Author: Michael Waterloo, Staff Writer
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never over, 11 Fantasy experts representing different sites joined me for an early 2017 Fantasy Baseball slow mock draft.
Before the draft started, we decided, as a group, to go with your traditional 5×5 roto format with 14 hitters, nine pitchers and three bench spots to go along with two catchers – not my preference, but I digress – a middle infielder and a corner infielder.
Before we take a round-by-round look at the draft, including what I was thinking, my favorite pick and my least favorite pick – there were no bad picks with this group – let’s meet the participants in the order that they drafted.
- Tim McCullough – Managing Editor of RotoExperts.com
- Tim McLeod – Prospect 361
- Jessica Kleinschmidt – FanGraphs
- Michael Florio – RotoExperts, FNTSY Radio
- Greg Jewett – Today’s Knuckleball
- Matt Musico – numberFire
- Chris Towers – Fantasy Analyst CBS Sports
- Michael Waterloo – RotoExperts
- Heath Cummings – Senior Fantasy Writer CBS Sports
- Garion Thorne – Host of The Rotation on FNTSY Sports Network
- Joe Gallina – RotoExperts, FNTSY Radio
- Frank Stampfl – RotoExperts
First Round
- Mike Trout
- Mookie Betts
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Kris Bryant
- Nolan Arenado
- Josh Donaldson
- Jose Altuve
- Manny Machado
- Anthony Rizzo
- Clayton Kershaw
- Max Scherzer
- Bryce Harper
Mike Trout continues to be the consensus No. 1 pick in Fantasy Baseball. Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire.
It’s the first round, so it’s basically Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and then take your pick. What was I thinking? While I really wanted to take Anthony Rizzo here, I just couldn’t pass up on Manny Machado with shortstop eligibility. The drop off from 20 steals to zero on three attempts isn’t fun, but if he starts running again, he has a case to be the top overall player in Fantasy.
Favorite pick: It belongs to Chris Towers with his Jose Altuve pick. Altuve is my No. 3 overall player, so getting him at No. 7 is big, even if second base is deeper this year.
Least Favorite Pick: I don’t really have one, but if I have to have one, it’s Kris Bryant for personal preference of the order of third basemen.
Second Round
- Edwin Encarnacion
- Charlie Blackmon
- Miguel Cabrera
- Corey Seager
- Trea Turner
- Carlos Correa
- Joey Votto
- Jonathan Villar
- Madison Bumgarner
- Freddie Freeman
- Starling Marte
- Xander Bogaerts
What was I thinking? I have Carlos Correa ranked higher, but I have Machado at short. I wanted elite speed, and while I’m buying him to meet his potential, I have faith in Trea Turner to avoid his sophomore slump.
Favorite pick: Chris Towers again with another Astros player in Carlos Correa.
Least Favorite Pick:Freddie Freeman to Jessica Kleinschmidt was overkill with her taking Paul Goldschmidt in the first round. Plus, Freeman is a third rounder for me at best.
Third Round
- Chris Sale
- Brian Dozier
- Daniel Murphy
- J.D. Martinez
- A.J. Pollock
- Francisco Lindor
- George Springer
- Corey Kluber
- Giancarlo Stanton
- Ryan Braun
- Robinson Cano
- Noah Syndergaard
What was I thinking? I wanted to get one of my Top 5 pitchers this year. In hindsight, I wish I waited seeing what fell in Round 4.
Favorite Pick: The Daniel Murphy selection took another first baseman off the board (thanks, Jess), but I’m a believer in him. Plus his 2B eligibility sure is nice.
Least Favorite Pick:J.D. Martinez to Michael Florio was a surprise to me. Seems like it’s a round or two early. I want to take a closer look at him to see if I’m missing something.
Fourth Round
- Nelson Cruz
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Kyle Seager
- Jake Arrieta
- Trevor Story
- Buster Posey
- Kyle Schwarber
- Jon Lester
- Wil Myers
- Kyle Hendricks
- Jose Abreu
- David Price
What was I thinking? It’s probably the worst pick for a lot of people, but Trevor Story is a guy I’m targeting hard this year. It forced me to move Machado to third, but that’s fine.
Favorite Pick:Buster Posey will be on a lot of my teams this year if he keeps going in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Least Favorite Pick: Without the catcher eligibility, I can’t justify taking Kyle Schwarber this soon.
Fifth Round
- Rougned Odor
- Yu Darvish
- Adrian Beltre
- Carlos Gonzalez
- Hanley Ramirez
- Johnny Cueto
- Justin Verlander
- Andrew McCutchen
- Matt Carpenter
- Christian Yelich
- Todd Frazier
- Stephen Strasburg
What was I thinking?Andrew McCutchen won’t be a first-round value anymore without the steals that he had in the past, but he can be a Top 15 outfielder if he gets his average back up.
Favorite Pick: I knew if I took McCutchen, Heath Cummings would take Matt Carpenter. If I took Carpenter, he was going McCutchen.
Least Favorite Pick: I discussed this with Joe Gallina on air, but Todd Frazier is empty power. I want more with my fifth-round pick.
Sixth Round
- Ian Kinsler
- Cole Hamels
- Dee Gordon
- Carlos Carrasco
- Jacob deGrom
- Jose Bautista
- Aaron Sanchez
- Chris Archer
- Masahiro Tanaka
- Mark Trumbo
- Jonathan Lucroy
- DJ LeMahieu
What was I thinking? The pitching dropped a tier after Jacob deGrom. I wanted another ace.
Favorite Pick:Dee Gordon is a nice value, especially with speed being hard to come by.
Least Favorite Pick: I’m all about Coors Field shares, but DJ LeMahieu, while he helps your average, went a little too soon for my liking.
Seventh Round
- Alex Bregman
- Carlos Martinez
- Ian Desmond
- Chris Davis
- Evan Longoria
- Gregory Polanco
- Jean Segura
- Gary Sanchez
- Zack Greinke
- Carlos Santana
- Jackie Bradley Jr.
- Anthony Rendon
What was I thinking? Besides being mad at Tim McCullough for taking Alex Bregman, I was thinking I was falling behind at power and wanted everyday at-bats from Gary Sanchez in a two-catcher league.
Favorite Pick: Bregman is going to be a stud. Hat tip, Mr. McCullough. (Note: This was before Ian Desmond signed with Colorado. If Jess made this pick when he did, it’s a slam dunk for best pick).
Least Favorite Pick: I liked all of the picks this round. If I’m forced, I’ll go with Carlos Santana just because it’s not an OBP league.
Eighth Round
- David Dahl
- Jason Kipnis
- Aroldis Chapman
- Stephen Piscotty
- Khris Davis
- Matt Harvey
- Salvador Perez
- Matt Kemp
- Kenley Jansen
- Zach Britton
- Eric Hosmer
- Adrian Gonzalez
What was I thinking? I’m a believer in Khris Davis with his 18 percent Barrel stat. The power is legit, folks.
Favorite Pick: Matt Kemp has a negative connection to his name, and I’m not sure why.
Least Favorite Pick: The Adrian Gonzalez pick seemed like it was just to fill 1B. The groundball rate is making me fade him hard.
Ninth Round
- Michael Fulmer
- Jose Quintana
- Adam Duvall
- Gerrit Cole
- Willson Contreras
- Tanner Roark
- Danny Salazar
- Billy Hamilton
- Adam Jones
- Aledmys Diaz
- Jeurys Familia
- J.T. Realmuto
What was I thinking? If Machado doesn’t steal any bases, I’m falling behind in that category. Billy Hamilton should go a couple of rounds earlier in Roto leagues.
Favorite Pick:Adam Jones is a guy no one wanted. Nice value here.
Least Favorite Pick: Adam Duvall has nice power, but seems a little early for him.
Tenth Round
- Craig Kimbrel
- Evan Gattis
- Justin Turner
- Danny Duffy
- Addison Russell
- Albert Pujols
- Mark Melancon
- Justin Upton
- Dustin Pedroia
- Kole Calhoun
- Jose Ramirez
- Javier Baez
What was I thinking? I wanted the best players available, but Justin Turner and Danny Duffy went right before me. Step right up, Addison Russell.
Favorite Pick:Jose Ramirez reminds me of Michael Brantley so much. Love the pick and the multi-eligibility he has.
Least Favorite Pick: You don’t get Fantasy points for defense, and Javier Baez still doesn’t have every day at-bats.
Eleventh Round
- Kenta Maeda
- Roberto Osuna
- Brandon Crawford
- Michael Brantley
- Rich Hill
- Jonathan Schoop
- Jake Lamb
- Felix Hernandez
- Wade Davis
- Hunter Pence
- Brad Miller
- Troy Tulowitzki
What was I thinking? I don’t love Felix Hernandez as an ace anymore, but there’s still mileage left in that arm.
Favorite Pick: If his shoulder is right, Michael Brantley is the steal of the draft.
Least Favorite Pick: We know who Brad Miller is. He had two nice stretches last year, but that’s it.
Twelfth Round
- Lance McCullers
- Odubel Herrera
- Carlos Rodon
- Hernan Perez
- Carlos Beltran
- Maikel Franco
- Dexter Fowler
- Ken Giles
- Ben Zobrist
- Marcus Stroman
- Edwin Diaz
- Marcell Ozuna
What was I thinking? Honestly, I took Carlos Beltran by accident.
Favorite Pick:Edwin Diaz is going to be lights out as a closer.
Least Favorite Pick: My own. Honestly, I wanted Brandon Belt. I saw Belt (ran) and picked him even after it asked me to confirm. Oh well. At least he’s in Houston. Since I make the favorite and least-favorite other people’s picks, let’s go with Maikel Franco.
Thirteenth Round
- Joc Pederson
- Rick Porcello
- Andrew Miller
- Dellin Betances
- Julio Teheran
- Steven Matz
- Carlos Gomez
- John Lackey
- Seung Hwan Oh
- Yasmany Tomas
- Eduardo Nunez
- Adam Eaton
What was I thinking? If Felix Hernandez bombs for me, John Lackey is there to pick me up as a consistent pitcher for my staff.
Favorite Pick: Yeah, we don’t expect 22 wins again, but Rick Porcello in the 13th round is a good spot.
Least Favorite Pick: In Michael Florio’s defense, his Dellin Betances pick was before Aroldis Chapman signed with the Yankees. Still, it was thought that the Yankees were going to go after a closer and return Betances to his old role.
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