In advance of the upcoming fantasy baseball draft season, the Fantrax baseball writers put their knowledge on display in our annual staff mock draft. Since many of us will be competing in industry drafts soon, we followed the traditional 15-team rotisserie format. However, we added a small twist as we went with 16 drafters and only one catcher. The rest of the roster requirements included five outfielders, a mix of nine pitchers, a corner, and a middle infielder along with a utility spot. Below, see the full mock draft board, best viewed when zoomed in, and then read the reactions from participants on how the draft played out for them.
2025 Fantasy Baseball Fantrax Staff Mock Draft
Draft Participant Reactions
Chris Durrell
Who was your best pick and why?
Masyn Winn who has four to five category upside and I got him as my second shortstop and 40 picks behind his ADP.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
I had Colton Cowser queued up in the 11th round as my OF3 and he ended up going two picks before my turn. I should have taken him in the 9th or 10th round.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
My strategy going in was to get an elite starting pitcher and an elite bat in the first two rounds and then fill in with upside bats the next three rounds. From there, I wanted three more pitchers(one closer) before round 10. From round 10 to 20, I went with a “best available” approach and the from round 20-28 wanted upside plays who could crush their ADP. It played out alright considering the challenge of drafting on the turn. I had to reach on players I wanted knowing that it would be 31 picks in between for me.
Dave Funnell
Who was your best pick and why?
Xavier Edwards at 10.8 – getting someone who should run for 40+ stolen bases alongside a healthy batting average that late is a steal….pun intended.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
Ryan Mountcastle in the 16th round by Mike Carter was a great pick. I had Cody Bellinger already as my 1B, but I feel like they’ll be somewhat similar in production this year, and waiting on my first baseman even more might have been the better play here.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
My approach is to take BPA in the first few rounds with little to no worries. I think I did just that (*knock on wood) with Lindor, Duran, Kirby and Framber. Securing as many saves as possible without going overboard is a goal, too. Drafting Hader, Duran, and Bednar means that I hopefully won’t have to spend money in FAAB on saves while others do.
Doug Anderson
Who was your best pick and why?
I really like Spencer Strider in the seventh round. Obviously there’s some risk and he’ll miss a few weeks but I can piece together a staff for the first three or four weeks of the season and still get a Cy Young type pitcher.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
It wasn’t so much one specific player but every time I had a closer queued up, they were taken a pick or two before my turn. I’m fine with Trevor Megill as my top closer but I would have liked to get two closers I was comfortable with.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
The deeper the league the more I pay attention to positional runs. 15 teams is right about where that starts mattering. I probably went with too many injury concerns and high-risk high-reward types in this draft, but those are a lot easier to stomach in a mock. I may not have been so adventurous in a money league.
Joseph Dean (JD)
Who was your best pick and why?
With all due respect to Luis Arraez and the pressure I have put on him to hoist my Batting Average anchors (yes, I am mainly talking to you, Pete Alonso), my best (or at least my favorite) pick has to be Anthony Santander at pick 63. Sure, I am higher on him than most, but, with Home Runs being four-category events, I wanted to lock up power early. Consider the past two seasons where Santander had a combined OPS of just .788 at Camden Yards, and will now play half his games at the Rogers Centre, a venue where he had an OPS of .941 over that same time span! To my esteemed league mates: I have been assured that you will each receive a very nice Participation Trophy.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
Likely keeping my team from achieving true legendary status, I really wish I had nabbed Marlin’s 3B Connor Norby in Round 19 (pick 290). He was a top mid-late round target just waiting for me to click the draft button from my queue. I had a very strong gut feeling that he would make it back to me, so I passed. Turns out that gut feeling was nothing more than indigestion. Norby ended up going later in Round 19 at pick 302. A Third Baseman at pick 302 who should cruise to a 70/25/70/10 stat line, all without being a total drain on your BAvg? Pass the Pepto, please.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
My general strategy for Roto drafts (deep league or otherwise), is to solidify power early and try to get at least one ace SP in the first four rounds. I target a couple of high BAvg players along the way and mix in steals where I can. Once power is secured, I really start concentrating on Starting Pitching. I generally look at two things: WHIP and Ks. While ERA and Wins are certainly important, they can be very volatile and nearly impossible to project. A pitcher who has proven he can limit base runners and has K/9 potential north of 9.00 is a pitcher I salivate over. It’s too bad so few of these low WHIP, high K/9 hurlers take the mound these days. Knockoff brands will have to suffice.
Speaking of salivating, as the great 20th Century philosopher Forrest Gump famously said, “A deep, 16-team Fantasy Baseball draft is like a box of chocolates—you never know who you’re gonna get.” I may be paraphrasing slightly, but it was definitely something like that. Remain patient, do your research, and, most importantly, stay caffeinated. Hopefully you will select the chocolates with nuts in them. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Nick Dmytrow
Who was your best pick and why?
Though I have concerns about Roki Sasaki’s injury history in Japan, and the fact that he’s never thrown more than 130 innings in a season, I was delighted to get him with the 142nd overall pick (9th round). Given that other platforms prioritize the 23-year-old earlier (Fantasy Pros ADP is 103), the downside risks feel largely mitigated.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
Drafting very close to the Round 5/Round 6 turn, I prioritized Jordan Westburg (ADP 114) over Bailey Ober (ADP 79). Ober didn’t make it back to me just five picks later. I’m thinking I could’ve had both if I had done the opposite.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
Whenever I’m in a league that goes more than 400 players deep into the player pool, I generally like to prioritize job security, especially in the later rounds. This accounts for my selections of Jordan Walker (Round 17), Jesus Luzardo (Round 18), Connor Norby (Round 19), Nick Martinez (Round 20), and Sal Frelick (Round 24). Though they could lose their starting role, their respective teams seem dedicated to giving them every opportunity to stick around. With a very limited waiver wire to augment your roster throughout the season, this is more important to me than high upside.
Taylor Tarter
Who was your best pick and why?
Hard to argue against Jose Ramirez, but I was super pumped to get Lawrence Butler in round 5. He could return second or third-round value, so I feel like I got a huge steal there.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
I am pretty high on Hunter Brown and regret not taking him in round 4 where I took Shota Imanaga.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
I think beyond the first 3-5 rounds, the only strategy in a 12-15 team league is to go with the flow. Especially for me, drafting at #2 in a snake draft, there are no guarantees of which players will come back around to me. As for the first few rounds, I wanted to try to get as balanced of a team as I could, and think I accomplished that drafting Jose Ramirez, Jose Altuve, Lawrence Butler, and Vinnie Pasquantino in the first six rounds.
Todd Hedberg
Who was your best pick and why?
Andres Munoz in round 11. Not necessarily because of the value, but the fact I was able to get the last sure-fire closer before a run of relievers started later on with speculative closers. It’s always hard to pass on players in positions that contribute to more categories, but there’s definitely scarcity with closers to not lose sight of when drafting.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
Definitely Xavier Edwards. I was reminded that in deep league drafts my target players don’t fall to me and I need to reach a round earlier than ADP.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
Balance is the name of the game for me as I fill out my roster. However, my normal approach went off-track early on when Manny Machado was still on the board for me at pick 37. Despite having just taken Austin Riley the round before, it was too hard to resist the high floor of Machado there to slot in my corner infield position. As a result, it became a scramble around round 10 to find outfielders with regular playing time for their clubs, versus platoon roles.
Wes Hughes
Who was your best pick and why?
Nolan Gorman – Round 21 (347 overall): The Cardinals reportedly want Gorman to get 500-600 at-bats this year. With a current ADP of 321, this is a good value for a 2B that is limited in HR production and Gorman has 30+ homer upside. I took a hit on average but felt my surrounding players could support him.
Who was the player you missed out on and should’ve reached for and how much earlier should you have taken them?
Lucas Erceg – I’m not convinced Estevez will be the primary closer for the Royals and though he was good with the Angels, he wasn’t a lockdown closer. Erceg displayed elite stuff upon assuming that role for the royals last year and I think he could be a top-10 closer. I would’ve taken him at least a round earlier with my 14-6 pick, potentially with my 13-11 pick.
What is your general deep league positional draft strategy and how did it play out in this mock?
I like picking at the ends so that I can reach down for players. I like a studs and duds approach and in the first two rounds I don’t target specific players but I prefer power/speed combos over guys like Yordan or Judge. In the mid portion of the draft I like to fill out scarce positions and then backfill with high upside players and prospects.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
