Key Stats: Gardner is drafted for stolen bases, runs scored, and more stolen bases, all of which he should supply plenty of batting in the Yankees lineup. He does what someone with speed should do, which is keep the ball on the ground, but he has also been able to increase the rate he hits line drives each year he has been in the majors, which you won't find anyone complaining about. Last year he finished with the 3rd lowest swinging strike rate (3%) and the was tied for the 5th highest contact rate (91.4%) among qualified batters.

CKey Stats:Cory Luebke established himself as enough of a big league talent that San Diego was comfortable to trade away Mat Latos. Despite getting only 6 Wins on the year (he was in the bullpen until his first start on June 26th), he pitched better than his already good 3.29 ERA would lead you to beleive. He was able to build off of his cup of coffee in the majors in '10 by increasing his K% and decreasing his BB% leading to a 3.50 K/BB ratio, good enough for the 17th best ratio in the bigs (had he pitched the minimum amount of innings to qualify for the leader boards). Every single one of his modified ERA stats was lower than his actual ERA, and his FIP and SIERA even came in under 3.00.

'Tis the season for mocking, and mocking we've done. On Sunday night, an A-list of fantasy sports writers, and myself in the role of jester, gathered for a mock draft at Mock Draft Central. Before going any further, I'd like to thank Jeff Erickson and Griffin Lowmaster for setting up the draft room and making the mock possible. The roster format used mirrored that of the NFBC. Finally, 20 games played was the requirement for positional eligibility. Below is the draft order:

Here is a link to the draft results.

And the draft order was as follows:

1. Charlie Saponara - Fantasy Baseball 365
2. Derek Carty – Baseball Prospectus
3. Josh Shepardson – Fantasy Baseball 365 & The Hardball Times
4. Rob Steingall – SNY Guys
5. Razzball
6. Tim Heaney - KFFL
7. R.J. White – Fantasy Baseball Café
8. Jeff Gross – The Hardball Times
9. Matthew McMillen – Fantasy Baseball 365
10. Brad Evans – Yahoo!
11. Justin Green – Rotowire
12. Eno Sarris - FanGraphs

I’ve been playing fantasy sports (baseball and football) for some time now, but to be perfectly honest, I’ve only been writing about it for a little more than a year. Last night’s 2012 Kick-Off Special Expert Mock Draft was the first expert mock I have participated in, and I learned a valuable lesson:  I don’t have sleepers (at least not in this crowd). There are no secrets; it’s just “Can I grab this guy I think will do well that was under the radar last year before everyone else in this room does without pulling a muscle reaching for him?” no comments

This past Sunday night, FB365 hosted a special expert mock draft over at Mock Draft Central. A few of us here at FB365, along with an all-star cast of fantasy baseball writers from across the nation, went 23 rounds of NFBC-style mock drafting: C (2), 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, OF (5), UT, P (9).

Needless to say, it was a blast. We’ll be dishing out some of our analysis here on FB365 and we’ll be sure to link over any analysis from the other participating sites.

Mock draft results page

1. Charlie Saponara - Fantasy Baseball 365
2. Derek Carty – Baseball Prospectus
3. Josh Shepardson – Fantasy Baseball 365 & The Hardball Times
4. Rob Steingall – SNY Guys
5. Razzball
6. Tim Heaney - KFFL
7. R.J. White – Fantasy Baseball Café
8. Jeff Gross – The Hardball Times
9. Matthew McMillen – Fantasy Baseball 365
10. Brad Evans – Yahoo!
11. Justin Green – Rotowire
12. Eno Sarris - FanGraphs

I had the first pick and here’s how my draft went…

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Key Stats: Brian McCann has been the steady force at the catcher position over the last six years. He has finished with at least 20 home runs every season except one (he hit 18), he is a career .286 hitter, and has a career .844 OPS. He's also only going to be 28 this coming season. If you are going to go big early on catcher, it's nice that there's a consistent player in his prime available.

Skeptics Say: While other sites project McCann closer to the top 50, that may be a stretch. Since 2006, McCann has never finished in the top 100 in Yahoo's player ranking formula. He's been good, but not spectacular. He's never finished with more than 24 home runs, never topped 100 RBI, and never topped 70 runs scored. Unlike many of the other top catchers he's competed with for fantasy supremecy, McCann doesn't find a way to crack the lineup when he isn't catching. 

What happens when you graduate Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis, and you deal Drew Pomeranz and Alex White (who would have graduated anyways)? You are left with a pretty thin farm system, and that is the case for the Indians. The pickings are somewhat slim, and industry prospect lists lack consensus beyond the top two. no comments

Key Stats: Michael Bourn has been one of the most consistent outfielders of the past three seasons and had been doing it under the radar - until last season that is. Heading into the 2011 season, Bourn was not ranked in the top 30 outfielders by ESPN, CBS, or Yahoo - despite being the only player to top 50 steals in both 2009 and 2010. Now Bourn is the only player in baseball that has 50 steals each of the last three years, and in fact he was the only player that topped 50 last season. 

Skeptics Say: Unfortunately the secret is out, and Bourn might be more of a reach based on where he's going in the early going this season. Let's remember that in 2010, he was ranked outside the top 100 overall, and that for all that his wheels will provide he lacks any production in two out of the major five categories. Spending a fifth round pick as Tristan Cockcroft and Mock Draft Central early drafters are doing in mixed leagues is a heavy price to pay in home runs and RBI early in a draft.