Walker, but he does have a fairly high floor as long as he stays a key part of Arizona’s lineup. Since he’s still just 27, McCarthy has room to grow, and he makes sense as a safe pick late as long as he looks to have a full-time role heading into the season.
