2013 Fantasy Alarm Readers Mock Draft #6 Analysis

Posted by Ivar G. Anderson on 02/16/2013 | 0 Comments

Tags: 2013, Fantasy Alarm, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, Mock Draft, ADP

Thursday night, and time for another mock draft.  I added a 13th slot to this past draft, after being contacted about an hour before the draft.  I am accommodating, as you might have heard me suggest before.  In any event, next week's draft is a 15 team mixed roto with no bench and 23 roster slots.  Again, if anyone has suggestions regarding roster or scoring setups they want to test out, just let me know.

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The next mock is again being held on Mock Draft Central.  Just look for a Thursday night draft at 8:30 PM EST.  The password is Alarm 7.  I made it a 15 team draft based on a request from one of last week's participants.  My suggestion that we forgo the catcher position didn't meet with much enthusiasm, but I can change the settings up until draft time if you have any requests.

Last week's results are posted at the end of this article, as per usual.

Here are the picks that make me go "Hmmm..." as I look over the results from this week's mock draft.

Round 1-5

Trout lasted until the 5th pick, which is about as late as I've seen him go this early mock draft season.  With his expected regression, I would expect him to put up numbers similar to the OF taken just before him, McCutchen.  Both are easily top 10 picks.  On the other hand, Cano going with the 7th pick was about as late as I would anticipate him being taken.  Hard to pass up the top 2B if you have a chance to grab him in the early first round.  Harper was an auto-selection in the 3rd round, but I would have taken him instead of Goldschmidt had he fallen to me.  Plenty of 1B production, but I would expect Harper to improve on his 2012 stats, not regress, and I will grab him as my first or second OF all draft season long.  I cannot really chose between Lee and Hamels, and we see them being selected back to back at the end of the 4th round.  I expect both to put up great SP stats for their owners.  At the end of the 5th, Altuve went to MLJ.  Me, I would have taken Hill, who went at the end of the next round, but if you want to bank on the prospect of future production, then I cannot fault the selection of the young 2B here.  Hill has been on my radar for years, and that just shows how our prejudices influence how we draft.

Round 6-12

I want to target Choo as my OF2/3 this year, as I expect the move to Cincy will pay dividends for him, but I took Desmond two picks earlier just to address the paucity of production available at SS.  I suppose I could have waited until the middle rounds, and taken KC's Escobar, but I like to get my infield set with dependable players as soon as reasonably possible.  One of the perils of not being at the draft is demonstrated in this round, where Als Pals took his second catcher with Montero, after taking Yadier Molina at 5.6.  Ryan Howard is not someone I am willing to take a chance on, at least as early at the 10th round.  I would have gone for Dunn (11.4), LaRoche (12.3) or even Morales (12.12) before the Philly 1B.  At least, until I see something positive this spring.  Weeks at the end of the 12 could be a real bargain; I've seen others suggest that he could post a 20/20 season and finally pay forward on the promise he has teased with for all these seasons.

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Round 13-18

Once again, the spectre of auto-select raises its ugly head at the end of round 13/beginning of round 14.  Montero is not a bad choice, nor is Soriano, although both could prolly have been taken later, allowing the drafter to better build his roster.  For example, in the 15th round, Maybin and Span were taken.  I personally would have preferred both over Soriano.  And I just don't like taking catchers.  But that is a personal decision.  Given the news that came out about Madson just prior to the draft, I wouldn't have taken him in the 18th, but of course Frieri went 2 rounds before, and it's one strategy to grab the closer in waiting, especially here where the delay in anointing Madson with the closer role has to do with him injury recovery. 

Round 18-23

Speaking of closers, I would prefer to take a chance on Parnell over Frank Francisco with the Mets, but I also was targeting Parnell before he was given the closer role (granted, it is early, so don't count on this situation remaining stable).  Marmol is another closer who's future is uncertain, but he's worth a shot in the 19th round.  I like Bourjos asa late OF pick, especially if he holds the starting role into the season.  Rondon makes one more uncertain closer pick, but here in the last round, I have no issue with the pick.  If he goes to AAA, then just drop him and see who gets the job in Detroit.  Leonys Martin's value will depend on earning a starting role in Texas, but again, little cost if it doesn't work out.  With the Bourne signing, I am tempering my expectations for Brantley in Cleveland, since I would expect the starting OF to be Swisher, Bourne and Stubbs.  Of course, the Indians may make a move with Stubbs, and then Brantley regains his sleeper status in drafts.

Do not be shy about joining our weekly mock drafts.  Despite the fact that some of the participants are "experts," they are, just like the rest of us, guessing about how the players will perform.  Plus, no reason not to take advantage of their knowledge by jumping in and perhaps sniping one or two of their "sleeper" picks.  Additionally, I have made some great friendships through participating in mock drafts, and continue to meet new draft addicts like me, which can be a distinct advantage if you ever need to fill an empty league slot at the last minute.

Remember to check back frequently for the 2013 Fantasy Baseball content that will be populating our site as we get closer to Opening Day.  I will be covering Starting Pitching again, and once I've finished the Starting Rotation Analysis, I will be posting the 2 Start Pitchers and Waiver Wire Pickup articles weekly.  If you ever have a question, about starting pitching or any other aspect of fantasy baseball, you can contact me at ia@fantasyalarm.com, and I will try to get back to you within 24 hours.