One of the best ways to prepare for fantasy drafts is to practice by doing drafts. It can be hard to get eleven of your friends together for a mock draft, though. Luckily, FantasyPros offers a fantasy baseball mock draft simulator. There is a free version for all, but I recommend buying a membership, so you have full access to all the customizable aspects for your specific league.
For this article, I used the Draft Wizard to set up a traditional 12-team mock draft for a categories league. I didn’t change any of the position requirements, so a starting lineup would include one catcher, one first baseman, one second baseman, one third baseman and one shortstop. It also includes three outfielders, two utility options, three starting pitchers, three relief pitchers and three more pitchers, who can be either starters or relievers. Finally, I had to draft four bench players at the end of my draft. If you’d like to follow along with the draft, you can do so by clicking this link.
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12-Team Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft
1.10: Fernando Tatis Jr. (OF – SD)
Fernando Tatis Jr. was injured yet again in 2024. This time it was a stress reaction in his leg that cost him over two months. He still was able to hit 29 home runs with 49 RBI, steal 11 bases and maintain a .276 batting average.
If he can stay healthy, Tatis has proven he can hit 40 home runs, steal 30 bases and maintain a plus batting average. Few players have that upside.
2.03: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B, 3B – TOR)
After taking an upside pick in round one, it was time for some safety with my second-round selection — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The toughest category to find standouts at this point is batting average. In the second half of last season, Guerrero hit .376, which pulled his season average to .323 along with 30 home runs and 103 RBI.
3.10: Austin Riley (3B – ATL)
Austin Riley is a player to buy the dip on. After a slow start to the 2024 season, he hit 18 home runs while batting .275 over a 68-game sample from the start of June until he fractured his hand after a hit by pitch (HBP) in mid-August. That’s healed now and he will go back to batting in a prime lineup spot for the Braves.
4.03: Cole Ragans (SP – KC)
This is the range where I look to target starting pitching. Cole Ragans has now delivered a season and a half of elite production since coming to Kansas City. He pitched 186.1 innings last season with 223 strikeouts. His ERA was 3.14, which was unlucky compared to his 2.99 FIP.
5.10: Michael King (SP – SD)
The large innings increase going from reliever to starting pitcher didn’t slow down Michael King. In his first full season as a starter, he delivered 201 strikeouts over 173 innings while keeping his ERA under 3.00. Even if his ERA rises a bit, he can still deliver on this draft value.
6.03: Mason Miller (RP – ATH)
Some people don’t mind missing out on top-tier closers. That’s not me as they can deliver elite ratios with still over 80 strikeouts. I want one of the top five closers and Mason Miller was the last one still available.
7.10: Seiya Suzuki (OF – CHC)
Seiya Suzuki nearly duplicated his statistics from 2023 in runs (74), home runs (21), RBI (73) and batting average (.283) in 2024. The statistic that took an impressive leap was stolen bases. He stole 16 bases last season after having a total of 15 in his first two seasons.
An oblique injury cost him a month of playing time as well. If we can get a fully healthy season, there is a 25-home run, 20-stolen base upside in Suzuki with a plus batting average.
8.03: Bryan Reynolds (OF – PIT)
One of the most consistent fantasy performers of the past four seasons is Bryan Reynolds. Part of that is that he has been able to stay generally healthy, playing at least 145 games in each of those seasons. There is also talk he will play some first base this season, which would be a bonus to his value.
9.10: Tanner Bibee (SP – CLE)
Everything about Tanner Bibee’s second major league season looks repeatable in 2025. He pitched 173.2 innings with 187 strikeouts and a 3.37 ERA. The only real change from his rookie season was that his ERA rose a bit with some luck correction.
10.03: Matt McLain (2B, SS – CIN)
There is truly nothing to say about Matt McLain’s 2024 season, as he missed all of it with a shoulder injury. In his rookie season, he hit 16 home runs and stole 14 bases, with a .290 batting average in only 89 games. Shoulder injuries can be tough. Hopefully, he is back to his old self.
11.10: Justin Steele (SP – CHC)
The 2024 season looked like a step back from Justin Steele’s near 2023 Cy Young award season. If you examine it more closely, it is nearly identical.
He injured his hamstring on Opening Day and struggled with some rust when he returned. From May 27th through the end of the season, he had a 2.47 ERA with over a strikeout per inning.
12.03: Trevor Megill (RP – MIL)
The fantasy baseball average draft position (ADP) will say Trevor Megill in the 12th round was a reach. His ADP keeps rising, though, as the trade of Devin Williams opens up the closer role for him in Milwaukee.
13.10: Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY)
Carlos Rodon bounced back in his second season with the Yankees. He struck 195 batters in 175 innings. The ratios are going to be a bit high, but the baseline set by my earlier picks allows me to absorb that.
14.03: Shea Langeliers (C – ATH)
Cal Raleigh… that’s it. That’s the list of catchers with more home runs last season than Shea Langeliers’ 29. It came with a .229 batting average, which is not unpalatable from the catcher position.
Throw in now playing half of his games in a Minor League park and Langeliers is a late-round draft target.
15.10: Paul Goldschmidt (1B – NYY)
Is Paul Goldschmidt the perennial MVP candidate he was just a couple of seasons ago? Of course not. Still, last season’s down year included 22 home runs and 11 stolen bases. He is also moving to a much better lineup this year.
16.03: Zach Neto (SS – LAA)
One of the quieter breakouts last season was Zach Neto. He hit 23 home runs and stole 30 bases with a .249 batting average. While some slight pullbacks are likely, he is one of the last players with legitimate 20/20 aspirations.
17.10: Cristopher Sanchez (SP – PHI)
Only two qualified pitchers, Framber Valdez and Max Fried, had a higher groundball rate than Cristopher Sanchez. He also finished fifth among qualified starting pitchers with a 3.00 FIP.
18.03: Aroldis Chapman (RP – BOS)
We are still unsure who the closer is going to be for the Boston Red Sox between Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman. Considering Hendriks has pitched five innings in the last two seasons combined, I lean toward Chapman.
19.10: Jurickson Profar (OF – ATL)
A career year for a 31-year-old is not typically what you want to bet on repeating, but that’s already built into the price when it comes to Jurickson Profar.
There were also notable changes with him, including a nearly 10% better hard-hit rate than he ever recorded before.
20.03: Brandon Lowe (1B, 2B – TB)
Is Brandon Lowe likely to miss time with injury? Yes. Does it matter if he still hits 20 home runs and you can get him this late? Not really.
The only other second basemen to hit over 20 home runs in the past two seasons are Ketel Marte and Marcus Semien, who are toward the top of fantasy ADP for the second base position.
21.10: Heliot Ramos (OF – SF)
The lack of hype surrounding Heliot Ramos is surprising after top-15 percentile finishes in hard-hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity. It helped him to 22 home runs in only 121 games. He even chipped in six stolen bases for good measure.
22.03: Kutter Crawford (SP – BOS)
Kutter Crawford struggled with the home run ball in 2024. If he can get that back under control, there are intriguing skills still here.
23.10: Tyler Fitzgerald (SS, OF – SF)
Speaking of intriguing skills, my last pick was Tyler Fitzgerald, who is multi-eligible at shortstop and outfield.
In only 96 games, he hit 15 home and stole 17 bases. While he hit .280, that also came with a 31.7% strikeout rate.
Draft Wizard Insights
This team was graded as an A with a 94/100 score, which placed me second among the 12 teams drafting. The Draft Wizard liked my starters as they ranked first. Unfortunately, my bench came in fifth, which pulled down my overall ranking.
The insights always give you suggestions on how you could improve your score. In my case, that would have meant passing up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for Julio Rodriguez. I understand that logic, but I prefer the batting average to the speed at that point.
If I had to do it again, I would have passed on Paul Goldschmidt. It’s not that I dislike his value, but there were corner infield options that went several rounds later like Max Muncy and Ryan Mountcastle I value similarly.
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