2026 Fantasy Baseball: Latest Head-to-Head (H2H) categories mock draft shows the benefits of having dual aces

I've written more than once that I'd be willing to draft any of the top three starting pitchers with a late first-round pick, a departure from my usual approach of ignoring whatever pitcher happens to go that early.

Some years, the top pitcher is the top pitcher just because somebody has to be, and it's not obvious that he represents an enormous advantage over the pitchers that follow. But this year, I'd say that Tark Skubal, Garrett Crochet and Paul Skenes are an order of magnitude better than anyone else at the position -- about three rounds' worth of value, if you forced me to put a number on it.

What I haven't addressed yet is the possibility of grabbing two of them.

There are reasons for this, not the least of which is that ADP shows it to be unlikely. But the opportunity presented itself to me with the 12th pick in our latest Head-to-Head categories mock, and I saw fit to take it, grabbing both Crochet and Skenes.

I may not have done it in a pure Rotisserie league, where every team has four additional hitter spots to fill, taking us that much deeper into that side of the player pool. I'd be putting myself at an enormous disadvantage in the hitter categories, after all, and wanted to feel like enough quality hitter options would be available deep enough into the draft for me to make up that ground. I also wouldn't have done it in a Head-to-Head points league, where the gap between the top three starting pitchers and everyone else isn't as big. Skubal, Crochet and Skenes mostly stand out for their ratios, and those aren't scored directly in points leagues.

So this particular mock presented me with a unique opportunity to try it out. And you know what? I think I liked it.

I wasn't so sure at first because, by my own rankings, the best hitters available to me at the Round 3-4 turn were Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. If that seems underwhelming to you given what you know about this year's draft pool, yeah, I felt the same. It turns out nobody touched starting pitcher for the entirety of Round 3, which depleted the hitter ranks faster than usual. I could have taken Yoshinobu Yamamoto there, for goodness' sake, but after already using my first two picks on starting pitcher, it would have been self-defeating to do so.

But I didn't panic. I accepted the combined 50 home runs, 180 RBI and 180 runs that Freeman and Betts are likely to provide, even at their age, and trusted that better hitter values would be available to me in subsequent rounds, after the rest of the league inevitably turned its attention to pitching. And I'm pleased to report that Rounds 5-6 presented me with Josh Naylor and Cody Bellinger.

Pairing Naylor with Freeman, you say? I felt like my need to make up ground in the hitting categories was so great at that point that I couldn't afford to be so picky about the position. My goal was to take the best hitter available, seizing upon whomever happened to slip through the cracks, and I felt like I had the leeway to do so because of the second utility spot offered by these Yahoo-style lineups.

It continued from there with Bo Bichette in Round 7, even though I already had a shortstop in Mookie Betts. But hey, I'm better served shifting Bichette to third base anyway once he gains eligibility there. As thin as third base is, that has to factor into the calculus with him. Randy Arozarena presented me with an opportunity for a big base-stealer in Round 8 and pairs nicely with Bichette given their disparity in batting average.

The biggest benefit to taking Crochet and Skenes right away is that I didn't have to worry -- not consider, but worry -- about pitching for the rest of the draft. Yeah, I still took some when it made sense to, but I could really focus in on hitters without giving in to the creeping doubt that no amount of pitching is ever enough. By biding my time at the deepest positions (namely catcher and outfield) and leaning on the versatility offered by a second utility spot, I managed to cobble together a lineup with only one actual hole: second base, where Matt McLain at least gives me some hope for upside.

The clincher was the Round 15-16 turn. At that point, I still felt like I didn't have enough power, with none of my hitters projecting for 30 home runs, and the draft room was quickly running out of it. But there, about 50 spots below ADP, sat Teoscar Hernandez, Taylor Ward, and what should be a combined 60-70 home runs. I just so happened to have a spot in my lineup for both of them (or I will once Bichette is third base-eligible).

That won't always happen, of course, but if not Hernandez and Ward, it would have been someone. Again, the lineups here aren't the Rotisserie ones that ADP is built on. The hitter spots fill up quicker, and most drafters will want to turn to pitching earlier as a result, overcompensating because of the inherent risks. Taking two of the top guys at that ever-volatile position freed me from that anxiety and allowed me to capitalize on the resulting hitter values. I'm a little short on steals still, I would say, but I think the approach can work.

Enough about me, though. Here's who else took part in this draft, along with the complete results:

1) Frank Stampfl, CBS Sports (@Roto_Frank)
2) Nick Fox, NBC Sports (@CT_FOX)
3) Mike Nelson, Fantasy Baseball Now
4) B_Don, Razzball (@RazzBDon)
5) Sean Millerick, Marlin Maniac (@miasportsminute)
6) Chris Towers, CBS Sports (@CTowersCBS)
7) Raymond Atherton, Fantasy Aceball (@RaymondAtherton)
8) George Kurtz, Sportsgrid (@GeorgeKurtz)
9) Peter Clement, avid listener and smart guy
10) Jeremy Heist, Fantistics Fantasy (@heistjm)
11) Doc Eisenhauer, Prospects Live (@DocEisenhauer)
12) Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)