The Hardball Times Fantasy Mock Draft Results

On Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, 12 baseball analysts from around the web mock snake-drafted a fantasy baseball team on Mock Draft Central for a 25-player team, using the standard 5×5 categories and a 1500 IP limit.

Teams were constructed to resemble team rosters with three starting pitchers, two relief pitchers, four “generic” pitchers (starter or reliever), one of each of catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, middle infielder and corner infielder, five outfielders and three bench players.

Who drafted who, where and why? We have broken down this 25-round draft into four parts—rounds 1-6, 7-12, 13-19, and 20-25—and in the following weeks, on Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, and Feb. 18, each of the participants in the draft, in attempt to answer this question and provide you with insight as fantasy baseball drafts begin to gear up for 2011, will give their insight into each of their picks.

Below is a list of who participated in the draft and their respective teams. The draft order was random. I have asked each participant to vote on the three teams that they believe were the best drafted and have assigned point values, based on the results of that vote, in parentheses next to each participant’s name.

First-place votes were worth three points, second-place votes were worth two points, and third-place votes were worth one point. By the author’s own votes system, the three “best” perceived draft teams belonged to Ben Pritchett (Big Ben), Dave Chenok, and me. Who do you think drafted the strongest teams? We welcome everyone to civilly weigh in with their thoughts in the comments section below.

You can access a chart of the entire draft, by round, by clicking here. Below is a simplified breakdown of each team by position. Yes, in hindsight, I do realize that I forgot to draft a corner infielder. Oops. I guess I will have to put out a mock waiver claim on Chase Headley or David Freese!

Though a few teams got virtually no love (votes) from the other drafters, I usually take that as a sign of one’s prized assets flying under the radar on draft day rather than that of a bad draft…at least assuming you didn’t draft Yuniesky Bentacourt.

Remember, drafting is only 40 percent of the game. The other 60 percent is monitoring the waiver wire over the course of the season (for which Josh Shepardson and I will have you covered with analysis, weekly!)!

Draft Position No. 1: Vincent Carmela of The Hardball Times
Vote Points: 1 (11th)

Position   Player               Team
C          Geovany Soto         Cubs
1B         Paul Konerko         White Sox
2B         Rickie Weeks         Brewers
SS         Hanley Ramirez       Marlins
3B         Casey McGehee        Brewers
MI         Reid Brignac         Rays
CI         Ike Davis            Mets
OF1        Shin-Soo Choo        Indians
OF2        Corey Hart           Brewers
OF3        Vernon Wells         Blue Jays
OF4        Nick Swisher         Yankees
OF5        Peter Bourjos        Angels
UTIL       Dustin Ackley        Mariners
SP1        Yovani Gallardo      Brewers
SP2        David Price          Rays
SP3        Clay Buchholz        Red Sox
RP         Joe Nathan           Twins
RP         Kyle Farnsworth      Rays
P          Matt Garza           Cubs
P          John Lackey          Red Sox
P          Ervin Santana        Angels
P          Derek Holland        Rangers
BN         John Buck            Marlins
BN         Aaron Harang         Padres
BN         Daniel Bard          Red Sox

Draft Position No, 2: Josh Shepardson of The Hardball Times
Vote Points: 9 (4th)

Position   Player                Team
C          Carlos Santana        Indians
1B         Albert Pujols         Cardinals
2B         Ian Kinsler           Rangers
SS         Alexei Ramirez        White Sox
3B         Alex Gordon           Royals
MI         Eric Young Jr.        Rockies
CI         Kevin Youkilis        Red Sox
OF1        Jay Bruce             Reds
OF2        Drew Stubbs           Reds
OF3        Delmon Young          Twins
OF4        Carlos Beltran        Mets
OF5        Magglio Ordonez       Tigers
UTIL       David Ortiz           Red Sox
SP1        Cole Hamels           Phillies
SP2        Chad Billingsley      Dodgers
SP3        Ryan Dempster         Cubs
RP         Joel Hanrahan         Pirates
RP         Craig Kimbrel         Braves
P          Jeremy Hellickson     Rays
P           Jordan Zimmermann     Nationals
P          Aroldis Chapman       Reds
P          Joel Peralta          Rays
BN         Kila Ka'aihue         Royals
BN         Marc Rzepcynski       Blue Jays
BN         Matt LaPorta          Indians

Draft Position No. 3: Ray Flores of Fantasy Baseball Cafe
Vote Points: 7 (5th)

Position   Player                Team
C          Matt Wieters          Orioles
1B         Miguel Cabrera        Tigers
2B         Martin Prado          Braves
SS         Starlin Castro        Cubs
3B         Ian Stewart           Rockies
MI         Alex Gonzalez         Braves
CI         Prince Fielder        Brewers
OF1        Matt Kemp             Dodgers
OF2        B.J. Upton            Rays
OF3        Carlos Quentin        White Sox
OF4        Andres Torres         Giants
OF5        Jason Kubel           Twins
UTIL       Billy Butler          Royals
SP1        Ubaldo Jimenez        Rockies
SP2        Cliff Lee             Phillies
SP3        Roy Oswalt            Phillies
RP         Jose Valverde         Tigers
RP         Jonathan Broxton      Dodgers
P          Johan Santana         Mets
P          Javier Vazquez        Marlins
P          Scott Baker           Twins
P          Marco Scutaro         Red Sox
BN         Raul Ibanez           Phillies
BN         Johnny Damon          FA
BN         Jose Lopez            Rockies

Draft Position No. 4: Adam Kaplan of Game Of Inches
Vote Points: 6 (6th)

Position   Player              Team
C          Mike Napoli         Angels
1B         Mark Reynolds       Orioles
2B         Dustin Pedroia      Red Sox
SS         Asdrubal Cabrera    Indians
3B         Evan Longoria       Rays
MI         Kelly Johnson       Diamondbacks
CI         Michael Young       Rangers
OF1        Alex Rios           White Sox
OF2        Jason Heyword       Braves
OF3        Ben Zobrist         Rays
OF4        Logan Morrison      Marlins
OF5        Franklin Gutierrez  Mariners
UTIL       Scott Rolen         Reds
SP1        Roy Halladay        Phillies
SP2        Chris Carpenter     Cardinals
SP3        Ricky Romero        Blue Jays
RP         J.J. Putz           Diamondbacks
RP         Fernando Rodney     Angels
P          Brandon Lyon        Astros
P          Gavin Floyd         White Sox
P          Kevin Slowey        Twins
P          A.J. Burnett        Yankees
BN         Jesus Montero       Yankees
BN         Coco Crisp          A's
BN         James Loney         Dodgers

Draft Position No. 5: Dave Chenok, the winner of The Hardball Times “Compete Against The Experts” fantasy league competition
Vote Points: 10 (T-2nd)

Position   Player                     Team
C          Jorge Posada               Yankees
1B         Adam Dunn                  White Sox
2B         Chone Figgins              Seattle
SS         Troy Tulowitzki            Rockies
3B         Ryan Zimmerman             Nationals
MI         Jose Reyes                 Mets
CI         Chipper Jones              Braves
OF1        Justin Upton               Diamondbacks
OF2        Carlos Lee                 Astros
OF3        Nick Markakis              Orioles
OF4        Bobby Abreu                Angels
OF5        Austin Jackson             Tigers
UTIL       Vlad Guerrero              Rangers
SP1        Adam Wainwright            Cardinals
SP2        Francisco Liriano          Twins
SP3        CJ Wilson                  Rangers
RP         Jonathan Pappelbon         Red Sox
RP         Francisco Rodriguez        Mets
P          Jonathan Axford            Brewers
P          Brad Lidge                 Phillies
P          Jair Jurjens               Braves
P          Edison Volquez             Reds
BN         Lance Berkman              Cardinals
BN         Freddie Freeman            Braves
BN         Clayton Richard            Padres

Draft Position No. 6: Zach Sanders of RotoHardball and Fangraphs
Vote Points: 4 (T-8th)

Position   Player              Team
C          Brian McCann        Braves
1B         Aubrey Huff         Giants
2B         Robinson Cano       Yankees
SS         Ian Desmond         Nationals
3B         Michael Cuddyer     Twins
MI         Neil Walker         Pirates
CI         Derrek Lee          Orioles
OF1        Matt Holliday       Cardinals
OF2        Hunter Pence        Astros
OF3        Juan Pierre         White Sox
OF4        Jose Tabata         Pirates
OF5        Rajai Davis         Blue Jays
UTIL       Mitch Moreland      Rangers
SP1        Jon Lester          Red Sox
SP2        Mat Latos           Padres
SP3        Shaun Marcum        Brewers
RP         Brian Wilson        Giants
RP         Heath Bell          Padres
P          Brandon Morrow      Blue Jays
P          Ted Lilly           Dodgers
P          Ryan Madson         Phillies
P          Luke Gregerson      Padres
BN         Brian Fuentes       Athletics
BN         Johnny Cueto        Reds
BN         Kyle Drabek         Blue Jays

Draft Position No. 7: Ben Pritchett of The Hardball Times
Votes Points: 12 (1st)

Position   Player               Team
C          Joe Mauer            Twins
1B         Joey Votto           Reds
2B         Howie Kendrick       Angels
SS         Stephen Drew         Diamondbacks
3B         Jose Bautista        Blue Jays
MI         Juan Uribe           Dodgers
CI         Adam Lind            Blue Jays
OF1        Andre Ethier         Dodgers
OF2        Jayson Werth         Nationals
OF3        Michael Bourn        Astros
OF4        Adam Jones           Orioles
OF5        Alfonso Soriano      Cubs
UTIL       Hideki Matsui        Athletics
SP1        Tim Lincecum         Giants
SP2        Zack Greinke         Brewers
SP3        Jered Weaver         Angels
RP         Carlos Marmol        Cubs
RP         Francisco Cordero    Reds
P          John Danks           White Sox
P          Ian Kennedy          Diamondbacks
P          Brian Matusz         Orioles
P          Kevin Gregg          Orioles
BN         Chris Sale           White Sox
BN         Edwin Jackson        White Sox
BN         Kurt Suzuki          Athletics

Draft Position No. 8: Brett Greenfield of Fantasy Phenoms
Vote Points: 4 (T-8th)

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.
Position   Player               Team
C          Buster Posey         Giants
1B         Justin Morneau       Twins
2B         Brian Roberts        Orioles
SS         Rafael Furcal        Dodgers
3B         David Wright         Mets
MI         Yunel Escobar        Blue Jays
CI         Kendry Morales       Angels
OF1        Carl Crawford        Red Sox
OF2        Jacoby Ellsbury      Red Sox
OF3        Colby Rasmus         Cardinals
OF4        Shane Victorino      Phillies
OF5        Will Venable         Padres
UTIL       Luke Scott           Orioles
SP1        Tommy Hanson         Braves
SP2        Trevor Cahill        Athletics
SP3        Madison Bumgardner   Giants
RP         Chris Perez          Indians
RP         Evan Meek            Pirates
P          Frank Francisco      Rangers
P          Jhoulys Chacin       Rockies
P          Tim Hudson           Braves
P          Brett Myers          Astros
BN         Homer Bailey         Reds
BN         Mike Minor           Braves
BN         Rick Porcello        Tigers

Draft Position No. 9: Jeffrey Gross of The Hardball Times and Game Of Inches
Vote Points: 10 (T-2nd)

Position   Player            Team
C          Russell Martin    Yankees
1B         Carlos Pena       Cubs
2B         Chase Utley       Phillies
SS         Derek Jeter       Yankees
3B         Pablo Sandoval    Giants
MI         Danny Espinosa    Nationals
CI         NONE (Oops…)      N/A
OF1        Ryan Braun        Brewers
OF2        Nelson Cruz       Rangers
OF3        Mike Stanton      Marlins
OF4        Desmond Jennings  Rays
OF5        Angel Pagan       Mets
UTIL       Manny Ramirez     FA (Rays?)
SP1        Josh Johnson      Marlins
SP2        Dan Haren         Angels
SP3        Max Scherzer      Tigers
RP         Drew Storen       Nationals
RP         Matt Thornton     Tigers
P          Koji Uehara       Orioles
P          Colby Lewis       Rangers
P          Ricky Nolasco     Marlins
P          Travis Wood       Reds
BN         Brandon League    Mariners
BN         Joba Chamberlain  Yankees
BN         Takashi Saito     Brewers
BN         Ryan Raburn       Tigers

Draft Position No. 10: Tim Heaney of KFFL.com
Vote Points: 2 (10th)

Position   Player                  Team
C          Chris Iannetta          Rockies
1B         Adrian Gonzalez         Red Sox
2B         Dan Uggla               Braves
SS         Jimmy Rollins           Phillies
3B         Alex Rodriguez          Yankees
MI         Gordon Beckham          White Sox
CI         Pedro Alvarez           Pirates
OF1        Andrew McCutchen        Pirates
OF2        Chris B. Young          Diamondbacks
OF3        Denard Span             Twins
OF4        Jason Bay               Mets
OF5        Dexter Fowler           Rockies
UTIL       Julio Borbon            Rangers
SP1        Justin Verlander        Tigers
SP2        Wandy Rodriguez         Astros
SP3        Josh Beckett            Red Sox
RP         Joakim Soria            Royals
RP         Huston Street           Rockies
P          Gio Gonzalez            Athletics
P          Jorge De La Rosa        Rockies
P          Ryan Franklin           Cardinals
P          Matt Capps              Twins
BN         Bud Norris              Astros
BN         Gaby Sanchez            Marlins
BN         J.J. Hardy              Orioles

Draft Position No. 11: Paul Singman of The Hardball Times
Vote Points: 5 (7th)

Position   Player                Team
C          Victor Martinez       Tigers
1B         Mark Teixeira         Yankees
2B         Aaron Hill            Blue Jays
SS         Alcides Escobar       Royals
3B         Adrian Beltre         Rangers
MI         Tsuyoshi Nishioka     Twins
CI         Sean Rodriguez        Rays
OF1        Carlos Gonzalez       Rockies
OF2        Ichiro Suzuki         Mariners
OF3        Grady Sizemore        Indians
OF4        Brett Gardner         Yankees
OF5        Travis Snider         Blue Jays
UTIL       Domonic Brown         Phillies
SP1        CC Sabathia           Yankees
SP2        Brett Anderson        A's
SP3        Dan Hudson            D'backs
RP         Mariano Rivera        Yankees
RP         Neftali Feliz         Rangers
P          Jonny Venters         Braves
P          Octavio Dotel         Blue Jays
P          Rafael Soriano        Yankees
P          Hiroki Kuroda         Dodgers
BN         David DeJesus         A's
BN         Jed Lowire            Red Sox
BN         Cliff Pennington      A's

Draft Position No. 12: Lane Rizzardini of Bruno Boys
Vote Points: 0 (12th)

Position   Player                  Team
C          Miguel Montero          Diamondbacks
1B         Ryan Howard             Phillies
2B         Brandon Phillips        Reds
SS         Elvis Andrus            Rangers
3B         Aramis Ramirez          Cubs
MI         Mike Aviles             Royals
CI         Adam LaRoche            Nationals
OF1        Josh Hamilton           Rangers
OF2        Curtis Granderson       Yankees
OF3        Torii Hunter            Angels
OF4        Tyler Colvin            Cubs
OF5        Ryan Ludwick            Padres
UTIL       Omar Infante            Marlins
SP1        Felix Hernandez         Mariners
SP2        Clayton Kershaw         Dodgers
SP3        Matt Cain               Giants
RP         Andrew Bailey           Athletics
RP         David Aardsma           Mariners
P          Jonathan Sanchez        Giants
P          James Shields           Rays
P          Phil Hughes             Yankees
P          Jaime Garcia            Cardinals
BN         Placido Polanco         Phillies
BN         Nyger Morgan            Nationals
BN         Miguel Tejada           Giants

A great big thank you to Mock Draft Central for hosting the draft and to everyone who participated.


Jeffrey Gross is an attorney who periodically moonlights as a (fantasy) baseball analyst. He also responsibly enjoys tasty adult beverages. You can read about those adventures at his blog and/or follow him on Twitter @saBEERmetrics.
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Ben Pritchett
13 years ago

@Sal- I was praying that Braun would fall to me in the second round. That was unbelievable especially considering I think I’ve already dubbed him the NL MVP for this upcoming season.

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

As my analysis of the first round will note, I was tickled pink to get Braun in the second round. I have him ranked the #1 overall OF for 2011

Samuel Lingle
13 years ago

Makes me feel bad for taking Ryan Braun 8th in the draft I just did yesterday, but then I don’t really feel I’m wrong for doing so. His numbers were a bit deflated due to injury yet he was still a dominant player.

Ben Pritchett
13 years ago

@Samuel Lingle- Don’t feel bad. If you like him, eighth is definitely not too early. I also think this may be one of the few player Jeffrey Gross and I agree on. So he’s going to be huge this year.

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

Yeah, just cause I feel amazing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel good wink.

Jacob Rothberg
13 years ago

Is the analysis part of this going to include some round by round commentary?

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

Yes, check back each week for the next 4 weeks

Josh Shepardson
13 years ago

Looking forward to feedback folks, and remember, as Jeffrey noted, we’ll be offering analysis in the coming weeks regards to our selections and the thought process behind them, so check back!

Will Hatheway
13 years ago

Any reason you guys didn’t make it an auction draft?

Sal
13 years ago

Interesting draft.

3 1B with your first 8 picks or 2 SS with your first 3 picks sticks out.

Ryan Braun in the second round and A-Rod before Zimmerman, eh?

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

@Will,

Because no auction mock services are available. The fine people at MDC were generous enough to set us up with a free draft service with full control over outcome (e.g., we can undo draft errors like I didnt mean to draft him oops help), so we went with them. We’ll do a mock auction sometime in a month or so.

Brian Joura
13 years ago
Nicholi
13 years ago

Derek Holland?
Chase Headley undrafted?
Adam Dunn so far down?
Choo ahead of Kemp and Cruz (and J Upton)?

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

@Brian,

Thanks for the link. Now I’ll never get any law work done smile

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

@Nicholl,

Justifications will be revealed in the near future (as noted above, we’re breaking the draft analysis into 4 parts). As for Headley, I’d “mock waiver wire” picked him up bc I did not draft a CI smile

The Baltimoron
13 years ago

“I think Dave’s team has too many risks and old guys for my taste”

This coming from the guy who’ll start Martin, Pena, Utley, Jeter, Fat Panda, Espinosa, Stanton, Jennings, Pagan, and Manny?  Your whole team is old guys and question marks! 

Strangely, I will admit that none of your picks are really suspect considering the players available and who was taken around them.  Perhaps 11th is just a crappy slot? 

Utley and Braun are a great 1-2 punch, but Cruz, while a good player, isn’t quite on the same level of value as the player taken right before him (Reyes, McCann, Timmy, Morneau). 

You then had to take Jeter as the last of the quality SS after Rollins went and it was a long way back to you, but I think players like Posey, Santana, Rios, Lester, Ubby, and especially J. Upton are of better value. 

You then took JJ right after Lee, Wainwright, and Latos went off the board, and then Haren on the turn.  While they’re both good pitchers, I don’t see them as quite in the league of the previous three, and I don’t think there’s much separation from them to the guys who went after them (Greinke, Carpenter, Hamels, Price, Liriano, Hanson). 

You miss out on those guys, plus Werth and Brian Wilson, and take Stanton, which I suppose you have to if you want him, especially considering Alvarez went the next pick.  I’m curious if you thought RP after Soria went? Considering the questions at closer this year, and that Marmol didn’t go until the 10th, it seems like the right call to pass there. 

I like Scherzer, but you went MI with your early picks, so I’m surprised you passed on Drew, Cabrera, and B-Rob there.  And you still didn’t have any CIs with Reynolds, Butler, and McGehee free.  I guess that explains the Panda pick, not bad for the 9th, but talk about risk/reward. 

I dunno about Dez Jennings when Markakis, Victorino, and Hart are still out there, but that’s more personal preference, I think.

Like I said, a pretty good draft strategy and no questionable selections, but I just don’t care that much for the end result.  If MANY things break your way, you’ll have a good team, but I don’t see you getting that lucky!

The Baltimoron
13 years ago

First trade: Cabrera for Longoria? 

I think Dave has the best team, even if he did accidentally use his 2007 closer cheatsheet.  I also would have preferred anyone over Carlos Lee.  Curious why you passed over Roberts and Beckham while you still needed a 2B there?

Vince, you got some ‘splaining to do: HanRam over Pujols can be debated, but Weeks over Kinsler and Pedroia?  Gallardo over Wainwright, Lee, Latos, JJ, etc?  Curiouser and curiouser…

Dave Chenok
13 years ago

@Baltimoron-Thanks for the love! 

As you’ll see when we release our draft commentary, I actually agree that my team is older than I’d like it to be.  Some of that happened by accident (as you will see in my posts to be), but some was by design.  There is always a tradeoff between going with the reliable-but-aging option versus the talented-but-never-done-it-before option, and I generally try to include a mix.

With specific respect to Carlos Lee: I disagree.  I see Carlos Lee as being a lot like Paul Konerko 2 years ago—everyone assumed he was done, and look want happened.  I like Lee to have one last good bounceback year, and I also like his dual eligibility at OF and CI.

And I seriously considered Roberts at the Lee pick, but worry about his health.  I’d rather have Lee and Figgins than the “who knows” Beckham.

For the record, I drafted CHIPPER, not Adam Jones, as my first bench pick.  I figure I’ll get about 12 useful weeks out of him, but those 12 weeks will be worth it.  My next pick, Freddie Freeman, was designed as a sort of strategic handcuff.

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

No love for my team, Baltimoron? Hahaha. I think Dave’s team has too many risks and old guys for my taste (Abreu, Adam Jones, Carlos Lee, Chone Figgins, Austin Jackson, Jair Jujjens, Edinson Volquez, CJ Wilson, Clayton Richard)

The Baltimoron
13 years ago

Hey, Dave, I calls ‘em how I sees ‘em.  I think there’s a difference between Lee in the 9th round and Abreu in the 16th.  Sometimes it’s better to take the vet no one’s excited about than reach for an unproven guy, but it all comes down to value, right?  I think your top 7 players are clearly the best core, and I love so many other of your value picks later (I started to cite players I liked, then realized I was just listing your entire draft-kudos!).  I’m really high on Figgins and Volquez, and I like Posada as an option if you forgo the top 5 catchers early.  Can’t wait to read everyone’s breakdowns in detail, but I’m wondering how you felt things went for you?  Pleasantly surprised?  Any heartbreak misses or desperation picks?

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

@Baltimoron,

I was just kidding a little. I just like to take younger risks than older ones. Youth tends to correlate better with upside and not spending time on the DL. I feel like Kung Fu Panda is going to be my Ryan Zimmerman of this year. I remember when I got Zpack in the 9th or 10th in 2009 and people thought I was stupid for taking him. Even I didn’t particularly WANT to draft him (I had Beltre, after all, sigh), but recognized all the upside. Boom or bust, I think I’m going to get Panda cheap

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

I* like a lot of Dave’s players but some like Carlos Lee add negative value in my eyes…even if I did rank him as a top 60 outfielder….

Jeffrey Gross
13 years ago

I’d breakdown my thoughts further, but all that effort belongs in the break down analysis

Dave Chenok
13 years ago

Like Jeff, I don’t want to give away what will be in the breakdown analysis, but I will admit that when I looked at my team at the end I felt pretty good about both my early and the late round picks.  To me late round gambles like Chipper Jones and Freddie Freeman are one way you win—you can always find a waiver wire replacement if they don’t work out, but if they do it gives you that added oomph.