Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: The Hero Relief Pitcher Strategy gets Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Pete Fairbanks, Aroldis Chapman and More

I don't like preseason in any sport, but baseball seems to be the least of all the evils. Spring Training games are at a time when there isn't a lot else going on other than seemingly the longest stretch of the NBA and NHL seasons. March Madness will sweep the nation, but that's still several weeks away.

With time to focus on baseball, fantasy mock draft season is officially underway. Injuries and maybe even a few trades will change things, but you can start getting an idea of which positions have the most talent and what your team looks like when using different strategies.

I previously shared a few mock drafts in which I used very specific strategies: one where I ignored pitchers completely until the end, and one where I grabbed two ace pitchers early. It only seemed natural to do another in which I focused on relief pitchers, so here we are.

I had the second pick in a 12-team, head-to-head points league. I went into the draft with the strategy of getting two of the top five ranked relief pitchers and otherwise drafting as I normally would.

Core Hitters

• Pick No. 2 OF Juan Soto, New York Mets
• No. 23 C William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
• No. 26 2B Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers

The second pick should probably be either Soto or Aaron Judge. I could see the argument for Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.or Mookie Betts (who is available both at SS and OF), but I prefer the two New York outfielders to be the first non-Ohtani pick.

Contreras is my top catcher, and Semien is my top second baseman. I love the idea of getting my favorite player at two positions with my second and third picks. It's not something I would force at the expense of value, but this is something I will likely try to recreate (with Adley Rutschman a suitable replacement if Contreras has already been selected).

Top Relief Pitchers

• No. 47 RP Josh Hader, Houston Astros
• No. 50 RP Edwin Diaz, New York Mets

This is the “hero” part of the hero relief pitcher strategy. These are the third- and fourth-ranked relievers by ESPN. It's not necessary to grab the top two guys; the hero strategy is about getting two strong pillars (or maybe just one) that you expect to excel for you all season.

Young Studs

• No. 71 OF Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers
• No. 98 SS CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
• No. 143 SP Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates

I will always end up with three to five guys who fit this mold of first/second/third year players who have a lot of pedigree and/or high-level performance in their short big-league time.

Langford is a former fourth overall pick (2023) and Abrams a former sixth overall pick (2019), fitting the pedigree bill. Langford had a decent rookie season in 2024, reaching 25 doubles, 16 home runs, and 19 stolen bases. He is likely to improve, with the rate of his development determining his ceiling early in his career.

Abrams had similar numbers each of the past two years, getting around 30 doubles, 20 homers, and a .245 average. Abrams combined for 78 stolen bases in that time, so he's a good bet to continue running.

Jones was a second-round pick, so he's no schlub, but I'm more intrigued by what we saw in his rookie year in 2024: 132 strikeouts in 121.2 innings and an ERA just over 4.00. Jones held his own plus some, and now he'll be the Pirates' second starter after Paul Skenes. I project that Jones will be a keeper by the end of the season.

Multi-Positional Guys

• No. 74 1B/OF Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees
• No. 95 3B/OF Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
• No. 119 2B/SS Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres
• No. 170 1B/3B Jake Burger, Texas Rangers

Every mock draft I do will include a group of these guys. I am obsessed with players who can slot in at two or more positions, to the point that it might start becoming an issue. Bellinger and Chisholm are guys I keep ending up with, partly because they are taking lefty swings into Yankee Stadium with a very inviting right field.

Bogaerts is a fairly steady hand. I like him as a backup on my fantasy team who can fill both middle infield spots. He will probably be the full-time shortstop for the Padres to start the season. Injuries cost him a good portion of 2024, but before that he had settled in around 30 doubles and 20 home runs per season.

Based on how the draft had gone, I wanted to get depth at either first base or third base at pick 170. Well, how about we go with both 1B and 3B with Burger, a guy who might spend most of his actual time at DH but who gives us some versatility. Burger had 23 doubles and 29 homers last season, though his 150 strikeouts weren't a fluke.

Veteran Outfielders

• No. 122 OF Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
• No. 146 OF George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
• No. 167 OF Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies

I kind of feel like I got the same guy three times. Yelich, Springer, and Castellanos are different types of players, but they all fit the depth outfield slot this year. All three might end up being streamers, but maybe Yelich stays healthy or one of the other two hit a hot streak.

These picks could have been a lot of different players without changing much about the outlook of the team.

High-Upside Strikeout Pitchers

• No. 191 SP MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
• No. 194 SP Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros

Gore and Abrams were two of the main pieces that came back to Washington when they traded Soto to the Padres. Gore just turned 26, and he has struck out 332 batters in 302.2 innings the past two seasons with the Nats; Gore has the makings of an ace-level pitcher if he puts it all together. He bordered on being a keeper last year, and he will probably be one this year. (He could fit into the "Young Studs" category also.)

Blanco is right at one strikeout per inning over three seasons. He had a 2.90 ERA in 167.1 innings last year. He's unlikely to put up another number that low, but Blanco is a strong streaming pitcher who is probably close to the keeper line.

Low-End Relievers

• No. 215 RP Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays
• No. 218 RP Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox

I could have finished up with 100 different pitchers here and had a similar outlook. Since we were going hero reliever, I wanted to grab one more closer, and Fairbanks was the top guy sitting there. He had 25 and 23 saves for the Rays the past two seasons, and ESPN projects him for 25 again this year. Fairbanks is also a good strikeout guy, averaging more than one K per inning.

The roster would be more balanced if I had another starter instead of Chapman, but as my last pick, it's not really a big deal. This is a spot that will likely churn often, and an active owner will probably drop a player or two before the season even starts. Chapman can still pump heat, and he might be the Boston closer.

Conclusion

I would be happy with this roster if I were really going for this strategy; I hate the strategy, though. I prefer to mostly go with starting pitchers and not worry about chasing saves. Pitchers are fickler than hitters, and relief pitchers are fickler than starting pitchers; we're getting deep into the fickleness.

By taking both Hader and Diaz around the 50th pick, I passed up a lot of really good position players ranked in that same area, like Trea Turner, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Jarren Duran, Julio Rodriguez, and Pete Alonso. Even if you prefer pitchers, there are starters like Luis Castillo, Aaron Nola, and Max Fried ranked in that zone.

You will be able to find guys to give you saves later in the draft or in free agency if you're worried about that stat; I suggest treating saves as a secondary stat and getting better hitters and starting pitchers.