Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft
Baseball season is already here! Spring Training is in full swing and the regular season is just around the corner.
Fantasy drafts are happening and owners are gearing up for another season filled with trash talk, trades, and tough decisions, all for the hope at whatever the grand prize may be. Or maybe it’s avoiding the dreaded last-place finish, where in some cases, owners are required to get some sort of tattoo. There was even a case where a last-place finisher had to go to a dog park while covered in peanut butter!
The good news is if you’re using FantasyData to help prepare, you should be in good shape. I’d suggest giving us a follow on Twitter as we’ll be pumping out some great content all season long.
I’ve conducted a mock draft using a standard Yahoo! 12-team baseball fantasy league. I allowed the system to select a random draft slot for me and was given the 10th pick.
The first couple of picks of any MLB draft are going to see Mike Trout and Mookie Betts go. After that, drafts can take off in any direction.
Early Rounds
I didn’t intend to do this, but I ended up going with a couple of Houston Astros to kick things off. In the first round, I took Jose Altuve and a few picks later, I nabbed Alex Bregman.
It was difficult to pass over players such as Chris Sale and Paul Goldschmidt but I liked the idea of Altuve offering my team a little bit of everything. In terms of power, average, and speed, he can help out in each area. Then, once the draft came back to me, I was surprised to see Bregman still there.
George Springer, Alex Bregman, and Jose Altuve went back-to-back-to-back pic.twitter.com/rhCWKd19a4
— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) June 21, 2018
There is another intriguing route you could potentially go with those first two picks, though. I would have been able to select both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. That is a huge combination of power and if you’re a Yankees fan especially, that might be tempting enough to do.
Of course, after deciding to go with a pair of hitters in the first round, pitching became a quick concern. By having the 10th pick in a draft such as this, you’ll have to watch 18 players get selected before you get your next selection.
I was hoping Aaron Nola would fall because I have high hopes for him this season, but he was taken two picks prior. So, I went with Cy Young-winner Blake Snell and followed that up with Noah Syndergaard, both of whom are very strong picks for 2019.
73 Seconds of Blake Snell Filth from 2018. 🔥🦖 #Snellzilla #Cyzilla pic.twitter.com/34wLLtOASz
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) January 3, 2019
Those top four players gave me a strong core to work with for the rest of the draft. I had a 1-2 punch with the Astros hitters and two anchors in my pitching staff.
In round five, I didn’t have an exact game plan, but the top catcher in the game was available and I decided to bite on J.T. Realmuto. I didn’t miss out on much other than Xander Bogaerts because it was only four picks in between. There aren’t many great fantasy catchers, so if you can land Realmuto or Gary Sanchez, you won’t have to worry about this later. Leave that problem for the other owners. Out of the 12 teams, 11 of them ended the draft with just one catcher and the other team didn’t draft any at all.
.@JTRealmuto can flat-out crush. 💪 pic.twitter.com/5lBVyovJNf
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2018
Middle Rounds
After the first five rounds, the pickings get a little slimmer. No longer are the available
I decided to grab a shortstop (even though Bregman is eligible) and take Corey Seager. There are some injury and recovery concerns with Seager, but with a healthy start to the season, he can make a big impact with the Dodgers.
At this point, I realized my team was lacking a little bit of power, so I focused my next pick on that and selected Justin Upton, a guy who has surpassed 30 homers in each of the last three seasons.
Justin Upton has caught fire in a big way for the Halos pic.twitter.com/drrXRJOX6q
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 12, 2018
I was hoping that Nicholas Castellanos would fall a few spots, but he was scooped up before the quick turnaround got back to me. I ended up going with a reliever and taking Aroldis Chapman. Interestingly, Craig Kimbrel was taken one spot before that, despite the fact that he is still a free agent.
18 picks later and I went with another reliever. A player who I believe is a very strong option for the Pirates in Felipe Vazquez was still available. I didn’t want to tempt him getting away so I had to take him now.
The next few picks focused on starting pitching because that was an area I hadn’t addressed since rounds three and four of the draft. I took my second Mets pitcher in Zack Wheeler and I also took a bit of a chance with Dallas Keuchel, who isn’t on a team yet. In between those, I selected Eduardo Rodriguez, who I believe may have a true breakout season. I’m very high on him and as long as he can stay healthy, he can be a part of a very good Boston rotation.
Eduardo Rodriguez has top-quartile command by Command+. His changeup got three inches more drop this year. It now looks like this. Dude is dealing. pic.twitter.com/7vGmC5uygi
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) May 30, 2018
Later Rounds
Now is the chance to take fliers on players and hope it works out. Not all are risky options at this point, but many come with concerns or inconsistencies.
I added some players who will help fill up the final holes in my outfield and utility spots. Jonathan Schoop, Justin Smoak, and Odubel Herrera found their way to my team as some depth options.
There was one pick at this stage that I wasn’t very excited about and that was Shane Greene of the Tigers. Somehow he’s the closer for Detroit still. He did have 30 saves last year but along with that came a horrendous 5.12 ERA. He’s supposed to start the year as the closer and could be a Trade Deadline candidate. He’ll have a short leash but I’m hoping he improves and is a decent option for saves.
With my final two picks in the draft, I took a pair of starting pitchers who I think could have some pretty big years.
Collin McHugh is actually listed as a relief pitcher only in Yahoo! but he’s penciled in to be Houston’s third pitcher in the rotation. Either way, he can post strong numbers, but I think the Astros are relying on him to be a key part of the starting rotation.
The other pitcher who could have a big year is Carlos Rodon. He hasn’t put together a whole season yet but has kept showing signs of doing so. Now at 26 years old, he could be the team’s ace and is slated to start on Opening Day.
HE GONE! First strikeout of 2018 for Carlos Rodón. pic.twitter.com/UvPQwYdmEQ
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) June 9, 2018
Team Overview
Yahoo! typically ranks each team and shows you the projected standings and how well you did. They awarded my team a B+ and had me projected to finish fourth in the regular season.
My team looks like this:
Hitters I selected in the Yahoo! mock draft:
C – Realmuto (PHI)
1B – Encarnacion (SEA)
2B – Altuve (HOU)
3B – Bregman (HOU)
SS – Seager (LAD)
OF – Upton (LAA)
OF – Peralta (ARI)
OF – Martinez (STL)
UTIL – Schoop (MIN)
UTIL – Smoak (TOR)
Hernandez (PHI)
Herrera (PHI)
DeJong (STL)— 🏒 Kevin Freiheit ⚾️ (@kmf418) February 27, 2019
Pitching rotation I selected in the Yahoo! mock draft:
Blake Snell (TB)
Noah Syndergaard (NYM)
Zack Wheeler (NYM)
Eduardo Rodriguez (BOS)
Dallas Keuchel (TBD)
Collin McHugh (HOU)
Carlos Rodon (CWS)— 🏒 Kevin Freiheit ⚾️ (@kmf418) February 27, 2019
My team certainly has its’ strengths and weaknesses as all of them will. I think my starting pitching has the edge over hitting, but you never know how everything will actually pan out.
We have some fantastic tools here at FantasyData that can really help you stay ahead of the game. There are so many high-quality research tools and downloadable data options. I encourage you to check it out here, and I wish you good luck in your fantasy leagues this season.
