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Today, we’re highlighting our latest 2022 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Mock Draft. Despite the news that Spring Training will be delayed, the extended offseason gives managers more time to focus and key in on players they’re targeting in fantasy. The mock draft took place amongst our writers and several others in the fantasy baseball industry. With dynasty leagues, however, conventional draft strategy changes. Someone who may not have necessarily been drafted as high in standard leagues will often go earlier in dynasty drafts. At times, there is more emphasis and value put on younger players. Of course, there’s still value in established players, but their grading in dynasty can be tougher due to age, contract situations, playing time, injuries, etc.
So, while we wait to see what occurs next with the offseason, here’s how our dynasty mock draft went down:
2022 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Mock Draft
1 -- Jesse Roche (Baseball Prospectus)
2 -- Christopher Crawford (NBC Sports EDGE)
3 -- Matthew Pouliot (NBC Sports EDGE)
4 -- Brad Johnson (NBC Sports EDGE)
5 -- Shelly Verougstrate (Dynasty Guru)
6 -- Dave Shovein (NBC Sports EDGE)
7 -- Ryan Boyer (NBC Sports EDGE)
8 -- Ryan Boyer (NBC Sports EDGE)
9 -- Eric Cross (Fantrax)
10 -- Drew Silva (NBC Sports EDGE)
11 -- Chris Clegg (Fantrax)
12 -- Colin Henderson (NBC Sports EDGE)
Every manager knows just how valuable mock drafts can be. They’re an essential tool that provides an insight into how and what the industry values in the players available to draft. Our goal is to give you the tools to help you prepare as much as possible for 2022 fantasy drafts. Whether you land the No. 1 overall pick or the last pick in your league, our MLB Draft Guide can assist your fantasy championship quest from Opening Day to Game 162.
Let’s take a look at Rounds 1 and 3 from our latest mock draft, including which players land with which managers and a summary from those two rounds. You can see the entire mock draft and 2022 MLB Draft Guide with the NBC Sports EDGE+ package. EDGE+ is complete with content structured to provide the knowledge you need to make the sharp decisions in a variety of league formats — from projections, tiers, rankings, sleepers and busts to exclusive expert columns — we’re constantly aiming to make every draft guide edition better than the last one.
2022 NBC Sports EDGE Mock Draft (Feb. 2)
(Yahoo standard 5x5 categories league format)
ROUND 1
1.01 -- Fernando Tatis, SS/OF | Padres
1.02 -- Juan Soto, OF | Nationals
1.03 -- Ronald Acuña, OF | Braves
1.04 -- Trea Turner, SS/2B | Dodgers
1.05 -- Vladimir Guerrero, 1B | Blue Jays
1.06 -- Bo Bichette, SS | Blue Jays
1.07 -- José Ramírez, 3B | Guardians
1.07 -- Mike Trout, OF | Angels
1.08 -- Gerrit Cole, SP | Yankees
1.09 -- Bryce Harper, OF | Phillies
1.10 -- Kyle Tucker, OF | Astros
1.11 -- Shohei Ohtani, DH | Angels
1.12 -- Walker Buehler, SP | Dodgers
Round Analysis: Last year, it was Soto who went first with Tatis Jr. going second. In this iteration, the two switch, and it’s understandable with Tatis more likely to help in the theft category while providing plenty of help in other spots. Acuna’s injury doesn’t really alter his long-term perspective, and unsurprisingly goes third again. One of the big jumpers is Guerrero Jr., and one just need to look at his numbers to understand why. Two pitchers go in the first-round, with Buehler going after Cole as a nice combination of current production and long-term upside.
ROUND 3
3.25 -- Freddie Freeman, 1B | Free Agent
3.26 -- Jacob deGrom - SP | Mets
3.27 -- Manny Machado - 3B | Padres
3.28 -- Austin Riley - 3B | Braves
3.29 -- Xander Bogaerts - SS | Red Sox
3.30 -- Julio Urías, SP | Dodgers
3.31 -- Eloy Jimenez, OF | White Sox
3.32 -- Shane Bieber, SP | Guardians
3.33 -- Jarred Kelenic, OF | Mariners
3.34 -- Zack Wheeler, SP | Phillies
3.35 -- Teoscar Hernández, OF | Blue Jays
3.36 -- Sandy Alcantara, SP | Marlins
Round Analysis: DeGrom was the first pitcher off the board in last year’s iteration, and he falls to me in the third round due to injury concerns. There’s still an awful lot of upside in that arm. Five pitchers end up going in that round, with Urias seeming like solid value considering his youth and success. The most intriguing pick in this round -- and in this entire draft -- was the selection of Kelenic. The overall numbers were ugly, but he really appeared to figure things out at the end of the year, and as a 22-year-old, he still offers tremendous upside in his left-handed bat.
To check out the entire draft and round-by-round analysis, as well as the full rankings for a variety of formats and all that our Draft Guide and Season Tools for NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL have to offer, you can purchase EDGE+.
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