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The first magazine mock draft of the season took place last night for The Fantasy Baseball Guide, published by Peter Kreutzer and the boys at Mastersball.com. We held a 15-team, 23-round mock draft last night and I was invited by Lawr Michaels and Todd Zola to compete. It was a good, fun exercise featuring a lot of industry writers.

I had the 11th pick and all of us found out our draft picks about 30 minutes beforehand as the MDC crew worked hard to resurrect the 2013 draft room. After scrambling to get everyone in, we finished this draft in about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Not bad.

You have to pick up the magazine in January for complete results, but I'll list the first 6 rounds here to whet your appetites and to get some conversation going. Here's a look at the first 6 rounds, followed by my team:

The Fantasy Baseball Guide Magazine Mock Draft
Round Team Player Pos Team Pick Time
R1 P1 Tim McLeod Trout, Mike OF ANA 1m 59s
R1 P2 Zach Steinhorn Cabrera, Miguel 3B DET 25s
R1 P3 Nicholas Minnix Goldschmidt, Paul 1B ARI 52s
R1 P4 Ron Shandler McCutchen, Andrew OF PIT 21s
R1 P5 Pianow Cano, Robinson 2B NYY 11s
R1 P6 Lawr Michaels Gonzalez, Carlos OF COL 4m 27s
R1 P7 RotoDaddy Braun, Ryan OF MIL 15s
R1 P8 Peter Kreutzer Ramirez, Hanley SS LA 26s
R1 P9 Gene Mccaffrey Beltre, Adrian 3B TEX 6s
R1 P10 Jeff Erickson - RotoWire Harper, Bryce OF WAS 2m
R1 P11 Greg Ambrosius - NFFC Davis, Chris 1B BAL 10s
R1 P12 Joe Sheehan Stanton, Giancarlo OF MIA
10s
R1 P13 Todd.Zola Jones, Adam OF BAL 19s
R1 P14 Steve Moyer - Inside Edge Tulowitzki, Troy SS COL 32s
R1 P15 Steve Gardner (USA Today) Kershaw, Clayton SP LA 43s

R2 P1 Steve Gardner (USA Today) Gomez, Carlos OF MIL 21s
R2 P2 Steve Moyer - Inside Edge Kipnis, Jason 2B CLE 54s
R2 P3 Todd.Zola Encarnacion, Edwin 1B TOR 4s
R2 P4 Joe Sheehan Wright, David 3B NYM 52s
R2 P5 Greg Ambrosius - NFFC Ellsbury, Jacoby OF BOS 11s
R2 P6 Jeff Erickson - RotoWire Reyes, Jose SS TOR 8s
R2 P7 Gene Mccaffrey Freeman, Freddie 1B ATL 12s
R2 P8 Peter Kreutzer Pedroia, Dustin 2B BOS 20s
R2 P9 RotoDaddy Votto, Joey 1B CIN 12s
R2 P10 Lawr Michaels Gyorko, Jedd 2B SD 26s
R2 P11 Pianow Posey, Buster C SF 25s
R2 P12 Ron Shandler Upton, Justin OF ATL 40s
R2 P13 Nicholas Minnix Kemp, Matt OF LA 37s
R2 P14 Zach Steinhorn Bruce, Jay OF CIN 55s
R2 P15 Tim McLeod Darvish, Yu SP TEX 22s

R3 P1 Tim McLeod Longoria, Evan 3B TB 21s
R3 P2 Zach Steinhorn Fielder, Prince 1B DET 48s
R3 P3 Nicholas Minnix Desmond, Ian SS WAS 9s
R3 P4 Ron Shandler Andrus, Elvis SS TEX 55s
R3 P5 Pianow Molina, Yadier C STL 57s
R3 P6 Lawr Michaels Martin, Leonys OF TEX 15s
R3 P7 RotoDaddy Bautista, Jose OF TOR 14s
R3 P8 Peter Kreutzer Pujols, Albert 1B ANA 46s
R3 P9 Gene Mccaffrey Puig, Yasiel OF LA 7s
R3 P10 Jeff Erickson - RotoWire Rios, Alex OF CHW 27s
R3 P11 Greg Ambrosius - NFFC Segura, Jean SS MIL 8s
R3 P12 Joe Sheehan Heyward, Jason OF ATL 6s
R3 P13 Todd.Zola Kinsler, Ian 2B TEX 37s
R3 P14 Steve Moyer - Inside Edge Gonzalez, Adrian 1B LA 38s
R3 P15 Steve Gardner (USA Today) Hosmer, Eric 1B KC 31s

R4 P1 Steve Gardner (USA Today) Carpenter, Matt 3B STL 7s
R4 P2 Steve Moyer - Inside Edge Santana, Carlos C CLE 37s
R4 P3 Todd.Zola Craig, Allen 1B STL 20s
R4 P4 Joe Sheehan Mauer, Joe C MIN 8s
R4 P5 Greg Ambrosius - NFFC Fernandez, Jose SP MIA
12s
R4 P6 Jeff Erickson - RotoWire Ortiz, David DH BOS 55s
R4 P7 Gene Mccaffrey Scherzer, Max SP DET 11s
R4 P8 Peter Kreutzer Perez, Salvador C KC 30s
R4 P9 RotoDaddy Strasburg, Stephen SP WAS 18s
R4 P10 Lawr Michaels Donaldson, Josh 3B OAK 10s
R4 P11 Pianow Gordon, Alex OF KC 10s
R4 P12 Ron Shandler Verlander, Justin SP DET 54s
R4 P13 Nicholas Minnix Holliday, Matt OF STL 22s
R4 P14 Zach Steinhorn Marte, Starling OF PIT 43s
R4 P15 Tim McLeod Cespedes, Yoenis OF OAK 46s

R5 P1 Tim McLeod Kimbrel, Craig RP ATL 17s
R5 P2 Zach Steinhorn Wainwright, Adam SP STL 58s
R5 P3 Nicholas Minnix Rosario, Wilin C COL 35s
R5 P4 Ron Shandler Cabrera, Everth SS SD 18s
R5 P5 Pianow Murphy, Daniel 2B NYM 5s
R5 P6 Lawr Michaels Zobrist, Ben 2B TB 9s
R5 P7 RotoDaddy Zimmerman, Ryan 3B WAS 6s
R5 P8 Peter Kreutzer Castro, Starlin SS CHC 22s
R5 P9 Gene Mccaffrey Choo, Shin-Soo OF CIN 8s
R5 P10 Jeff Erickson - RotoWire Bumgarner, Madison SP SF 27s
R5 P11 Greg Ambrosius - NFFC Myers, Wil OF TB 12s
R5 P12 Joe Sheehan Price, David SP TB 6s
R5 P13 Todd.Zola Sale, Chris SP CHW 6s
R5 P14 Steve Moyer - Inside Edge Wieters, Matt C BAL 46s
R5 P15 Steve Gardner (USA Today) Pence, Hunter OF SF 16s

R6 P1 Steve Gardner (USA Today) Hernandez, Felix SP SEA 17s
R6 P2 Steve Moyer - Inside Edge Arenado, Nolan 3B COL 1m 47s
R6 P3 Todd.Zola Trumbo, Mark OF ANA 11s
R6 P4 Joe Sheehan Altuve, Jose 2B HOU 43s
R6 P5 Greg Ambrosius - NFFC Lee, Cliff SP PHI Predrafted
R6 P6 Jeff Erickson - RotoWire Hamels, Cole SP PHI 46s
R6 P7 Gene Mccaffrey Greinke, Zack SP LA 7s
R6 P8 Peter Kreutzer Prado, Martin OF ARI 27s
R6 P9 RotoDaddy Werth, Jayson OF WAS 22s
R6 P10 Lawr Michaels Gonzalez, Gio SP WAS 9s
R6 P11 Pianow Alvarez, Pedro 3B PIT 41s
R6 P12 Ron Shandler Lucroy, Jonathan C MIL 12s
R6 P13 Nicholas Minnix Adams, Matt 1B STL 18s
R6 P14 Zach Steinhorn Jennings, Desmond OF TB 43s
R6 P15 Tim McLeod Iwakuma, Hisashi SP SEA 51s

Here was my team from the 11th spot:

C- Brian McCann
C - J.P. Arencibia
1B - Chris Davis
2B - Howie Kendrick
SS - Jean Segura
3B - Manny Machado
CI - James Loney
MI - Jimmy Rollins
UT - Justin Morneau
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury
OF - Wil Myers
OF - Avisail Garcia
OF - George Springer
OF - Marlon Byrd

P - Jose Fernandez
P - Cliff Lee
P - Gerrit Cole
P - Chris Archer
P - Johnny Cueto
P - Dillon Gee
P - Dan Haren
P - Fernando Rodney
P - Addison Reed

I wanted good, young players with upside and a solid starting staff. I was surprised to start out with a power-speed combo of Davis and Ellsbury from the 11th hole and I was happy to get Segura and Machado to round out my infield. I may have reached for George Springer, but I like him and Avisail Garcia a lot. I got caught waiting too long on my second catcher and my final starting pitchers, but overall I was pleased with this first draft of the season. Having a few NFBC email drafts at my disposal helped for sure.

Thoughts?

I think it's amazing that Gyorko can go from a virtual unknown to 2nd round in one season.

Of course, Puig seems to have just as much hype but has the Cuban track record to add to it.
Perhaps Gyorko gets a big bump for position scarcity.

Similar hype, I wonder which has a better 2014?

I'm going Puig.

Leonys Martin at 3.6?

Joe Sambito wrote:Leonys Martin at 3.6?

Lawr took a lot of abuse for that pick, even from his partner Todd!! He was the 36th outfielder picked in the first NFBC email draft, so it took me awhile to find him on my list!!

I think you got good value for Springer.

Signed,

Doughboys

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Joe Sambito wrote:Leonys Martin at 3.6?

Lawr took a lot of abuse for that pick, even from his partner Todd!! He was the 36th outfielder picked in the first NFBC email draft, so it took me awhile to find him on my list!!

At that point did he defend it, or did he just take his punishment?

Joe Sambito wrote:

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Joe Sambito wrote:Leonys Martin at 3.6?

Lawr took a lot of abuse for that pick, even from his partner Todd!! He was the 36th outfielder picked in the first NFBC email draft, so it took me awhile to find him on my list!!

At that point did he defend it, or did he just take his punishment?

He loved the pick. He explained why. He expects him to start and shine.

Edwards Kings wrote:I think you got good value for Springer.

Signed,

Doughboys

I'm going to write about him this afternoon and ask for feedback. He is so intriguing. Good call here. In my writeup, I said he was my favorite pick, even ahead of Machado at 8.

Leonys Martin at 3.6?

Lawr took a lot of abuse for that pick, even from his partner Todd!! He was the 36th outfielder picked in the first NFBC email draft, so it took me awhile to find him on my list!!

At that point did he defend it, or did he just take his punishment?

He loved the pick. He explained why. He expects him to start and shine.

I love me some Leonys Martin - 15+ HR, 40+ SB upside with 650 PA, but that's upside, not the most likely outcome.

He's not even assured of a job, though he will likely be at worst a platoon guy.

I was hoping to snag him in the 8th or so. In March, if he's on target to start, I can see 5th or 6th.

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Edwards Kings wrote:I think you got good value for Springer.

Signed,

Doughboys

I'm going to write about him this afternoon and ask for feedback. He is so intriguing. Good call here. In my writeup, I said he was my favorite pick, even ahead of Machado at 8.

Unless Springer can cut down on the whiffs, we're looking at Mike Cameron here.

ToddZ wrote:

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Edwards Kings wrote:I think you got good value for Springer.

Signed,

Doughboys

I'm going to write about him this afternoon and ask for feedback. He is so intriguing. Good call here. In my writeup, I said he was my favorite pick, even ahead of Machado at 8.

Unless Springer can cut down on the whiffs, we're looking at Mike Cameron here.

Somebody used Cameron's name in less than a flattering way to me yesterday.
He was a pretty good fantasy player. If willing to give up on average, he was usually good for a consistent 20/20 season.
Not bad at all, really.

Joe Sambito wrote:Leonys Martin at 3.6?

Attaboy Lawr, screw adp!!!

ToddZ wrote:

Greg Ambrosius wrote:

Edwards Kings wrote:I think you got good value for Springer.

Signed,

Doughboys

I'm going to write about him this afternoon and ask for feedback. He is so intriguing. Good call here. In my writeup, I said he was my favorite pick, even ahead of Machado at 8.

Unless Springer can cut down on the whiffs, we're looking at Mike Cameron here.

Yup, his 161 strikeouts in 492 at-bats is alarming, but that still didn't stop him from hitting .303 last year with 37 homers and 55 stolen bases, plus 108 RBIs and 106 runs. He joined Ruben Rivera and Darryl Strawberry as the only minor-leaguers to go 30-40 in a season. His power is unquestionable and he has the speed to excel in the majors. The Astros also need a marketing figure and he should be it in 2014. Watch the young kids blossom in Houston, starting this year, led by Springer, Cosart and more. It should be fun.

I may be wrong on Springer, but when you draft in November you want a lot of hope. Springer makes the imagination go wild!!

I'm sure others have more insight on Springer than I do and I'd love to hear from them. I briefly saw him at the Rising Stars Game last year, but looking at his 3-year-minor league numbers is fun: .299-62 HRs, 81 SBs, 198 RBIs, 223 runs. It will be fun to see what he can do in the majors and I think by March if the Astros confirm that he will be starting on Opening Day his value will rise to earlier rounds. We'll see, I guess.

The question will be if Springer can maintain a BABIP > .360 like he has in the minors.

More often than not, they drop.

Any thoughts on Ryan Braun going 7th overall? I wasn't sure what I was going to do if he was still there at 11, but I likely would have passed knowing how you guys would have beaten me up as a homer!! It seems like he's going to land somewhere in the first round this year, wouldn't you say?

Greg Ambrosius wrote:Any thoughts on Ryan Braun going 7th overall? I wasn't sure what I was going to do if he was still there at 11, but I likely would have passed knowing how you guys would have beaten me up as a homer!! It seems like he's going to land somewhere in the first round this year, wouldn't you say?

I just talked to Jeff Barton about this on his podcast.

My first run projections have him about 12th, and that's with dinging him in a couple of spots to account for missing so much time.

My baseline may be higher (I did take him 1.02 in March, passing on Trout) so that may explain some of it -- I just don't know how much to ping him for the PEDS.

As of now. I'm not taking Braun (or Kemp, or Pujols) before the third and even then, I may not do it.

I've said it before -- it is really frustrating that this will be the third straight year that will be majorly influenced by where Braun is drafted. Kemp and Pujols are part of the game. The crap with Braun is super-frustrating.

Greg Ambrosius wrote:Any thoughts on Ryan Braun going 7th overall? I wasn't sure what I was going to do if he was still there at 11, but I likely would have passed knowing how you guys would have beaten me up as a homer!! It seems like he's going to land somewhere in the first round this year, wouldn't you say?

Gluttons for punishment in every draft; yeah he'll be far over-drafted for the second year in a row. You shouldn't even be thinking about him in round 1, Greg!

IMO Springer will be overdrafted early on. Once spring training comes along and he struggles and doesn't have a starting gig, he will go back to being a lottery type of pick.

research the players that comp to springer's skills displayed. here's the cliff notes (Right hand PCL hitters over 200 PA):

George Springer - Year 2013; Age 23; 0.315 ISO; 0.244 K%
Jerry Sands - Year 2011; Age 23; 0.308 ISO; 0.206 K%
Chris Carter - Year 2010; Age 23; 0.271 ISO; 0.25 K%
Sean Rodriguez - Year 2009; Age 23; 0.339 ISO; 0.156 K%
Brandon Wood - Year 20008; Age 23; 0.299 ISO; 0.232 K%
Wladimir Balentien - Year 2008; Age 23; 0.318 ISO; 0.178 K%

good luck.

Wow! Segura and scherzer both appear to be outstanding picks where taken

Very interesting on SPs...they seemed to have gone much later here than in any draft results I've seen so far. In the AFL draft two weeks ago, almost every SP that went in the 5th/6th round in this draft went in the 2nd/3rd/4th. David Price late 5th? Iwakuma at 6.15? I'll take that every time.