Let’s mock draft a 12-team, 5×5 traditional roto league. For this fantasy baseball mock draft, we’ll use the following positions: 1-C, 1-1B, 1-2B, 1-3B, 1-SS, 3-OF, 1-UTIL and 7-Pitchers. I’m drafting from the three spot. You can find the draft board here.
Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft
1.03: Bobby Witt Jr. (SS – KC)
After Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are off the board, there are three popular options at pick 1.03: Bobby Witt Jr., Juan Soto and Jose Ramirez. I chose Witt, the youngest of the three, who has never had fewer than 30 stolen bases in his four seasons.
2.10: Kyle Schwarber (OF – PHI)
Kyle Schwarber having outfield eligibility in this league is huge for his value. He’s one of the three or four best power hitters in the game, and he leads off for a great offense.
Schwarber has produced at least 38 home runs, 100 runs and 94 RBI in each of his four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies.
3.03: Ketel Marte (2B – ARI)
Ketel Marte provides solid counting stats with a good batting average at a weak position. He’s missed games the past two seasons due to injury, so he may be wearing down with age (32). Marte’s expected stats are as elite as ever, however.
4.10: Hunter Brown (SP – HOU)
Hunter Brown is my SP1 and the 10th starter off the board. He broke out in a major way with a 2.43 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 10 K/9 across 185.1 innings. He was one of 12 qualified starters with a strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%) better than 20% in 2025.
5.03: Cole Ragans (SP – KC)
Cole Ragans’ 2025 was plagued by an injury that limited him to 61.2 innings. He finished with a 4.67 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 14.3 K/9.
Ragans’ K/9 ranked second among all pitchers with at least 60 innings pitched. His strikeout rate was in the 100th percentile at 38.1%, and his xERA was two full runs lower than his actual ERA at 2.67.
6.10: Kyle Bradish (SP – BAL)
Kyle Bradish returned from Tommy John surgery and looked stellar. His 2.53 ERA and 1.03 WHIP were career-bests, albeit in a very limited sample size.
Still, Bradish’s strikeout rate jumped to 37%, and he proved enough to jump back on board with the excitement we had for him after the 2023 season.
7.03: Cade Smith (RP – CLE)
Cade Smith stepped in as the full-time closer last year and continued his dominant MLB career start. His 28.3% K-BB% ranked sixth among pitchers with at least 60 innings pitched.
8.10: Randy Arozarena (OF – SEA)
Randy Arozarena bounced back last year with 27 home runs and 31 steals. After taking four pitchers in a row in rounds four through seven, I needed to make up some categorial deficiencies.
I do worry if Arozarena will age gracefully, as his strikeout and walk rates both waned from his two years prior.
9.03: Eugenio Suarez (3B – CIN)
Eugenio Suarez is finally off the free agent market, and he returns to the team he first broke out with. He set career-bests in runs (91) and RBI (118), while he tied his career-high in home runs (49) last season.
Great American Ball Park ranks as the number two park in park factor for right-handed home runs over the past three years.
10.10: Yandy Diaz (1B – TB)
Yandy Diaz helps make up for the batting average deficiency that Kyle Schwarber, Randy Arozarena and Eugenio Suarez bring to the team. Diaz has batted .281 or better in each of the last four seasons, and has a career .290 batting average.
11.03: Luis Robert Jr. (OF – NYM)
Luis Robert Jr. is finally out of the South Side of Chicago and onto a competing team with the New York Mets. He’s struggled to a .223 batting average over the past two seasons, but averaged 28 stolen bases.
Hopefully, the change in scenery can help Robert return to the 38-homer, 20-steal player we saw in 2023.
12.10: Steven Kwan (OF – CLE)
Steven Kwan is another attempt to make up ground in batting average. His actual batting average has ranged from .268 to .298 since 2022, but his xBA is always in the 85th percentile or better.
Kwan’s double-digit homers in each of the past two seasons have been a nice bonus for fantasy managers.
13.03: Nick Lodolo (SP – CIN)
Nick Lodolo had a fine season in 2025. He set a career-high in innings (156.2), ERA (3.33), WHIP (1.08) and walk rate (4.8%).
Injuries have held Lodoloo back from realizing his full potential, but as my fourth starting pitcher in the 13th round, there’s plenty of profit to be had.
14.10: Yainer Diaz (C – HOU)
The catcher position is surprisingly stacked compared to historical rankings. A year ago, Yainer Diaz had a lot of hype in fantasy with his playing time advantage, and he’s projected to have the sixth-most plate appearances at the position.
Diaz is not a sexy pick, by any means, but his volume and batting average can be beneficial with the right team build.
15.03: Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY)
Carlos Rodon is returning from offseason elbow surgery, but shouldn’t have to miss too much of the season. His 18 wins in 2025 were tied for second in the Majors behind teammate Max Fried.
Rodon has mostly struggled with the Yankees, but he put up impressive numbers last season. The price is low enough.
16.10: Ryan Walker (R- SF)
Ryan Walker resumes his role as the de facto closer in San Francisco. Camilo Doval was moved at the trade deadline, and Randy Rodriguez went down at the end of last season, leaving Walker as the last viable option.
Draft Wizards Insights
The Draft Wizard gave this draft an A- grade (90/100). I’m projected to finish third in the league and top five in runs, home runs, RBI, saves, ERA and WHIP.
This is a solid team, although there are plenty of question marks. Randy Arozarena, Eugenio Suarez, Luis Robert Jr., Yainer Diaz, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Walker all have bottoming-out potential.
Ketel Marte, Cole Ragans, Kyle Bradish and Nick Lodolo have a greater injury risk than average but offer a higher ceiling.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | SoundCloud | TuneIn
