First CBS Fantasy Baseball Today Mock Draft Results

Every year me and a select few others get together with the guys from CBS Fantasy Baseball and run weekly mock drafts…this was my results from the first!

Some people like seeing mock drafts and pick breakdowns, some don’t. These articles will be for those of you who do. After each one I do with them I’ll post my draft results, roster construction, and then a breakdown of picks I did and didn’t like. I’ll also dive into my thought process along the way.

For those wanting to see the full draft results and Scott White’s breakdown, he should have it up on CBS in the coming days (maybe even Tuesday February 4th if he’s quick).

This mock was a 12 team, Yahoo H2H categories league mock. We used their standard 5x5 scoring and I ended up with the 10th pick.

Coming into the draft I was set on my first two picks being hitters that will produce in both the power and speed categories. Mookie Betts fell to me in round one, which was incredibly enticing, but Tatis’s ability to go 40/20 with ease locked in the pick. Lindor after that was the same mindset. Only a handful of guys have gone 30/30 the last couple seasons and Lindor is on that short list.

The picks at the end of the third, beginning of the fourth is where things got a little interesting. I’m a firm believer in making sure you get one of the top second baseman. I honestly don’t care which one. Altuve, Marte, Semien, Albies, or Westburg. Get one. The position falls off a cliff after. So taking Albies was another no brainer for me.

Cole Ragans was the pick I was hesitant about but I think it panned out. I wanted to leave the draft with at least one top tier pitcher. I also wanted to wait on pitching. I had to compromise and just take Ragans because I was unsure who would be available to me 20+ picks later. There ended up still being a plethora of good pitching left when it came back, so in hindsight I could have taken another outfielder, but you really can’t complain much when you end up with a top-10 starter.

My next few picks were about committing to the Ragans pick. I needed an elite closer and a second 200+ strikeouts guy to pair with him. Check and check.

From there I went with the high floor, multi statistic stud in Yelich followed up by locking down my saves output with Duran. In a H2H categories league where you need saves, it’s essential to nail two top end closers and not find yourself chasing saves later in the draft. I snuck Vientos and his 30+ home run, 180+ R+RBI potential in there as well for a high upside play.

If you can’t tell, my focus of this draft was not batting average. With it being such a volatile stat, I wanted to key in on hitters that I knew would produce elite numbers in multiple other categories. It’s not about winning every category, it’s about winning more than your opponent.

From this point on, I went almost all upside. I think Bryce Miller wins the AL Cy Young this season and has a monster year. Both Jake Burger and Adolis Garcia have 35+ home run upside in that loaded Rangers offense. Same goes for Langeliers, he will likely fight with Raleigh to lead the catcher position in home runs. Steal worthy picks after round 10.

I’ve talked about Kwan a ton and how much I like him in points leagues. With him showing some newfound power at home, he becomes a guy who can score 100 runs and hit 20 dingers while flirting with a batting title. Not the craziest upside pick, but I think he still has an incredibly high floor and I needed that after my prior few picks.

After this we started to get into our bench options and our end of the starting lineup of pitchers. These are guys I’m all for taking home run swings on (pun intended). You’re rarely going to find guys at the end of your draft who you roster all season. These need to be guys with the ability to put up big numbers, or be able to be moved on from for players who can.

Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs, Max Scherzer, and Luis Severino all have the ability to put up good strikeout numbers and help with WHIP and wins. The last three are low enough on the totem pole that if they implode early, you can move them for other options with better matchups.

I did go too heavy on Outfield at the end. I needed to have some more position versatility on the bench. Abreu and Burleson are just steady eddy guys who I think can help maybe not win categories, but give you enough output to set a higher floor in runs, batting average, and home runs to find utility. And the Erceg pick is a speculative add based on his ability to be the closer in Kansas City. If so, it gives me the option to either start him in a pitcher spot and all but guarantee I win saves each week, or trade him to a team in need for something that can be more beneficial to my lineup in other places.

When all was said and done, this is what the final roster looks like:

I hope you guys enjoyed the breakdown and found it helpful. As I do more mock drafts with them I will continue to do these breakdowns. Every mock we do is a different league size, format, and scoring type so there will be a lot of diversity.