It’s time to start prepping for fantasy baseball drafts as the long offseason comes to an end. Mock drafts are a great way to get familiar with the upcoming player pool and find trends for the real drafts. Using FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard lets you run realistic mock drafts with your league-specific settings. Let’s run an early, points league mock draft using the Draft Wizard. This 12-team points league will use a roster of 1 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SS, 3 OF, 2 U, 2 SP, 2 RP, 4 P, 0 BN. You can find the draft board here: Draft Board
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Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: 12-Team, Points League
1.05 (5th overall): Juan Soto (OF – NYM)
When it comes to a points league, there are few players whose skills fit so perfectly like Juan Soto. He was in the 79th percentile in strikeout rate (16.7%) a year ago while being the best in walk rate (18.1%). Soto has an elite four-category floor and his lack of steals has no effect in points leagues.
2.08 (20th overall): Freddie Freeman (1B – LAD)
Freddie Freeman is poised to have a bounce-back season. He’s surrounded by all-star caliber talent and will bat behind Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. 2024 was the first time Freeman had failed to reach the 100-run mark in a full season, since 2018 with the Braves. He also failed to reach 100 runs batted in (RBI) for the first time in a Dodgers uniform. However, his walk (12.2%) and strikeout (15.7%) rates were still in line with his career averages. I expect the veteran first basemen to look more like himself in 2025.
3.05 (29th overall): Ketel Marte (2B – ARI)
Ketel Marte was a stud in 2024. His combination of power with great plate discipline at a weak fantasy position should give fantasy managers an edge.
4.08 (44th overall): Garrett Crochet (SP – BOS)
Garrett Crochet had a huge breakout season in 2024 with the Chicago White Sox and has since been traded to the Boston Red Sox. He has huge strikeout potential and should be in line for more wins on a much better team. It’s fair to be suspicious of the workload he can handle after a career-high 146 innings pitched last season. However, the White Sox used extreme caution with their ace to preserve his value and hopefully build up his workload.
5.05 (53rd overall): George Kirby (SP – SEA)
While George Kirby doesn’t provide the SP1 upside that Crochet does, he provides a steady floor. He’s had 190+ innings pitched in each of the past seasons with a sub-1.10 WHIP. Although he averages less than a strikeout per inning, with volume, he still has the chance to get close to 200 strikeouts.
6.08 (68th overall): Willy Adames (SS – SFG)
Willy Adames signed a 7-year, $182M contract with the San Francisco Giants this offseason. He’s coming off his best year with a career-best total in runs, home runs, RBI, and steals. We have to bake in some regression from a career year, but Adames has been a solid run producer at the shortstop position for the past five years.
7.05 (77th overall): Alex Bregman (3B – FA)
Alex Bregman’s career 13.4% strikeout and 11.9% walk rates have led to him being a points league standout. However, last year his walk rate took a steep decline as he ended at 6.9%. He is currently a free agent so we’ll have to see where he signs to assess his new value.
8.08 (92nd overall): Zac Gallen (SP – ARI)
Zac Gallen had a down year last year but still ended with a 3.65 ERA with a 25% strikeout rate. Despite a hamstring injury that sidelined him for nearly a month in 2024, he still made 28 starts across 148 innings. He may not be the ace he was once thought of, but he can still have a positive impact in fantasy.
9.05 (101st overall): Riley Greene (OF – DET)
Another year of progression and Riley Greene could be a huge bargain at his current ADP of 97.8. His Statcast page from 2024 is lit up in red and he’s poised for another productive season.
10.08 (116th overall): Tanner Bibee (SP – CLE)
Tanner Bibee broke out last year with a 3.47 ERA and 187 strikeouts across 31 starts. He does tend to give up a lot of fly balls, but as long as he continues to keep his walks in check, he should be solid.
11.05 (125th overall): Andres Munoz (RP – SEA)
Another year has come and gone and Andres Munoz is still not getting all of the save opportunities for the Mariners despite pitching lights out. His xERA, xBA, average exit velocity, chase rate, whiff rate and strikeout rate were all in the 90th percentile or better a year ago. His 2.12 ERA and 22 saves were a career-best and hopefully earned him more opportunities in the coming season.
12.08 (140th overall): Xander Bogaerts (SS – SDP)
Xander Bogaerts had a rough last year as he dealt with a shoulder fracture. However, he’s just two years removed from a 19-homer and 19-steal season while batting .285. Batting in the middle of the Padres lineup should give him plenty of run-producing opportunities. His low strikeout rate and skillset translate to a points league nicely.
13.05 (149th overall): Reynaldo Lopez (SP – ATL)
There are valid questions about Reynaldo Lopez’s ability to repeat his 2024 season. His 1.99 ERA is almost all but guaranteed to rise more than a run (if not two) this next season and his 135 innings pitched are far from being ideal. Bryan Woo went 12 picks after Lopez and feels like a better gamble.
14.08 (164th overall): Kerry Carpenter (OF – DET)
Kerry Carpenter is a risky pick. He has solid power with a solid batting average but he platoons against right-handed pitchers. Last season he only had 296 plate appearances in 87 games. I would’ve liked to get my third outfielder before round 14.
15.05 (173rd overall): Dansby Swanson (SS – CHC)
Dansby Swanson turned his season around in the second half, however, his overall numbers are still low compared to how he finished the season. With Kyle Tucker entering the lineup, Swanson could have a nice bounce-back season.
16.08 (188th overall): Tanner Houck (SP – BOS)
Tanner Houck had an amazing year last year finishing with a 3.12 ERA and 1.14 WHIP so I’m surprised his ADP is outside the top 200 picks. His advanced stats don’t exactly back it up with an xERA of 4.21 and an xFIP of 4.07. However, that seems to be baked into his draft-day price.
17.05 (197th overall): Ryan Pressly (RP – CHC)
Ryan Pressly was recently traded to the Cubs with the assumption he’ll be closing games for them. Porter Hodge was solid for them a year ago, but Pressly has more experience.
18.08 (212th overall): Ryan Jeffers (C – MIN)
Ryan Jeffers had a productive year with 21 homers in 2024. He doesn’t play every day and his walk and strikeout rates are just middle-of-the-pack at the position. If I’m waiting on a catcher in a points league, I’d rather take someone like Gabriel Moreno.
Draft Wizard Insights
The Wizard gave this draft an A, 95/100 grade and projected the second-best team in the league. There is a big difference between drafting a category-based and a points league team. This team is very light on steals, but that won’t matter in a points format where it would be hard to make up in categories.
One change I would make would be taking another outfielder in the sixth round instead of Willy Adames. Being able to draft two shortstops in Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson in the 12th and 15th rounds, respectively, is great value compared to where Adames was selected.
I probably didn’t get enough value drafting Alex Bregman in the seventh round with him being a free agent and coming off a down year. However, third base drops off quickly so prioritizing one early may be the smart move.
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