2019 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: 12-team Rotisserie mock draft shows spring sensations like Ryan McMahon rising in the rankings

Wonder how to value spring standouts like Pete Alonso, Chris Paddack, Ryan McMahon and Brandon Woodruff. Our latest mock draft explores the changing approaches to the player pool heading into a big draft weekend.

By Scott White

Mar 22, 2019 at 3:03 pm ET • 2 min read

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This is it. Don't get scared now.

By "this," I mean both the biggest Fantasy Baseball draft weekend of the year and also our final look at the player pool before then. We're doing it via the standard 5x5 Rotisserie format, which takes into account batting average, home runs, RBI, runs and stolen bases for hitters and wins, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and saves for pitchers.

Who contributed to the cause?

1 - George Kurtz, RotoExperts (@GeorgeKurtz)
2 - Phil Ponebshek, Patton & Company
3 - Kory Schulte, Baseline Times (@BaselineKory)
4 - Chris Towers, CBS Sports (@CTowersCBS)
5 - Steven Fain, Fantasy Life Blog (@scuba_steve888)
6 - Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)
7 - R.J. White, CBS Sports (@rjwhite1)
8 - Tim McLeod, Patton & Company
9 - Daniel Preciado, Fantasy Front Office (@DanJPreciado)
10 - Matt Williams, Fake Teams/Turn Two Podcast (@MattWi77iams)
11 - Mike Kurland, Bases Loaded Podcast (@Mike_Kurland)
12 - Kayla Van Horn, former Podcast "For the People" League participant

A few quick observations before we jump in:

This was the draft where I came to the realization that I'm just a little too high on Jose Altuve. (Better late than never, right?) It's not that I'm any less confident in a bounce-back season and more than I may have overcompensated slightly for certain scarcities. In recent weeks, I've come to appreciate second base options like Travis Shaw and Robinson Cano, reducing my feelings of urgency there. Meanwhile, J.D. Martinez figures to offer a similar batting average while also trouncing Altuve's best-case scenario in home runs and RBI. Altuve should help in steals, yeah, but it's not like he'll carry you in the category. I'm dropping him from fifth to seventh, behind both Martinez and Max Scherzer.
We're really beginning to see the impact of spring training and related developments on certain players' price tags, such as Shane Bieber in Round 11, Nick Senzel (Round 15), Pete Alonso (Round 15), Chris Paddack (Round 15), Ryan McMahon (Round 16), Brandon Lowe (Round 18), Matt Strahm (Round 19), Brandon Woodruff (Round 21), Trevor Richards (Round 22), Jung Ho Kang (Round 23), Caleb Smith (Round 23) and Austin Hays (Round 24). I wouldn't say it's the wrong approach -- they're showing exactly the kind of upside you hope to find in the late rounds -- but it's weird to see them flying off the board all of a sudden after weeks of being overlooked.
Players with uncertain team or health situations weren't downgraded too terribly much. Luis Severino still went in Round 7, Craig Kimbrel in Round 8, Mike Foltynewicz in Round 12, Dallas Keuchel in Round 18 and Gregory Polanco in Round 18. Even Corey Knebel in Round 19 isn't an egregious slide when you consider he's facing the prospect of season-ending surgery. As a general rule, I think we go overboard accounting for these risks. I'll make do with a fill-in off the bench or waiver wire for a chance at impact production later, particularly if we're talking only a month's wait.