The new mock draft simulator is out! The new mock draft simulator is out! Finally, after several offseason months, the Draft Wizard Mock Draft simulator is here! And now we can all run our own Fantasy Baseball mock drafts to see where different positions get thin, and where the experts think we should draft someone. So each Monday, we’re going to hold “Mock Draft Mondays,” where we do different 2014 Rotisserie Mock Drafts, with different strategies, to give readers and idea of what’s ahead in their drafts.
We’re not skipping out on the Head-to-Head owners either, as we’ll do H2H Thursdays, with H2H Mock Drafts that also use different strategies.
But first, we want to figure out what a 2014 Rotisserie mock draft looks like right now, before spring training begins.
Remember, you can do these mock drafts yourself by using Draft Wizard’s Mock Draft Simulator through our site.
2014 Rotisserie Mock Draft Format
We’re going to do a standard mixed-league 2014 Rotisserie Mock Draft right now, using standard lineups that require: 2-C, 1-1B, 1-2B, 1-SS, 1-3B, 5-OF, 1-CI, 1-MI, 1-DH and 9 pitchers. The categories we’re using are the standard Roto categories: Avg, Runs, HR, RBI, Steals, and Strikeouts, Wins, Saves, ERA and WHIP.
For this mock, we’re going to pick sixth (you can choose where you want to pick in the simulators!). I’ll make some comments intermittently, whether it’s about the player or about the way the draft is going. Let’s do this!
2014 Rotisserie Mock Draft Results!
We’ll show the results for the other picks for the first five rounds, then we’ll just show you our picks, for time’s sake.
1.1 Mike Trout, LAA
1.2 Miguel Cabrera, Det
1.3 Paul Goldschmidt, Ari
1.4 Andrew McCutchen, Pit
1.5 Carlos Gonzalez, Col
1.06 Robinson Cano, 2B, Seattle
Robinson Cano might have said goodbye to Yankees fans, but he’s not leaving the first round any time soon. Photo Credit: NJNetFan
1.7 Hanley Ramirez, LAD
1.8 Adam Jones, Bal
1.9 Clayton Kershaw, LAD
1.10 Jacoby Ellsbury, NYY
1.11 Chris Davis, Bal
1.12 Bryce Harper, Was
2.1 Prince Fielder, Tex
2.2 Giancarlo Stanton, Mia
2.3 Adrian Beltre, Tex
2.4 Troy Tulowitzki, Col
2.5 David Wright, NYM
2.6 Shin-Soo Choo, Tex
2.07 Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee
Battled between Braun or Joey Votto, which the site recommended with the same percentage. Seems like mid-second round is a great spot to gamble on a possible first-round slugger. Evan Longoria was my other consideration here.
2.8 Freddie Freeman, Atl
2.9 Evan Longoria, TB
2.10 Joey Votto, Cin
2.11 E. Encarnacion, Tor
2.12 Adam Wainwright, StL
3.1 Justin Verlander, Det
3.2 Jay Bruce, Cin
3.3 Yu Darvish, Tex
3.4 Felix Hernandez, Sea
3.5 Carlos Gomez, Mil
The simulator suggests three starting pitchers (Max Scherzer, Cliff Lee and Stephen Strasburg), along with a second second baseman (Jason Kipnis), and we weren’t happy with any of those suggestions. So here’s what we’re going to do – we’re going to take Strasburg, then see what happens over the next group of picks, and if we don’t like it, we back it out – which you can do!
Well, here’s what my choices are in the fourth — David Price, Chris Sale, Justin Upton and Buster Posey. As much as I love David Price in Round 4, I like Strasburg in Round 3 even better.
3.06 Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington
3.7 Dustin Pedroia, Bos
3.8 Jason Kipnis, Cle
3.9 Madison Bumgarner, SF
3.10 Max Scherzer, Det
3.11 Y. Puig, LAD
3.12 Jose Bautista, Tor
4.1 Ian Desmond, Was
4.2 Jose Reyes, Tor
4.3 Cliff Lee, Phi
4.4 Ryan Zimmerman, Was
4.5 Jose Fernandez, Mia
4.6 Matt Kemp, LAD
4.07 Justin Upton, OF, Atlanta
We still have the same choices from before, with Price and Sale, but seeing Upton there was an easy decision for me – and the experts, who suggested him at a 62-percent clip. Would have loved to get Price here, and I would have considered Kemp here as well.
4.8 Chris Sale, CWS
4.9 Ian Desmond, Was
4.10 Matt Holliday, StL
4.11 Cole Hamels, Phi
4.12 Alex Rios, Tex
5.1 Jean Segura, Mil
5.2 Buster Posey, SF
5.3 Hunter Pence, SF
5.4 Zack Greinke, LAD
5.5 Eric Hosmer, KC
Kinda wish I grabbed Buster Posey back in the fourth round, now, but I really don’t like taking catchers that early – especially this season with so many very good catchers.
5.06 Elvis Andrus, SS, Texas
The simulator suggested I pick Craig Kimbrel, Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels and Eric Hosmer. I know it’s a mock draft and all, but it hurts to see Price get picked with the pick before mine.
The relief pitchers are starting to come up more often now, but again, that’s a personal thing of mine – don’t draft closers too high, since about one-third of all saves in a mixed league come from Fantasy free agents. That means those saves are coming out of the pockets of proven closers, also.
5.7 J. Hamilton, LAA
5.8 Adrian Gonzalez, LAD
5.9 Zack Greinke, LAD
5.10 Cole Hamels, Phi
5.11 Jason Heyward, Atl
5.12 Allen Craig, StL
6.1 Starling Marte, Pit
6.2 Manny Machado, Bal
6.3 Eric Hosmer, KC
6.4 Billy Hamilton, Cin
6.5 Craig Kimbrel, Atl
6.6 Mark Trumbo, Ari
6.07 Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Oakland
We’ve seen a couple years of the Cuban import now, and we have a great idea of what he can offer: good power numbers but a low batting average.
7.06 Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis
While I love both Molina and Carlos Santana, I think I could use the batting average from Molina more than the power from Santana.
8.07 Carlos Santana, C/1B, Cleveland
The catcher position isn’t top heavy, like past years, but it is pretty strong among the top 10 or so. Photo Credit: Keith Allison
9.06 Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco
Belt was one of the best hitters in the minors just a couple seasons ago, but much like Eric Hosmer, he just hasn’t grown into his ability yet. Late last year, he started to come around, but I’m not real excited with this pick.
10.07 Masahiro Tanaka, SP, N.Y. Yankees
Rolled the dice on whether Alex Cobb would be there after my ninth pick, and he was. Unfortunately, so was Masahiro Tanaka, which the site also recommended. Getting a wild card like Tanaka as my second starting pitcher was just too good to pass up. I doubt he’s around in Round 10 of other drafts I do.
11.06 Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay
My team definitely needs a speed injection, and I’m hoping Jennings can grow into a 30-steal player, with a higher batting average than the .255 we’re seeing.
12.07 Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Milwaukee
Once Ramirez got healthy last season, he was a much better hitter and discussions about “past his prime” were put on the backburner.
13.06 David Robertson, RP, N.Y. Yankees
The Yankees are going to win a bunch of games, unfortunately, so I’ll swallow my pride and take Mariano Rivera’s successor here as my No. 1 closer.
14.07 Andrew Cashner, SP, San Diego
Man, there are a ton of excellent catchers available still, making me regret picking up Santana when I did. I should have gone to a first baseman a little earlier.
15.06 Jurickson Profar, 2B/SS/3B, Texas
Love his versatility, although, rarely do I take my middle infielder this early in the draft. Profar has a chance to be an above average player at several positions, and now he’s guaranteed full-time at-bats.
16.07 Grant Balfour, RP, Tampa Bay
Getting the Rays’ closer is always a good idea, especially one that they’ve had great success with in the past.
17.06 Jake Peavy, SP, Boston
Left my rotation too thin and now I’m picking up scraps. If I could do over, which I could, but I won’t, I’d skip the second catcher, grab a first baseman earlier, and wait on relievers a little longer.
18.07 Anthony Rendon, 2B/3B, Washington
Love his versatility, and his upside heading into his first full major league season.
19.06 Chris Tillman, SP, Baltimore
One of the best starting pitchers you might raise your nose to, Tillman actually provides solid production on a scrappy Orioles team.
20.07 Huston Street, RP, San Diego
I get the injury discount, considering he’s always beat up, but still, getting a reliable closer this late is always nice.
21.06 Alexi Ogando, SP, Texas
He’ll be pitching out of the heart of Texas’ rotation this season, with plenty of solid offense to support him, and two proven closers on the back end, in Neftali Perez and Joakim Soria.
22.07 Nick Markakis, OF, Baltimore
Only 13 other outfielders have averaged more than Nick Markakis’ 585 at-bats over the past three seasons. And just five of them had a higher BA than his .283. Photo Credit: Keith Allison
23.06 Nick Castellanos, 1B, Detroit
Taking a flier on a great prospect is always a good idea. Our own Chris Meyers did a great job detailing Castellanos’ chances in 2014 here.
Final Analysis: Projected Standings
One of the coolest parts of this whole Mock Draft Simulator is that it projects out the standings, using projections from the site. So after this draft, looking at the projected standings, my team shakes out as the fourth-best overall.
It also notes that I have the second-best hitting team – but the second-worst pitching team. That sounds about right, considering I waited just a little too long to draft my starting pitchers.
By clicking on the “Details by Category” tab, I find that the projected standings show my team ranks:
- 7th in Home Runs
- 1st in Runs
- 4th in RBI
- 9th in SBs
- 1st in Batting Average
- 9th in Wins
- 4th in Saves
- 11th in Strikeouts
- 8th in ERA
- 7th in WHIP
Like I mentioned, I’ll be doing these mock drafts for every Monday for the next few weeks. Feel free to drop a comment on how I can make this better.
Using the Mock Draft Simulator is a ton of fun, and extremely helpful. The rankings change daily as experts listed on FantasyPros.com change their rankings, so multiple mock drafts is a good idea. Good luck!
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