Yu Darvish and other Top SP in Mock Draft Round 5

Jun 28, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Round 4 of the early fantasy baseball mock draft can be found here.  The fifth round of this mock draft saw six more outfielders go along with four great starting pitchers.  With a late pick in the fifth round, I was really hoping that either Yu Darvish or Corey Kluber would continue their inexplicable freefalls, but I fell just short of landing either of them.

Craig Kimbrel was the first closer drafted as expected, but 49^th overall is just too early for me.  The next pick of Marcell Ozuna rivaled Craig Kimbrel as the biggest overpay, while the biggest values came from George Springer and the aces.

The numbers listed to the left of each name represent the round and the overall pick they were drafted.

5.49 RP Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves

I have no problem drafting an elite arm, but why not draft one who throws more than just the ninth inning when they are available?  There were multiple top ten starters still on the board.

5.50 OF Marcell Ozuna of the Miami Marlins

I have mentioned that I like Marcell Ozuna here, but at the 50^th pick?  No way.  There were multiple other outfielders I would have taken instead of Ozuna at this junction in the draft.

5.51 OF Starling Marte of the Pittsburgh Pirates

Starling Marte is a pretty RBI averse player, but he can offer top tier stolen base potential as well as about a dozen homers.  Beyond that, Marte is a career .280 hitter, which is increasingly valuable in today’s game of declining batting averages.  I think that Starling Marte should reproduce his 2014 numbers and could even exceed them if he plays more than 135 games.

5.52 SP Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians

I already had a frontline ace in Felix Hernandez, but I was going to draft Corey Kluber if possible because the value was too great to pass at this point, especially after expressing my thoughts here.  I felt like I was drafting with a fairly pitching-averse group here in the early mock draft because I expect Corey Kluber to go one or even two rounds higher in your draft.

5.53 OF George Springer of the Houston Astros

My fantasy love of George Springer is evidenced in this article.  It is well known that George Springer makes terrible contact and will strikeout at a horrifying clip.  However, his elite power-steal combo could make him a top 10 OF even if he holds you back in batting average or OBP.  If you play in an OPS league, then make sure you get your hands on the budding star.

5.54 SP Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds

I preferred Yu Darvish here for an elite starting pitcher, but Cueto has frequently been a stud arm with a sub 3.00 ERA every year since 2011.  Johnny Cueto also benefitted big time from an absurd .238 BABIP, but his numbers have always been driven by weak contact.  He has a career .275 BABIP and 19.6% LD%.  I still think Cueto offers more risk compared to most aces, but he is a decent value in the fifth round.

5.55 OF Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds

Jay Bruce follows his teammate in the draft, but I really thought that he would fall a little lower.  I have no problem with owning Jay Bruce because I think he rebounds somewhat in 2015 as you can read here, but I think he is more of a seventh rounder rather than a fifth rounder.

5.56 2B Ian Kinsler of the Detroit Tigers

This looks just about right for Kinsler’s 2015 ADP.  Ian Kinsler was quite good in his inaugural season with the Detroit Tigers scoring an even 100 runs and driving in a career best 92 RBI’s.  It does scare me that Kinsler forgot how to walk with a BB% of only 4%.  However, the 32 year old should be a top five second bagger once again in 2015.

5.57 SP Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers

The Yu Darvish pick was arguably the best bargain pick of the entire draft.  I think it is certainly up there with my late third round steal of Freddie Freeman.  Yu Darvish’s career K/9 of 11.22 and K% of 30.1% is just downright filthy.  If he continues to decrease his walk rate, then Yu Darvish should be a top 5 SP.  His ridiculous arsenal of plus pitches makes him one of the game’s premier starters.

5.59 OF Jason Heyward of the St. Louis Cardinals

As a Cubs fan, I am confident that Heyward that will go 35-35 and win the NL MVP.  The Cards just seem to have all the luck.  More realistically, I am concerned that Jason Heyward’s dreadful .113 ISO will hinder his fantasy value.  His .113 ISO ranked 109 out of 146 qualified hitters in 2014 and was even worse than Dioner Navarro, David Freese, and B.J. Upton.  Yikes.

5.60 OF Billy Hamilton of the Cincinnati Reds

Drafting Billy Hamilton is like buying an elite closer.  You are paying for excellence in one category.  However, a great closer is still very beneficial to your ERA and WHIP, but Hamilton barely provides any other value besides SB and runs.  His second half .057 ISO and 42 wRC+ is horrifying.  Let someone else overpay for stolen bases.   Save your money and get Ben Revere or Leonys Martin much, much later.