It's that time again, folks. Pitchers and catchers have long since reported to camp, and daily reports detailing the action around the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues are in full swing. That means it's time once again for the ESPN.com Fantasy staff to once again peer into our collective crystal ball and stage our first mock draft for the 2015 season.
Here are the ground rules we operated under for this particular mock draft. We used ESPN Standard settings, meaning a 10-team mixed league with a 25-man roster featuring the following positional breakdown: One of each infield position, five outfielders, one 1B/3B, one 2B/SS, one utility player, nine pitchers and three bench spots.
The drafters this time around, in first-round order, were as follows: Todd Zola, Derek Carty, me, Pierre Becquey, Andrew Feldman, Brendan Roberts, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Eric Karabell, Joe Kaiser and James Quintong taking the turn into the reverse snake. This particular draft took place on Wednesday, March 11, so while news of Marcus Stroman's season-ending ACL tear is reflected in these proceedings, any late-breaking news since then would not be. For each round, I'll outline my own personal reasoning behind my selection, as well as provide a bit of insight into some of the more eye-opening picks of my esteemed colleagues.
With that in mind, here are the results of Mock Draft 1.0:
Summary: Not a ton of surprises here, the least of all being Mike Trout as the No. 1 overall pick. Hard not to notice the prevalence of first basemen in the top 10, as well, a top-heavy position which thins out rather quickly.
Higher than I thought: I have Carlos Gomez as the No. 2 player on my board, and was pretty sure I'd be the one to take him if I had a draft slot anywhere in the first six. However, his current average draft position (ADP) of 8.4 shows I'm probably alone in this assessment.
Lower than I thought: Roberts took Clayton Kershaw at No. 6, and appeared to agonize over the decision before doing so, because we're so trained as fantasy players to not take pitchers in the first round. But I'd say Kershaw's a strong pick at No. 3 on.
Summary: An infield-heavy round with second base being the star, if you will. Robinson Cano, Anthony Rendon and Jose Altuve all go pretty much as one would have expected prior to the draft.
Higher than I thought: Adrian Beltre has plenty of upside, but he's no spring chicken. Plus, the way the Texas Rangers seem to have been snakebit by injuries of late, I'm not sure I would have broken the seal on the hot corner so early in the proceedings.
Lower than I thought: Felix Hernandez has been a first-rounder in many a draft -- with an ADP of 8.3 -- and while I know this group tends to wait a bit on pitching, I was still a bit surprised that the King fell to the second half of this round.
Summary: We see the first catcher taken off the board in Buster Posey, and if history teaches us anything, we're not likely to see another one taken for quite some time. If Posey is still on the draft board in your third round, it's really hard not to pull the trigger.
Higher than I thought: We all know if this was a Ryan Braun without the tarnished reputation and the 2014 thumb problem that never seemed to go away, we'd be expecting a .300-30-100 season easy. Can he ever be that again? That's the risk.
Lower than I thought: Michael Brantley was a 20-20 guy last season, and if he hits over .300 again, the five-category production you'll get makes this outfielder worthy of first-round consideration, let alone late in the third.
Summary: The name of this round was pitching, with five starters going off the board. It seemed to be a case of owners having a rapidly disappearing tier of arms here that forced them to be more reactive than proactive, as is wont to happen in many a draft.
Higher than I thought: The question with Starling Marte is which 2014 split are you going to believe is closer to the truth: The .256 first half or the .348 second? Clearly, I think the latter is more of the aberration, but apparently Karabell disagrees.
Lower than I thought: If not for the foot injury, Chris Sale likely would not have lasted this long. Given the current view that he may miss only one start, I'm genuinely surprised he dropped all the way to Round 4.
Summary: Aroldis Chapman is our first closer taken off the board, with Craig Kimbrel soon thereafter. In a 10-team league, taking a saves guy this early only makes sense to me if you then follow it up by adding two to three more closers before you're done. Otherwise, why bother, since you won't be competitive in the category?
Higher than I thought: Ian Kinsler is far from washed up, but I also don't think he merits getting placed in his own tier, either -- which is what taking him here instead of in say, Round 7, does for a guy who isn't likely to see a 20-20 season ever again.
Lower than I thought: Sure, Justin Upton is going to be playing in San Diego, which does make a 30-home run season seem a bit out of reach as a result of his new environs. That said, even with a potential power drop to 25 homers, if that comes with 90 runs and 90 RBIs, what's not to like?
Summary: I always like to say you draft for the first five rounds according to the motto of "best player available" and then see where you are position-wise and begin to fill in the holes starting with Round 6. Clearly, older first basemen like Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder help achieve that goal for many an owner in this draft.
Higher than I thought: Kole Calhoun is a player who I believe was drafted at the right time, and was targeting with pick No. 63. I'm surprised anyone else was, because he's not a glamorous name, nor did he post any flashy numbers in 2014 to attract attention. Zola was clearly paying attention, though.
Lower than I thought: Johnny Cueto in Round 6 is an absolute bank robbery, and I'm pretty sure Cockcroft donned a ski mask before making this selection. I'm really not sure how we all let him drop past Round 4. All of us should be traveling incognito as a result of this shameful error.
Summary: Power bats in the form of Chris Davis, Chris Carter and Mark Trumbo, to go along with power pitchers like Matt Harvey, Jeff Samardzija and James Shields. Taking a look at the "Standings" tab in the ESPN draft room can help you see which categories your team might need a little help in shoring up -- and if it's home runs or strikeouts, these guys will do the trick.
Higher than I thought: Matt Carpenter isn't going to give you a ton of power, nor is he going to steal a ton of bases. He might score 100 runs, but only if he continues to bat leadoff for St. Louis, and that's not necessarily a given. I think this is just a case where we have a player who is better in real life than in fantasy.
Lower than I thought: Sure, the abdominal injury that Adam Wainwright suffered in February on top of the offseason surgery has owners a bit skittish. That said, all signs from Cardinals camp point to his arm being healthy, and in the end, that's all that matters. Isn't it?
Summary: A closer run of sorts dominates these two rounds, with five owners grabbing relievers. I might have grabbed Hunter Pence with my 10th-round pick, but generally speaking, this is the proper placement for the injured outfielder.
Higher than I thought: The way I see it with Pablo Sandoval going at pick No. 96 is it's either 30 picks too late or 30 picks too soon. If you believe that going to Fenway Park rejuvenates the Panda and he'll hit 25 home runs with 90 RBIs, then he should be gone by Round 7. If not, why bother taking him here?
Lower than I thought: Similarly, if you fear that Masahiro Tanaka will blow out his arm, then you shouldn't draft him at all. But, if he's going to make it through the entire season and give you 12-15 wins and 160-190 K's, then he's about 20 picks too low here.
Summary: When you need five outfielders in a starting lineup, you're going to get to this part of the draft, where everyone seems to be making sure they don't fall too behind the curve. That's why you've got seven such selections coming here -- including my pick of the multi-positional Ben Zobrist, whose versatility elevates him slightly higher than his statistical output would likely otherwise warrant.
Higher than I thought: Not only for the reasons that Mike Petriello outlines in this excellent analysis of Salvador Perez do I question Quintong's selection of the Kansas City catcher, but also because the Royals have indicated they want Perez behind the plate as often as possible in 2015. I fear overwork and burnout.
Lower than I thought: Sure, the knee surgery is going to scare owners away from Manny Machado and yes, spring stats don't mean anything. Except when you see Machado hitting .353 over his first six games and showing no signs that he was hurt in the first place.
Summary: Nearly two-thirds of the picks in these three rounds were pitchers, a symptom of needing to leave the draft with nine arms for a legal lineup. This is also clearly the time to fill that corner infielder spot before the pickings get too slim, as four 1B or 3B were chosen in this stretch.
Higher than I thought: With the Philadelphia Phillies likely to win fewer games than any other team in the majors, and seemingly with an unwillingness to trade away Jonathan Papelbon, I am not sure if I'm more shocked that the closer went this soon, or that Eric "Mr. Philadelphia" Karabell was the one to pull the trigger.
Lower than I thought: I'm a Mets fan, and a realistic one at that. I know full well that after three of the past four seasons being huge disappointments, David Wright is no longer a starting third baseman in a 10-team league. But Round 16? Given his projected .278-16-63 with 11 steals, this pick is four rounds too late.
Summary: The overall lack of depth at the middle infielder spot rears its ugly head in these three rounds, as six teams end up finally finishing off their infield requirements at this late stage of the game. Round 19's selections of Wilin Rosario and Brian McCann showcase how utterly unnecessary it is to reach for a backstop in a one-catcher format.
Higher than I thought: If you're throwing darts and hoping that you've hit the bull's-eye on 36-year-old Aramis Ramirez still having something left in the tank, I've got no issue with the pick in Round 18. That said, if you're going to buy a lottery ticket, why not go for the higher potential winning payout with either Pedro Alvarez (eventually picked in Round 22) or Alex Rodriguez (unselected).
Lower than I thought: We all remember that Justin Morneau did win the National League batting crown last season, right? Sure, at 34 years old and with a much-chronicled injury history to fear, I get why he's not a top-100 pick anymore. But Round 17 for a guy who could hit 20 home runs and hit .300 again? It's a head-scratcher.
Summary: Another three rounds used primarily to finalize teams' pitching staffs (57 percent of the picks) or that dreaded MI spot (17 percent). Yet, it should be noted that hitters projected for 20 or more home runs like Steve Pearce, Curtis Granderson and Joc Pederson can still be had at this late stage of the game -- and those owners who needed a little extra pop had no qualms about taking them.
Higher than I thought: It's about the right time to take a chance that Danny Santana can blossom into a 10-homer/30-steal guy. That said, I'm not sure I would have made the pick if I were Feldman, simply because he had to slot him into the OF as he already had selected a somewhat similar player in Erick Aybar in Round 17 as his starting SS. And he'll select another "clone" to round out the trio in Austin Jackson two rounds hence.
Lower than I thought: Not at all shocked to see someone take the flier on Jose Fernandez, who is expected to be back in action at some point this summer. But given the tremendous talent to be found here, and the real chance that his return ends up being in mid-June rather than mid-July, I'm agog that not a one of us made this claim sooner.
Summary: Three bench spots to be filled by each team, and while not universally the case in every draft, it's in these rounds those picks are typically made. Taking chances on rookies who may not even make the Opening Day roster or injury reclamation projects are the norm for this stage of the draft, where even if you make a huge swing and a miss on a reach, the cost is low enough that it scarcely matters.
Higher than I thought: If it were anyone other than Pierre "Mr. Toronto" Becquey, I'd criticize the pick of R.A. Dickey. But since fantasy sports is supposed to be fun, why not select a hometown pitcher in Round 23? Perhaps the pick would have been better spent on a pitcher half Dickey's age with a lot more upside, but then again, are a potential 15 wins and 175 K's a bad thing? I don't think so.
Lower than I thought: If Taijuan Walker can make it into the starting rotation of the Seattle Mariners, a team expected to score a ton of runs, then it's not so crazy to think that Walker might end up winning 10 games this season to go along with a boatload of strikeouts. Again I ask why nobody took a flier on such enormous potential a few rounds sooner.
So there you have it. Our first mock draft is in the books. Who do you think did the best job of constructing their team and who dropped the ball completely? Feel free to let us know in the conversation below, and don't forget that there's still plenty of time left before Opening Day. Don't just sit there mocking our mock ... get a group of friends together and start a league of your own today!