Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Report: Who To Target/Avoid Rounds 13-15

And that’s why you don’t draft until the end of March. Joe Nathan was being drafted by some as the #1 closer, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran were finally going to overcome the Mets’ training staff, and Brandon Webb poised for a big rebound season. And now they appear to be headed to the DL to start the year. That’s a big dagger to a lot of fantasy owners, especially keeper leaguers who have gone out and bought low on some of these guys in the offseason. As previously documented I was very high on Reyes to start the season. Now I think I’m going to wait on him a bit. This means I owe you guys a replacement. Jimmy Rollins has grown on me as of late, and the much-hyped Justin Upton would be a fine pick in that round as well. Adjust your draft strategies accordingly.

The only consolation here is that baseball season is loooooong, and starting on the DL doesn’t completely kill a player’s fantasy value. See how far these guys drop, because they could be great value picks if you’re willing to wait for their return.

Ok, enough flashback, let’s dig deeper into this draft.

Round 13

I like a lot of guys in this round, such as Brett Anderson, Julio Borbon, and Rafael Soriano, but as usual we can only focus on one…

Target: Elvis Andrus. ADP: 149.42

I am a huge fan of the Texas line up this season. It’s going to rely on a mostly healthy Josh Hamilton (which is asking a lot, I know) and a resurgent Vlad Guerrero, but with Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and an emerging Borbon, I think this line up can produce some runs and Andrus will be a big beneficiary of this. While Andrus is currently occupying the 9^th spot in the line up, this puts him in a position for lots of steal and run opportunities which he has shown the ability to take advantage of. He had 33 stolen bases and 72 runs in 480 at bats on his way to a second place finish in Rookie of the Year voting. He’s my last ditch SS pick if I screw up and don’t have one at this point, but could fill a utility spot and will be an extremely valuable SB option.

Avoid: Roy Oswalt. ADP: 154.70

I was shocked to see that Oswalt only had eight wins last season despite starting 30 games. I thought he was hurt and I forgot or something but no, he just pitched the fewest innings of the past six years and had his highest ERA ever at 4.12, a number that has ballooned the past four season. He also only had 138 strike outs, another career low when starting 30 games or more. That’s about all I need to avoid Oswalt, as the days of 20 wins and a sub-3 ERA are clearly over.

See rounds 14 and 15 here