On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, RotoCommunity.com participated in a fantasy baseball mock draft (on Mock Draft Central) with the other industry experts listed below. Player position eligibility was provided by Mock Draft Central. We assumed standard 5x5 category roto scoring with 23 starters and no reserves (for the purposes of the mock). Here's how the draft went down round-by-round, with analysis following each round.

You can go here to read about my first mock draft of the season (1/26/10). That one was a 12-teamer. Go here to read about my 15-teamer from Sunday, 1/31. Go here to read about my Tuesday, 2/2 mock. This is my fourth expert mock within the past few weeks. 

I changed up on my strategy a bit this time around; I've always been a proponent of waiting to draft starting pitchers, but thought I'd go counter to that mantra in this draft. This strategy also gave me the chance to draft (and profile) some players I wouldn't ordinarily land. All in all, not a bad team, but I'm still more comfortable holding off until rounds 5-7 to draft my first starter. On we go...

ROUND 1

Prince posted some monstrous power numbers last season, and I see no reason that should change in 2010. Kinsler's below-average BA (I'm not betting on a return to .300 or even .280 this season) would dissuade me from ever making him a first-round pick, but the attraction of his power/speed combination is undeniable.

ROUND 2

Matching my No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks to complement one another is a favorite strategy of mine, and CC fits that role to a T. After two rounds, I have all of the hitting categories covered. I'm not as enamored with Brandon Phillips as MDC seems to be -- I'd rather have Dustin Pedroia, batting at the top of the Boston lineup and smacking doubles off the Monster at a .300-plus clip.

ROUND 3

I've said time and again -- third base dries up very quickly this year, and I wasn't willing to take the chance that Zimmerman would fall four more picks -- even though post already had a third baseman in the fold. I'm not sure where Sonny's going... three rounds in and still no outfielder (in a five-outfielder league, remember) and zero team speed. Hmmmmm...

ROUND 4

Sonny, one so true, what the heck is up with you? Haren's a fine starting pitcher (in the first half, anyway) but Sonny seems to be ignoring some key factors in this year's talent pool. I can't wait to see how this turns out. I took Felix here, but I reckon that I would never do that when it counted. Pedroia would probably have been my man here, but as I said in the opening, I'm trying something different.

ROUND 5

I was very pleasantly surprised to see Jeter fall to me here. Sure, he's in the twilight of his career, but there have some awfully beautiful pictures made at sunset. Nelson Cruz seems to be earning a lot of love this year, but not from Yours Truly -- that .232 he batted on the road last season makes him too high-maintenance for me to stomach.

ROUND 6

I'm a big believer that Zobrist's breakout 2009 campaign was no fluke. He's a big guy, and it looked as though he tweaked his swing a bit in mid '08 in order to lift the ball a bit more. His power numbers have been up since then, and I believe that they are there to stay.This feels a tad early for Hanson, Bourn and Peavy. Spencer grabs the last of the current third base tier.

ROUND 7

The obvious injury risk is there with Carpenter, but since I had committed to going for starting pitching early, he makes a good choice here. When he's healthy, Carpenter is among the top-five starting pitchers in the game. He would have been long gone by now if not for the injury worries. I like Sonny's pick of Abreu, but I wonder if he's arriving at the party a little too late.

ROUND 8

The middle rounds are a bit squirrely this year, and I think that I'm a lot happier prospecting for closers here than for starting outfielders. I think Jones is in for a breakout season, though, and I'm not shy about drafting him as my OF3. Unfortunately, he winds up being my No. 2 in this draft, and that's a direct result of going for pitching early. I think Billy Butler may just have a monster campaign this year, and he'll be someone I'll target if I miss out on a first baseman early. Nolasco is a shrewd pick -- his '09 numbers were blown up by an awful first two months... and he still wound up fanning 195 batters.

ROUND 9

I received another pleasant surprise here, as Soria falls to me at pick #91. The Royals should be an improved team this year, and Soria has been lights-out the past three seasons. I don't believe in overpaying for saves, but that doesn't mean I won't snag a bargain when one falls my way.

ROUND 10

Hunter is a decent enough choice here, with modest power, average and steals potential, but I feel like I'm behind the eight ball in this five-outfielder format. If this had been my OF4 instead of a #3, I would have been tempted to pull the trigger on Bruce, who I think is in for a big season. Bailey represents good value here, and he is probably the last closer I consider a true #1 Fantasy reliever.

ROUND 11

The two-catcher requirement in NFBC forces your hand early on backstops, so once again I say, "Hip-hip... Jorge!." Sonny lands some more speed with Bartlett, who I'm not as sold on as I am Zobrist. The steals should be there in any event, but banking on another .320 season with double-digit bombs might be a bit of a reach.

ROUND 12

Cuddyer is an underrated slugger whose health concerns caused him to fall this far. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with Wandy Rodriguez here, who I thought was an outstanding value in the 12th round. I have no idea what to make of Tejada, and I'm staying away from him unless my need is extremely dire and the price extremely right.

ROUND 13

Though I was still chastising myself for letting Wandy slide by last round, Baker makes a nice consolation prize. His command is impeccable, and the 3.28 ERA he posted after the Break last season leads me to think that big things are in store for him in 2010. My man-crush on Roy Oswalt is well-documented, but even I felt that he was taken a bit early here. That being said, if he has another Oz-like season, Round 13 will look like a bargain.

ROUND 14

With no knock-me-over hitters on the board, I went with a second closer -- but looking back, perhaps I should have passed on Franklin. We'll see. Perhaps Franklin just wore down last season, but LaRoche and Konerko look like better picks through the 20/20 vision of hindsight.

ROUND 15

I really like Napoli -- he has nice pop, and his .270-something average isn't a stat killer. Loney, whose lack of power causes him to tumble in drafts, was a nice pick by Ivar. Loney's a virtual lock for a .280-plus BA and 90 RBI. Rajai Davis is another favorite of mine, as I regularly attend classes at the School of Cheap Speed. Right now, go and look at Davis' numbers compared to Jacoby Ellsbury's during the second half of last season. Virtually identical, aren't they? Can he do it again? I don't know -- but the price of admission to find out is certainly right.

ROUND 16

I made a bad pick here. I think the O-Dog will post solid numbers at the top of the Minnesota order, but those numbers were available later on in the draft. If I had it to do over again, Edwin Jackson would have been my pick here, and someone like Ryan Theriot would have followed at the end of the draft. Cobra Kai scores a great pick with Gutierrez, who just oozes 20/20 potential, even in Seattle's spacious Safeco Field.

ROUND 17

Helton's power is all but gone, but he's a decent corner infielder if you have already loaded up on bombers. Helton will almost certainly hit .300-plus again, which should offset the rather pedestrian BA of some of my power guys. I think Kazmir will surprise a lot of people this year. I'm convinced that most of his problems were in his head, and if Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher can get Kaz back on track, look out.

ROUND 18

I drew some hoots (good "you stole my pick, you &*&^* you" kind of hoots) from the room with this one. Reimold showed a ton of promise last year, mashing out .279-15-45 with eight steals in just 358 at bats. B-more's outfield is a crowded house, but I can envision Reimold making a run at a 20/20 season this year... and apparently I'm not alone in that belief. I liked the Ordonez and Prado picks, but Howell is a bit of a reach. The league caught up to his junk late last season, and I think Dan Wheeler will be the next in line for saves if Soriano struggles.

ROUND 19

I was very surprised to see Sheets still on the board given the company I was keeping this night. I've extolled the virtues of Big Ben before, and I stand by it -- Billy Beane saw enough to hand over $10 mil, and I'm not going to argue with Moneyball Man. Gonzalez should be a great source of cheap saves in most fantasy drafts this year, but it will take more than a dominant Winter League showing to sell me on a Liriano comeback.

ROUND 20

I kicked myself after the fact for not taking Hudson here, but Escobar should rack up a few dozen steals for the Brew Crew this season and help ease my pain. I'm over Joba Chamberlain, and I'm staying away from drafting him in most standard leagues. That's a nice, late pick on Pierzynski, and Dotel should be another fine sources of saves at a bargain price.

ROUND 21

As much as I'm avoiding Joba, I'm grabbing Phil Hughes late in just about every draft. He has that intangible "something" -- mound presence, let's call it -- that just screams "ace". Oh, by the way, he also has some positively wicked stuff, and he's only 23 years old. Hopefully, Messrs. Girardi and Cashman will see the light and hand Phil the ball as the Yanks' No. 5 starter this season. Lidge is a scary proposition, but he's a risk well worth taking this late in your draft.

I have been busting Sonny's chops a bit over his lack of bellying up to the bar when all of the top outfielders were flying off the board, and here's why... his pick of Hairston sets his starting outfield as follows: Abreu, Rios, Cust, the currently unemployed Jermaine Dye and Hairston. Yikes. Granted, it's only a mock, but an ugly assemblage like that should tell the tale loud and clear -- in the NFBC format, DO NOT wait to grab a few top-notch pasture ponies, as they'll be gone before you know it. If you are going to wait on position players, middle infield looks to be the deepest position(s) on the board. Heck, a perennial 20-steal talent like Ryan Theriot and a 20-homer guy like Clint Barmes both went undrafted in this mock. All right, class dismissed. Sorry, Sonny -- I hereby grant you free license to work over my picks unmercifully whenever you'd like.

ROUND 22

Here's another player I'm surprised to see hanging around. The Nats say that Strasburg will probably open the season in the minors, but I'm not buying it. The kid is a polished prospect with not only three years of NCAA experience, but a healthy dose of international exposure as well. The upside here is enormous, making the fireballer well worth a speculative pick as your draft winds down. I like Marlon Byrd, but I need to see him mash somewhere other than Arlington to be a big believer in his fantasy prospects.

ROUND 23

Davis is flying under the radar, but the fact that he posted a nifty 3.72 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 36.3 innings last season should serve notice that he brings a strong skill set to the table. I'm not sure that I would draft Davis in a standard 21-player format, but in leagues with rosters of 23 players or more, he's absolutely worth grabbing late. I would much rather have Davis and his upside than a roster filled with the Joe Blantons and Gil Meches of the world. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Yahoo experts agree with me, ranking Davis No. 45 on their preseason rankings -- just behind Carlos Zambrano.

All told, this is a team that could potentially finish dead last or win the league going away -- depending upon how well my kid pitchers perform. It is not the type of team I would normally end up with, and I'm fairly convinced that rounds 5-7 is the perfect time to grab your top starting pitcher, with your No. 2 guy coming proportionately earlier than you took your No. 1.

ALSO

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