Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: Avoiding Outfielders Until Later Rounds | Mookie Betts, Logan Gilbert, Garrett Crochet, Ozzie Albies, Bailey Ober and More

With the MLB season closing in quickly, I'm going to up the fantasy baseball mock draft coverage a bit.

In what is my second mock draft of the week, I'm going to draft sixth in a 12-team points setup. The roster setup is as follows: nine pitchers, one catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman and utility, three outfielders and three bench spots.

With so many outfielders available, I'm going to avoid taking any until at least pick 100. Let's see how this turns out!

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Round 1 - Mookie Betts

I landed Betts in the first. He's technically eligible in the outfield, but he's going to be my everyday starting shortstop here.

Betts' versatility (maybe including second base) is why he should be a first-round pick in just about every redraft league in 2025.

Round 2 - Logan Gilbert

If I cannot take outfielders, I'm going to stock up on pitchers instead. Gilbert has a sub 3.50 ERA in two of the past three seasons, along with coming off a 220-strikeout season in 2024.

Getting to 200 innings should be doable if he's healthy, and with a good ERA and big strikeout total, Gilbert is a great fantasy pitching option to take early.

Round 3 - Garrett Crochet

I grabbed another strikeout star in Crochet in the third.

His win-loss record and ERA should improve now that he's on a good team. Plus, Crochet should pitch deeper into games this season, which means he could at least have 225 punchouts by the end of the season.

Round 4 - George Kirby

A third straight pitcher, this time it was Kirby in the fourth round.

He's not a huge strikeout guy, but with 8.5 Ks per nine innings for his career, that's good enough for me. His 3.53 ERA last year was the highest in his three-year career, and he can eat innings and rack up wins to tally plenty of fantasy points for my team.

Round 5 - Ozzie Albies

Albies is a bit of a risk this early, but his upside is sky high, so I'm fine gambling, especially since I'm waiting on outfielders.

If Albies gets in close to a full season, this is probably going to be a draft steal.

Round 6 - Yainer Diaz

I land my everyday catcher here with Diaz.

He played in 148 games last season and hit .299. Enough said.

Round 7 - Bailey Ober

Ober is another big strikeout guy, and he has the chance for 200 punchouts in 2025 if he can pitch in a few more innings. There's also a chance his ERA improves, so this could be another sneaky good pick.

Round 8 - Sonny Gray

Gray is another big strikeout guy, although he could regress a bit from last season. If he makes a few more starts, he could still have 200 punchouts, so I'm fine taking him here.

Round 9 - Justin Steele

I could have taken an outfielder here according to my 100-pick rule, but didn't really see anyone worth the pick, so I went with Steele instead.

He pitched well last season, but his win-loss record didn't show it. It's helping Steele go later in drafts, and setting him up to be a draft steal if he pitches to a similar ERA again.

Round 10 - Vinnie Pasquantino

Again, I wanted an outfielder here, but liked Pasquantino more than anyone available.

Pasquantino is a good fantasy power hitter, but doesn't strike out much. His downside is availability, but I'm OK taking that gamble with a mid-round pick here.

Round 11 - James Wood

My first outfielder! Why not take a high-upside fantasy player like Wood with my first outfielder?

He'll fill the stat sheet and could end up being a draft steal by the end of the season.

Round 12 - Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo can also fill the stat sheet, which makes up for a lower average. He'll be an underrated fantasy hitter in a pretty stacked Mets' lineup.

Round 13 - Willson Contreras

A backup catcher and insurance in case Pasquantino gets injured all in one pick with Contreras. This is an underrated pick, but a needed one for this team.

Round 14 - Kodai Senga

I'm liking my roster so far, so I'm going to target high-upside players from here on out pretty much. Senga has top-end fantasy value, like he showed in 2023, but also has durability issues after pitching in just one game last season. I think there's a great chance that he outperforms this draft slot.

Round 15 - Tyler O'Neill

O'Neill is my final starting fantasy outfielder here in round 15, and I like the trio I've assembled. He's another big power guy, and should thrive when healthy inside the Baltimore lineup.

Round 16 - Max Muncy

I still needed a fantasy third baseman, so I went with Muncy. He's part of the best lineup in baseball and has top-end fantasy potential if he can stay healthy. If he gets injured again, I may just stream the hottest fantasy 3B all season.

Round 17 - Nathan Eovaldi

Eovaldi is an overlooked fantasy asset going into 2025. He can eat plenty of innings, while providing a good share of wins and strikeouts. 

Round 18 - Zach Eflin

Eflin is in a similar boat to Eovaldi, but with less strikeouts. Those two aren't necessarily high-upside guys, but could definitely end up outperforming their draft pick slots.

Round 19 - Dylan Crews

I wanted a backup outfield option, so I decided on the high-upside Crews. The top-end prospect could end up being a drop candidate if he flops, but why not take a gamble in case he erupts this season?

Round 20 - Nestor Cortes

Cortes joins the Brewers this season, who have a tendency to get the best out of pitchers. He's had good fantasy seasons in the past, and with a low-risk pick, why not try Cortes out in the later rounds?

Round 21 - Brady Singer

A lot of the same can be said for Singer, but the Reds aren't really known for their top-end pitchers. Singer was good in KC last season, and I'm hoping he can remain a keeper for most of this season.

Final Thoughts

For not grabbing an outfielder until my 11th pick, I don't mind how my group looks overall.

Of course, not taking outfielders early means I got to focus on pitching and some other top-end infielders. Betts and Albies are among the hitters who could carry my team, while Gilbert, Crochet and Kirby are a great trio to start my fantasy rotation.

You'll notice I avoided closers completely. In this setup, we are after points, and didn't need a reliever, so I was going to avoid closers unless one fell several rounds. Starting pitchers are more likely to score points anyways, and I could always trade for a closer if I wanted points on a more daily basis throughout the season.

When looking at my hitters as a group, there aren't a ton of top-end names. Many are underrated and underappreciated, and I honestly think this group will set me up well for a good fantasy season, as long as there's not too many big injuries.

My pitching is probably going to be what carries me, but that makes sense since I avoided outfielders for several rounds.

And even though I only drafted one extra hitter (Crews), I think I have enough position versatility among my starters to not have to be scrambling too badly throughout the season if an injury were to pop up.

I wouldn't recommend avoiding outfielders for as long as I did, but fantasy teams can still look good if you take this strategy.