Fantasy Baseball 12-Team Categories Mock Draft with Eighth Pick (Take Two)

A couple weeks ago, I did a 12-team mock draft on ESPN and left very disappointed. Today, I decided to try to right some wrongs.

I followed the exact same setup: 12-team mock draft with the eighth pick; hitting categories were runs, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases and batting average; pitching categories were strikeouts, wins, saves, holds, ERA and WHIP; one starting spot for catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and a utility spot, three outfield spots, seven pitcher slots and three bench spots.

The only difference was that I did the draft through the FantasySP Mock Draft Simulator. Let’s get into the mock draft!

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Hitting Options

After leaving the last version of this mock draft with less top-end hitting options, I made it a point to grab some hitting early in this mock. The result was maybe my best group of fantasy hitters in my mock draft series.

I landed Freddie Freeman with my first-round pick. Fernando Tatis Jr. was my second-round pick and top outfielder. In round three, I picked up Marcus Semien.

After finally getting a pitcher in round four, I got right back to the hitters in round five with Bo Bichette - I loved the value of this pick.

I kept things rolling with two more hitters in rounds six and seven. I got Manny Machado as my top third baseman in the fifth and then got William Contreras to serve as my catcher. I regretted taking Contreras in the first mock draft with these settings, but thought the value was just too good to pass on this time.

I was hoping to land another pitcher in round eight, but didn’t feel like reaching on anyone, so I took Nolan Jones as my second outfielder instead.

For most of the rest of the draft, my picks went toward pitching. I did draft a couple more hitters to fill out my starting lineup, however.

Nick Castellanos was my 10th-round pick and third outfielder. Ha-Seong Kim was my utility starter, which is perfect because he’s also a versatile infielder in real life.

Pitching Options

My first pitcher was Zac Gallen in round four. Justin Steele, one of my favorite value SP picks, was my second starter in round nine.

Sonny Gray was my third starter in round 11. Chris Bassitt and Mitch Keller were my next two starters, and I grabbed them in rounds 13 and 14, respectively.

Walker Buehler (round 16), Jon Gray (round 18) and Eduardo Rodriguez (round 19) were three more starting pitching options that I got later in the draft. 

I pretty much punted the idea of getting many saves/holds, but did snag Craig Kimbrel (round 15) and Alex Lange (round 17) to possibly try to take the save category here and there throughout the season.

 Final Thoughts

This time around, I felt a lot better about my finished product than I did the first time I followed these settings.

I don’t feel like I have a hole in my starting lineup of hitters. The only real issue would be not having depth at any hitting position, but that’s to be expected with only three bench spots available. I definitely feel like my hitters were going to carry me.

At the same time though, I do not feel like my pitching staff is necessarily weak. Sure, it's lacking a lot of the top-end options, but I still ended up with a lot of No. 1 and 2 starters and feel like that collection of arms will rack up good numbers in the wins, ERA and WHIP categories.

When I’m thinking about all 10 scoring categories, there’s really only three (saves, holds, stolen bases) I wouldn’t feel great about, and taking 7-of-10 categories seems like a pretty good outcome. Last time around, I felt like a favorite in maybe four or five of the categories every week, so I definitely feel like I improved.

There’s really not much I’d want to change. Of course, getting some holds and stolen bases would be nice, but in this kind of format, I’d much rather dominate in several categories than try to be good in all 10 areas - I just don’t think it’s possible.

So all in all, I’d call this a big improvement from that last mock draft with these settings. That’s the beauty of mock drafts - you can keep doing them until you are satisfied with your end product. As your fantasy baseball draft(s) close in, be sure to get in as many mock drafts as possible so that you walk away from the real draft feeling the way I did in this one.