Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft – 2019 Pre-season Breakdown

Fantasy Baseball mock drafts are the perfect way to develop draft strategies for your fantasy baseball league. Here is the team I ended up with after my mock draft.

When you join a fantasy baseball league, you don’t want to go in blind. It’s important to know your league’s settings, scoring system and roster construction among other things. You don’t want to be that guy that drafts for a head-to-head league when it’s a points league. The other important thing to do is practice.

Participating in a mock draft is a good way to know what players are being drafted when. You can see if a certain player is going to early or what players are available in the final rounds. Though, depending on the site, other people can ruin the mock by picking someone way above their ADP or selecting someone not even in the league.

Because some people can ruin it for the rest, I usually do my mock drafts using FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard. For non-premium members, you can set your league size, what position you draft from and the number of positions you’re drafting. The default is a snake draft, which is the most popular option.

Unlike mock drafts with live people, the Draft Wizard automatically picks the next available player for the other 11 teams. It does take away a bit of the excitement but this way gives you a realistic idea of when you should expect players to be drafted based on the system’s current ADP.

For this mock, I modified the default settings a bit. I will be drafting, one catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders, five starting pitchers, four relief pitchers, three utility players and five bench players giving me a 25-man roster.

I don’t like using the middle and corner infield spots because you are limited to who you can draft. The extra utility gives the option to draft a DH, a second catcher or a fourth outfielder and start them. In a 12-team league, which is what I’m mocking for, the player pool drains quickly, so picking the right players for your bench is important.

Mock drafting in fun but it is a crucial part of the preparation process. I drafted from the No. 2 spot. This was a good spot. I either want to be first or second or not pick until the last three or four spots. Here is the team I ended up with after 25 rounds.

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

With the second pick, you have almost a 100-percent idea on who you are drafting. The top two players are Mike Trout and Mookie Betts. Whoever doesn’t go first overall is taken second. That’s what happened here.

Trout went first, so that left me with Betts. Even as a Yankees fan, I would not be disappointed with that pick. When drafting, I’m looking to draft as many five-category players as possible. Betts is one of them. He can hit 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and .310. Betts can also run and steal at least 25 bases.

Because of how few steals are available in fantasy baseball, having someone that can steal close to 30 bases early already gives me a jump over my opponents. Now, if you grab a speed guy early, like Betts instead of drafting Nolan Arenado or a pitcher, you can’t forget about this category.

There are a couple of players worth drafting in the No. 2 spot. Outside of the two players, Jose Ramirez and Max Scherzer are worth it. JD Martinez is another name worth mentioning. Francisco Lindor would have before his calf injury.

I think starting pitching is deep enough that I could pass on Scherzer and still draft one of the top five names. I also don’t need to draft another outfielder for a few rounds.

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

Round 2. Trevor Story, SS

Shortstop is a shallow position after the top seven or eight names. I added more power and speed to my lineup with Story. He may not steal 27 bases again but I think 15 is a good floor. He’s looked good in Spring Training so far so this pick could pay off.

Round 3. Corey Kluber, SP

Kluber was available in the second round but because I had a pick just three picks later, I had a good feeling that he would be available on the turn. If not, I would have went with Aaron Nola or Blake Snell. Kluber is good for a 3.05 ERA and 200 stirkeouts. Hard to find that late in the draft.

There was a run of starting pitchers in this round. Seven of the 12 picks were pitchers. Everyone wanted to draft a top guy.

Round 4. Joey Votto, 1B

If I were playing in an OBP league, Votto would have been picked a lot sooner. Still, he’s good for a .285 average with good power. With Story tanking my batting average a bit, Votto will offset any negatives. Plus, the Reds lineup will offer him some protection.

JT Realmuto was the first catcher off the board in Round 4. Way too early for my liking.

Round 5. Eugenio Suarez, 3B

Another Reds player, Suarez is my sixth-best third baseman. I don’t care if I have multiple players from the same team. Unlike other sports, they don’t rely on each other for their own production. Sure, runs and RBIs are affected by that but the individual is responding for making contact, running and power. Suarez will hit 22 home runs with 80 RBIs.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. was drafted in this round. If I was in a keeper league, he’d be a target. But, because I don’t know when he’ll get called up, I can’t take the risk.

Round 6. Lorenzo Cain, OF

My second outfielder adds more speed to my lineup. Cain stole a career-high 30 bases last season. He stole 26 in the season prior. He is projected to hit leadoff, giving him plenty of opportunities to get on base, steal and score runs. He is going to be 33 years old, so the speed may slow down.

Missed Targets: Javier Baez, Justin Verlander, Carlos Carrasco

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

Round 7. Jack Flaherty, SP

Because I missed a few of my starting pitching targets, I needed to get my SP2. Miles Mikolas may be the top guy in St. Louis, but Flaherty is the pitcher with a higher strikeout rate. He’s got a good offense and will limit base runners, making him a three-category pitcher.

Round 8. Travis Shaw, 2B

Shaw is my second Brewers player. I like their home ballpark and the offense. He has been a major producer since joining Milwaukee. Shaw has shown good power and contact in his two seasons so far. It also helps that he’ll qualify at first, second and third base, depending on your league’s settings. I like having a few multi-position players for flexibility.

Round 9. Felipe Vazquez, RP

It was in Round 8 where the run on relievers happened. So, my need of not wanting to left out in the dark led me to draft Vazquez. He recorded 37 saves last season. While his WHIP was a bit high, I think my other pitchers can offset that. Though, facing the NL Central may be a negative to his stat line.

Round 10. Josh Hader, RP

Hader may not get saves in Milwaukee but he’ll eat up a lot of innings and record a lot of strikeouts. He led all relievers in strikeouts with 143 last season. Hader has good ratios and could add a few saves to his final line. Should Corey Knebel get hurt, Hader could see more saves.

A lot of teams added depth to their starting rotation in these rounds. I like to go in the opposite direction and draft a different position, like relievers.

Round 11. Kirby Yates, RP

I went reliever heavy in the final three rounds of this group. The Padres traded Brad Hand and Adam Cimber last season. If things went badly this season, I could have seen them trade Yates. However, with the addition of Manny Machado, Yates will likely stay on the team all season and that’s the reason I drafted him. Yes, he could have performed just as well for a contender, he wouldn’t have gotten as many saves.

The Padres starting rotation is bad but the offense is good enough to keep the games close by the time the ninth inning rolls around. Yates should get 25 saves of his own.

Missed Targets: Roberto Osuna, Michael Brantley

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

Round 12. Kyle Hendricks, SP

After seeing another mini-run on starting pitchers, I figured I needed to add another mid-level starter to my team. I like Hendricks a lot and will get 30 starts as the No. 2 pitcher for the Cubs. He has a good strikeout rate and low walk rate. His ratios aren’t the best but my other pitchers can offset that.

Round 13. Ender Inciarte, OF

Inciarte is a solid fourth outfielder. He won’t start all the time but when he is in my lineup, I expect a decent game. He hit .265 with 10 home runs and 61 RBIs last season. Inciarte also stole 28 bases, adding to my other speed guys. He is hitting sixth in the Braves lineup, giving him plenty of chances to drive in runs.

Round 14. Eric Hosmer, 1B

The 14th round saw all types of players get drafted. There were three pitchers, two catchers, three corner infielders, two middle infielders, an outfielder and a DH (Shohei Ohtani) drafted. I went with a backup first baseman. Hosmer will likely slot into one of my utility spots. The addition of Machado should help Hosmer bounce back from his poor 2018 season and that’s what I’m banking on.

Round 15. Willians Astudillo, C

Astudillo is projected as the backup catcher for the Twins as Jason Castro is still on the team. However, his minor-league numbers prove that he should be the Twins starter. Castro hasn’t hit higher than .242 since 2013. Astudillo is dealing with Visa issues so his Opening Day status is unclear. Once that is taken care of, I think he’ll force the Twins to make a change behind the plate.

Round 16. Kenta Maeda, SP

Having Maeda as my SP4 is not a bad option. He just has to stay healthy in order for him to be worth it. He hasn’t eclipsed 140 innings in the last two seasons. Though, with an increased strikeout rate and ground ball rate, Maeda should continue to improve. The Dodgers are stacked with starting pitching, so one slip up and Maeda could see his playing time diminished.

These were the rounds where the other teams were filling out their rotations. Between Rounds 12 and 16, 20 starting pitchers were drafted, including my two selections. Pitchers like J.A Happ, Kyle Freeland and Shane Bieber among others were available to draft.

They may not be aces but they can still provide solid ratios as an SP3 in a 12-team league.

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

Round 17. Kyle Seager, 3B

Seager has seen a gradual decline in his performance over the last three seasons. His power and contact have dropped while staying healthy. That’s not good for the 31-year-old. Though, not having him start in my lineup every day will help limit the damage. He’s my backup third baseman and occasional utility play. He can still hit 20 home runs but that will come with a .245 average.

Round 18. Yusei Kikuchi, SP

Kikuchi is the only prospect I was able to get my hands on, and I’m okay with that. He managed a career 2.77 ERA and 1.169 WHIP in the Japan Pacific League. I always expect some regression with players coming from overseas, especially pitchers. Pitching in the AL West should help as the A’s and Rangers don’t have the best offenses. If he pitches well, that this is a great pick.

Round 19. Andrelton Simmons, SS

If only fantasy baseball scored defense (you can count errors), Simmons would be drafted a lot higher. He hit a career-high .292 with 11 home runs, 75 RBIs and 68 runs. The Angels offense is not that bad on paper. Simmons is projected to hit sixth, behind Justin Bour and Alberto Pujols. He’ll drive in another 60 runs with a .278 average and another 10 steals. He’s a solid starter in AL-only leagues.

Round 20. Adam Ottavino, RP

I had to draft one of the 20 Yankees relief pitchers. Ottavino proved he can pitch in hitter-friendly ballparks. Outside of the Red Sox, the AL East doesn’t have any dangerous teams. Ottavino will likely not get many saves, then again he has just 17 for his career. He will have 80 strikeouts with a 3.60 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. If you play in a holds league, guys like Hader and Ottavino have more value.

Round 21. Adam Eaton, OF

Eaton hasn’t been all that healthy since joining the Nationals. In 118 games, he has a .300 average with seven home runs, 46 RBIs and 12 steals. With Bryce Harper out of the mix, Eaton shouldn’t have to worry about playing time as the starting right fielder. If he can stay healthy, he can hit 10 home runs, 60 RBIs and steal 11 bases with a .290 average. The Nationals offense isn’t that bad without Harper so he’ll be productive as the leadoff hitter.

There were still a lot of relief pitchers available in Rounds 18 and 19. If I didn’t draft one three rounds in a row, I could have found talent here. Guys like Jordan Hicks, Dellin Betances, AJ Minter and Kelvin Herrera were all drafted in these rounds.

There may not be as many closers you feel comfortable drafting for saves but you can find plenty of middle relievers to help with strikeouts and ratios.

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

Round 22. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, C

The catcher pool quickly thins out after the top 10. Five of them were drafted between Rounds 13 and 14. I took Astudillo in Round 15. Another six were drafted between Rounds 16 and 18. I don’t like drafting a catcher early but because I was behind the 8-ball I thought a backup wouldn’t hurt. Kiner-Falefa is also eligible at second and third base so he’ll get more playing time with the rebuilding Rangers.

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Round 23. Willy Adames, 2B

Adames had a good rookie season, In 85 games, he hit .278 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. He also stole six bases. As the Rays starting shortstop, Adames should get over 400 plate appearances. The Rays don’t have a significant backup so I don’t see him losing playing time. He’ll hit another 11 home runs with 42 RBIs and a .270 average. He’s not the worst backup to draft in the final rounds.

Round 24. Jimmy Nelson, SP

I like to have at least one more pitcher than I can start on my team. It helps if I’m down in a certain category or dealing with an injury, I don’t have to dig through the waiver wire to find a viable replacement. Nelson didn’t pitch in 2018 as he was dealing with shoulder issues but is expected to be on the Opening Day roster. He has good command of his pitches with a good K-BB ratio. Nelson will also have eight wins to add to his line.

Round 25. Corey Dickerson, OF

My last pick was a fifth outfielder. With Eaton already in my utility spot, I wanted one more on my bench. Dickerson had a good first season with Pittsburgh, hitting .300 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. Dickerson is projected to hit third in the Pirates lineup. If he can get back to his 2017 self, then this pick would be the best final-round pick.

The last three rounds are where you add your backups or take a risk on an unproven rookie. Nine of the final 12 picks were pitchers, starters and relievers. Jed Lowrie and Russell Martin were also selected in the final round.

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

My team is as follows.

C: Willians Astudillo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

1B: Joey Votto, Eric Hosmer

2B: Travis Shaw, Willy Adames

3B: Eugenio Suarez, Kyle Seager

SS: Trevor Story, Andrelton Simmons

OF: Mookie Betts, Lorenzo Cain, Ender Inciarte, Adam Eaton and Corey Dickerson

SP: Corey Kluber, Jack Flaherty, Kyle Hendricks, Kenta Maeda, Yusei Kikuchi and Jimmy Nelson

RP: Felipe Vazquez, Josh Hader, Kirby Yates and Adam Ottavino

The FantasyPros Draft Wizard projected me a B+ rating, finishing third. I could have added a second starting pitcher and catcher earlier but I like my starting offense and bullpen. It’s a good combination of power and contact. There’s also a lot of speed, a category I usually punt.

Here’s a link to my mock draft and projected standings. With about four weeks left until Opening Day, go out there are mock. Let me know where I went wrong or what you would have done differently.