Chase Davis | Tue, Mar 18th 2025, 7:09am EDT

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: Targeting Starting Pitchers Early (2025)

Let’s run a fantasy baseball mock draft using FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard tool. For this mock draft, I want to focus on starting pitchers early.

We’ll draft for a 12-team, head-to-head, traditional 5×5 categories league with the following rosters: 1-C, 1-1B, 1-2B, 1-3B, 1-SS, 3-OF, 2-UTIL, 2-SP, 2-RP, 4-P and zero bench spots. I’m drafting from the 10-slot. You can find the draft board here.

2025 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

1.10: Corbin Carroll (OF – ARI)

Corbin Carroll struggled in the first half of 2024 with a .635 OPS before putting up an impressive .919 OPS after the All-Star break. His full-season stat line of 121 runs, 22 home runs, 74 RBI and 35 steals showed no signs of his first-half slump.

2.03: Tarik Skubal (SP – DET)

Tarik Skubal was the second pitcher off the board. The reigning American League Triple Crown winner dominated last year — 2.39 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 18 wins and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched.

3.10: Corbin Burnes (SP – ARI)

Corbin Burnes was the seventh pitcher drafted. He was excellent last year, posting a 2.92 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 194.1 innings across 32 starts. The only issue was a big drop in Burnes’ strikeout rate. It dropped from 25.5% in 2023 to 23.1% last season, which was already a drop from 2022’s 30.5%.

4.03: Jose Altuve (2B – HOU)

Jose Altuve is coming off his first 20/20 season since 2017 and there has been talk of him getting outfield eligibility. He excels at pulling the ball in the air, taking advantage of the Crawford Boxes in Houston. His 26.9% pulled fly ball rate ranked 21st in the Majors last season and is a big reason for his success.

5.10: Framber Valdez (SP – HOU)

Since reaching 201 innings in 2022, Framber Valdez pitched 198 innings in 2023 and 176 last year. He’s coming off a stellar season where he compiled a 2.91 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 28 starts. I’m hoping for 170+ innings, around a 3.00 ERA and 10+ wins for the fourth year in a row.

6.03: Lawrence Butler (OF – ATH)

Lawrence Butler broke out in the second half of last year, finishing with 63 runs, 22 home runs, 57 RBI and 18 steals in 125 games. He lowered his strikeout rate from 29.5% in the first half to a much-more-manageable 19.8% in the second half.

7.10: Jordan Westburg (3B – BAL)

Jordan Westburg was impressive in 107 games in 2024. His xwOBA, xBA and xSLG were all in the 88th percentile or better. Baltimore is moving their left-field fence back in to fix their overcorrection from a few years back. I expect this to have a positive impact on their righty bats.

8.03: Ryan Walker (RP – SF)

Ryan Walker is expected to be the San Francisco Giants closer after taking over last year. He had a 1.91 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with 99 strikeouts, 10 wins and 10 saves last season. Walker ranked 10th out of all relievers in strikeout-to-walk ratio (K-BB) rate and was 19th in strikeout rate.

9.10: Triston Casas (1B – BOS)

Triston Casas was a popular breakout candidate last year but was derailed by a rib fracture. The injury understandably had an impact on his swing as he ended up disappointing fantasy managers. The first baseman still had 13 homers in 63 games. Hopefully, he is past the injuries and can be an impact bat in the middle of an exciting Red Sox lineup.

10.03: Christian Yelich (OF – MIL)

Christian Yelich was having a great season last year before a back injury sidelined him. The injured list (IL) stints limited him to just 73 games where he batted .315 with 11 homers and 21 steals. Hopefully, Yelich can pick up where he left off.

11.10: Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY)

Carlos Rodon was solid last year with a 3.96 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 16 wins and 195 strikeouts in 175 innings pitched. His strikeout rate was 4% higher than his first season in New York and his whiff rate was over 30% for the first time since 2022 with the San Francisco Giants.

12.03: Brandon Nimmo (OF – NYM)

Brandon Nimmo might become a five-category contributor after stealing a career-high 15 bases in 2024. His batting average (.224) was the lowest of his career for a full season, but I expect it to be closer to his career average (.261) going forward. After failing to play in more than 140 games in his first six seasons, Nimmo has played in 150+ each of the past three.

13.10: Robbie Ray (SP – SF)

Robbie Ray is my fifth starting pitcher. In limited action last year, he showed what made him a former Cy Young winner. His strikeout rate was over 30% for the first time since 2021 and his xERA was a full run lower than his actual ERA. His groundball rate was lower than you’d want, but with the spacious outfield in San Francisco, it shouldn’t cause too much damage.

14.03: Dansby Swanson (SS – CHC)

Dansby Swanson turned his season around in the second half of 2024. However, his overall numbers are still lackluster compared to how he finished the season. After the All-Star break, he posted a .281/.352/.443 triple slash line with seven home runs and 14 stolen bases. With Kyle Tucker now in Chicago, Swanson could have a nice bounce-back season.

15.10: Brandon Lowe (2B – TB)

Brandon Lowe is an underrated source of power at second base. He’s hit 21 home runs in each of the past two seasons while missing 53+ games. In his lone season of playing in 140+ games, he hit 39 homers with 99 RBI. The Rays will be playing their home games in the Yankees’ spring training facility with a similar short porch to Yankee Stadium, which should play nicely with Lowe’s spray chart.

16.03: David Bednar (RP – PIT)

David Bednar had a rough season in 2024, pitching to a 5.77 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 57.2 innings while blowing seven saves. His strikeout rate was a career low and his walk rate was a career high. There are no better options in the Pirates’ bullpen, so he should have plenty of chances to bounce back.

17.10: Clay Holmes (SP – NYM)

Clay Holmes is making the switch from the Yankees to the Mets, and from the bullpen to the starting rotation. He’s looked brilliant so far with a 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 9.6 K/9 in 14 spring innings. He’s slated to be the Mets’ Opening Day starter and is a steal as his average draft position (ADP).

18.03: Austin Wells (C – NYY)

Austin Wells had an 11.4% walk rate last year and is projected to bat in the top half of the Yankees’ lineup in 2025. He’s a flier we hope leads off all year long and rack up runs scored.

Draft Wizard Insights

The Draft Wizard gave this draft a B- grade and an 81/100 score. I’m projected to finish sixth in the league and, not surprisingly, have the best pitchers.

This team’s strengths are stolen bases, wins, strikeouts and ERA. It is projected to struggle in runs, home runs, RBI and batting average.

I fell behind in power and didn’t prioritize it enough in the later rounds, leading to a deficit in power categories. I was hoping Anthony Santander would fall to me in the seventh round, but he didn’t and I pivoted to Jordan Westburg.

I’d like to fill any potential bench spots with extra pitchers and maybe try to trade for some power.

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