2013 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

I recently took part in a 2013 fantasy baseball mock draft as part of the “Sunday Night with Tim” mock drafts hosted by Tim McLeod of RotoRob on Mock Draft Central. He holds them every Sunday night (hence the name – who says hence anymore?  Tim probably does; he’s old*. *Note added by Grey.) and it’s a good time all around so I suggest you check it out. I plan to do another one in a couple weeks. Anyway, these are 15 team mixed league drafts. How’d I do? What should I have done differently? How have your mocks gone so far this year? Some of my thoughts on this team are below:

• I’m most proud of my first three picks. I’d be ecstatic to start off my team with Joey Votto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jason Heyward. I think Stanton fell to me at pick 23 because of concerns about his lack of a supporting cast. It bothers me slightly, but I’m inclined to think that talented hitters will more or less produce their numbers no matter who hits before or after them. As for Heyward, I think he’s a steal at pick 38 and believe he’ll have his best season yet in 2013.
• Did I reach for Choo? Pick 53 felt early, but I felt myself gravitating towards him over the remaining outfielders. Gotta love the move to the Reds, but maybe I should’ve let my fear of Dusty hold me back.
• I could have waited longer on middle infield. I got ahead of myself with Altuve and took him earlier than I wanted to after looking at the remaining second base names. Although I like him, I probably could have better filled a different area instead of drafting Asdrubal for my middle infield slot. I was partly disgusted at the remaining MI options and somewhat curious to see who others would draft for their MI.
• On the other hand, I received several compliments for snagging Andrus in the sixth round at pick 83. I don’t normally draft him, but I couldn’t help it after still seeing him on the board. He’s locked in as a great second tier shortstop.
• I basically punted top pitching, but wish I had grabbed a pitcher a round or two earlier than Lincecum. I saw a few great pitchers still on the board and figured I had time, but they were snatched up before I knew it. Was Lincecum a panic pick? Not exactly. I don’t know how he’ll perform next year, but I don’t mind gambling at pick 128 in the draft. Although I’ll admit that I wouldn’t have taken that gamble if I had landed a top pitcher.
• I would gladly take most of my pitchers in the same spot in future drafts and bet I’ll end up consistently drafting some of these guys: Anibal Sanchez, Lance Lynn, Edwin Jackson, and Michael Fiers. If I could get an ace or two to go along with a few of these guys, I’d be very happy with my rotation.
• Just to show you that I practice what I preach, I drafted some guys that I’ve recently written about, like David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. I was thrilled to get them where I did.
• Did I really just draft Ichiro? I didn’t expect to be drafting him, but consider him a solid grab in that spot. He performed well on the Yankees last year and I expect Yankee Stadium to help him stave off old age for one more season.
• My closers are iffy, but SAGNOF!
• Overall, I believe this team is competitive in a 15 team league. I really like my hitting and view it as a good blend of power, speed, and batting average. Next time, I’ll probably grab a top pitcher early instead of a middle infielder.