If you are looking for a late round pitcher with a high ceiling, Carlos Rodon may be your man
So draft day is finally here, the day you’ve been waiting 11 months for and – you’re drafting twelfth. Don’t fear, though – as below you will find your guide to drafting from the bottom. So pull up a chair, your cheat sheet and an icy beverage. It’s time to mock!
Check out Part 1 of Mock Draft Strategy: Drafting from the Bottom 
For this draft we’ll be using FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard with the following configuration: 12 teams, drafting 12th, Yahoo! Sports ADP and standard 5×5 scoring.
At the end of the round 10, a well-rounded team has developed, with holes at catcher, utility and in the bullpen.
11.12 Hector Rondon (RP – CHC)
With about five closers going in the last 20 picks, the time to cave in for bullpen help has come. Rondon really cleaned up his act in 2015, with 30 saves, 69 Ks in 70 innings pitched, and an astonishing ERA+ of 235 and 1.37 ERA.
12.01 Brian McCann (C,1B – NYY)
Though McCann’s abilities as a catcher have eroded over the years, and he seems more interested in hitting the ball onto the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium than reaching base at all, he still provides plenty of value as a backstop in fantasy games. A home run total of 25 and 80-100 RBI seems like a given, plus he can fill in at 1B if necessary.
13.12 Shawn Tolleson (RP – TEX) / 14.01 Glen Perkins (RP – MIN)
While this is where I disagree with the experts the most, back-to-back picks and a rapidly thinning closer market means shoring up this bullpen in one fell swoop. Tolleson and Perkins both closed out over 30 games each in 2015 and both have no immediate threats to their roles. If you want to win a draft, know that you will never do so drafting one in rounds 7-10.
Three closers before the fifteenth round? It’s not as crazy as it sounds. A third closer pushes you over the edge most weeks against any team sporting two, and a position of depth can always be used to acquire emergency options later in the season. Remember that in a 12-team league, 30 closers won’t split 12 ways evenly.
15.12 David Peralta (OF – ARI)
This is a massive underdraft for David Peralta, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2015. With 17 HR and 68 RBI, it’s not unlikely that Peralta can provide slight improvements on those numbers this season. He’ll also steal a few bases, as is a theme that’s been building with this team. No elite base stealers, but no base cloggers either.
16.01 Carlos Rodon (SP – CWS)
Rodon provides an extra arm at the backend of the starters for this team, but it remains to be seen what kind of major leaguer he’ll be. His stuff is excellent, but he’s had trouble keeping guys off the bases (4.6 BB/9). If he can harness his command in 2016, this pick can be a steal.
17.12 Billy Burns (OF – OAK)
Billy Burns stole 26 bases in 2015. He also did this with a .294 average and scored 70 runs. Burns allows the remaining picks for this team to forget about stolen bases. This is basically an autodraft, however, so I would be surprised if he drops this late in most drafts. Burns was selected in the 13th round of the ongoing FantasyPros experts mock draft.
18.01 Drew Smyly (SP – TB)
The final rounds of a draft are your best time to both add pitching depth and cash-in on some underrated players. Smyly could easily be a top-50 starting pitcher in 2016, but his stock has fallen due to injury. Another player to look at coming off of injury is Yu Darvish, but he won’t last long.
19.12 Randal Grichuk (OF – STL)
There’s always one extremely undervalued player in every draft. Grichuk was that guy in this draft, falling to the 19th round. He will have a definite spot in the Cardinals outfield this season, and in only 103 games in 2015 knocked 17 home runs, 47 RBI and did so slashing .276/.329/.548. Don’t expect him to fall this late in most drafts, unless you’re drafting with Cubs fans.
20.01 Alex Gordon (OF – KC)
Gordon is another value pick here. With an ADP of ~160, he adds a solid slash line and outfield depth. There’s always going to be injuries in a season so no team is ever safe. Adding outfield depth is often overlooked, but you’ll find undrafted outfielders are often on the waiver wire for a reason.
21.12 Aaron Nola (SP – PHI)
Aaron Nola will likely find a spot for himself in the Phillies rotation out of Spring Training, and though he won’t put up many wins paying for the eventual fourth-place Phillies, he can probably do it with some quality numbers. In 77.2 IP in 2015, Nola struck out 68 (7.9 K/9) with only a 2.2 BB/9. He’ll need to keep the ball in the park though; his 11 HR resulted in a 1.3 HR/9, which is a bit worrisome at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Draft Wizard: Mock in minutes vs. the most accurate experts
After 21 rounds, let’s look at this team:
C – Brian McCann
1B – Chris Davis
2B – Ben Zobrist
SS – Carlos Correa
3B – Nolan Arenado
OF – Gregory Polanco
OF – Randal Grichuk
OF – David Peralta
UTIL – Billy Burns
BN – Alex Gordon
SP – Zack Greinke
SP – Noah Syndergaard
SP – Carlos Carrasco
SP – Marcus Stroman
SP – Carlos Rodon
SP – Drew Smyly
SP – Aaron Nola
RP – Hector Rondon
RP – Shawn Tolleson
RP – Glen Perkins
Looking at a team like that, you might wonder why you felt so much dread drawing the 12th spot in the past. Think of the last spot in the draft as more of an opportunity, and use it to game your opponents into mistakes and to add depth in back-to-back picks.
Roy Widrig is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Roy, check out his archive and follow him@rolewiii.
