Eric Karabell breaks down his strategy in his MLB points league fantasy draft. (0:55)
Opening Day is quickly approaching, and if you haven't yet held your league's draft, the clock is ticking. Fear not, though, as the ESPN fantasy baseball crew is ready to show you the results of its final mock draft of the season, using ESPN standard head-to-head points league scoring and roster settings.
Default rosters include 16 starters: seven pitchers of any kind along with a C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, three outfielders and a utility player (can be any position, and is also the only slot to allow a DH-only player). There are also three bench spots.
Hitters score one point for every base reached via hits (total bases), as well as each walk, run, RBI and stolen base, and lose one point when they strike out. Pitchers earn a point for every out they record (three per inning) and an extra point for a strikeout, as well as two points for a win or a hold. Saves are worth five points each. Pitchers lose two points per run allowed, one point per baserunner (hit or walk) and two points for a loss.
This draft was held on Monday and included fantasy writers Eric Karabell, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Todd Zola and Derek Carty, fantasy editors Pierre Becquey, Sachin Chandan, Joe Kaiser and AJ Mass, MLB editor Dan Mullen and fantasy product manager Shaun McPartlin.
If you'd like to conduct your own mock drafts, check out the Mock Draft Lobby, select one of several league types and sizes available, and you'll be mock drafting in minutes. Ready for the real thing? Create or join a fantasy baseball league for free.
While you're probably going to have to draft Bobby Witt Jr. in Round 1 if you want him, the next tier of five shortstops are likely to all be snatched up between Rounds 3-4. Expect a run followed by a lengthy wait for those who miss out.
Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal were first rounders here, but if you miss out on one of these aces, don't feel that you have to grab your first starting pitcher as soon as possible. Zola took his first SP (Jesus Luzardo) in Round 5 and Cockcroft waited until Round 7 to grab George Kirby (projected to be SP17) to anchor his staff.
You can wait on catcher. Yes, Cal Raleigh is likely to be taken off the board relatively quickly, but if you're not locked into any particular favorite, there's no crime in being patient. Only four backstops were off the board at the end of Round 10 and only six by the time Round 17 got underway.
Know your league's tendencies. In our mock, there was no need to rush to grab rookies. Once we were down to our final bench spots, that's when prospects like JJ Wetherholt, Konnor Griffin, Samuel Basallo and Kevin McGonigle finally got the call. However, if you know that your fellow managers are itching to grab one of these "shiny new toys," you may want to pounce a bit earlier.
Round 1
1. Shohei Ohtani DH1 (SP) -- Karabell
2. Juan Soto OF1 -- Carty
3. Aaron Judge OF2 -- Cockcroft
4. Paul Skenes SP1 -- Mullen
5. Jose Ramirez 3B1 -- Becquey
6. Tarik Skubal SP2 -- Chandan
7. Bobby Witt Jr. SS1 -- Mass
8. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B1 -- Zola
9. Kyle Tucker OF3 -- Kaiser
10. Ronald Acuna Jr. OF4 -- McPartlin
11. Garrett Crochet SP3 -- McPartlin
12. Cal Raleigh C1 -- Kaiser
13. Ketel Marte 2B1 -- Zola
14. Junior Caminero 3B2 -- Mass
15. Corbin Carroll OF5 -- Chandan
16. Yordan Alvarez DH2 (OF) -- Becquey
17. Fernando Tatis Jr. OF6 -- Mullen
18. Kyle Schwarber DH3 -- Cockcroft
19. Cristopher Sanchez SP4 -- Carty
20. Logan Webb SP5 -- Karabell
21. Manny Machado 3B3 -- Karabell
22. Julio Rodriguez OF7 -- Carty
23. Gunnar Henderson SS2 -- Cockcroft
24. Francisco Lindor SS3 -- Mullen
25. Yoshinobu Yamamoto SP6 -- Becquey
26. William Contreras C2 -- Chandan
27. Logan Gilbert SP7 -- Mass
28. Mookie Betts SS4 -- Zola
29. Bryan Woo SP8 -- Kaiser
30. Max Fried SP9 -- McPartlin
31. Nico Hoerner 2B2 -- McPartlin
32. Alex Bregman 3B4 -- Kaiser
33. Vinnie Pasquantino 1B2 -- Zola
34. Brent Rooker DH4 (OF) -- Mass
35. Chris Sale SP10 -- Chandan
36. Geraldo Perdomo SS5 -- Becquey
37. Hunter Brown SP11 -- Mullen
38. Jackson Chourio OF8 -- Cockcroft
39. Elly De La Cruz SS6 -- Carty
40. Cody Bellinger OF9 -- Karabell
41. Mason Miller RP1 -- Karabell
42. Austin Riley 3B5 -- Carty
43. Edwin Diaz RP2 -- Cockcroft
44. Freddy Peralta SP12 -- Mullen
45. Steven Kwan OF10 -- Becquey
46. Framber Valdez SP13 -- Chandan
47. Cole Ragans SP14 -- Mass
48. Jesus Luzardo SP15 -- Zola
49. Nick Kurtz 1B3 -- Kaiser
50. Jacob deGrom SP16 -- McPartlin
51. Roman Anthony OF11 -- McPartlin
52. Jarren Duran OF12 -- Kaiser
53. Cade Smith RP3 -- Zola
54. Spencer Strider SP17 -- Mass
55. Jose Altuve 2B3 (OF) -- Chandan
56. Brice Turang 2B4 -- Becquey
57. Pete Crow-Armstrong OF13 -- Mullen
58. Ben Rice 1B4 (C) -- Cockcroft
59. Dylan Cease SP18 -- Carty
60. Matt Olson 1B5 -- Karabell
61. Jazz Chisholm Jr. 2B5 (3B) -- Karabell
62. Devin Williams RP4 -- Carty
63. George Kirby SP19 -- Cockcroft
64. Wyatt Langford OF14 -- Mullen
65. Kevin Gausman SP20 -- Becquey
66. Jackson Merrill OF15 -- Chandan
67. Andres Munoz RP5 -- Mass
68. George Springer DH5 (OF) -- Zola
69. Trea Turner SS7 -- Kaiser
70. Joe Ryan SP21 -- McPartlin
71. Shea Langeliers C3 -- McPartlin
72. Rafael Devers DH6 (1B) -- Kaiser
73. Eugenio Suarez 3B6 -- Zola
74. Freddie Freeman 1B6 -- Mass
75. Nick Pivetta SP22 -- Chandan
76. Luis Castillo SP23 -- Becquey
77. Zack Wheeler SP24 -- Mullen
78. Jhoan Duran RP6 -- Cockcroft
79. Will Smith C4 -- Carty
80. Sonny Gray SP25 -- Karabell
81. Aroldis Chapman RP7 -- Karabell
82. Maikel Garcia 3B7 -- Carty
83. Pete Alonso 1B7 -- Cockcroft
84. Blake Snell SP26 -- Mullen
85. James Wood OF16 -- Becquey
86. Bryce Harper 1B8 -- Chandan
87. David Bednar RP8 -- Mass
88. Ian Happ OF17 -- Zola
89. Kyle Bradish SP27 -- Kaiser
90. Eury Perez SP28 -- McPartlin
91. Josh Naylor 1B9 -- McPartlin
92. Ryan Pepiot SP29 -- Kaiser
93. Brandon Nimmo OF18 -- Zola
94. Luke Keaschall 2B6 -- Mass
95. Christian Yelich DH7 -- Chandan
96. Seiya Suzuki DH8 (OF) -- Becquey
97. Corey Seager SS8 -- Mullen
98. Ozzie Albies 2B7 -- Cockcroft
99. Chase Burns SP30 -- Carty
100. Nathan Eovaldi SP31 -- Karabell
101. Randy Arozarena OF19 -- Karabell
102. Yandy Diaz DH9 (1B) -- Carty
103. Taylor Ward OF20 -- Cockcroft
104. Drake Baldwin C5 -- Mullen
105. Salvador Perez C6 (1B) -- Becquey
106. Matt Chapman 3B8 -- Chandan
107. Bo Bichette SS9 -- Mass
108. Daniel Palencia RP9 -- Zola
109. Riley Greene OF21 -- Kaiser
110. Tyler Soderstrom OF22 (1B) -- McPartlin
111. Isaac Paredes 3B9 -- McPartlin
112. Jacob Misiorowski SP32 -- Kaiser
113. Pete Fairbanks RP10 -- Zola
114. Jakob Marsee OF23 -- Mass
115. Jacob Wilson SS10 -- Chandan
116. MacKenzie Gore SP33 -- Becquey
117. Gleyber Torres 2B8 -- Mullen
118. Emilio Pagan RP11 -- Cockcroft
119. Emmet Sheehan SP34 -- Carty
120. Raisel Iglesias RP12 -- Karabell
121. Willy Adames SS11 -- Karabell
122. Alec Burleson OF24 (1B) -- Carty
123. Brandon Woodruff SP35 -- Cockcroft
124. Caleb Durbin 3B10 -- Mullen
125. Griffin Jax RP13 -- Becquey
126. Tanner Bibee SP36 -- Chandan
127. Teoscar Hernandez OF25 -- Mass
128. Trevor Megill RP14 -- Zola
129. Zac Gallen SP37 -- Kaiser
130. Zach Neto SS12 -- McPartlin
131. Ranger Suarez SP38 -- McPartlin
132. Trey Yesavage SP39 -- Kaiser
133. Abner Uribe RP15 -- Zola
134. Sandy Alcantara SP40 -- Mass
135. Cam Schlittler SP41 -- Chandan
136. Luis Arraez 1B10 -- Becquey
137. Tyler Glasnow SP42 -- Mullen
138. Nolan McLean SP43 -- Cockcroft
139. Ryan Helsley RP16 -- Carty
140. Byron Buxton OF26 -- Karabell
141. Drew Rasmussen SP44 -- Karabell
142. Jeff Hoffman RP17 -- Carty
143. Matthew Boyd SP45 -- Cockcroft
144. Michael Busch 1B11 -- Mullen
145. Christian Walker 1B12 -- Becquey
146. Michael King SP46 -- Chandan
147. Bubba Chandler SP47 -- Mass
148. Kenley Jansen RP18 -- Zola
149. Will Warren SP48 -- Kaiser
150. Carlos Estevez RP19 -- McPartlin
151. Kyle Stowers OF27 -- McPartlin
152. Jose Soriano SP49 -- Kaiser
153. Bryan Abreu RP20 -- Zola
154. Mike Trout DH10 (OF) -- Mass
155. Oneil Cruz OF28 -- Chandan
156. Josh Hader RP21 -- Becquey
157. Jeremy Pena SS13 -- Mullen
158. Kazuma Okamoto 3B11 -- Cockcroft
159. Marcus Semien 2B9 -- Carty
160. Sal Frelick OF29 -- Karabell
161. Nick Lodolo SP50 -- Karabell
162. Kodai Senga SP51 -- Carty
163. Robbie Ray SP52 -- Cockcroft
164. JJ Wetherholt SS14 (2B) -- Mullen
165. Gavin Williams SP53 -- Becquey
166. Adley Rutschman C7 -- Chandan
167. Konnor Griffin SS15 -- Mass
168. Robert Suarez RP22 -- Zola
169. Bryson Stott 2B10 -- Kaiser
170. Samuel Basallo C8 -- McPartlin
171. Gerrit Cole SP54 -- McPartlin
172. Andrew Abbott SP55 -- Kaiser
173. Ryan Walker RP23 -- Zola
174. Tatsuya Imai SP56 -- Mass
175. CJ Abrams SS16 -- Chandan
176. Kevin McGonigle SS17 -- Becquey
177. Daulton Varsho OF30 -- Mullen
178. Shane Baz SP57 -- Cockcroft
179. Shota Imanaga SP58 -- Carty
180. Aaron Nola SP59 -- Karabell
181. Yainer Diaz C9 -- Karabell
182. Logan Henderson SP60 -- Carty
183. Agustin Ramirez C10 -- Cockcroft
184. Edward Cabrera SP61 -- Mullen
185. Jeff McNeil 2B11 (OF) -- Becquey
186. Hunter Goodman C11 -- Chandan
187. Harry Ford C12 -- Mass
188. Alejandro Kirk C13 -- Zola
189. Ernie Clement 3B12 (2B/SS) -- Kaiser
190. Andy Pages OF31 -- McPartlin
Team rosters are presented in first-round pick order. Primary position is used. If a player qualifies at more than one position, all positions, they are included in parentheses. Pick is displayed as [Round.Pick].
C1 Yainer Diaz [Pick: 19.1]
1B1 Matt Olson [Pick: 6.10]
3B1 Manny Machado [Pick: 3.1]
2B1 Jazz Chisholm Jr. (3B) [Pick: 7.1]
SS1 Willy Adames [Pick: 13.1]
OF1 Cody Bellinger [Pick: 4.10]
OF2 Randy Arozarena [Pick: 11.1]
OF3 Byron Buxton [Pick: 14.10]
OF4 Sal Frelick [Pick: 16.10]
DH1 Shohei Ohtani (SP) [Pick: 1.1]
SP1 Logan Webb [Pick: 2.10]
SP2 Sonny Gray [Pick: 8.10]
SP3 Nathan Eovaldi [Pick: 10.10]
SP4 Drew Rasmussen [Pick: 15.1]
SP5 Nick Lodolo [Pick: 17.1]
SP6 Aaron Nola [Pick: 18.10]
RP1 Mason Miller [Pick: 5.1]
RP2 Aroldis Chapman [Pick: 9.1]
RP3 Raisel Iglesias [Pick: 12.10]
C1 Will Smith [Pick: 8.9]
3B1 Austin Riley [Pick: 5.2]
3B2 Maikel Garcia [Pick: 9.2]
2B1 Marcus Semien [Pick: 16.9]
SS1 Elly De La Cruz [Pick: 4.9]
OF1 Juan Soto [Pick: 1.2]
OF2 Julio Rodriguez [Pick: 3.2]
OF3 Alec Burleson (1B) [Pick: 13.2]
DH1 Yandy Diaz (1B) [Pick: 11.2]
SP1 Cristopher Sanchez [Pick: 2.9]
SP2 Dylan Cease [Pick: 6.9]
SP3 Chase Burns [Pick: 10.9]
SP4 Emmet Sheehan [Pick: 12.9]
SP5 Kodai Senga [Pick: 17.2]
SP6 Shota Imanaga [Pick: 18.9]
SP7 Logan Henderson [Pick: 19.2]
RP1 Devin Williams [Pick: 7.2]
RP2 Ryan Helsley [Pick: 14.9]
RP3 Jeff Hoffman [Pick: 15.2]
C1 Agustin Ramirez [Pick: 19.3]
1B1 Ben Rice (C) [Pick: 6.8]
1B2 Pete Alonso [Pick: 9.3]
3B1 Kazuma Okamoto [Pick: 16.8]
2B1 Ozzie Albies [Pick: 10.8]
SS1 Gunnar Henderson [Pick: 3.3]
OF1 Aaron Judge [Pick: 1.3]
OF2 Jackson Chourio [Pick: 4.8]
OF3 Taylor Ward [Pick: 11.3]
DH1 Kyle Schwarber [Pick: 2.8]
SP1 George Kirby [Pick: 7.3]
SP2 Brandon Woodruff [Pick: 13.3]
SP3 Nolan McLean [Pick: 14.8]
SP4 Matthew Boyd [Pick: 15.3]
SP5 Robbie Ray [Pick: 17.3]
SP6 Shane Baz [Pick: 18.8]
RP1 Edwin Diaz [Pick: 5.3]
RP2 Jhoan Duran [Pick: 8.8]
RP3 Emilio Pagan [Pick: 12.8]
C1 Drake Baldwin [Pick: 11.4]
1B1 Michael Busch [Pick: 15.4]
3B1 Caleb Durbin [Pick: 13.4]
2B1 Gleyber Torres [Pick: 12.7]
SS1 Francisco Lindor [Pick: 3.4]
SS2 Corey Seager [Pick: 10.7]
SS3 Jeremy Pena [Pick: 16.7]
SS4 JJ Wetherholt (2B) [Pick: 17.4]
OF1 Fernando Tatis Jr. [Pick: 2.7]
OF2 Pete Crow-Armstrong [Pick: 6.7]
OF3 Wyatt Langford [Pick: 7.4]
OF4 Daulton Varsho [Pick: 18.7]
SP1 Paul Skenes [Pick: 1.4]
SP2 Hunter Brown [Pick: 4.7]
SP3 Freddy Peralta [Pick: 5.4]
SP4 Zack Wheeler [Pick: 8.7]
SP5 Blake Snell [Pick: 9.4]
SP6 Tyler Glasnow [Pick: 14.7]
SP7 Edward Cabrera [Pick: 19.4]
C1 Salvador Perez (1B) [Pick: 11.5]
1B1 Luis Arraez [Pick: 14.6]
1B2 Christian Walker [Pick: 15.5]
3B1 Jose Ramirez [Pick: 1.5]
2B1 Brice Turang [Pick: 6.6]
2B2 Jeff McNeil (OF) [Pick: 19.5]
SS1 Geraldo Perdomo [Pick: 4.6]
SS2 Kevin McGonigle [Pick: 18.6]
OF1 Steven Kwan [Pick: 5.5]
OF2 James Wood [Pick: 9.5]
DH1 Yordan Alvarez (OF) [Pick: 2.6]
DH2 Seiya Suzuki (OF) [Pick: 10.6]
SP1 Yoshinobu Yamamoto [Pick: 3.5]
SP2 Kevin Gausman [Pick: 7.5]
SP3 Luis Castillo [Pick: 8.6]
SP4 MacKenzie Gore [Pick: 12.6]
SP5 Gavin Williams [Pick: 17.5]
RP1 Griffin Jax [Pick: 13.5]
RP2 Josh Hader [Pick: 16.6]
C1 William Contreras [Pick: 3.6]
C2 Adley Rutschman [Pick: 17.6]
C3 Hunter Goodman [Pick: 19.6]
1B1 Bryce Harper [Pick: 9.6]
3B1 Matt Chapman [Pick: 11.6]
2B1 Jose Altuve (OF) [Pick: 6.5]
SS1 Jacob Wilson [Pick: 12.5]
SS2 CJ Abrams [Pick: 18.5]
OF1 Corbin Carroll [Pick: 2.5]
OF2 Jackson Merrill [Pick: 7.6]
OF3 Oneil Cruz [Pick: 16.5]
DH1 Christian Yelich [Pick: 10.5]
SP1 Tarik Skubal [Pick: 1.6]
SP2 Chris Sale [Pick: 4.5]
SP3 Framber Valdez [Pick: 5.6]
SP4 Nick Pivetta [Pick: 8.5]
SP5 Tanner Bibee [Pick: 13.6]
SP6 Cam Schlittler [Pick: 14.5]
SP7 Michael King [Pick: 15.6]
C1 Harry Ford [Pick: 19.7]
1B1 Freddie Freeman [Pick: 8.4]
3B1 Junior Caminero [Pick: 2.4]
2B1 Luke Keaschall [Pick: 10.4]
SS1 Bobby Witt Jr. [Pick: 1.7]
SS2 Bo Bichette [Pick: 11.7]
SS3 Konnor Griffin [Pick: 17.7]
OF1 Jakob Marsee [Pick: 12.4]
OF2 Teoscar Hernandez [Pick: 13.7]
DH1 Brent Rooker (OF) [Pick: 4.4]
DH2 Mike Trout (OF) [Pick: 16.4]
SP1 Logan Gilbert [Pick: 3.7]
SP2 Cole Ragans [Pick: 5.7]
SP3 Spencer Strider [Pick: 6.4]
SP4 Sandy Alcantara [Pick: 14.4]
SP5 Bubba Chandler [Pick: 15.7]
SP6 Tatsuya Imai [Pick: 18.4]
RP1 Andres Munoz [Pick: 7.7]
RP2 David Bednar [Pick: 9.7]
C1 Alejandro Kirk [Pick: 19.8]
1B1 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. [Pick: 1.8]
1B2 Vinnie Pasquantino [Pick: 4.3]
3B1 Eugenio Suarez [Pick: 8.3]
2B1 Ketel Marte [Pick: 2.3]
SS1 Mookie Betts [Pick: 3.8]
OF1 Ian Happ [Pick: 9.8]
OF2 Brandon Nimmo [Pick: 10.3]
DH1 George Springer (OF) [Pick: 7.8]
SP1 Jesus Luzardo [Pick: 5.8]
RP1 Cade Smith [Pick: 6.3]
RP2 Daniel Palencia [Pick: 11.8]
RP3 Pete Fairbanks [Pick: 12.3]
RP4 Trevor Megill [Pick: 13.8]
RP5 Abner Uribe [Pick: 14.3]
RP6 Kenley Jansen [Pick: 15.8]
RP7 Bryan Abreu [Pick: 16.3]
RP8 Robert Suarez [Pick: 17.8]
RP9 Ryan Walker [Pick: 18.3]
C1 Cal Raleigh [Pick: 2.2]
1B1 Nick Kurtz [Pick: 5.9]
3B1 Alex Bregman [Pick: 4.2]
3B2 Ernie Clement (2B/SS) [Pick: 19.9]
2B1 Bryson Stott [Pick: 17.9]
SS1 Trea Turner [Pick: 7.9]
OF1 Kyle Tucker [Pick: 1.9]
OF2 Jarren Duran [Pick: 6.2]
OF3 Riley Greene [Pick: 11.9]
DH1 Rafael Devers (1B) [Pick: 8.2]
SP1 Bryan Woo [Pick: 3.9]
SP2 Kyle Bradish [Pick: 9.9]
SP3 Ryan Pepiot [Pick: 10.2]
SP4 Jacob Misiorowski [Pick: 12.2]
SP5 Zac Gallen [Pick: 13.9]
SP6 Trey Yesavage [Pick: 14.2]
SP7 Will Warren [Pick: 15.9]
SP8 Jose Soriano [Pick: 16.2]
SP9 Andrew Abbott [Pick: 18.2]
C1 Shea Langeliers [Pick: 8.1]
C2 Samuel Basallo [Pick: 17.10]
1B1 Josh Naylor [Pick: 10.1]
3B1 Isaac Paredes [Pick: 12.1]
2B1 Nico Hoerner [Pick: 4.1]
SS1 Zach Neto [Pick: 13.10]
OF1 Ronald Acuna Jr. [Pick: 1.10]
OF2 Roman Anthony [Pick: 6.1]
OF3 Tyler Soderstrom (1B) [Pick: 11.10]
OF4 Kyle Stowers [Pick: 16.1]
OF5 Andy Pages [Pick: 19.10]
SP1 Garrett Crochet [Pick: 2.1]
SP2 Max Fried [Pick: 3.10]
SP3 Jacob deGrom [Pick: 5.10]
SP4 Joe Ryan [Pick: 7.10]
SP5 Eury Perez [Pick: 9.10]
SP6 Ranger Suarez [Pick: 14.1]
SP7 Gerrit Cole [Pick: 18.1]
RP1 Carlos Estevez [Pick: 15.10]
