With the MLB season less than two weeks away, fantasy baseball drafts are in full-swing, but winding down at the same time. Here is the last mock draft of the season. Be sure to use eDraft's fantasy baseball mock draft tool (top-right of your screen). This is a 12-team head-to-head each category mock draft with one starter at each position in the field, one utility player and five starting pitchers with three relievers. Here are the picks by round (seventh pick)
1. Carlos Gonzalez - Outfielder, Colorado Rockies
With the seventh pick in the draft, Gonzalez fell far enough to be an incredible pick. Despite his health concerns, he is a threat to be amongst the top in each of the five hitting categories. A steal at seventh overall.
2. Yu Darvish - Starting Pitcher, Texas Rangers
In the second round, taking a starting pitcher is not what was planned, but since Darvish fell and there was not another value worth the pick, he was the best choice, and value at that slot. Another choice could have been David Wright.
3. Felix Hernandez - Starting Pitcher, Seattle Mariners
This pick mirrors the logic behind the pick in the second round. The best position player available here was Jose Reyes, and we can all agree that Hernandez is a better selection than the oft-injured shortstop.
4. Chris Sale - Starting Pitcher, Chicago White Sox
Taking Sale in the fourth round allows three of the game's top ten pitchers to all be on the same fantasy team. This pick gives flexibility in the mid-rounds to fill the roster with position players.
5. Matt Holliday - Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals
Holiday was the best value on the board in the fifth round, and allows two-thirds of the outfield to be filled with two great hitters.
6. Josh Donaldson - Third Baseman, Oakland A's
Donaldson was one of the best third baseman in fantasy baseball last season, and in the sixth round he is an incredible value. Donaldson adds average, home runs, runs scored and runs batted in, a great four-category steal in the beginning of the middle rounds.
7. Gerrit Cole - Starting Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates
Again, with a value like Cole on the board, he could not be passed on in the seventh round. Adding him to a rotation of Darvish, Hernandez and Sale will certainly win a few categories each week.
8. Brandon Phillips - Second Baseman, Cincinnati Reds
With one of the best second baseman in the major leagues on the board, and the talent behind him being underwhelming, Phillips was the perfect fit in the eight round. He is still capable of hitting 25 home runs and driving in 100 runs, which is rare for a second baseman.
9. Carlos Santana - Catcher, Cleveland Indians
Usually, waiting on a catcher is a great strategic move but with the best fantasy catcher available in the ninth round, he was hard to pass up. Santana will not be eligible at catcher in the future, so getting his production in that slot is worth the pick in the ninth round. Santana can hit .300 with 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in this season, a steal in the ninth.
10. Matt Moore - Starting Pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays
Moore is a fantasy gem, meaning that for some reason he is going as late as the 14 round, but is well worth the price in the 10th. Moore is a threat to win 17 games with a sub-3.5 ERA each and every year, which is more than a value as a fifth starting pitcher in fantasy baseball.
With the first ten rounds complete, this particular team still needed a shortstop, first baseman, outfielder and three relievers. If you can get through the first ten rounds with the aforementioned players, this puts you in a great position to add great values late to start and contribute big to your fantasy team. Some to remember are shortstop Jed Lowrie, first baseman Mike Napoli, relief pitcher Jason Grilli, and outfielder Avisail Garcia.
Good luck, and happy drafting.