Cole Hamels Lands in Mock Draft Round 6

Sep 17, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels (35) pitches against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Round 5 of the early fantasy baseball mock draft can be found here.  In round 6 of this early mock draft, I found a lot of picks that I really liked.  There were top 15 pitchers drafted as well as a couple consistent outfielders who will produce.

I thought the Kyle Seager, Jayson Werth, and Cole Hamels picks were among my favorites of the round.  There were no bad picks in round 6 (watch almost every player bust now), but I would have gone in another direction with the Jason Kipnis draft pick.

The numbers listed to the left of each name represent the round and the overall pick they were drafted.

6.61 RP Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds

There can certainly be a case made that Aroldis Chapman is the top closer this season.  His 52.5% K% is illogical.  I mean, seriously, who strikes out over half of the batters they face?  The answer to the rhetorical question is obviously Aroldis Chapman who averaged 100.2 MPH on his fastball in 2014 according to PITCHf/x data.

6.62 SP Zack Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Greinke may be the #2 SP on his own team, but he can serve as your top starter if you do not want to invest a top 50 pick in a pitcher.  I was a little concerned with Greinke’s declining strikeout rate in 2012 and 2013, but he righted the ship this past season with a 9.21 K/9.  Zack Greinke also walked less batters in 2014, which led to a 20% K-BB% that was the third best mark of his career.

6.64 SP Jordan Zimmermann of the Washington Nationals

In previous seasons, Jordan Zimmermann was a trade-off between an excellent ERA and WHIP and almost no strikeouts for a pitcher of his caliber.  However, Zimmermann fanned 22.8% of the hitters he faced in 2014.  When you throw in his 2.66 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 2.68 FIP, 73 ERA-, and 72 FIP-, I am very confident in him having future success despite his 23.9% line drive rate in 2014.

6.65 OF Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals

From 2006 to 2013, Matt Holliday was the most consistent player in fantasy baseball.  He guaranteed you a minimum of 22 homers and a slash line of .295/.379/.490 (the AVG and OBP were in 2012 and the SLG was in 2013).  Holliday’s worst OPS over that eight-year span was a whopping .877.

Sadly, Matt Holliday has started to decline ever so slightly in 2014 at 34 years old.  He hit 20 homers, slashed .272/.370/.441, and had an .811 OPS that led to his numbers being slightly down across the board.  I think you can expect similar production to 2014 next year for Matt Holliday, but fantasy’s most consistent option is unfortunately prone to aging as well.

6.66 RP Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers

I personally do not ever see myself drafting an elite closer in a snake draft, but at least you know that you will get an absolute stud at their position.  Jansen is clearly in the elite tier of closers with Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, and Greg Holland.

6.67 OF Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals

I think we are all ready to finally put Werth’s miserable 2012 season behind us and realize that he is a very consistent option and should be a top 30 OF at worst.  Jayson Werth posted an excellent .73 BB/K as well as a tidy .292/.394/.455 slash line.  While he is probably more of a 15-20 homer player at age 35 rather than a 20-25 home run hitter, Jayson Werth is a textbook safe bet like Matt Holliday.

6.68 2B Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians

I understand drafting Kipnis here as a rebound pick, but he was just too terrible in 2014 for me to invest in.  If you wanted a bounce back candidate, then draft Joey Votto because his ceiling is much higher.  Jason Kipnis only had 32 extra base hits in 129 games and a pathetic .090 ISO.  While he still produced on the bases with 22 steals, Jason Kipnis was beyond awful at the plate in 2014.

6.69 C Jonathan Lucroy of the Milwaukee Brewers

Lucroy is overrated in fantasy baseball.  This will not be a popular statement because a lot of the baseball world rightfully drools over him, but a lot of his tremendous skills are not terribly fantasy relevant.  Even his elite .93 BB/K did not offer much value in the counting stats.  There is no doubt that Jonathan Lucroy is an absolute beast, but his decent counting stats are not worth the price unless your league uses pitch framing as a category.

6.70 SP Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies

Even though his current team may be a total disaster, Cole Hamels is still an incredible pitcher with a consistent track record.  He has made at least 30 starts in the past seven seasons, and Cole Hamels posted a career best 2.46 ERA in 2014 at 30 years of age.  You may prefer someone like Zack Greinke in wins leagues because the Phillies are going to lose a lot, but there is a chance Cole Hamels is traded.

6.71 SP Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs

Jon Lester was one of the big off-season splashes after signing a large six-year deal with the Cubs.  His move to the National League should give him a slight bump in his numbers.  If Lester can repeat his 2014 campaign, then the Cubs and his fantasy owners made a great decision.

6.72 2B Dee Gordon of the Miami Marlins

I actually thought that Dee Gordon would be drafted higher, so I am not totally opposed to him with the 72^nd pick even though I expressed some concerns in this post although Alex Guerrero is no longer a threat to Gordon’s job.  Dee Gordon has major risks, but his prolific stolen base total could be a good investment for a team that has already drafted a lot of power.