FantasyPros Mock Draft: Rounds 16 & 17 Recap

After finishing 2015 with a 3,64 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9, Joe Ross is expected to be a good value pick

Fantasy rosters are getting closer to completion as we are now through 17 rounds of the initial FantasyPros MLB Mock Draft. MLB teams are still working to finalize their rosters, as evidenced by the fact that two of the 24 players drafted in these rounds are not yet on major league rosters, but with Spring Training around the corner, the fantasy baseball season is close. Hitters were picked heavily in the 16th and 17th rounds, with some pitchers grabbed at the end of the 17th round.

Remember to keep track of live updates of the mock draft @thezman2010 on Twitter or at #FPMockDraft.

Draft Wizard: Mock in minutes vs. the most accurate experts

• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Round 1 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Round 2 & 3 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Round 4 & 5 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Round 6 & 7 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Round 8 & 9 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Round 10 & 11 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Rounds 12 & 13 Recap
• FantasyPros Mock Draft: Rounds 14 & 15 Recap

Read below for picks and analysis for the 16th and 17th round of the 2016 FantasyPros MLB Mock Draft.

16.01 Rob Klein – Ketel Marte (SS – SEA)

With a few similar shortstops available at this spot, Marte’s talent and speed potential is too promising to pass up. Last year he played just 57 games but was able to bat .283 and had an impressive on-base percentage of .351.

He also stole eight bases. Coming into 2016, he will be given the chance to bat leadoff and should help Rob’s team in steals and runs with the likes of Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz driving him in.

C-McCann 1B- Cabrera 2B- SS-Marte 3B-Machado OF- Cruz OF-Gonzalez OF-Puig UT-Teixeira UT-Pillar UT-Parra P- Hamels P-Lester P-Verlander P-Familia P-Britton P-Shields P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.02  John Aubin – Patrick Corbin (SP – ARI)

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2014, Corbin missed all of the 2014 season and a good part of 2015 as well. When he did return last year, he finished the season 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA and struck out 78 batters in 85 innings.

He will be heading into 2016 completely healthy and he has now shown he can still pitch similar to his breakout season of 2013 when he went 13-8 with a 3.41 ERA and 178 strikeouts. If he can reach his 2013 peak, John feels Corbin is a good value in Round 16 and a great fifth pitcher on his staff.

C- 1B-Gonzalez 2B-Odor SS-Boegarts 3B-Bryant OF-McCutchen OF-Yelich OF-Pederson UT-Duffy UT-Granderson UT- P- Fernandez P-Bumgarner P-Kimbrel P-Richards P-Matz P-Rodriguez P-Corbin P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.03 Matthew Davis – Luis Severino (SP – NYY)

Severino came onto the scene in August of last season and became an instant appeal in New York. The rookie was handed the ball for 11 games in 2015 and ended up with a sleek 2.89 ERA over 62 1/3 innings pitched. Severino pitched for a combined 161 2/3 innings in 2015 and has already expressed confidence in his goal of throwing 200 innings in 2015.

Severino is much more mature than your average 21-year-old and has proven that by beginning his throwing program two months ago and understands the importance of gaining experience as well as sharpening his movement and command. The 16th round could be a steal for Severino (153 NFBC ADP) where he is currently being taken 26 spots after Lance McCullers (126 NFBC ADP), but both have similar advanced stats with Severino having a higher future value grade of 60. Grab the phenom in pinstripes before it’s too late to get the value along with his upside.

C- 1B-Rizzo 2B- SS-Seager 3B-Longoria OF- Pollock OF-Upton OF-Gomez UT-Cespedes UT-Soler UT- P-Ross P-Salazar P-Martinez P-Rondon P-Rodon P-Boxberger P-Teheran P-Severino BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.04 Chris Zolli – Dexter Fowler (OF – BAL)

Continuing with the theme of power and speed players, Fowler will hold my last utility position spot. Fowler posted a .161 isolated power and 20 stolen bases in 2015, scoring 102 runs, and clubbing a career-high 17 home runs. Fantasy owners may be scared by the fact that Fowler had his batting average fall from .276 in 2014 to .250 in 2015, but his BABIP also dropped from .351 to .308 over the two years and his softly hit balls dropped from 19.8% in 2014 to 16.6% in 2015.

He was a free agent at the time of the selection, but current rumors would have him likely to land in Baltimore, another solid offense. Look at Fowler to post a batting average around .265 with 45 or so extra-base hits and 20 or more stolen bases at the top of his new team’s lineup.

C-Schwarber 1B-Fielder 2B-Kipnis SS- 3B-Arenado OF- Marte OF-Martinez OF-Cain  UT-Polanco UT-Gardner UT-Fowler P- Darvish P-McCullers P-Tanaka P-Street P-Papelbon P-Hendricks P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.05 David Marcillo – Michael Conforto (OF – NYM)

Round 16 and while the pitching staff looks good, two holes remain on offense. 22-year-old Conforto fits that hole perfectly. In 56 games last season, Conforto put up .270/.335/.506, and showed that pressure is nothing to him as he fared well in the playoffs as well. Conforto won’t steal any bases, but he won’t be a liability in any other category.

C-Posey 1B-Votto 2B-Zobrist SS-Desmond 3B-Carpenter OF- Stanton OF-Calhoun OF- Conforto UT-Hosmer UT-Morales UT- P- Harvey P-Gray P-Ramos P-Pineda P-Iglesias P-Smyly P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.06 Jamie Mellor – Javier Baez (UT – CHC)

Jamie is taking a slight risk here as Baez will move around and is no guarantee for even 400 ABs but he is a huge talent that will bat in a stacked lineup and offers backup at several positions out of one roster spot. If he plays enough, he has 20 HR potential, along with huge potential in both runs and RBI. It is also possible Baez gets traded, as multiple teams are reported to have called the Cubs about him, in which case he likely would be an everyday starter for that club.

C- 1B-Freeman 2B-Wong SS-Correa 3B-Rendon OF- Betts OF-Braun OF-Eaton UT-Davis UT-Bruce UT-Baez P- Price P-Hernandez P-Wainwright P-Davis P-Quintana P-Casilla P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.07 Matt Terelle – Lucas Duda (1B – NYM)

16.08 Eric Townsend – Delino DeShields Jr. (OF – TEX)

DeShields took a while to develop enough to reach the majors, but once he made it there was no denying his talent. DeShields managed a decent .261 average in his rookie year, but where he stood out were his 83 runs and 25 stolen bases…in just 121 games.

The Rangers lineup remains a good one, Minute Maid Park is a hitter’s paradise, and while DeShields won’t be doing much in the RBI and HR fronts, his three-category prowess will be more than worth a 16th round pick. A .270 average, 100+ runs and 30+ stolen bases are reasonable expectations for him.

C-d’Arnaud 1B-Abreu 2B-Altuve SS-Tulowitzki 3B-Moustakas OF-Ramirez  OF-Reddick OF-Burns UT-Ortiz UT-Pujols  UT-DeShields Jr. P- Cole P-deGrom P-Jansen P-Kazmir P-Ziegler P- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.09 Kerry Kauffman – Ryan Zimmerman (3B – WAS)

16.10 Daniel Marcus – Jung Ho Kang (SS – PIT)

Kang is eligible at shortstop which is still a void on Dan’s team. Kang may miss the early portion of the season but still could hit 20 home runs, which would be great value at the position.

C-Lucroy 1B-Goldschmidt 2B-Russell SS-Kang 3B-Franco OF- Springer OF-Jones OF-Hamilton UT-Dickerson UT- UT- P- Sale P-Carrasco P-Allen P-Robertson P-Odorizzi P-Ventura P-McGee P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.11 Roy Widrig – Byron Buxton (OF – MIN)

There’s no reason to keep sleeping on the Twins, as they aim the become a competitive team much quicker than anyone expected. Buxton struggled through injuries in 2015 but still remains the top prospect in all of baseball with Carlos Correa and Kris Bryant coming of age in last season. As outfield depth, Buxton adds tremendous speed to this team, which was shallow in that department, and if he plays up to his minor league numbers, he should contribute some bonus home runs and RBI as well.

C-Martin 1B-Davis 2B-LeMahieu SS-Crawford 3B-Seager OF-Harper OF-Pence OF-Grichuk UT-Buxton UT- UT- P-Arrieta P-Syndergaard P-Archer P-Melancon P- Stroman P-Miller P-Tolleson P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

16.12 Gavin Tramps – Denard Span (OF – SF)

Excluding last year when he only made 61 appearances, Span had averaged 143 games over the three previous years, a stat that perhaps dispels the notion that he is too injury prone to trust. Extend his production in last year’s 61 games over a full season and you have a 14 HR, 101 runs, 30 SB and .301 AVG player.

That’s Lorenzo Cain, a top-20 outfielder. It feels a bit of a reach for Gavin but he can’t trust that Span will be taken in the region of his 307 ADP.

C- 1B-Belt 2B-Gordon SS-Lindor 3B-Beltre OF-Trout OF-Brantley OF-Trumbo UT-Kinsler UT-Span UT- P-Scherzer P-Kluber P-Strasburg P-Cueto P- Chapman P-Walker P-Iwakuma P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.01 Gavin Tramps – Stephen Piscotty (1B, OF – STL)

17.02 Roy Widrig – Kenta Maeda (SP – LAD)

With five core starters already selected for this team, it’s time to find value to fill out the staff. Maeda’s numbers from Japan are outstanding, and even with significant regression stateside, Maeda should easily fit the criteria of a No. 6 starting pitcher on a fantasy roster. His elbow is of concern, but so is everyone else’s in this game, and hopefully the incredibly deep bullpen in Los Angeles lessens the stress on him.

C-Martin 1B-Davis 2B-LeMahieu SS-Crawford 3B-Seager OF-Harper OF-Pence OF-Grichuk UT-Buxton UT- UT- P-Arrieta P-Syndergaard P-Archer P-Melancon P- Stroman P-Tolleson P-Miller P-Maeda BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.03 Daniel Marcus – Carlos Santana (1B – CLE)

Santana struggled last year but should still be in the middle of the Cleveland lineup. I would like him more in an OBP league but as a depth piece at that point in the draft, I don’t mind taking a chance on Santana bouncing back to his 2014 form.

C-Lucroy 1B-Goldschmidt 2B-Russell SS- 3B-Franco OF- Springer OF-Jones OF-Hamilton UT-Dickerson UT-Santana UT- P- Sale P-Carrasco P-Allen P-Robertson P-Odorizzi P-Ventura P-McGee P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.04 Kerry Kauffman – Alex Wood (SP – LAD)

Looking to round out the starting rotation, Kerry was happy to see Wood still on the board in the 17th round. Although not outstanding in his two full MLB seasons, Wood won 23 games during that span, struck out 309 in 361 1/3 innnigs, and posted a solid ERA of 3.34.

While he posted a mediocre 5-6 record with a 4.35 ERA in 12 games with the Dodgers last season after coming over from the Braves, expect Wood to match or suprass his numbers from 2014 with the Braves. A 10-12 win season, 3.50 ERA with 150 strikeouts is not out of the question, making Wood a very solid No. 5 starter.

C-Gattis 1B-Encarnacion 2B-Cano SS-Andrus 3B-Frazier OF-Kemp OF-Revere OF-Choo UT-Gordon UT- UT- P-Kershaw P-Keuchel P-Giles P-Zimmermann P-McHugh P-Perkins P-Wood P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.05 Eric Townsend – Gio Gonzalez (SP – WAS)

Gonzalez has been a consistent, good-quality pitcher for years now, and while he won’t likely approach his 21-win/4.5-WAR 2012 output, there is still plenty of value to be had. The underlying stats have been roughly the same each year for Gonzalez, though his 8.66 K/9 was his lowest since 2010, while the 1.42 WHIP for 2015 was inflated by an unlucky .341 BABIP.

All that means is there is another season of 3.50-3.60 ERA and 180+ Ks, with a normalized WHIP (~1.25) waiting to happen, with only a full and healthy campaign needed to achieve it. That is more than worth a 17th rounder, and a fine option at No. 4 in a fantasy rotation.

C-d’Arnaud 1B-Abreu 2B-Altuve SS-Tulowitzki 3B-Moustakas OF-Ramirez  OF-Reddick OF-Burns UT-Ortiz UT-Pujols  UT- P- Cole P-deGrom P-Jansen P-Kazmir P-Ziegler P-Gonzalez P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.06 Matt Terelle – Sean Doolittle (RP – OAK)

The hard-throwing lefty struggled through a shoulder injury that limited him to just 12 games in 2015. He recently declared himself fully healthy and is expected to regain his old closer role. Here’s hoping he is healthy and back to averaging over a strikeout per inning like he did in 2014.

C-Perez 1B- 2B-Dozier SS-Reyes 3B-Donaldson OF- Bautista OF-Blackmon OF-Heyward UT-Sano UT-Ellsbury UT- P- Grienke P-Liriano P-Wacha P-Rosenthal P-Samardzija P-Doolittle P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.07 Jamie Mellor – John Lackey (SP – CHC)

Jamie sees that there is a drop off at SP coming soon so he will grab Lackey. If he repeats last season, this will be a heck of a steal. There is likely to be some regression in the ERA, but if he keeps his ERA around 3.50 to 3.75, this Cubs’ team is likely to give him a real chance at 15 wins with reasonable Ks.

C- 1B-Freeman 2B-Wong SS-Correa 3B-Rendon OF- Betts OF-Braun OF-Eaton UT-Davis UT-Bruce UT-Baez P- Price P-Hernandez P-Wainwright P-Davis P-Quintana P-Casilla P-Lackey P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.08 David Marcillo – Wil Myers (OF – SD)

Myers has almost reached peak post-hype prospect status, with him falling into Round 17 in the draft. Plagued by injuries and inconsistency, Myers is still only 25 and will one day “put it all together.” A 17th-round bet on this being his year does not sound too risky, and he has definite 25+ home run upside, even playing his home games in spacious Petco Park.

C-Posey 1B-Votto 2B-Zobrist SS-Desmond 3B-Carpenter OF- Stanton OF-Calhoun OF-Conforto  UT-Hosmer UT-Morales UT-Myers P- Harvey P-Gray P-Ramos P-Pineda P-Iglesias P-Smyly P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.09 Chris Zolli – Ian Kennedy (SP – KC)

Although he has not shown huge impact on a standard statistics level, Kennedy’s profile makes many believe that he could be a huge impact player for 2016. Since going 21-4 with a 2.88 in 2011, Kennedy only has a 4.19 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, but he also has struck out more than a batter per inning in each of the last two seasons while improving on his strikeouts per nine in each of his six full seasons.

A fly ball pitcher, Kennedy has posted one season with a GB/FB ratio better than one but had a 3.63 ERA and 3.21 FIP in that season (2014). Although he will not be drafted like one, Kennedy has an opportunity to be an SP3 this season, especially with a better chance for wins in Kansas City. Being able to get a player with that kind of upside in the 17th round works for me and will help mold my pitching staff.

C-Schwarber 1B-Fielder 2B-Kipnis SS- 3B-Arenado OF- Marte OF-Martinez OF-Cain  UT-Polanco UT-Gardner UT-Fowler P- Darvish P-McCullers P-Tanaka P-Street P-Rodriguez P-Hendricks P-Kennedy P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.10 Matthew Davis – Daniel Murphy (2B – WAS)

Matthew was quite sure there wasn’t any chance that he would have exposure to Murphy in 2016 after his historical 2015 postseason. Murphy signed a deal with his former rival, the Washington Nationals, but altogether had a quiet offseason that helped deflate the helium around his fantasy appeal. Murphy is a perfect fit for the Nationals’ lineup that also features Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon.

The Nats are going to be putting up crooked numbers, and Murphy’s career .288 AVG will have a massive contribution in the runs and RBI department. The majority of the public will assume he isn’t a threat to steal bases due to only stealing two bases last season.

However, Murphy was injured with a strained left quad, which prevented him from stealing bases. From 2012-2014, Murphy swiped 56 bags. In a 12-team mixed league, the 17th round is a bargain for a second baseman who won’t kill you in any category.

C- 1B-Rizzo 2B-Murphy SS-Seager 3B-Longoria OF- Pollock OF-Upton OF-Gomez UT-Cespedes UT-Soler UT- P-Ross P-Salazar P-Martinez P-Rondon P-Rodon P-Boxberger P-Teheran P-Severino BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.11 John Aubin – Joe Ross (SP – WAS)

Joe Ross is currently best known for being the younger brother of San Diego pitcher Tyson Ross. They are both similar physically, in mechanics and pitch arsenal. One difference between the two brothers is walk rate.

Tyson has never had better than a 3.3 BB/9 in a season. Joe had a 2.6 BB/9 in the minors and a 2.5 BB/9 with Washington last season. Joe should have a spot in the Nationals’ rotation wrapped up going into spring training.

He finished last season with a 3.64 ERA and 1.11 WHIP and nearly one strikeout per inning. If Ross can post similar numbers this year he will be a good value at this pick. The one knock could be his endurance and innings limit.

That can be said for any young pitcher, however. Plus, Washington may hold him back in the spring to ensure he is available for a postseason run.

C- 1B-Gonzalez 2B-Odor SS-Boegarts 3B-Bryant OF-McCutchen OF-Yelich OF- Pederson UT-Duffy UT-Granderson UT- P- Fernandez P-Bumgarner P-Kimbrel P-Richards P-Matz P-Rodriguez P-Corbin P-Ross BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

17.12 Rob Klein – Mike Fiers (SP – HOU)

The only starting position not filled on Rob’s team is second base. There are several similar candidates available, so Rob has decided to add depth to his pitching staff with these two picks. Fiers went from a rebuild to a contender in last season’s trade that sent him from Milwaukee to Houston.

Last season he made 30 starts, which were the most in his career and he posted 180.3 strikeouts in 180 innings pitched. In his six seasons, he has posted a strikeout per inning so there should be no reason for that rate to continue, pitching for a contending team in Houston. His career ERA of 3.61 and WHIP of 1.21 are numbers that are solid and will not hurt Rob’s pitching ratios.

C-McCann 1B- Cabrera 2B- SS-Marte 3B-Machado OF- Cruz OF-Gonzalez OF-Puig UT-Teixeira UT-Pillar UT-Parra P- Hamels P-Lester P-Verlander P-Familia P-Britton P-Shields P-Fiers P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- 

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Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.