Just a few rounds left now, as teams are filling in some pesky holes, no doubt with their favorite sleepers that they’ve been waiting on for a few rounds.
Each owner, from 12 different Fantasy Baseball sites that helped us out with our #Fantasy30for30 Team Previews series, has been writing analysis for each of his picks. So make sure you go back over the past rounds to see how it all went down.
Curious about some of these picks? Wondering why a writer is building his roster a certain way? Post a comment at the bottom of this page. Which player would you have picked? Which team looks the best so far?
This 2015 experts mock draft is for a mixed Rotisserie mock draft, with standard 5×5 scoring, 12 teams, with the starting lineup set up this way: 2-Catchers, 1-1B, 1-2B, 1-3B, 1-SS, 5-OF, 1 corner infielder, 1 middle infielder, one utility hitter and nine pitchers.
Each writer was asked to give a sentence or two of analysis for each pick, so you’ll get to see the thinking behind each selection.
Rounds 1 & 2 | Rounds 3 & 4 | Rounds 5 & 6 | Rounds 7 & 8 | Rounds 9 & 10 | Rounds 11 & 12 | Rounds 13 & 14 | Rounds 15 & 16 | Rounds 17 & 18 | Rounds 21, 22 & 23
19.01 Danny Duffy, SP, Kansas City
Steve Pimental, FantasyAlarm.com: Duffy needs to improve his command a bit and increase his strikeouts, but at 26 years old, I am pretty confident he can take a step forward. He plays on a good team with a good defense and good bullpen, all of which helps.
Roster: C-Ramos, 1B-Votto, 2B-Pedroia, SS-Ramirez, 3B-Beltre, CI-Ramirez, MI-Segura, OF-Trout/Braun/Cruz/Tomas, SP-Wainwright/Lester/Shields/Fernandez/Duffy, RP-Melancon/Uehara
19.02 Jhonny Peralta, SS, St. Louis
Chris Zolli, FantasyPros.com: Peralta was suspended for PED usage in 2013 and switched leagues in 2014, yet was still very productive. After a career season marred by the PED suspension in 2013, Peralta hit 21 home runs and had a .779 OPS. Although 2012 was a massive disappointment, Peralta had an .824 OPS in 2011 and .815 OPS in 2013. The Cardinals offense should still be very solid in 2015, potentially moreso with the addition of Jason Heyward, and Peralta should have 15 or more home runs and an OPS near .800. He is more than suitable for a middle infield spot.
Roster: C-Gomes/Rosario, 1B-Freeman, SS-Zobrist, 3B-Santana, CI-Belt, MI-Peralta, OF-McCutchen/Kemp/Yelich/Betts/Gardner, SP-Hernandez/Darvish/Pineda/Kennedy, RP-Benoit/Rodney
19.03 Lorenzo Cain, OF, Kansas City
Jim Finch, FantasyAssembly.com: Cain showed a lot of improvement last year. He hit .286 or higher in 5 out of 6 months plus equally against lefties and righties as well as home and away. With 21 steals over the final 3 months there is a real chance Cain steals 30+ this year. Runs and RBIs are contingent on where KC bats him in the lineup; Yost has talked about hitting Cain 2nd or 3rd this season. I can probably find a better DH, but with a few question marks in my OF I figured I would cover my assets.
Roster: C-d’Arnaud/Norris, 1B-Goldschmidt, SS-Desmond, 3B-Frazier, CI-LaRoche, MI-Rollins, OF-Trumbo/Choo/Pollock/Zimmerman/Victorino, DH-Cain, SP-Hamels/Latos, RP-Kimbrel/Chapman/Jansen/Allen
19.04 Michael Wacha, SP, St. Louis
Andy Singleton, FantasyFiveStar.com: The high was very high, and the low was very low. At this point in the draft I’m willing to gamble that he is healthy, and his rookie year was a closer representation of who he really is. There are a few other SPs I considered taking here, but they are all so closely lumped together I was ready to take my last bat. Then I saw Wacha still on the board, and his potential to be a Top 30 guy is just too much to pass up.
Roster: C-Mesoraco/Perez, 1B-Cabrera, 2B-Utley, SS-Reyes/Boagaerts, 3B-Seager, CI-Hosmer, OF-Springer/Marte/Soler/Blackmon/Myers, SP-Teheran/Gray/Lynn/Quintana/Wacha, RP-Rodriguez
19.05 Kevin Quackenbush, RP, San Diego
Lawr Michaels, Mastersball.com: Same logic as Boxberger …
Roster: C-Posey/Lucroy, 1B-Duda, 2B-Wong, SS-Escobar, 3B-Donaldson, CI-Castellanos, OF-Cespedes/Calhoun/Ozuna/Martin, SP-Wood/Ventura/Stroman/Cashner/Sanchez/Tillman, RP-Boxberger/Quackenbush
19.06 Homer Bailey, SP, Cincinnati
Daniel Archer, LeagueSafePost.com: My love for Bailey last year was pretty well documented. I was buying the breakout and expecting more of the same. Bailey of course had a miserable season that begin and ended with injuries classified as minor (as if a flexor tendon repair is in the same category as a blister). Yet through all the misery, he retained promising peripherals and more importantly, the skills and velocity. If he gets a smooth, healthy start to 2015, he has the ability to give Jordan Zimmerman numbers. I’ve taken a lot of gambles with this pitching staff – Harvey, Stroman, Tanaka, Bailey – but I don’t need them all to pan out. The pitching pool is so deep that in a live draft, I’d be adding another three quality arms to hedge my bets. I have no issues slotting a guy like Chris Tillman, A.J. Burnett, Kevin Gausman, or Dallas Keuchel in for an injured Tanaka or Bailey. Unless your league has an extremely shallow bench, there’s no reason to avoid drafting high risk, high reward arms.
Roster: 1B-Gonzalez, 2B-Dozier, 3B-Headley, MI Lawrie, CI-Pearce, OF-Gomez/Puig/Harper/Moss/Pederson, DH-Butler, SP-Greinke/Harvey/Stroman/Tanaka/McHugh/Bailey, RP-Rosenthal/Perkins
19.07 Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh
David Kerr, FantasySquads.com: This is a huge wild card pick, but it’s extremely hard to find power this late in drafts and Alvarez shouldn’t have much of a problem providing that. The hope here is that he returns to his 2013 form where he went deep 36 times. The pressure of third base will be gone this season and Alvarez should be able to focus on making the most of his powerful bat.
Roster: 1B-Martinez, 2B-Gordon, SS-Ramirez, 3B-Machado, CI-Harrison, MI-Walker, OF-Stanton/A.Jones/Ellsbury/Eaton, SP-Cueto/Gonzalez/Ross/Wheeler/Weaver, RP-Robertson/Storen/Rondon
19.08 Jenrry Mejia, RP, N.Y. Mets
Brendan O’Brien-Cockson, FantasySquads.com: Mejia was pretty run-of-the-mill last season with the Mets, sporting a 6-6 record with a 3.65 ERA and 27 saves. The Mets closer increased his curve ball usage from 2013 to last season, and saw improved results with a significant increase in his K/9. I think Mejia can have a great season in 2015, especially on a Mets squad that will hopefully have a new jolt in competitiveness. I’m happy to snag a player with great upside this late, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be the first one heading over to the waiver wire to scrounge for some closers.
Roster: C-Wieters/McCann, 1B-Fielder, 2B-Kinsler, SS-Castro, 3B-Longoria, CI-Morneau, OF-B.Hamilton/Polanco/Pagan/Markakis, MI-Murphy, SP-Kershaw/Bumgarner/DeGrom/Smyly, RP-Street/Doolittle/Mejia
19.09 Jake Odorizzi, SP, Tampa Bay
Roster: C-Grandal, 1B-Abreu, 2B-Rendon, SS-Andrus, 3B-Carpenter, CI-Adams, MI-Semien, OF-Brantley/Gonzalez/Gordon/Martinez/Cabrera, SP-Strasburg/Zimmermann/Richards/Hughes/Odorizzi, RP-Holland/Cishek
19.10 Matt Shoemaker, SP, L.A. Angels
Roster: C-Molina, 1B-Encarnacion, 2B-Altuve, SS-Santana, 3B-Davis, OF-Dickerson/Holliday/Werth/Span, MI-Kendrick, DH-Ortiz, SP-Scherzer/Kluber/Cobb/Iwakuma/Shoemaker, RP-Britton/Feliz/Reed
19.11 Dalton Pompey, OF, Toronto
Neil Parker, LockerRoomFantasySports.com: The Blue Jays are counting on Pompey to be their everyday center fielder. Perhaps, this is a reach, but the 22-year-old speedster fills a category of need, and the organization loves him. There is no need to wait to see if he’s still around later, addressing weaknesses is the plan in the endgame. In this case, there is upside, too.
Roster: C-Gattis/Montero, 1B-Pujols, 2B-Cano, SS-Tulowitzki, 3B-Arenado, CI-Bryant, OF-J.Upton/Pence/Bruce/Castillo/Arcia, DH-Pompey, SP-Cole/Arrieta/Fister/Lee/Alvarez, RP-Rondon
19.12 Brandon McCarthy, SP, L.A. Dodgers
Greg Jewett, TheSportsScript.com: I guess I am going against the grain here but I like a pitcher who finished 2014 strong in New York, is hilarious on twitter and is moving to the Dodgers. Yes his health is an issue but he changed his training, discovered how to pitch again in the Bronx and his xFIP last year was 2.87 compiling 175 K’s in 200 IP. He has a chance to win more in LA and could be a solid source of wins and strikeouts late in drafts.
Roster: C-Martin, 1B-Rizzo, 2B-Kipnis, 3B-Sandoval, CI-Wright, OF-Bautista/Heyward/Revere/Byrd, DH-Carter, SP-Sale/Price/Carrasco/Ryu/McCarthy, RP-Betances/Giles/Papelbon
Click the arrow to see the picks and analysis of the next round of our Rotisserie mock draft!
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