Fantasy Baseball 2012: 5 Mock Drafts, 5 Days

Last week, with some time to kill before starting this blog, I participated in five 12-team mock drafts (snake) in five consecutive days, just to get a sense of how certain stars were trending in a condensed time window. Here are some of the most noteworthy findings of the study:

Battle For No. 1 Overall

Day 1: Albert Pujols, Matt Kemp, Troy Tulowitzki, Tim Lincecum, Miguel Cabrera
Day 2: Jose Bautista, Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Pujols, Kemp
Day 3: Kemp, Pujols, Cabrera, Bautista, Joey Votto
Day 4: Cabrera, Pujols, Kemp, Robinson Cano, Bautista
Day 5: Cabrera, Pujols, Kemp, Bautista, Cano

Verdict: The five mocks essentially confirm what we already know: The Big Four of Pujols, Cabrera, Kemp and Bautista have a stronghold on the draft, with a few exceptions sprinkled in. Cabrera likely gets the nod over Pujols due to his impending 3B eligibility; and outfielders Kemp and Bautista have a consensus advantage over Milwaukee's Ryan Braun.

First Pitcher Off The Board

Day 1: Tim Lincecum, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Roy Halladay, Felix Hernandez
Day 2: Halladay, Verlander, Kershaw, Cliff Lee, Hernandez
Day 3: Halladay, Kershaw, Hernandez, Verlander, Jered Weaver
Day 4: Verlander, Halladay, Kershaw, Lee, Weaver
Day 5: Halladay, Kershaw, Verlander, Lee, Hernandez

Verdict: My soon-to-be-released starter rankings will bear a similar look to these five mocks. Depending on how you slice 'em, the elite strata of pitchers remains a combination of Halladay, Weaver, Verlander, Lee, Lincecum, Kershaw and King Felix.

Two-Man Battles

Troy Tulowitzki vs. Robinson Cano

Day 1: Tulo (3rd overall), Cano (7th overall)
Day 2: Tulo (6), Cano (8)
Day 3: Tulo (6), Cano (8)
Day 4: Cano (4), Tulo (7)
Day 5: Cano (5), Tulo (7)

Verdict: Tulowitzki enjoys a slight edge over Cano on the strength of two possible factors: 1) Better upside with power numbers; 2) Shortstop is a scarcer position than second base.

Justin Verlander vs. Clayton Kershaw

Day 1: Kershaw (16th overall), Verlander (18th overall)
Day 2: Verlander (6), Kershaw (21)
Day 3: Kershaw (12), Verlander (14)
Day 4: Verlander (13), Kershaw (20)
Day 5: Verlander (11), Kershaw (12)

Verdict: On my board, I have Kershaw as the No. 3 pitcher and Verlander at No. 5; of course, I'm going on the assumption that Verlander will fall short of duplicating last year's amazing turnout (24 wins, 2.40 ERA, 250 strikeouts, 0.92 WHIP).

Joey Votto vs. Adrian Gonzalez

Day 1: Votto (8th overall), Gonzalez (13th overall)
Day 2: Gonzalez (3), Votto (11)
Day 3: Gonzalez (7), Votto (7)
Day 4: Votto (8), Gonzalez (14)
Day 5: Votto (9), Gonzalez (11)

Verdict: Please don't overthink this matchup on draft day...just pick a Round 1 superstar and move on.

Mike (Giancarlo) Stanton vs. Andrew McCutchen

Day 1: Stanton (20th overall), McCutchen (25th overall)
Day 2: Stanton (24), McCutchen (25)
Day 3: Stanton (24), McCutchen (25)
Day 4: Stanton (24), McCutchen (25)
Day 5: Stanton (24), McCutchen (36)

Verdict: Stanton's 40-plus homer potential obviously drives this matchup, although McCutchen is consistently a high draw in Round 3.

Elvis Andrus vs. Starlin Castro

Day 1: Andrus (28th overall), Castro (60th overall)
Day 2: Castro (49), Andrus (51)
Day 3: Castro (51), Andrus (58)
Day 4: Castro (57), Andrus (59)
Day 5: Andrus (52), Castro (54)

Verdict: Castro survives the overall battle, 3-2, but check out Andrus' 32-slot victory on Day One.

Buster Posey vs. Joe Mauer

Day 1: Mauer (104th overall), Posey (117th overall)
Day 2: Posey (112), Mauer (132)
Day 3: Posey (86), Mauer (110)
Day 4: Posey (126), Mauer (128)
Day 5: Mauer (59), Posey (80)

Verdict: Don't let either of these premium talents, coming off injury-ravaged seasons, to slide past Round 9. Their preseason values will undoubtedly be higher this time next year.

Three-Man Battles

Jered Weaver vs. Felix Hernandez vs. CC Sabathia

Day 1: Weaver (24), Felix (26), Sabathia (30)
Day 2: Felix (26), Weaver (31), Sabathia (35)
Day 3: Felix (13), Weaver (18), Sabathia (35)
Day 4: Weaver (26), Felix (31), Sabathia (41)
Day 5: Felix (28), Sabathia (32), Weaver (34)

Verdict: Felix emerges from this supreme battle with three victories and two second-place finishes. Perhaps Sabathia has reached his fantasy ceiling, in the eyes of draft gurus?

Michael Young vs. Lance Berkman vs. Michael Morse

Day 1: Berkman (62), Morse (66), Young (75)
Day 2: Berkman (36), Young (67), Morse (80)
Day 3: Morse (76), Young (78), Berkman (81)
Day 4: Berkman (54), Morse (69), Young (91)
Day 5: Morse (56), Berkman (70), Young (89)

Verdict: Aside from Berkman's decisive victory on Day Two, there is little separation amongst the trio. In my mind, Morse is the best bet for 30 homers, Young should pull the most weight in RBIs and average, and Berkman will probably yield the highest five-category return. All in all, a fascinating three-way grudge match.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.