Last week, I had a ton of fun creating my Head2Head College Choose’em Challenge lineup. While my bracket was busted, five of my players are still alive in the tournament. I just have to root for Gonzaga, Nevada and either Villanova or Purdue to make the final four, and I might have a chance. Also, it would help quite a bit if Duke could go ahead and lose to Syracuse. Fortunately for me, with the MLB season a week away, Head2Head is offering two baseball contests, the H2H Salary Cap game and Home Run Pick’em, to take my mind off of my NCAA Tournament bracket.

I play both games, and I love that they offer fun, but completely different, experiences. The Home Run Pick’em is quite similar to the College Choose’em Challenge. You choose one player each from 10 different groups, and you earn one point for every total base that player accumulates. Each group consists of five players of approximate skill level. You could get a lot of mileage out of simply choosing the best player from each group, though it is also important to consider things like schedule, ballpark and health. I love Kris Bryant’s schedule the first week of the season, and it is hard to pick against Giancarlo Stanton so long as he is healthy. I had two Rockies in my initial lineup until I realized they begin the season on the road.

I have my Home Run Pick’em lineup listed below, and I will check in periodically throughout the season to see how that team is doing and make recommendations regarding strategy or which players are good picks in a given week. That being said, the primary focus of this column for both for this month and moving forward is the H2H Salary Cap game.  There is a bit more strategy involved in trying to maximize the salary cap, while also keeping in mind the scoring system, which is much more involved than in the Home Run Pick’em. With that in mind, let’s get to some general strategy thoughts before looking at my starting lineup as well as some players who missed the cut but are worth considering.

In order to maximize your salary within the salary cap, you have to look for some players who are undervalued. At this point, those players are mostly either injured guys who are healthy now or players coming off a down year. Even if you don’t agree with my assessment of the players below, you at least should know what kind of players to look for.

The player prices vary pretty wildly between positions. Giancarlo Stanton is the most expensive outfielder at $12.5. Jose Altuve, on the other hand, is the most expensive second baseman at $10.0. I’m not sure I understand why that is the case. I think you can get productive players at every position at just about any price point, so I’m not sure I am going to pay up for an outfielder or first baseman when I can find a comparable middle infielder much cheaper. This means there is an excellent chance I will fill my Flex spot with a middle infielder.

With a week to go before the start of the MLB season, this lineup, and the other players listed below, was mostly put together without regard for the schedule. I might make some changes in the coming week, but at this point, I am content to grab some value at every position, and adjust from there once I see how my players look in real games. Besides, we don’t have a great idea at this point of which teams are good matchups and which ones aren’t. I’m pretty confident the Cubs have a good schedule the first week, but it is certainly possible the Marlins and Reds are better than we are giving them credit for. With that in mind, let’s look at my lineup, as well as other players I like.

My H2H Salary Cap game ineup:

Chicago Cubs pitching staff—It is not exactly clear if the Cubs have an ace (I think it is Yu Darvish), but they probably have the deepest rotation in baseball. They should be money in the bank for 90+ wins, and they are very good defensively. On top of everything else, it appears the Cubs improved their bullpen in the offseason as well.

Austin Barnes, C, LAD—I will almost certainly wind up streaming catchers as the season goes along, but I may not have to if Austin Barnes plays the majority of the Dodgers’ games. He batted .289/.408/.486 last season, and while I don’t expect a repeat, nobody else in his price range has that kind of potential.

Logan Morrison, 1B, MIN—Morrison was 14th among qualified hitters in walk rate last season at 13.5%. He probably won’t hit 38 home runs again, but if he hits 25 home runs with a .345 OBP, his price is way too low.

Adrian Beltre, 3B, TEX—This is the perfect format to take someone like Adrian Beltre. Health is a concern for Beltre after he played just 94 games last season, but he still batted .312 with 17 home runs and 71 RBI in those 94 games. I will happily ride Beltre at a discount for as long as he can stay healthy, and simply move on to the next guy if/when injury strikes.

Xander Bogaerts, SS, BOS—I’m grabbing Bogaerts in every format, including this one. I am willing to give him a pass for playing through a wrist injury last season, and it is easy to forget how high we all were on him at this time last year. I expect a bounce back year, and you can get him at a nice discount.

Ian Desmond, OF, COL—I have Ian Desmond projected to bat .270 with 19 home runs and 15 stolen bases. If you think that is crazy, just keep in mind he batted .285 with 22 home runs and 21 stolen bases for Texas in 2016. That wasn’t that long ago.

Adam Eaton, OF, WAS—Eaton’s price is down because he was injured for most of 2017, but unlike Adrian Beltre, who turns 39 next month, there isn’t a whole lot of risk of decline or another injury.

Mookie Betts, OF, BOS—Betts was pretty much the exact same hitter in 2017 as in 2016, but terrible BABIP luck caused his batting average to drop 54 points. He is just 25 years old with plenty of room for growth, but even if he stays the same, he will be plenty valuable.

Rafael Devers, 3B, BOS—Yes, this is the third Boston player in my lineup, and no, I don’t care. I know Devers isn’t proven, but I believe in his talent. If he just repeats his major league numbers from last season, his price is too low.

Others receiving votes:

Arizona Diamondbacks—If the impact of the humidor is as drastic as predicted, Arizona’s pitching staff could be a nice value. Arizona has two proven studs at the top of their rotation in Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray, and the back end is full of upside with Zack Godley, Taijuan Walker and Patrick Corbin.

Minnesota Twins—This is like a poor-man’s version of the Cubs staff. The Twins’ rotation is deep, especially when Ervin Santana returns. The Twins were good defensively last season, and I except this team to win at least half of their games, which should add valuable fantasy points.

White Sox—If you play the White Sox pitching staff, you are taking a chance on Carlos Rodon, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and, eventually, Michael Kopech all taking a step forward. This pitching staff has talent, and if they put it together, the profit potential is immense.

Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET—I don’t want to fall victim to Spring Training hype, but I am starting to think there is a better chance than not that Cabrera stays healthy and productive in 2018. He is a lot older than Xander Bogaerts, which gives me pause, but he could absolutely be a risk worth taking.

Jonathan Villar, 2B, MIL—Second base may be the toughest place to find obvious value, though I do like Brad Miller and Devon Travis if they can stay healthy. That being said, Jonathan Villar could easily outperform his price if he can wrestle some playing time away from Eric Sogard.  He just has to be marginally better than he was last season.

Byron Buxton, OF, MIN—Buxton was great last season after a terrible April, and while I love him for this season, we do have to consider the possibility he is a slow starter who will never put up huge numbers in April.

Justin Turner, 3B, LAD—I got Turner in just about all of my drafts before his wrist injury. His high walk rate makes him great for points games like this one once he returns.

Michael Brantley, OF, CLE—Like Adrian Beltre, the biggest question with Brantley is health. If he is definitely back by Opening Day, I might put him in my lineup right away, though it wouldn’t be the worst idea to wait a week or two and see how he looks first.

Ronald Acuna, OF, ATL—The minute he is called up to the big leagues, he immediately becomes a great value.

Before we get to my Home Run Pick’em lineup, I want to shout out Head2Head’s Golf Salary Cap game. It still doesn’t start for a couple of weeks, but it isn’t too early to offer a couple of thoughts for when you put together your lineup. They will probably be owned in a ton of leagues, but there is still a lot of value in players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson who have all won the Masters and have played well in 2018. In fact, you could play all four of those guys, and have plenty of money to fill out your last two spots. Augusta favors players with a strong history more than perhaps any course on tour, and it is great that you can take advantage of that fact while saving money at the same time.

Steve’s Home Run Pick’em lineup:

Giancarlo Stanton

George Springer

Mookie Betts

Kris Bryant

Cody Bellinger

Jose Abreu

Adam Jones

Alex Bregman

Edwin Encarnacion

Justin Smoak