Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Strategies: Ignoring Pitchers to Draft Corey Seager, Ronald Acuna Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Trea Turner and More

As spring training approaches, fantasy baseball season is slowly sneaking up on us. With the Super Bowl still to be played, many people are keeping their focus on the most popular fantasy/betting sport, but that will soon go away, leaving us to the marathon that is fantasy baseball 2025.

There are many strategies that go into building a team, fantasy or otherwise, and none is the sole best way to do it. Teams win big in many ways, and most of it usually comes down to luck. It’s a useful strategy to use mock drafts to try different draft plans to see which rosters you like best.

I have begun this process and just found one that I really liked. The strategy I used: ignore pitchers. That doesn’t mean totally excluding the hurlers, of course, but I didn’t draft any pitchers until the rest of my roster spots were full.

Pitching performance is often more volatile than hitting performance, something that extends to both fantasy and real-life baseball. Injuries are a big part of that. Pitchers get hurt more often than hitters, and the dwindling outing lengths of starting pitchers makes it harder for guys to stand out from the crowd, as their inning and strikeout opportunities are lessened.

Let’s look at the roster I drafted while “ignoring” pitchers, ensuring a strong position player group that includes a little redundancy. I had the first pick in a 12-team points league with the intention of considering only one guy at the top.

1st Pick - SP/DH Shohei Ohtani, LAD

If you can get him as both a pitcher and DH with just one pick, Ohtani is the no-questions-asked top fantasy pick. That was the case here, so I started my team with maybe the best fantasy baseball player ever.

He is a pitcher, so this might defy the “no pitchers rule,” but it’s pretty clear that the circumstances are much different with Ohtani. This will be the last pitcher you see until the final six picks.

24th Pick - SS Corey Seager, TEX

Shortstop is often a tough position at which to find elite production, so being able to grab one of the top guys early is a coup. Mookie Betts is one of my favorite potential first-round picks because he can slot in at both SS and in the outfield.

Health is Seager’s biggest obstacle, as he has missed 82 combined games over the past two seasons. He has only hit 130 games in four of nine non-COVID seasons and was above 100 just two other times.

His slash numbers were down from a great 2023, though just a hair below his career numbers. Seager still showed power, hitting 30 homers and 21 doubles in 123 games. A Rangers team loaded with talent should give Seager plenty of run and RBI chances.

Seager should be ready for spring training, so there’s hope of a mostly complete season. The reality is that he will probably play around 120-130 games and play well when in the lineup.

25th Pick - OF Ronald Acuna Jr., ATL

We’re going to talk a lot about players with injury issues, as all three players so far are returning from an injury of some sort (Ohtani as a pitcher). Acuna is a former No. 1 fantasy pick who has missed over 100 games in two of the past five seasons and played in only 119 in another season.

He appeared in just 49 games last season and is set to miss at least the first month this year. This is a bet that he will come back in May and find his star form by the All-Star break, giving owners a half season of elite play. It’s a risky pick, but there’s a high ceiling.

48th Pick - OF Julio Rodriguez, SEA

I kept shooting for superstar upside. The biggest shots can come crashing down the hardest, and Rodriguez had a little injury trouble of his own last season, though not as severe as some of the others.

His power numbers were also way down, the most noticeable difference with his lower fantasy output. Rodriguez finished the season strongest, though, and September was his best month, so maybe he figured something out.

Rodriguez is still a 24-year-old potential superstar, and he adds to the fun of this fantasy roster.

49th Pick - 2B Jose Altuve, HOU

Altuve’s efficiency was down a bit in 2024, as each of his slash numbers was his lowest since at least 2021. His 153 games played were his most since 2017, and he put up volume stats: 185 hits, 31 doubles, 20 home runs, and a career-high 119 strikeouts.

Altuve ranked second behind just Ketel Marte among second basemen in fantasy points. He’s likely to miss more games than in 2024; he averaged 127.6 games in five full seasons between 2018-2023. He’s another guy who will produce when on the field, though.

72nd Pick - SS Trea Turner, PHI

Turner and Seager on the same team isn’t a problem with the DH spot. It is a problem when Shohei Ohtani is only eligible at DH, though, creating a logjam. This was simply a case of best player available, and I didn’t really like any other names on the board.

The draft is about accumulating talent. Rather than chasing needs and positions, teams do best by getting the most talented players and making it all work later. I don’t mind having both Turner and Seager and trading one of them for another star player at a position of need or a high-level ace you really trust.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Turner has had injury problems of his own. He picked it up last season after a slow start, and there’s reasonable hope that he will bounce back right away this year. Seager is better but not that much better.

73rd Pick - C Will Smith, LAD

Catcher can be a tough spot at which to find consistent production, but picking the guy on probably the best offense in baseball is a good place to look. Smith is a good player in his own right, and he will get plenty of extra opportunities to score runs and knock them in with good offensive guys around him.

Smith has played about 130 games per year over the past four seasons, so you’ll have to fill in a little bit, but that’s true of almost any catcher. Smith is an easy top-10 guy at the position.

96th Pick - C/1B Salvador Perez, KC

Starting at this point, you’ll see me target multi-positional players. They create more versatility for your lineup and the chance to maximize your last few roster spots. Perez being able to fill both first base and catcher lets you start him at the C position any time it’s needed while also filling the odd day when your everyday 1B is off.

First base is the easiest position at which to find offensive production, so I don’t mind going light in the draft with a few versatile options, which we’ll see more of soon. Perez ranked third in fantasy points among catchers, had 28 doubles and 27 home runs, and appeared in 158 games last season. This is an easy pick for me.

97th Pick - OF Michael Harris II, ATL

Speed kills. Harris is fantastic defensively in part because of his speed, and while that doesn’t help him in fantasy, it does create more hits, doubles, triples, stolen bases, and runs. Harris’ health will be an issue, but we’ve been through that conversation. I’m counting on what he can do when on the field.

120th Pick - 1B/OF Cody Bellinger, NYY

The first base/outfield combo is a strong one, again allowing you to put Bellinger into one of three OF spots and make the rotational start in your 1B slot along with Perez and/or whoever else you end up with.

While his numbers were down last season from a bounce-back 2023, Bellinger put together two good years for the Cubs, appearing in 130 games in each. He is heading to Yankee Stadium, where the short right field favors left-handed power swingers. Bellinger is likely to put up some nice power numbers if he can stay on the field.

121st Pick - OF James Wood, WSH

Big-time upside pick here, as Wood entered the majors last year and showed some of the raw tools that made him a top prospect. Extrapolated over a full season, Wood equaled around 25 doubles, 20 home runs, and 30 stolen bases (but also 200 strikeouts). There’s a lot to like here, but Wood will play most of the season at just 22 years old, leaving room for both growth and growing pains.

144th Pick - 3B/OF Jazz Chisholm Jr., NYY

Our first pick at third base here, the final position that needs to be filled. Chisholm went to the Yankees at the trade deadline last season and excelled in the playoff run. His slash numbers in 46 games in New York would have been his first- or second-best mark in any season, and his 11 home runs would expand to just under 40 over a full season.

Chisholm isn’t likely to hit that well over 162 games, but he’s another lefty swinger in Yankee Stadium who can take advantage of the short porch. Chisholm is a high-ceiling player with a bit of a low floor.

145th Pick - 2B/SS Xander Bogaerts, SD

Another dual-position player here, Bogaerts can fill in at the two middle spots. Shortstop isn’t a huge concern on this particular roster because of the presence of both Seager and Turner, but he is nice to have in the event that we would trade one of those stars, which I would be looking to do before the season.

The last few bench spots are fluid, so Bogaerts is a guy who you’d probably end up dropping at some point, but he’s a nice, versatile player to start the season. A lot of other guys could be picked here, enough that I won’t start naming options.

168th Pick - SP Bryan Woo, SEA

The final six picks must be pitchers to fill out our roster, and these are probably guys who are going to move on and off your team depending on matchups. I love streaming pitchers with only a few keepers at most, so high-upside guys in the draft are a nice idea.

Woo turned 25 in January and has only 209 big-league innings. He has struck out close to a batter per inning with a better-than-average strikeout rate and walk rate. Seattle had the best starting rotation in baseball last season, and Woo will be a part of that group again this season.

169th Pick - SP Ronel Blanco, HOU

Blanco had a very good 2024, his first season as a full-time starter. He held a 2.80 ERA in 167.1 innings with an above-average strikeout rate but walked too many guys. His walk rate came down last year, so there’s hope he can find more control, allowing him to go deeper into games.

192nd Pick - SP Shane Baz, TB

193rd Pick - SP Spencer Strider, ATL

216th Pick - SP Shane McClanahan, TB

We’ll group these three together because they all fall into the same category. When actually building a staff, this wouldn’t be the greatest strategy because all three guys are returning from major injuries and missed time. This is all about upside, as Baz, Strider, and McClanahan have show flashes of ace upside when healthy.

All three own elite strikeout rates, but only Baz is likely to be ready for Opening Day. While it’s fine to draft one or two of these guys, I don’t recommend getting all three of them, as there will be too much dead weight while waiting for health. We’ll know more about who to shift in and out of your pitching staff the first few days when we get close to Opening Day, which might necessitate some shuffling.

217th Pick - SP Reese Olson, DET

The last pick could be one of 100 guys. Again, this could very well be a spot you churn before the first games, so I like going for upside.

Olson has been slightly better than average in most aspects in 216 innings and is likely to continue at least that level, maybe even with more strikeouts moving forward. Olson is a nice streaming pitcher in the right matchups.

Roster Thoughts

You might notice that I didn’t pick any relief pitchers, as this league setup didn’t differentiate between SP and RP spots. When trying to accumulate points, getting the most innings you can is a great strategy. That means looking at matchups and streaming every day, and you can probably get five to seven streamers every day or pick up a reliever or two if needed.

Your roster is going to change a lot between March and September, so don’t draft with the intention of playing each guy 162 games. The first handful of picks are the money picks; you need high-level guys and hope for some luck with health. Otherwise, you’ll be finding the best players for that day/week most of the season.

Part of that roster change will come in the form of trades, something you can use to settle your roster before Opening Day. As in the example above, grabbing the best talent might create a glut at one position. With both Seager and Turner at shortstop and Ohtani relegated to DH when he’s not pitching, it’s an opportunity to identify a soft spot early and try to plug it with a big-time move.

I mentioned that I didn’t target a full-time first baseman because there is so much offensive talent at the position that you can easily fill the spot at about any time. A few guys who can share 1B otherwise, like Perez and Bellinger in the example above, will get you through until you can find a more permanent option. It’s also not the worst thing even if you must keep streaming at the beginning of the season.

I really like this “ignore pitchers” strategy. That is a really strong group of position players, and I would be ready to stream pitchers from Day 1, leaving flexibility in finding the best matchups and possible keepers. This is the most likely draft strategy I will use when drafting my actual fantasy teams.