For the last couple of years, the folks at MLB.com - specifically the Fantasy 411 - have invited me to participate in a mock draft. We call it a slow mock draft. You've probably heard of such a setup. No timer on selections, you just pick when you can (I think someone along the line named this draft the longest in the history of humanity). No matter the setup or the duration of the draft, the results can hopefully help you to get an idea of how the industry folks are looking at talent for the 2015 season (don't forget to check out Howard Bender's ADP from the Mock Draft Army as well). So sit back and enjoy a look at the just completed 2015 Fantasy411 Slow Mock Draft.

 

 

THE PARTICIPANTS

1. Jeff Erickson
2. Tim Heaney
3. Paul Sporer
4. Jason Collette
5. Todd Zola
6. Ray Flowers
7. Eric Mack
8. David Gonos
9. Derek Van Riper
10. Zach Steinhorn
11. Lawr Michaels
12. Cory Schwartz

THE RULES

Snake Draft.
Twenty three rounds. All starters. 
No reserve selections.

C, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, 5 OF, UT
9 pitchers

GET YOUR COPY OF THE 2015 FANTASY ALARM BASEBALL DRAFT GUIDE... FOR FREE. IT INCLUDES DAILY UPDATED PLAYER RANKINGS FOR AL, NL AND MIXED LEAGUES.

THE OVERALL RESULTS

Click here to review a spreadsheet of the draft.

Click here to see the write ups of all the participants in the draft.

MY SQUAD

Round is the # listed after name
C    Salvador Perez 11
C    Miguel Montero 19
1B    Miguel Cabrera 1
2B    Jason Kipnis 7
3B    David Wright    8
SS    Ian Desmond    2
MI    Asdrubal Cabrera 22
CI    Joey Votto 6
OF    Justin Upton 3
OF    Corey Dickerson 4
OF    Shin-Soo Choo 9
OF    Adam Eaton 15
OF    Alex Rios 17
UT    Joe Mauer 21

Pitchers - Round is the # listed after name
Cole Hamels 5
Chris Archer 10
Zack Wheeler 12
Doug Fister 13
Hisashi Iwakuma 14
Fernando Rodney 16
Addison Reed 18
Santiago Casilla 20
Francisco Rodriguez 23

PICK BY PICK COMMENTARY

1 Miguel Cabrera
It's a risk taking Cabrera at this point given that there is still some concern about his foot allowing him to be ready for Opening Day. There are also some concern as he's coming off his worst season since his rookie year. I'll throw out the ole' mulligan and hope he slightly improves on last years effort.

2 Ian Desmond
Three straight years of going 20/20 as a shortstop for Desmond. Only two others at the position have ever done that (Alex Rodriguez in 1997-99 and Hanley Ramirez 2007-10). The strikeout rate is horrible and limits the batting average, but this all-around game is elite for the position. 

3 Justin Upton
Upton is boring, I get it. He's also solid in the counting categories and offers something so many of the modern day ballplayers don't which is stability as he's appeared in 149 games in 4-straight seasons. Don't forget he's only 27 years old - still squarely in his physical prime. 

4 Corey Dickerson
Considered going with Starling Marte here, but Dickerson's home park and all-around game intrigue me. He was much better than many thought as his 131 games of action put him on the cusp of a .315-25-75-75-10 season.

5 Cole Hamels
I was gonna go Todd Frazier or Kyle Seager. Thanks to Collette and Zola that's a no go. There are still some fellas at both corners that I wouldn't mind starting, so I'm taking my first pitcher. Don't down Hamels for his record. He's one heck of an arm still operating at near peak levels.

6 Joey Votto
Reports are positive about his health, and far too much gets made about his lack of power or RBI production. It was a mere season ago (2013) that Joey hit .305 with 24 homers, 101 runs scored an a .926 OPS. Last season Miguel Cabrera hit .313 with 25 homers, 101 runs an a .895 OPS. 

7 Jason Kipnis    
Was it really just a year ago that this fella hit .284 with 17 homers, 30 steals, 84 RBIs and 86 runs scored? Yes it was. Know how many second sackers reached all five of those marks last season? Zero. With health Kipnis will rebound in '15. PLAYER PROFILE
    
8 David Wright
I got sniped by Gonos as Alex Cobb was lined up to be my selection here. Third base is about to get thin so I'll follow DVR's and Eric's lead and add a veteran that I hope will rebound a bit. It was just a year ago that Wright went 18/17 in a mere 112 games. PLAYER PROFILE
    
9 Shin-Soo Choo
He was terrible in 2014 as an ankle issue weighed him down. Still, the last four seasons in which he's appeared in 140 games he's gone 20/20 three times, and he still owns that impressive slash line (.282/.383/.453) at 32 years of age. 

10 Chris Archer
It's all about the walks. If Archer keeps them under control an All-Star birth is possible. Has shown an ability to strike out a ton while forcing batters to beat the ball into the ground, two traits that everyone should be attracted to.
 
11 Salvador Perez
Backstops are starting to go so I'll grab my first. Perez led all AL catchers in games and at-bats, and 17 homers and 70 RBIs are totals only five catcher eligible players for 2015 can match. The .260 batting average could easily improve for the career .285 hitter. 

12 Zack Wheeler
I was tempted to take either Fister or Iwakuma here, but the fact is I'm looking for strikeout upside at this point. Hence the Wheeler selection. More than a K per inning with a 54 percent ground ball rate last season. The last piece he needs is the reduction in his sky high walk total. Wish I had something witty to say like everyone else does in their write ups. I've got nothing. I blame the copious amounts of wine I ingested last night.

13 Doug Fister
Well, since I almost took him last round, why not this round? He's not a big strikeout arm, and he's not going to repeat the 2.41 ERA or 1.08 WHIP from last season, but the last four seasons he's averaged 13 wins, a 3.11 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. I'll take that as my SP4. 

14 Hisashi Iwakuma
This is why I have no issue waiting on pitching. The last two years Iwakuma has a 3.05 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. The ERA is 13th in baseball while the WHIP is 4th. Toss in a better than 7.5 Ks per nine, and a walk rate of 1.82 (career numbers), and the guy is a dynamite 5th starting pitcher.

15 Adam Eaton
Eaton scored 76 times and hit .300 last season. He also posted a .362 OBP and stole 15 bases in a season in which he was dealing with health woes for a good portion of the campaign. In the outfield last season there were only three men who hit all four of those marks: Andrew McCutchen, Michael Brantley and Eaton. A full season of health, at the top of a potentially dynamic White Sox lineup, could lead to huge production from Eaton. 

16 Fernando Rodney
There are issues with Rodney, but the facts are the facts. Over the last three seasons he's posted at least 37 saves each year. He and Craig Kimbrel are the only men in that exclusive group. Rodney has also struck out 10.14 batters the past three years helping to remove some of the walk concern (3.42 per nine). At this point of the draft, as my first closer, I've got no complaints.

17 Alex Rios
Just 34, he was terrible in 2014. No way around it. Working on a one year deal with a team that loves to run, I can see an easy rebound for Rios. His 2014 numbers versus his career levels in AVG, OBP, K-rate, swinging strike percentage, GB-rate, FB-rate, BABIP... they were all "normal" for Rios last season despite the awful fantasy season. Even if he rebounds to 2005 levels (.262-10-59-71-14) Rios would still be a solid fifth outfielder would he not? Don't forget he's just one year removed from a 18-81-83-42 campaign. PLAYER PROFILE

18 Addison Reed
I was going to grab my middle infielder this round but Zach snagged Jimmy Rollins so there went that plan. Reed is solid if unspectacular. All of the homers last season hid the fact that Reed struck out 10.47 batters per nine with his lowest walk rate (2.28 per nine) since he tossed 7.1 innings in his first season. He's also one of seven men with at least 29 saves each of the past three years. Hopefully the minor issue with his arm this spring is nothing to worry about.

19 Miguel Montero
Down goes Chase Utley to Erickson and Martin Prado to Collette. Tempted to go up the middle but a lot of mediocrity there at this point. Catcher is about to get really spotty, so I'll grab my second backstop. Do you know how many catchers have three seasons of 72 RBIs the past four years? Three.. Those men are Posey, Carlos Santana and Montero. PLAYER PROFILE

20 Santiago Casilla
Snaked by EMack... oh Desmond Jennings. I'm not the biggest Casilla fan, I still have a soft spot in my heart for Sergio Romo, but as my third reliever I can stomach Casilla easily. Santiago had 19 saves last season and over the last five seasons since he became a Giant his ratios are pretty impressive: 2.10 ERA, 1.13 WHIP.

21 Joe Mauer
Empty average. Still, the guy is a career .319 hitter and has hit .319 in two of the last three years. Could he repeat his 2012 effort (.319-10-85-81) at just 32 years of age? May not be great odds but it's conceivable, maybe, sorta kinda. Hey, it's the 21st round. 

22 Asdrubal Cabrera
Tempted to go with Everth Cabrera here but I'll go with ACab instead. He qualifies at SS and 2B and has, rather surprisingly, hit at least 14 homers with 60 RBIs 65 runs scored and nine steals each of the past four seasons. Some players up the middle who didn't reach all four of those numbers last season: Jose Altuve, Chase Utley, Daniel Murphy and Hanley Ramirez. Cabrera is no star, and the batting average is a concern, but he's a stable counting category guy.

23 Francisco Rodriguez
With so many pitchers left on the board there's no reason not to take a shot in the dark at this point. If K-Rod doesn't end up signing with the Brewers or another club that will let him close, I'll just hit the waiver-wire up for one of the plethora of solid arms that are still on the board.