2014 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Rounds 4-5

4-31 = Adam Wainwright, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
            Wainwright might be the poster child for the modern success of Tommy John surgery.

4-32 = Jose Fernandez, SP, Miami Marlins

            Of the elite fantasy pitchers, Fernandez is the first one who’s advanced stats from 2013 says “regression”. That shouldn’t lower his stock in keeper leagues, but keep that in mind if you’re in a re-draft league.

4-33 = Justin Upton, OF, Atlanta Braves

            After a torrid first forty games of the 2013 season, Upton crashed back to Earth the rest of the way. The ceiling is still that of a player who could finish as the top overall fantasy hitter, but the odds of that happening are shrinking with each passing year.

4-34 = Jose Reyes, SS, Toronto Blue Jays

            Like the top two shortstops, Reyes also is a major injury risk, but he doesn’t have the benefit of 30+ home run potential.

4-35 = Cliff Lee, SP, Philadelphia Phillies

            He’s old and kind of boring, but there aren’t many pitchers as reliable as him in the WHIP department.

4-36 = Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners

            Hernandez is significantly more valuable in leagues that count quality starts instead of wins.

4-37 = Jean Segura, SS, Milwaukee Brewers

            Odds are 2013 will be the best season of Segura’s career, but if he can net 40 stolen bases, you’ll be happy.

4-38 = Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco Giants

            Bumgarner has steadily improved every year in the big leagues, and he’s still only 24 years old.

4-39 = David Price, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

            His numbers were down overall after his 2012 Cy Young winning campaign, but after returning from a DL stint last year, Price put up 2.53 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.

4-40 = Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Texas Rangers

            Choo’s new contract is ridiculous, but that shouldn’t stop you from adding him to your fantasy team. He’s one of the few reliable sources of runs MLB has to offer.

5-41 = Chris Sale, SP, Chicago White Sox

            Sale is a beacon of light on a pretty awful White Sox team.

5-42 = Alex Rios, OF, Texas Rangers

            Upon his arrival after last years trade from Chicago, Rios racked up 16 steals for Texas during the final 47 games.

5-43 = Zach Greinke, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

            As long as Greinke doesn’t plunk Carlos Quentin this year, he should be a fantasy stud.

5-44 = Cole Hamels, SP, Philadelphia Phillies

            Hamels caught the “no-win bug” that plagued Cliff Lee in 2012. Baseball fans that grew up in the 1960s probably think he’s terrible.

5-45 = Jay Bruce, OF, Cincinnati Reds

            One of the first power guys off the board that is going to kill your batting average, you’d be doing cartwheels if he can keep his average over .270.

5-46 = Starling Marte, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

            His hitting approach leaves him prone to bouts of severe slumps, but he’s one of the few players capable of 40 steals and 15 homers.

5-47 = Allen Craig, 1B-OF, St. Louis Cardinals

            Craig will likely spend the majority of this season in the outfield, putting an injury prone player in a position of greater risk. With that said, if he could somehow play 150 games, he could deliver top-20 overall value.

5-48 = Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers

            There’s a whiff of Roy Halladay’s decline when you look at Verlander, as he has had the largest workload of any starting pitcher since 2009.

5-49 = Buster Posey, C-1B, San Francisco Giants

            You’ll get him a few rounds later than you did last year, and that’s a good thing. Posey could easily bounce back to his 2012 production.

5-50 = Wil Myers, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

            A bit of a boom bust candidate, batting average will ultimately determine if Myers is a factor in deciding fantasy leagues this season. If he keeps it above .260, he’ll be relevant.

Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Rounds 4-5

            It’s been a little while since the last installment so if you want a refresher on who got taken already, click here for round 1, and here for rounds 2-3.

4-37 = Elvis Andrus, SS, Texas Rangers

            You’re not going to get any homers, but he’s the safest source of steals the shortstop position has to offer.

4-38 = Zach Greinke, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

            Advanced metrics indicate that Greinke is a fantastic buy-low candidate (if a pick within the fourth or fifth rounds can be considered “buy-low”). Redraft league participants should consider the merits of taking Greinke as your staff ace two rounds later than you would have to take Felix Hernandez.

4-39 = Brett Lawrie, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays

            Lawrie has all the raw tools to succeed, it’s just a matter of if he can live up to the hype or not. In a redraft league, he’s probably not worth the risk of using such a high pick on him.

4-40 = Starlin Castro, SS, Chicago Cubs

            Castro is a hitting machine, and an up tick in the stolen base department could make him a second round pick at this time next year.

4-41 = Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington Nationals

            The only thing that will keep Strasburg from finishing the season as a top-5 fantasy pitcher will be the Nationals limiting his innings.

4-42 = Dan Haren, SP, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

            Haren is a notorious fast starter/poor finisher (that’s what she said), but the addition of Mr. Pujols should generate an extra win or two or three.

4-43 = Matt Holiday, LF, St. Louis Cardinals

            Those of you worried about Holiday’s ability to anchor the Cardinals lineup should remember that he was the best hitter on a Rockies team that went to the World Series in 2007.

4-44 = Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Washington Nationals

            I’ve owned Zimmerman twice, and I think he spent a combined 753 games on the DL. He’s a nice player when he’s healthy, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why Washington would pay him $100 million.

4-45 = Carlos Santana, C-1B, Cleveland Indians

            Displaying arguably the most advanced plate approach of any young player in the game last season, Santana is due for a fairly substantial increase from his 2011 batting average, which also has the potential to translate into 30 dingers.

4-46 = Ryan Braun, LF, Milwaukee Brewers

            Keep in mind that at the time I made these picks, Braun was facing a 50 game suspension, and I still had him at 46. It’s a little concerning losing Prince Fielder’s bat behind him, but Braun is too talented to slip out of the top-10. I would take him with the third pick if I had the chance in a redraft league today.

4-47 = David Price, SP, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays

            If you’re into nerd stats, Price’s 12-13 2011 season was actually better than his 19-6 campaign in 2010. Even in the AL East, Price has the talent to deliver top-5 stats.

4-48 = Alex Rodriguez, 3B, New York Yankees

            I’m not touching A-Rod with a ten-foot pole unless my draft is in the sixth round and I’m still in need of a third baseman, but some idiot is going to draft him earlier than that.

5-49 = Matt Cain, SP, San Francisco Giants

            Boring? Yes. Effective? Yes again. Thank the post-steroids era for making this guy a fifth round pick.

5-50 = Ben Zobrist, 2B-RF, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays

            Fantasy baseball’s version of a Swiss army knife, Zobrist does a little bit of everything. A great pick at this point in the draft to anchor your middle infield.

5-51 = Paul Konerko, 1B, Chicago White Sox

            One of the few non-steroids aided first basemen to remain effective in his mid-30s, Konerko is the man to target if you miss out on the big time first basemen in the first two rounds.

5-52 = Jon Lester, SP, Boston Red Sox

            I’ll let the “experts” at ESPN fill this space. Here is what they have to say about Lester saying he wants to right the wrongs of 2011 and have a great 2012.

Lester was the first involved party to come clean about the aforementioned fried chicken and beer controversy and was very contrite, and implied he would make good in 2012. Normally, this can be brushed off as player-speak, but when the player is a cancer survivor, the words have more credibility.

            Uh, okay.

5-53 = Michael Young, 1B-2B-3B, Texas Rangers
            One of baseball’s most underrated hitters, Young’s position flexibility makes him a valuable asset for any fantasy team.

5-54 = Yovani Gallardo, SP, Milwaukee Brewers

            The second Brewers pitcher taken in our mock that nerd stats indicate is a breakout candidate. Gallardo’s price tag is even cheaper than Greinke’s, which makes him a potential championship-swinging player in redraft leagues. At 26, Gallardo is poised to have a Cy Young caliber season.

5-55 = Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies

            Age is catching up to him, but his place in the middle of the Phillies lineup still makes him one of the best options at second base.

5-56 = Mike Napoli, C-1B, Texas Rangers

            Don’t bank on Napoli batting over .300 again (his .344 BABIP in 2011 is completely unsustainable), but even if he drops to .250 his increased at-bats could lead to 35+ dingers. It’s hard to argue with anyone who would make him the first catcher off the board.

5-57 = Dan Uggla, 2B, Atlanta Braves

            The batting average can be scary, and he’s prone to prolonged slumps, but there isn’t a better source of home runs from a second baseman not named Robinson Cano in baseball.

5-58 = Brandon Phillips, 2B, Cincinnati Reds

            Brandon Phillips is like the Matt Cain of second baseman. He’s not sexy, but he gets the job done.

5-59 = Eric Hosmer, 1B, Kansas City Royals

            The day that Eric Hosmer improves his fly ball rate will be the day that Eric Hosmer rules the universe. Like Brett Lawrie, Hosmer’s a risky proposition in redraft leagues with this high of a pick.

5-60 = James Shields, SP, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays

            Shields was No Credentials favorite pitcher who most likely went after round 20 in fantasy drafts in 2011. He was on both of my fantasy teams last season, and delivered a pretty good Roy Halladay impression. Many skeptics believe that 2011 was a fluke, but nerd stats back up the case that Shields is capable of having another solid campaign in 2012. He’s going as late as the eighth round in some leagues, which is absolutely absurd. Go move Shields up your draft cheat sheet as soon as you close this browser.

Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Review, Part 1

            We’re at the halfway point of the fantasy baseball season (that also means that we are at the halfway point of real baseball, but sadly for MLB, fantasy baseball is much more interesting to me). Now is a good time to call out some of the good predictions, as well as the crappy ones, made by No Credentials during the pre-season. I’ll find two players from each round of my 25-round mock draft to discuss.

Round 1

GOOD CALL = Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Red Sox – I wrote back in late February that I would sign off on Gonzalez being taken 2^nd in any fantasy league. So far, he’s the 4^th ranked player in all of fantasy.

BAD CALL = Carl Crawford, LF, Red Sox – A little more research could’ve shown that Crawford would not fair well in extra cool weather (which this year in New England, lasted until late-May). Carl was finally starting to heat up before landing on the DL. Look for a big second half from him.

 

 

Round 2

GOOD CALL = Matt Kemp, CF, Dodgers – Lost in all the commotion of the Dodgers major financial woes (note to professional sports leagues: Don’t give franchises to people who have assets, but no cold hard cash) is the incredible season Kemp is having. I won’t take to much credit for predicting his success, but I did mention that he had the ability to produce top-5 production. Right now, he’s on pace for a 40-40 season.

BAD CALL = Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Nationals – A long DL stint is mostly to blame for Zimmerman’s poor first half. He is capable of being a top-5 fantasy 3^rd basemen the rest of the way, so see if you can get him at a steep discount from a disgruntled owner in your league.

Round 3

GOOD CALL = Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers – The league leader in strikeouts, Kershaw has officially arrived as a legitimate fantasy ace.

BAD CALL = Zack Greinke, SP, Brewers – A 5.63 ERA isn’t exactly what fantasy owners were looking from a player who was supposed to anchor a pitching staff.

 

 

Round 4

GOOD CALL = Jose Bautista, 3B-RF, Blue Jays – He’s cooled off a bit over the past few weeks, but you still can’t complain about a player with dual position eligibility that is on pace to hit 48 home runs.

BAD CALL = Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Rockies – Jimenez has been a complete train wreck so far. It looks more and more like his first half performance in 2010 was a fluke.

 

 

Round 5

GOOD CALL = David Price, SP, Rays – Overshadowed by fellow starter James Shields, Price has had a very solid first half. He’s currently ranked 38^th among all players.

BAD CALL = Rickie Weeks, 2B, Brewers – His terrifying strikeout totals kept me from strongly endorsing Weeks in my mock draft, but so far he has posted a solid batting average along with 14 homers and seven steals.

 

 

Round 6

GOOD CALL = Jay Bruce, RF, Reds – Jay is currently on pace to smack 36 home runs, which gives him an outside shot to have 100 career home runs by the time he’s 24 years old. In retrospect, he should’ve gone in the 3^rd round in my keeper league.

BAD CALL = Mat Latos, SP, Padres – Latos has been a huge disappointment so far for No Credentials. Drafted as the second pitcher in one of my leagues, he’s been destroying my WHIP ever since an early season DL stint. The strikeouts are still there, so he is also a solid buy-low candidate (no one will buy him from me though. I’m in too deep).

Round 7

GOOD CALL = Shane Victorino, CF, Phillies - I predicted 15 homers, 40 steals, and over 100 runs scored for the Flyin’ Hawaiian this year. The steals aren’t quite there, but he’s on pace to hit the other two category goals.

BAD CALL = Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pirates – The worst pick of my mock so far. I’m embarrassed to say that I endorsed taking him in the 7^th round.

Round 8

GOOD CALL = Shaun Marcum, SP, Brewers – Deemed the favorite “under the radar fantasy starter of 2011” by No Credentials, Marcum has delivered as the best pitcher for the first place Brewers.

BAD CALL = Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, Red Sox – I’m fairly certain that at some point I wrote that the Sox should trade Ellsbury (if you dig deep enough into the No Credentials archive you’ll find it). All he’s done in the first half is steal 25 bases and hit 9 home runs. Without him, Carl Crawford’s struggles would have killed the Red Sox.

 

 

Round 9

GOOD CALL = Chris Young, CF, Diamondbacks – I wrote in early March that if Young kept his batting average over .250 he’d have a shot at a 30-30 season. During the first half, he’s batting .255 with 15 homers and 10 steals.

BAD CALL = Brett Gardner, LF, Yankees – Here’s my preseason write-up on Gardner.

Gardner is essentially the same player as Jacoby Ellsbury (a speed-demon with no power that is prone to prolonged slumps). As mentioned earlier, on average, Ellsbury is going 58^th in ESPN drafts. Gardner is going 112^th. You’d be a damned fool to draft Ellsbury in the 5^th round when you can snag Gardner in the 9^th.

In related news, a damned fool wrote that Brett Gardner would provide the same production as Jacoby Ellsbury.

 

 

Round 10

GOOD CALL = Michael Bourn, CF, Astros – Bourn is on pace to swipe 70 bags this year. Even though he’s really only a 2-category guy (steals and runs), his dominance on the base paths is enough to have him ranked 24^th among all players in fantasy.

BAD CALL = Chone Figgins, 2B-3B, Mariners – Maybe it’s all the rain in Seattle, but for whatever reason, Figgins’ career has fallen over a cliff since he signed with them before the 2010 season. I finally cut him from my redraft league team three weeks ago.

 

 

Round 11

GOOD CALL = Mark Reynolds, 3B, Orioles – His .221 batting average has backed up my preseason plea for all fantasy owners to keep him off of their rosters. If you pick him up off the waiver wire, a cigarette box should pop up on your screen with a warning label that informs you of the dangers of owning Reynolds.

BAD CALL = Ted Lilly, SP, Dodgers – I predicted that a full-season in Chavez-Ravine would keep a few of Lilly’s fastball from getting hit over the fence. Sadly, Lilly is actually on pace to give up a career high number of home runs.

Round 12

GOOD CALL = Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Rays – His strikeout rate isn’t spectacular, but Hellickson has done a good job of pitching to contact in his first full season in the big leagues. A WHIP of 1.16 is very impressive for a rookie pitcher in the AL East.

BAD CALL = Matt Thornton, RP, White Sox – No Credentials put the possibility out there that Thornton would end up as a top-10 closer. The season was roughly 10 days old when Ozzie Guillen stripped him of closing duties.

   

Accounting for Wainwright and Round 5 of the Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

            I had Adam Wainwright ranked as the 3^rd pitcher that should be taken in standard fantasy leagues this season (and had him as the 23^rd overall pick), but sadly he has to undergo Tommy John surgery and will be lost for the season. Rather than reset the entire draft from the point of where he was originally taken, I’ve instead moved starting pitchers up one slot earlier than they were originally chosen. It’s not perfect, but it still reflects the order I think starters should be chosen. Here’s the updated list of pitchers taken in the first 4 rounds.

Roy Halladay, PHI, 1-9

Felix Hernandez, SEA, 2-20

Tim Lincecum, SF, 2-23

Clayton Kershaw, LAD, 3-25

Zack Greinke, MIL, 3-30

Cliff Lee, PHI, 3-31

Jon Lester, BOS, 3-35

C.C. Sabathia, NYY, 4-37

Ubaldo Jimenez, COL, 4-40

Josh Johnson, FLA, 4-45

Justin Verlander, DET, 4-48

            Just looking at that group, wouldn’t you be happy with any of those guys as your fantasy staff ace? It probably makes sense to wait on pitching until the middle of the 4^th round. Now, on to the 5^th round…

5-49 = Ichiro, OF-RF, Mariners – Seattle’s offense was so historically terrible that Ichiro only scored 74 runs despite posting a .315 batting average. Despite that, this is a great spot to grab a career .331 hitter who should swipe at least 35 bases.

            Team 1 Roster = Albert Pujols, Dustin Pedroia, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Ichiro

5-50 = Adrian Beltre, 3B, Rangers – Beltre is a scary dude to draft. The only time he has ever hit over .300 in his career is when he is playing for a new contract (2004 with the Dodgers and 2010 with Boston). The one major factor this time around is instead of signing with a team with a gigantic park (Seattle), he’s going to play half of his games in one of the best hitter’s parks in the majors. You probably won’t see me make this pick on draft day, but due to the position he plays (and lack of talented 3B left on the board), grabbing Beltre here is justified (just don’t grab him by the head, he’ll punch you in the face).

            Team 2 Roster = Miguel Cabrera (I’ll explain why I haven’t adjusted the draft for him later), Tim Lincecum, Jose Reyes, Brandon Phillips, Adrian Beltre

5-51 = David Price, SP, Rays – Currently in ESPN.com live drafts, Price is being chosen around the 70^th pick. I think people are very concerned about the free agent losses the Rays are going to have to deal with, as well as the overcrowded AL East. Even if the Rays are sub par, I don’t see that having a dramatic impact on Price’s stats or development. This is a guy that posted a 2.72 ERA and 1.19 WHIP while pitching a great deal of his games against the Red Sox and Yankees (for comparison’s sake, Jon Lester posted a 3.25 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP, and he went 16 picks earlier).

            Team 3 Roster = Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp, Kevin Youkilis, Jimmy Rollins, David Price

5-52 = Rickie Weeks, 2B, Brewers – Exhibit A of my theory that if you don’t get one of the top middle-infielders within the first 25 picks, you might want to wait until later in the draft to address the middle infield. Weeks put up 29 homers last season, but his 184 strikeouts show he is a candidate to have a miserable season (think .230 batting average with 200 Ks).

            Team 4 Roster = Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Shin Soo Choo, Josh Johnson, Rickie Weeks

5-53 = Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins – Morneau is still feeling effects from a concussion he sustained in July, but at least he is participating in Spring Training drills. This is a great spot to take a guy who put up a 1.055 OPS while healthy in 2010.

            Team 5 Roster = Hanley Ramirez, Felix Hernandez, Ian Kinsler, Jose Bautista, Justin Morneau

5-54 = Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees – Exhibit B of why you either need to take a middle infielder early or punt until the later rounds. You know runs will be there, but do you really want to use a 5^th round pick on a guy who put up a .270-10-67 line last season?

            Team 6 Roster = Evan Longoria, Ryan Howard, Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Derek Jeter

5-55 = Jayson Werth, OF-CF-RF, Nationals – Werth is vastly overpaid in real life, but that doesn’t mean you should shun him from your fantasy team. He should form a great 1-2 punch with Ryan Zimmerman.

            Team 7 Roster = Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Jayson Werth 

5-56 = Cole Hamels, SP, Phillies – Pitched great during the second half of 2010 despite very poor run support. It’s pretty amazing that three Phillies starters went in this mock by the 56^th pick.

            Team 8 Roster = Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Dan Uggla, Cole Hamels

5-57 = Brian McCann, C, Braves – If you had to bet on one catcher to hit between 20 and 25 home runs and drive in 80+ runs, this is the guy.

            Team 9 Roster = Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira, Andrew McCutchen, Ubaldo Jimenez, Brian McCann

5-58 = Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Cubs – Ramirez was on my fantasy team last year, and let me tell you he was terrible. However, a thumb injury was largely to blame for his struggles during the first half of the season. I fully expect Ramirez to bounce back to a line of around .290-27-105, with potential for more due to his impending free agency after the season. 

            Team 10 Roster = Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer, Jason Heyward, Aramis Ramirez

5-59 = Adam Dunn, 1B, White Sox – In the post-steroids era, guys that hit 40 home runs don’t grow on trees anymore the way they used to. This makes Dunn, who has hit between 38 and 46 home runs every season since 2004, a valuable commodity despite his very high strikeout rate.

            Team 11 Roster = Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Jon Lester, Buster Posey, Adam Dunn

5-60 = Carlos Santana, C, Indians – Santana was well on his way to a stellar rookie season before a devastating leg injury at Fenway park (I’d post a video link to it, but the people running Major League Baseball are stuck in 1974 and don’t see the value of letting fans view classic highlights and moments. Because you know, that might boost fan interest. Someone tell me again why Bud Selig still runs baseball?). Santana posted a remarkable .401 OBP in 46 games, with a walk to strikeout ratio of 37-29. Patience like that for a rookie is remarkable. Santana has all the tools to become the best catcher in baseball.

            Team 12 Roster = David Wright, Chase Utley, Nelson Cruz, C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Santana

            Which of these teams is off to the best start? Let me know what you think in the comments section below this article.