This is it! We’re in the final three rounds of this experts mock draft!
It’s time now to see who these Fantasy Baseball writers have been waiting on to snatch up as their final picks. Sleepers aplenty!
We’ll be seeing sleeper starting pitchers, middle relievers with a chance to close, designated hitters, fifth outfielders, second catchers and tons of middle infielders. Enjoy!
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 19 & 20
21.01 Arismendy Alcantara, 2B/OF, Chicago Cubs
Steve Pimental, FantasyAlarm.com: Alcantara has never gotten nearly the hype of the other Cubs prospects, but all he did last season was hit 20 home runs with 29 stolen bases in 159 games between Triple-A and the big leagues. He has a chance to add third base eligibility early in the season, depending on how long the Cubs wait to call up Kris Bryant, and I believe he will get enough at-bats as a super-utility player to provide nice value late. He has a chance to be Ben Zobrist — minus the walks — for Zobrist’s old manager.
Roster: C-Ramos, 1B-Votto, 2B-Pedroia, SS-Ramirez, 3B-Beltre, CI-Ramirez, MI-Segura, OF-Trout/Braun/Cruz/Tomas/Alcantara, SP-Wainwright/Lester/Shields/Fernandez/Duffy/Salazar, RP-Melancon/Uehara
21.02 Aaron Sanchez, SP, Toronto
Chris Zolli, FantasyPros.com: If Porcello is a steal as an SP5, Sanchez is grand larceny as an SP6. His numbers as a reliever in 2014 were ridiculous, posting a .697 WHIP and a 1.09 ERA, and he was a seasoned SP coming up through the minors, with nearly a strikeout per inning (8.8 K/9). The issue is his walk rate, as he had 4.8 BB/9 as a starter in the minors and 2.5 BB/9 in 24 games in relief in the majors last year, but if his walk rate trends closer to 2014 rates and his strikeout rates return to minor league levels, Sanchez could provide value in K:BB as well. Sanchez may not be as quality as Marcus Stroman was for the Blue Jays in 2014, but he is a suitable option at the back end of a fantasy rotation.
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/Porcello/Sanchez, RP-Benoit/Rodney
21.03 Tyler Clippard, RP, Oakland
Jim Finch, FantasyAssembly.com:
- 70.1 — the minimum number of innings pitched over the past 4 seasons
- 73 — the minimum strikeout total for the past 4 seasons
- 1.16 — the highest WHIP over the past 4 seasons (3 seasons of 1.0 or lower)
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/Miller/Clippard
21.04 Shelby Miller, SP, Atlanta
Andy Singleton, FantasyFiveStar.com: I’m somewhat surprised to see him still out there. Yes, there are other pitchers available, but few offer the upside he does. Just a few years removed from being a Top 5 overall prospect he has turned in consecutive seasons of 30+ starts. The Ks did dip last season, but the IPs improved, the WHIP was roughly the same, and the ERA was still sub 4.00. He now finds himself with a new team, a new city, new ballpark, and hopefully new purpose.
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/Keuchel/Miller, RP-Rodriguez
21.05 Joe Panik, 2B, San Francisco
Lawr Michaels, Mastersball.com:
Roster: C-Posey/Lucroy, 1B-Duda, 2B-Wong, SS-Escobar, 3B-Donaldson, CI-Castellanos, MI-Panik, OF-Cespedes/Calhoun/Ozuna/Martin/Morse SP-Wood/Ventura/Stroman/Cashner/Sanchez/Tillman, RP-Boxberger/Quackenbush
21.06 Brett Cecil, RP, Toronto
Daniel Archer, LeagueSafePost.com: I’m a man of restraint, or I might be typing this with one hand after punching the wall over the Marcus Stroman injury. However, that news pretty much seals the deal for Cecil as the Blue Jays 2015 closer. He’s got 114 IP of excellent ratios over the last two seasons, including all the peripherals and estimators. He’s got Nasty Boys stuff from the left side with a 2014 K/9 approaching 13. I will be thrilled if I can get Cecil this late in just about any of my live drafts.
Roster: C-Castro, 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/Cecil
21.07 Martin Prado, 3B, Miami
David Kerr, FantasySquads.com:
Roster: 1B-Martinez, 2B-Gordon, SS-Ramirez, 3B-Machado, CI-Harrison, MI-Walker, OF-Stanton/A.Jones/Ellsbury/Eaton, DH-Prado, SP-Cueto/Gonzalez/Ross/Wheeler/Weaver/Verlander, RP-Robertson/Storen/Rondon
21.08 Ervin Santana, SP, Minnesota
Brendan O’Brien-Cockson, FantasySquads.com:
Roster: C-Wieters/McCann, 1B-Fielder, 2B-Kinsler, SS-Castro, 3B-Longoria, CI-Morneau, OF-B.Hamilton/Polanco/Pagan/Markakis/Davis, MI-Murphy, SP-Kershaw/Bumgarner/DeGrom/Smyly/Santana, RP-Street/Doolittle/Mejia
21.09 Chris Iannetta, C, L.A. Angels
Roster: C-Grandal/Iannetta, 1B-Abreu, 2B-Rendon, SS-Andrus, 3B-Carpenter, CI-Adams, MI-Semien, OF-Brantley/Gonzalez/Gordon/Martinez/Cabrera, SP-Strasburg/Zimmermann/Richards/Hughes/Odorizzi/Gausman, RP-Holland/Cishek
21.10 Dioner Navarro, C, Toronto
Brad Binns, MoxyBall.com: Navarro has been rumoured to be on the trading block – and if he is dealt he will likely be moved to a team that would use him as their everyday backstop. If he stays in Toronto, it is expected that he will get his fair share of AB’s in the DH role, as he is in competition with Justin Smoak for AB’s as things currently stand. Coming off a good season at the dish which saw him hit .274 while producing 12 HR and 69RBI, I am happy to go with Navarro as a C2 in this mock, and in other 2015 drafts, expecting him to get around 400AB’s this season.
Roster: C-Molina, 1B-Encarnacion, 2B-Altuve, SS-Santana, 3B-Davis, OF-Dickerson/Holliday/Werth/Span/Cuddyer, MI-Kendrick, DH-Ortiz, SP-Scherzer/Kluber/Cobb/Iwakuma/Shoemaker, RP-Britton/Feliz/Reed
21.11 Everth Cabrera, SS, Baltimore
Neil Parker, LockerRoomFantasySports.com:
Roster: C-Gattis/Montero, 1B-Pujols, 2B-Cano, SS-Tulowitzki, 3B-Arenado, CI-Bryant, MI-Cabrera, OF-J.Upton/Pence/Bruce/Castillo/Arcia, DH-Pompey, SP-Cole/Arrieta/Fister/Lee/Alvarez, RP-Rondon/Casilla
21.12 Avisail Garcia, OF, Chicago White Sox
Greg Jewett, TheSportsScript.com: I am happy to get Avisail Garcia as my fifth outfielder at this point. In his career 141 games he has 14 home runs, 7 stolen bases and 63 RBI while hitting .272/.314/.405. He comes with some risk but I like his upside here and am willing to see what he can do if healthy in the White Sox offense.
Roster: C-Martin, 1B-Rizzo, 2B-Kipnis, SS-Hardy, 3B-Sandoval, CI-Wright, OF-Bautista/Heyward/Revere/Byrd/Garcia, 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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