2016 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

Ten SI.com fantasy baseball experts go 18 rounds in a 6x6, head-to-head mock draft.

Sure, March Madness may be sweeping the country, but that’s just a reminder that MLB’s Opening Day is approaching quickly. It’s prime time for fantasy baseball drafts, and SI.com is here to help you prepare.

Members of the SI.com fantasy baseball league conducted a mock draft for a 10-team, 6x6, mixed head-to-head league. The positions: one catcher, one first baseman, one second baseman, one shortstop, one third baseman, one utility player, three outfielders, five starting pitchers and three relief pitchers, with five bench spots and two DL spots. (For this mock draft, we only drafted one of the available bench spots.) Here, we present each round of the draft, and below, each owner gives a self-assessment, observations and more.

Don’t forget to check out our top 250 player rankings, season outlooks for the top 100 players and position-by-position previews below.

FIRST BASE | SECOND BASE | SHORTSTOP | THIRD BASE | OUTFIELD | CATCHER | RELIEF PITCHER | STARTING PITCHER

Draft order:

1. Ben Glicksman
2. Jeremy Woo
3. Tom Mantzouranis
​4. Bette Marston
5. Colin Becht
6. David Kaye
7. Gary Gramling
​8. Jon Tayler
9. Bobby Clay
10. Eric Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
1	Mike Trout	LAA	OF	Glicksman
2	Bryce Harper	WAS	OF	Woo
3	Paul Goldschmidt	ARI	1B	Mantzouranis
4	Josh Donaldson	TOR	3B	Marston
5	Anthony Rizzo	CHC	1B	Becht
6	Nolan Arenado	COL	3B	Kaye
7	Manny Machado	BAL	3B	Gramling
8	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B	Tayler
9	Giancarlo Stanton	MIA	OF	Clay
10	Carlos Correa	HOU	SS	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
11	Andrew McCutchen	PIT	OF	Single
12	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	SP	Clay
13	Edwin Encarnacion	TOR	1B	Tayler
14	A.J. Pollock	ARI	OF	Gramling
15	Miguel Cabrera	DET	1B	Kaye
16	Mookie Betts	BOS	OF	Becht
17	Jose Bautista	TOR	OF	Marston
18	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B	Mantzouranis
19	Jose Abreu	CHW	1B	Woo
20	Chris Davis	BAL	1B/OF	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
21	J.D. Martinez	DET	OF	Glicksman
22	Dee Gordon	2B	MIA	Woo
23	Starling Marte	PIT	OF	Mantzouranis
24	George Springer	HOU	OF	Marston
25	Max Scherzer	SP	WAS	Becht
26	Buster Posey	C/1B	SF	Kaye
27	Joey Votto	1B	CIN	Gramling
28	Jake Arrieta	SP	CHC	Tayler
29	Charlie Blackmon	OF	COL	Clay
30	Chris Sale	SP	CHW	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
31	Zack Greinke	LAD	SP	Single
32	Todd Frazier	CHW	3B	Clay
33	Yoenis Cespedes	NYM	OF	Tayler
34	Nelson Cruz	SEA	OH	Gramling
35	Jose Fernandez	MIA	SP	Kaye
36	Miguel Sano	MIN	3B	Becht
37	Carlos Gomez	HOU	OF	Marston
38	Jacob DeGrom	NYM	SP	Mantzouranis
39	Troy Tulowitzki	TOR	SS	Woo
40	Madison Bumgarner	SF	SP	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
41	Justin Upton	DET	OF	Glicksman
42	Lorenzo Cain	KC	OF	Woo
43	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	SP	Mantzouranis
44	Corey Kluber	CLE	SP	Marston
45	Carlos Gonzalez	COL	OF	Becht
46	Gerrit Cole	PIT	SP	Kaye
47	Sonny Gray	OAK	SP	Gramling
48	Jason Kipnis	CLE	2B	Tayler
49	Felix Hernandez	SEA	SP	Clay
50	Jayson Heyward	CHC	OF	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	OWNER
51	Kyle Seager	SEA	3B	Single
52	Eric Hosmer	KC	1B	Clay
53	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS	Tayler
54	David Price	BOS	SP	Gramling
55	Ryan Braun	MIL	OF	Kaye
56	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	SP	Becht
57	Chris Archer	TB	SP	Marston
58	Matt Harvey	NYM	SP	Mantzouranis
59	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	SP	Woo
60	Robinson Cano	SEA	2B	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
61	Gregory Polanco	PIT	OF	Glicksman
62	Adam Jones	BAL	OF	Woo
63	Yasiel Puig	LAD	OF	Mantzouranis
64	Matt Carpenter	STL	2B/3B	Marston
65	Brian Dozier	MIN	2B	Becht
66	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	SP	Kaye
67	Ian Kinsler	DET	2B	Gramling
68	Marcus Stroman	TOR	SP	Tayler
69	Adam Wainwright	STL	SP	Clay
70	Adam Eaton	CHW	OF	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
71	Kyle Schwarber	CHC	C/OF	Single
72	Johnny Cueto	SF	SP	Clay
73	Hunter Pence	SF	OF	Tayler
74	Corey Seager	LAD	SS	Gramling
75	Prince Fielder	TEX	1B	Kaye
76	Jacoby Ellsbury	NYY	OF	Becht
77	Adrian Gonzalez	LAD	1B	Marston
78	Corey Dickerson	TB	OF	Mantzouranis
79	Tyson Ross	SD	SP	Woo
80	Jon Lester	CHC	SP	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
81	Cole Hamels	TEX	SP	Glicksman
82	David Peralta	ARI	OF	Woo
83	Anthony Rendon	WAS	2B/3B	Mantzouranis
84	Francisco Lindor	CLE	SS	Marston
85	Albert Pujols	LAA	1B	Becht
86	Michael Brantley	CLE	OF	Kaye
87	Freddie Freeman	ATL	1B	Gramling
88	Travis d’Arnaud	NYM	C	Tayler
89	Kenley Jansen	LAD	RP	Clay
90	Wade Davis	KC	RP	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
91	Craig Kimbrel	BOS	RP	Single
92	Brian McCann	NYY	C/1B	Clay
93	Jeurys Familia	NYM	RP	Tayler
94	Matt Kemp	SD	OF	Gramling
95	Danny Salazar	CLE	SP	Kaye
96	Trevor Rosenthal	STL	RP	Becht
97	Francisco Liriano	PIT	SP	Marston
98	Raisel Iglesias	CLE	SP	Mantzouranis
99	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	SP	Woo
100	Aroldis Chapman	NYY	RP	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
101	Maikel Franco	PHI	3B	Glicksman
102	Lance McCullers	HOU	SP	Woo
103	Russell Martin	TOR	C	Mantzouranis
104	Michael Wacha	STL	SP	Marston
105	Garrett Richards	LAA	SP	Becht
106	Adrian Beltre	TEX	3B	Kaye
107	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	SP	Gramling
108	Carlos Martinez	STL	SP	Tayler
109	David Ortiz	BOS	1B/DH	Clay
110	Brett Gardner	NYY	OF	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
111	Carlos Rodon	CHW	SP	Single
112	Rougned Odor	TEX	2B	Clay
113	Randal Grichuk	STL	OF	Tayler
114	David Robertson	CWS	RP	Gramling
115	Mark Melancon	PIT	RP	Kaye
116	Ian Desmond	TEX	SS	Becht
117	Addison Russell	CHC	2B/SS	Marston
118	Cody Allen	CLE	RP	Mantzouranis
119	Ken Giles	HOU	RP	Woo
120	Yu Darvish	TEX	SP	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
121	Zach Britton	BAL	RP	Glicksman
122	Evan Longoria	TB	3B	Woo
123	Jorge Soler	CHC	OF	Mantzouranis
124	Hector Rondon	CHC	RP	Marston
125	Drew Smyly	TB	SP	Becht
126	Curtis Granderson	NYM	OF	Kaye
127	Shelby Miller	ARI	SP	Gramling
128	Byron Buxton	MIN	OF	Tayler
129	Billy Hamilton	CIN	OF	Clay
130	DJ LeMahieu	COL	2B	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
131	Billy Burns	OAK	OF	Single
132	Michael Pineda	NYY	SP	Clay
133	A.J. Ramos	MIA	SP	Tayler
134	Jonathan Lucroy	MIL	C/1B	Gramling
135	Huston Street	LAA	RP	Kaye
136	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	SP	Becht
137	Jonathan Papelbon	WAS	RP	Marston
138	Brad Boxberger	TB	RP	Mantzouranis
139	Jose Quintana	CWS	SP	Woo
140	Devin Mesoraco	CIN	C	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
141	Jake Odorizzi	TB	SP	Glicksman
142	Andrew Miller	NYY	RP	Woo
143	Byung-ho Park	MIN	1B	Mantzouranis
144	John Lackey	CHC	SP	Marston
145	Jeff Samardzija	SF	SP	Becht
146	Brandon Crawford	SF	SS	Kaye
147	Shawn Tolleson	TEX	RP	Gramling
148	Luis Severino	NYY	SP	Tayler
149	Sean Doolittle	OAK	RP	Clay
150	Julio Teheran	ATL	SP	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
151	Taijuan Walker	SEA	SP	Single
152	Michael Conforto	NYM	OF	Clay
153	Alex Rodriguez	NYY	DH	Tayler
154	Steven Matz	NYM	SP	Gramling
155	Ben Zobrist	CHC	2B/OF	Kaye
156	Francisco Rodriguez	DET	RP	Becht
157	Dellin Betances	NYY	RP	Marston
158	Collin McHugh	HOU	SP	Mantzouranis
159	Christian Yelich	MIA	OF	Woo
160	Yordano Ventura	KC	SP	Glicksman

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
161	Jung-Ho Kang	PIT	3B/SS	Glicksman
162	Salvador Perez	KC	C	Woo
163	Scott Kazmir	LAD	SP	Mantzouranis
164	Yan Gomes	CLE	C	Marston
165	Kole Calhoun	LAA	OF	Becht
166	James Shields	SD	SP	Kaye
167	Drew Storen	TOR	SP	Gramling
168	Kolten Wong	STL	2B	Tayler
169	Elvis Andrus	TEX	SS	Clay
170	Carlos Santana	CLE	1B/DH	Single

OVERALL	PLAYER	TEAM	POS.	OWNER
171	Glen Perkins	MIN	RP	Single
172	Jake McGee	COL	RP	Clay
173	Lucas Giolito	WAS	SP	Tayler
174	Shin-Soo Choo	TEX	OF	Gramling
175	Patrick Corbin	ARI	SP	Kaye
176	Steven Vogt	OAK	C/1B	Becht
177	Joc Pederson	LAD	OF	Marston
178	Ketel Marte	SEA	SS	Mantzouranis
179	Arodys Vizcaino	ATL	RP	Woo
180	Dexter Fowler	CHC	OF	Glicksman

• Ben Glicksman: Mike Trout, Chris Davis, JD Martinez, Madison Bumgarner, Justin Upton, Robinson Cano, Gregory Polanco, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Aroldis Chapman, Maikel Franco, Yu Darvish, Zach Britton, Devin Mesoraco, Jake Odorizzi, Yordano Ventura, Jung Ho Kang, Dexter Fowler. My strategy was to load up on power bats in the early rounds and then target high-upside starters later. Picking Mike Trout No. 1 overall was a no-brainer, and I was happy to grab Robinson Cano with the final pick of the sixth. I may have reached a bit for Devin Mesoraco—he took only 45 at-bats last year before undergoing season-ending hip surgery—but if he can come close to replicating his 2014 stats (25 home runs, 80 RBIs), he’ll provide value at the catcher position. I also couldn’t stay away from Yu Darvish; he is a major risk coming back from Tommy John surgery, but he has the stuff to rack up 175-plus strikeouts even in limited action.​

• Jeremy Woo: Bryce Harper, Jose Abreu, Dee Gordon, Troy Tulowitzki, Lorenzo Cain, Dallas Keuchel, Adam Jones, Tyson Ross, David Peralta, Jordan Zimmermann, Lance McCullers, Ken Giles, Evan Longoria, Jose Quintana, Andrew Miller, Christian Yelich, Salvador Perez, Arodys Vizcaino. I came away fairly happy with this team, going offense-heavy early as tends to be my preferred approach. I wanted to address middle infield early, and was pretty pleased getting Gordon back at the turn. Tulo, as always, is a dice roll with injury, but I’ll take even 130–140 games from him in that lineup and go home happy. My bats came out well-rounded, and I thought Peralta and Perez were good value picks. As far as pitching goes, in the past I’ve had success waiting even longer than I did to take a starter. But bottom line, just blending the bankable types (Zimmermann, Quintana) with the right upside guys (Ross, McCullers) tends to work well. Guys always pop up by midseason if you stay active. And for that reason, per the old adage, never pay for saves. That variance was why I was fine with leasing Miller for a month—remember that literally any late-round closer could be waiver fodder in three weeks with the wrong breaks. 

• ​Tom Mantzouranis: Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve, Starling Marte, Jacob DeGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Matt Harvey, Yasiel Puig, Corey Dickerson, Anthony Rendon, Raisel Iglesias, Russell Martin, Cody Allen, Jorge Soler, Brad Boxberger, Byung-ho Park, Collin McHugh, Scott Kazmir, Ketel Marte. Every year, I battle with how early to draft my starting pitchers, telling myself I’m going to wait and load up on second-tier guys instead of chasing the elites. And every year, I get antsy and wind up splurging on a guy in the top 20 picks. This draft, I finally got it right. By waiting, I was able to pick up three top-25 hitters and still get a lot of very solid pitching in rounds 4–6 (seriously, how did Matt Harvey last that long?!?!). Adding one of my favorite sleepers, Raisel Iglesias, in the 10th round was just gravy. This strategy came at the expense of my hitting overall, especially at the mid-rounds, but I’m confident enough that between my three first-rounders and some strategic sleepers (Puig, Park and Marte) I’ll get enough hitting to make my strategy successful.

• ​Bette Marston: Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, George Springer, Carlos Gomez, Corey Kluber, Chris Archer, Matt Carpenter, Adrian Gonzalez, Francisco Lindor, Francisco Liriano, Michael Wacha, Addison Russell, Hector Rondon, Jonathan Papelbon, John Lackey, Dellin Betances, Yan Gomes, Joc Pederson. The No. 4 spot is tricky this season, since the first three players off the board are practically a given. But I feel comfortable taking Josh Donaldson, since I think he’ll come close to replicating his 2015 MVP season. I told myself that I wasn’t going to draft pitchers before the seventh round, but I zoned in on Carlos Carrasco in the fifth, and when he got snatched up before me, I got nervous and snagged Corey Kluber to anchor my staff. Unfortunately, I missed out on some guys I had my eye on (the aforementioned Carrasco, Kyle Schwarber), but I didn’t waste time getting Archer or Russell, two players highlighted on my cheat sheet. 

• ​Colin Becht: Anthony Rizzo, Mookie Betts, Max Scherzer, Miguel Sano, Carlos Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Brian Dozier, Jacoby Ellsbury, Albert Pujols, Trevor Rosenthal, Garrett Richards, Ian Desmond, Drew Smyly, Hisashi Iwakuma, Jeff Samardzija, Francisco Rodriguez, Kole Calhoun, Steven Vogt. I’m happy with how my draft worked out for the value I got in starting pitching. Scherzer in the third and Strasburg in the sixth both have the potential to give higher returns than their draft placement. And I’m excited about Samardzija as a possible sleeper pick in the 15th. A return to the National League, and in the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park to boot, spells rebound year. My position players have solid pop, with the possibility of 20+ home run seasons nearly across the board. My first three position players drafted are all in their early-to-mid 20s, so I’m hoping for even bigger numbers than they’ve already produced so far.

• David Kaye: Nolan Arenado, Miguel Cabrera, Buster Posey, Jose Fernandez, Gerrit Cole, Ryan Braun, Noah Syndergaard, Prince Fielder, Michael Brantley, Danny Salazar, Adrian Beltre, Mark Melancon, Curtis Granderson, Huston Street, Brandon Crawford, Ben Zobrist, James Shields, Patrick Corbin​. Miguel Cabrera is no longer 3B-eligible and he showed the first-ever sign of wear and tear in his 13-year career with a calf strain last season, but his .338 batting average still led the majors. I didn’t mind taking Buster Posey, the clear-cut No. 1 catcher at a position with no depth, a little early. Expect young guns Jose Fernandez, Gerrit Cole, Noah Syndergaard and Danny Salazar to all move up in SP rankings by season’s end. My 15th-round pick, Brandon Crawford, led all shortstops in RBI last season despite a weak finish, and Ben Zobrist’s 2B/OF eligibility makes him a steal in the 16th round.

• ​Gary Gramling: Manny Machado, A.J. Pollock, Joey Votto, Nelson Cruz, Sonny Gray, David Price, Ian Kinsler, Corey Seager, Freddie Freeman, Matt Kemp, Masahiro Tanaka, David Robertson, Shelby Miller, Jonathan Lucroy, Shawn Tolleson, Steven Matz, Drew Storen, Shin-Soo Choo​. I subscribe to the old adage: Get hitting that wins, get pitching that survives. I always assume I can play waiver wire and matchups well enough to make up for a mediocre staff at the end of draft day. As far as specific picks go, I was stunned that Jonathan Lucroy was still on the board in the 14th (so stunned that I would have taken him two rounds earlier had I not missed him on my cheat sheet). Tanaka is a bit scary. Ditto Drew Storen; I’ll have to be a waiver-wire ninja in case Roberto Osuna fends him off for the Jays’ closer job.​

• ​Jon Tayler: Kris Bryant, Edwin Encarnacion, Jake Arrieta, Yoenis Cespedes,Jason Kipnis, Xander Bogaerts, Marcus Stroman, Hunter Pence, Travis d’Arnaud, Jeurys Familia, Carlos Martinez, Randal Grichuk, Byron Buxton, A.J. Ramos, Luis Severino, Alex Rodriguez, Kolten Wong, Lucas Giolito​. My strategy was pretty straightforward: Lock up a top-five player at every position, fill in the rest of the roster with young, high-upside players (and Alex Rodriguez). The result? A lot of power in the lineup and some high-strikeout (albeit high-variance) pitchers in the rotation​

​• ​Bobby Clay: Giancarlo Stanton, Clayton Kershaw, Charlie Blackmon, Todd Frazier, Felix Hernandez, Eric Hosmer, Adam Wainwright, Johnny Cueto, Kenley Jansen, Brian McCann, David Ortiz, Rougned Odor, Billy Hamilton, Michael Pineda, Sean Doolittle, Michael Conforto, Elvis Andrus, Jake McGee. While the hitting on this team may be a bit questionable, there’s no doubt that—barring injury, of course)—this pitching staff will dominate (or, at least serve for some trade fodder). Kershaw is the only pitcher worth drafting in the first round, and honestly, getting him with the No. 12 pick was a bargain. And Ortiz may be old, but he’ll certainly give this team a needed hitting boost. 

• ​Eric Single: Carlos Correa, Andrew McCutchen, Chris Sale, Zack Greinke, Jason Heyward, Kyle Seager, Adam Eaton, Kyle Schwarber, Wade Davis, Craig Kimbrel, Brett Gardner, Carlos Rodon, DJ LeMahieu, Billy Burns, Julio Teheran, Taijuan Walker, Carlos Santana, Glen Perkins​. My goal every time my swing turn came up was to dictate how the board would fall to me 18 picks down the line as much as I could. To do that, I tried to put some pressure on the positions the average owner often waits on, first grabbing Sale and Greinke back-to-back, then landing Davis and Kimbrel in succession. My biggest depth concerns are at first base (whose top players were all off the board by my first pick) and starting pitcher (which can be a dice-roll in even the best of times), but I hope being proactive about things like steals and average helps counteract my middling return in the more glamorous categories.​