2024 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft 15-team Rotisserie (Roto): What taking Spencer Strider in Round 1 looks like

We gear most of our content for 12-team leagues, but sometimes it's fun to go a bit deeper, this time with what's become a popular industry format, 15-team Rotisserie.

Given said popularity, I've drafted enough for it by now that I have a sense of how things generally go. And one thing I've noticed is that starting pitcher dwindles quickly. There's a minimum pitching threshold that everyone wants to meet, and while that pitching threshold more or less lasts to the end of a 12-team draft, the same doesn't hold true when three more teams are added to the mix. After all, that's 27 more pitchers being drafted.

And of course, it's not just the back end but the entire pitching pool moving up to account for this scarcity. So while my preferred plan this year is to wait until Round 3 or 4 to take my first starting pitcher and then act quickly to take three more of my top 30 so that I'm not depending too much on the unreliables in the middle tiers, I've found that it's near impossible in a 15-team league. The top 30 just doesn't last enough rounds.

I've tried, then, to be more open to taking a pitcher prior to Round 3 in those formats, understanding that I'll have to settle for a lower quantity of what I view to be the quality arms. I went about as far as I could with that approach in this mock, selecting Spencer Strider with the eighth overall pick.

And my assessment? Thanks, I hate it.

Perhaps I'm judging it unfairly. It just so happens that starting pitchers weren't as elevated in this particular draft, so I really did end up getting four of my top 30 (or 31, technically). That's probably overkill with Strider at the top, and as a consequence, I had to settle for a lower caliber of hitter at more spots than I'm used to.

It could work out. In theory, my home runs and stolen bases should balance out nicely, with enough to compete in both. But lower-end hitters come with lower confidence as well, and there's really no making up for the batting average, runs and RBI that early-round bats would provide.

In particular, my outfield is troublesome. There are things I like about Will Benson, Jose Siri and Brendan Donovan, but having to rely on all three as starters shouldn't be anyone's Plan A. Swapping out one for Fernando Tatis, which is what would have happened if I didn't take Strider, feels much more secure.

So I guess I'm saying that I wouldn't take Strider again with the eighth pick, even in a 15-team Rotisserie league. The 12th pick or later might be a different story.

Here's who all took part in this draft.

1) Chris Towers, CBS Sports (@CTowersCBS)
2) Doc Eisenhauer, Scout the Statline (@DocHollidayDyna)
3) Michael Rippe, TGFBI participant (@MichaelRippe)
4) JR Fenton, TGFBI participant (@JohnRussell215)
5) Nick Fox, NBC Sports (@CT_FOX)
6) R.J. White, CBS Sports (@rjwhite1)
7) Garrett Atkins, Fake Teams (@13atkins13)
8) Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)
9) Eli Silverstone, SportsEthos (@elisilverstone2)
10) Tim McLeod, Prospects 361
11) Frank Stampfl, CBS Sports (@Roto_Frank)
12) Jesse Severe, Dynasty Sports Life podcast (@dynsportslife)
13) Rob Sherwood, TGFBI participant (@rob_sherwood)
14) David Cassone, lucky reader who got to join in
15) Jeremy Heist, Fantistics Fantasy (@heistjm)

Just a few quick observations before we dive into the results:

• This time, Doc Eisenhauer had enough restraint to take Wyatt Langford 59th overall after taking him 35th overall in our last mock draft. I'm sure he's climbing up draft boards everywhere, but this is still higher than you should expect in your league. Jackson Chourio went 87th overall, and I think that's high enough even if you desperately want one of these rookie outfielders. If either makes it to Pick 100, I'm 100 percent in myself.
• Gerrit Cole, who we've learned doesn't need Tommy John surgery but is likely to miss 8-12 weeks with his elbow injury, was drafted 134th overall, in between Michael King and Mitch Keller. It's a couple rounds earlier than I'd do it, but not totally crazy or anything.
• This draft was our first since we learned that Devin Williams will miss three months with stress fractures in his back. Among his potential replacements in the Brewers bullpen, Joel Payamps was drafted 180th and Abner Uribe was drafted 293rd. That gap should be smaller, I think. Williams himself was still drafted 265th.
• Some of the other spring standouts to be drafted include Henry Davis (209th), Garrett Crochet (307th) and Graham Pauley (329th).