Don’t let Shelby Miller’s lack of wins as a Brave turn you away from him
As we move past the midway point of the draft, talent falls off a bit, but there are still quality players available for those that are willing to take a chance. 18 of the 22 players picked over these two rounds were pitchers, with seven closers coming off of the board. Although there were not players picked that are still in the minor leagues, fantasy owners need to remember that there are “NA” spots in this league to stash away prospects that may come up in the second half.
Remember to keep track of live updates of the mock draft @thezman2010 on Twitter or at #FPMockDraft. Read below for picks and analysis for the eighth and ninth round of the 2016 FantasyPros MLB Mock Draft.
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
14.01 Rob Klein – Kevin Pillar (OF – TOR)
In his first full season of regular playing time, Pillar fit nicely in Toronto’s potent lineup. In 159 games, Pillar batted .278 with 12 home runs, but most importantly to Rob’s team is the 25 steals that he had in 29 attempts. As the draft moves along, it becomes difficult to find a player with speed who won’t kill a team in other categories.
Pillar has a good enough batting average and enough pop in his bat tol bring balance to Rob’s team, At the age of 27, there is optimism that Pillar can even improve on his 2015 numbers this season.
C-McCann 1B- Cabrera 2B- SS- 3B-Machado OF- Cruz OF-Gonzalez OF-Puig UT-Teixeira UT-Pillar UT- P- Hamels P-Lester P-Verlander P-Familia P-Britton P-Shields P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.02 John Aubin – Francisco Rodriguez (RP – DET)
Having drafted Craig Kimbrel earlier in the draft, Rodriquez gives John another top closer. Rodriguez is not the flashiest choice but his consistency and durability is first rate.
Rodriquez has been strong the last two seasons as the Brewers’ closer converting 82 of 89 save chances while also averaging over a strikeout per inning. Rodriquez is going to a good situation in Detroit and should get plenty of save opportunities this season.
C- 1B-Gonzalez 2B-Odor SS-Boegarts 3B-Bryant OF-McCutchen OF-Yelich OF-Pederson UT- UT- UT- P- Fernandez P-Bumgarner P-Kimbrel P-Richards P-Matz P-Rodriguez P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.03 Matthew Davis – Brad Boxberger (RP – TB)
After finishing fourth in saves with 41 in 2015, Boxberger will likely be a closer who I have a lot of exposure to again this year. In 2014, Boxberger had his coming out party with a ridiculous K% of 42.1% (that isn’t a typo) but only had two saves while primarily working in the setup role. Boxberger was given the keys to the closer position in 2015 and succeeded in his promotion.
The Rays also had Jake McGee, who soaked up six saves, but McGee was traded this winter to the Rockies. With McGee completely out of the picture, Boxberger is the clear-cut closer in Tampa and will be given every opportunity at another 40-plus save season like he had in 2015.
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- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.04 Chris Zolli – Jonathan Papelbon (RP – WAS)
Papelbon may not have been the best answer for the Nationals during the 2015 season, posting a 3.04 ERA in 23 2/3 innings, but the team traded Drew Storen in the offseason and saw Papelbon as the best answer for the 2016 season. A big reason is that Papelbon had a 1.87 ERA in his last season and a half for the Phillies and had saved 35 or more games in seven of his 10 full seasons. The biggest reason that people are bullish on Papelbon is that he has dropped from averaging 11 strikeouts per nine during his heyday with the Red Sox to only 8.3 strikeouts during his last three seasons.
A big reason for Papelbon’s drop in strikeouts is that his average fastball has dropped from 95 miles per hour to only 91 miles per hour in 2015; even though his slider has become more of an out pitch, he had the velocity to strikeout more batters. Even without his strikeouts, he plays for a winning Washington team and has the potential for 40 or more saves.
C-Schwarber 1B-Fielder 2B-Kipnis SS- 3B-Arenado OF- Marte OF-Martinez OF-Cain UT-Polanco UT-Gardner UT- P- Darvish P-McCullers P-Tanaka P-Street P-Papelbon P- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.05 David Marcillo – Raisel Iglesias (SP – CIN)
Getting deeper into the draft, it is time to look for high upside candidates that may not be on everyone’s radar. Iglesias had an ugly win-loss ratio at 3-7 but his 3.55 FIP and 9.82 K/9 show promise. Pitching in Cincinnati isn’t ideal, but Iglesias should be able to put up strikeouts and win 10 games. For Round 14, that’s value.
C-Posey 1B-Votto 2B-Zobrist SS-Desmond 3B-Carpenter OF- Stanton OF-Calhoun OF- UT-Hosmer UT-Morales UT- P- Harvey P-Gray P-Ramos P-Pineda P-Iglesias P- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.06 Jamie Mellor – Jose Quintana (SP – CWS)
Iglesias was on Jamie’s radar but with the two upside guys in Iglesias and Rodon gone, Jamie will go with the third of the trio with the lowest ceiling but the most consistency. Jamie expects double-digit wins, an ERA in the threes and strikeouts in the 160-190 range if Quintana tops 200 innings again.
C- 1B-Freeman 2B-Wong SS-Correa 3B-Rendon OF- Betts OF-Braun OF-Eaton UT-Davis UT-Bruce UT- P- Price P-Hernandez P-Wainwright P-Davis P-Quintana P- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.07 Matt Terelle – David Peralta (OF – ARI)
With Ender Inciarte out of the picture, the hope here is that Peralta will be an everyday starter in 2016. He should be batting behind Paul Goldschmidt, which will give him regular RBI opportunities throughout the season.
While he only stole nine bases last season, he is extremely fast, and 15-20 steals is not out of the question. He’s improved steadily each year he’s been in the majors and if that trend continues he will be a steal in Round 14.
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-Peralta P- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.08 Eric Townsend – Scott Kazmir (SP – LAD)
It was a tale of two cities for Kazmir last season. After starting 2015 as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, sporting a 2.38 ERA through mid-July with the A’s, a trade to Houston sent Kazmir in a tailspin. After 14 2/3 IP of no run ball to start his time with the Astros, Kazmir would only pitch three quality starts in his next 12 appearances, including four where he lasted under five innings.
However, Kazmir has shown ace-quality talent, and moves to a relatively pitcher-friendly park in Dodger Stadium (23rd most runs allowed, 16th most homers), and in the 14th round his upside is worth gambling to try and get the player we saw in early 2015.
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- P- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.09 Kerry Kauffman – Glen Perkins (RP – MIN)
Having filled my first closer position with the unproven, but highly talented Ken Giles, I choose a solid veteran in Perkins of the Twins. Perkins has surpassed 30 saves in each of the last three seasons.
He struck out 54 in 57 innings last season while walking only 10. He also had a solid 1.193 WHIP but did surrender nine home runs. While he’s not an elite closer, Perkins should be counted on for nearly 30 saves and a solid ERA in the low to mid threes, which is excellent for a 14th round draft pick.
C-Gattis 1B-Encarnacion 2B-Cano SS-Andrus 3B-Frazier OF-Kemp OF-Revere OF-Choo UT- UT- UT- P-Kershaw P-Keuchel P-Giles P-Zimmermann P-McHugh P-Perkins P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.10 Daniel Marcus – Yordano Ventura (SP – KC)
Ventura had an up-and-down season last year but still managed to show progression. Most notably, his K-BB% rose for the third straight season, showing that he is progressing in becoming a more dominant pitcher. As Dan’s fourth starting pitcher, he doesn’t need Ventura to be in Cy Young form but only deliver on some of the upside he has shown.
C-Lucroy 1B-Goldschmidt 2B-Russell SS- 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- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.11 Roy Widrig – Shelby Miller (SP – ARI)
Yes, he will regress from 2015. Yes, he’s playing in a better hitter’s park than in Atlanta. Still, Miller was one of the best pitchers in baseball for a very long stretch of 2015.
“But he didn’t get any wins,” hisses the crowd. So What? You can’t play for the previous season’s win totals in fantasy baseball.
While some players give you confidence in 15+ wins (Arrieta, Kershaw, Hernandez), it is just not a reliable stat to count on. So look at his rate stats for 2015: 3.02 ERA, 205 IP, 171 Ks, ERA+ of 124 and 3.45 FIP.
He did all of that pitching for a team that made the greatest game on Earth a miserable experience, and now he’s got something to play for in Arizona. It’s time to stop ignoring Miller just because he was a Brave in 2015.
C-Martin 1B-Davis 2B-LeMahieu SS-Crawford 3B-Seager OF-Harper OF-Pence OF-Grichuk UT- UT- UT- P-Arrieta P-Syndergaard P-Archer P-Melancon P- Stroman P-Miller P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
14.12 Gavin Tramps – Mark Trumbo (1B/OF – BAL)
The top home run hitter for the last three years has called Camden Yards his home (Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis again). Without a doubt, it’s a good place to hit for right-handed power hitters.
Trumbo has already had two 30+ home run seasons and should enjoy hitting in AL East parks. Gavin is optimistically hoping for an average above .265 with 25+ home runs, but it would not be difficult to imagine a Nelson Cruz-like jump in home runs from the 20s to the 40s.
C- 1B-Belt 2B-Gordon SS-Lindor 3B-Beltre OF-Trout OF-Brantley OF-Trumbo UT-Kinsler UT- UT- P-Scherzer P-Kluber P-Strasburg P-Cueto P- Chapman P-Walker P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.01 Gavin Tramps – Hisashi Iwakuma (SP – SEA)
The 34-year-old started poorly in 2015 and then landed on the DL at the end of April. In his final 16 games, he was back to his All-Star level with a 2.82 ERA (2.95 FIP), 0.99 WHIP and 8.06 SO/9.
There is, of course, the concern over the Dodgers’ decision to void their trade, but if Iwakuma maintains his health, he should be able to provide solid pitching stats back in Safeco Field. He looks good value in the 15th round.
C- 1B-Belt 2B-Gordon SS-Lindor 3B-Beltre OF-Trout OF-Brantley OF- UT-Kinsler UT- UT- P-Scherzer P-Kluber P-Strasburg P-Cueto P- Chapman P-Walker P-Iwakuma P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.02 Roy Widrig – Shawn Tolleson (RP – TEX)
The 28-year-old Tolleson had a breakout season in 2015 in which he racked up 35 saves and 76 strikeouts in 72 innings. He finished with a 2.99 ERA, which rose from 2.69 in two poor efforts versus the Angels in October (in which he pitched five times in five days).
With closers, you always want to evaluate their health (Tolleson’s has been good), consistency (Tolleson only had two blown saves in 2015) and immediate threats to their throne (Keone Kela? Nope). The Rangers are going to be very good in 2016 and an extra 40 starts from Yu Darvish and Derek Holland should give Tolleson even more save opportunities this season.
C-Martin 1B-Davis 2B-LeMahieu SS-Crawford 3B-Seager OF-Harper OF-Pence OF-Grichuk UT- UT- UT- P-Arrieta P-Syndergaard P-Archer P-Melancon P- Stroman P-Tolleson P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.03 Daniel Marcus – Jake McGee (RP – COL)
McGee is now in line to get the saves in Colorado as Adam Ottavino is recovering from Tommy John surgery and won’t rejoin the bullpen until mid-season. The Coors effect is always scary, but McGee relies heavily on his fastball and not the breaking balls that are most negatively affected by the thin air of Denver. There won’t be a ton of save opportunities, but he will still be a strong contributor in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts.
C-Lucroy 1B-Goldschmidt 2B-Russell SS- 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-
15.04 Kerry Kauffman – Alex Gordon (OF – KC)
Gordon had a rough season in 2015, mainly due to the fact he appeared in only 104 games, but looking more closely at his numbers, he still had a very solid .809 OPS and .377 on-base percentage. In 2013 and 2014, Gordon averaged 20 home runs, 78 RBI and 12 stolen bases per season.
Going back to 2011 and 2012, he also averaged 48 doubles per season. A healthy Gordon should in 2016 should propel him back to the .270 AVG, 20-home run, 75 RBI and 10-stolen base range, very solid for a fourth outfielder on Kerry’s fantasy team.
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- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.05 Eric Townsend – Brad Ziegler (RP – ARI)
Ziegler took over the closer role in Arizona in mid-May of last year, and never looked back. The 36-year-old veteran has always been talented, but he went to a new level when given the opportunity to take the ninth, posting numbers like 1.85 ERA/0.96 WHIP/30 saves, including three months with a combined two runs allowed. Ziegler has the closer’s role going into 2016, and while strikeouts will be limited for the contact-focused reliever, consistency in three categories is plenty for a closer at this point in the draft.
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- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.06 Matt Terelle – Jeff Samardzija (SP – SF)
After a nightmare 2015 season playing for the Chicago White Sox, Samardzija landed in the ideal spot to get back on track. He will go from pitching in front of a poor White Sox defense to a San Francisco defense that was fourth in the league in defensive runs saved last year.
Pitching half of his games in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park will also help. He is just two years removed from averaging 9.01 strikeouts per nine innings, so the strikeout upside is definitely there. At this point of the draft, gambling on him returning to form is well worth the risk.
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- P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.07 Jamie Mellor – Santiago Casilla (RP – SF)
This pick may be one that Jamie looks back at and regrets as he has serious reservations about the drop in Casilla’s GB% combined with his age and the fact that SF has a few other guys who might be able to do the job. However, his upside was shown with performances like the 38 saves last season and the Giants are probably going to be better this season. Jamie will now sit back and prepare for the pain as he suspects the picks between now and his next pick will contain a few that will sting.
C- 1B-Freeman 2B-Wong SS-Correa 3B-Rendon OF- Betts OF-Braun OF-Eaton UT-Davis UT-Bruce UT- P- Price P-Hernandez P-Wainwright P-Davis P-Quintana P-Casilla P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.08 David Marcillo – Drew Smyly (SP – TB)
Smyly only appeared in 12 games last season due to injury, but he was excellent in those 12, posting a 3.11 ERA and 10.4 K/9. The upside has always been there with Smyly, especially since the Rays committed to using him exclusively as a starter. While his strikeout rate might end up closer to him striking out eight batters per nine innings than to 10 batters per nine innings, the chance to nab a potential high strikeout, low ERA starter in Round 15 cannot be passed up.
C-Posey 1B-Votto 2B-Zobrist SS-Desmond 3B-Carpenter OF- Stanton OF-Calhoun OF- 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-
15.09 Chris Zolli – Kyle Hendricks (SP – CHC)
An 8-7 ERA and 3.95 ERA from 2015 does not make Hendricks attractive, but a 3.34 FIP in 260 1/3 career innings and strong ground ball/strikeout portfolio tells a different story. After only striking out 14.6% batters in 80 1/3 innings in 2014, Hendricks struck out 22.6% of batters in 2015 while seeing his ground ball percentage jump over 50% as well. Hendricks ranked 22nd in baseball in K%-BB% (16.8%), and only three of the pitchers that ranked above Hendricks in K%-BB% had a better groundball percentage than Hendricks’ 51.3%.
When combined with the fact that the Cubs are as good of a World Series challenger as any in the National League, there is a probability that we are looking at Hendricks at the end of the season with numbers that challenge teammate Jake Arrieta. Looking at a rotation with two pitchers that have a high strikeout/ground ball portfolio on top of two rehabilitated potential top-10 SP makes me very bullish for 2016.
C-Schwarber 1B-Fielder 2B-Kipnis SS- 3B-Arenado OF- Marte OF-Martinez OF-Cain UT-Polanco UT-Gardner UT- P- Darvish P-McCullers P-Tanaka P-Street P-Rodriguez P-Hendricks P- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.10 Matthew Davis – Julio Teheran (SP – ATL)
Teheran was cruising right along in his rookie and sophomore seasons and was being touted as a solid SP3 for fantasy leagues in 2015. Teheran’s third year didn’t go as planned where his FIP (4.4) and BB% (8.7%) regressed dramatically and his first half of the season didn’t carry upside with his K% being a putrid 18.7%. Teheran is coming into his third full season in the majors and showed positive signs of progression in the second half of 2015 with his K% increasing to 22.2%.
Matthew also loves Teheran’s career SwStr% of 10.6% while owning a 31.2% O-Swing% over 600-plus innings at the age of 25. You should be jumping for joy if you’re able to nab Teheran in the 15th round of a 12-team mixed league.
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- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.11 John Aubin – Curtis Granderson (OF – NYM)
Granderson is getting older as he will be hitting 35 coming into the season but he proved last year he still can play. After a down year in 2014, Granderson was reunited with his former batting coach Kevin Long to have his best season since 2011. He finished the season hitting 26 HRs, 98 runs and 11 stolen bases.
He will never be known for a high batting average and finished hitting .258. John is hoping he can post similar numbers this year. 20 plus homers and 10 steals out of his fourth outfielder/utility position would be welcome.
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- P- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE- BE-
15.12 Rob Klein – Gerardo Parra (OF – COL)
With the trade that sent Corey Dickerson to the Rays, Parra will slide right into an everyday role in left field in what will be a very productive Rockies’ lineup in 2016. Last season with the Brewers and Orioles, he batted .291 with 14 home runs and 14 steals. At the age of 28 and after the move to Colorado, Parra is set up nicely to have a breakout season and will contribute nicely in all categories as a utility player and outfielder for Rob’s lineup.
C-McCann 1B- Cabrera 2B- SS- 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-
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Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.
