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Draft Do-Over: Harper now hanging in elite company

It's up, up and away for Bryce Harper's fantasy stock. (Getty)
It's up, up and away for Bryce Harper's fantasy stock. (Getty)

The height of the preseason '15 fantasy baseball draft season was just two months ago. But, in our instant gratification roto world, it might as well have been two years ago. Our what-have-you-done-for-me-lately environment can cause perception of player values to change quickly. With that in mind, we asked the Yahoo crew to hit the reset button on the '15 season with a 12-round blog mock draft do-over. Take a look at the first six rounds - the second half of the draft will come out on Friday (and please note the roster restrictions in the draft grid at the bottom of the page) ...

ROUND 1

Pick 1: Mike Trout, LAA, OF –  Trout was the consensus top pick back in March, and he's delivered in all five categories thus far. (Andy Behrens)

Pick 2: Miguel Cabrera, Det, 1/3Bryce Harper would have been the splash pick here, obviously. But I'm gonna go ahead and take the world's best hitter, thankyouverymuch.  (Behrens)

Pick 3: Bryce Harper, Was, OF He's bound to regress some, but it's pretty impressive to lead the NL both in homers and walks. The huge season many have been expecting is finally upon us. (Dalton Del Don)

Pick 4: Paul Goldschmidt, Ari, 1B – If he continues to run like this, a truly special fantasy season may be in store. Goldschmidt just keeps getting better.  (Del Don)

Pick 5: Giancarlo Stanton, Mia, OF Pure power play - of the 10 longest home runs in '15, Stanton has hit five of them. (Brandon Funston)

Pick 6: Josh Donaldson, Tor, 3B A top 25 fantasy bat the past two seasons in Oakland - now in Toronto's ripe hitting environment, he's top 10. (Funston)

Pick 7: Anthony Rizzo, ChC, 1BWhen in doubt, load up the infield. And surprise, he's a five-category guy now.   (Scott Pianowski)

Pick 8: Jose Altuve, Hou, 2BAltuve 1, Regression Police 0. Batting average is so misunderstood. So what if he doesn't walk? You get more bang for your buck.  (Pianowski)

Pick 9: Jose Abreu, CWS, 1B The much publicized decline of Abreu was greatly exaggerated. He's slashed a quality .295/.368/.496 line. Expect his power output to increase with the temps on the South Side. (Brad Evans)

Pick 10: Kris Bryant, ChC, 3B –  Crazy early? Negative. Bryant has delivered. He's drawn walks (18.6 BB%), driven in runs (24) and has started to find his home run stroke. Sky's the limit. (Evans)

Pick 11: Edwin Encarnacion, Tor, 1BWant power and I love the player despite his relatively slow start. His strikeout rate is much higher than expected and thus cause for concern. (Michael Salfino)

Pick 12: Andrew McCutchen, Pit, OF – Maybe I should have taken Michael Brantley, as McCutchen's now the poor man's Brantley. But his knee is reportedly no longer an issue, meaning this collapse makes zero sense. (Salfino)

ROUND 2

Pick 13: Hanley Ramirez, Bos, SS/OLoved him before the season and there are health issues as always but he's so dynamic as a shortstop qualifier if he can somehow escape further injury.  (Salfino)

Pick 14: Nelson Cruz, Sea, OF – He works so hard at his craft and his swing that I believe he will remain the league's leading home run hitter prospectively. (Salfino)

Pick 15: Adrian Gonzalez, LAD, 1BHe's murdering the baseball. His BA will slowly decline, but with a .300-plus ISO, another 25-30 HR, 110-120 RBI finish seems inevitable.   (Evans)

Pick 16: Jose Bautista, Tor, 1/OShoulder issues aside, Bautista is starting to rebound after a slow start. The homers will come in bunches. Couple that with 90/90 in runs/RBI and he's worth the risk in RD2.  (Evans)

Pick 17: Michael Brantley, Cle, OF – Cut and paste the Altuve note, drop it in here. The K/BB rate is silly, and Brantley is good in every other area, too. Lefties, no problem. (Pianowski)

Pick 18: Adam Jones, Bal, OF I want him for the floor, the lineup, and the bubbles he blows in-play. He's not running anymore, but no big deal.   (Pianowski)

Pick 19: Justin Upton, SD, OFHaving his best offensive season yet in the toughest home park he's ever played in, and he's even been way better at home than on the road.  (Funston)

Pick 20: Joey Votto, Cin, 1B – With quad strain of '14 now history, the Canadian Club is looking every bit of his proficient old self again. (Funston)

Pick 21: Clayton Kershaw, LAD, SP –  The lack of wins have been a fluke, and all his peripherals suggest Kershaw remains as dominant as ever. He should still be treated as a first round pick. (Del Don)

Pick 22: Jacoby Ellsbury, NYY, OFThere felt like a bit of a drop off here, but steals are hard to come by. If this exercise didn't limit us to two SPs, I'd have gone Scherzer instead. (NOTE: THIS PICK HAPPENED BEFORE ELLSBURY WAS PLACED ON THE DL).   (Del Don)

Pick 23: Max Scherzer, Was, SP – Oh, we're giving this team the game's best hitter AND (arguably) the best pitcher? OK, done. (Behrens)

Pick 24: Felix Hernandez, Sea, SP – I thought about snagging Matt Harvey here, but I trust Dalton to take him before he slips to Salfino. (Behrens)

ROUND 3

Pick 25: Todd Frazier, Cin, 1/3 – So far, he's given us everything but batting average. Nice power/speed combo at the corner. (Behrens)

Pick 26:  Starling Marte, Pit, OF – Power has been a real plus this season. Marte is assisting in all five cats so far. (Behrens)

Pick 27: Matt Harvey, NYM, SPHe's dominant, and even with an innings limit, there's no way he should last this long.   (Del Don)

Pick 28: Ryan Braun, Mil, OFI was worried about his lack of power early on, but it appears to be back. I would've gone Freeman but already had a 1B.  (Del Don)

Pick 29: Matt Carpenter, StL, 3B – He's been a batting average/run scoring machine in the past, but now he's added power - second only to A-Gon in extra-base hits.  (Funston)

Pick 30: Freddie Freeman, Atl, 1BRun production has been better than I expected, which is to say the Braves offense has been better than I expected, thus far  (Funston)

Pick 31: Nolan Arenado, Col, 3BColorado still has a bunch of home games to catch up on. Yes, please. This might be the last time Arenado goes this late for a while.   (Pianowski)

Pick 32: Carlos Gomez, Mil, OFWhy am I getting a two-round discount? Milwaukee is under water, but it's not Gomez's fault. Category juice, yummy.   (Pianowski)

Pick 33: Dee Gordon, Mia, 2BHis .400-plus BA is unsustainable, but he's a strong three-cat contributor who should swipe another 35-40 bags.   (Evans)

Pick 34: Jason Kipnis, Cle, 2BLast year's disaster is long in the past. Kipnis, the second-most valuable 2B in the virtual game, is again a smorgasbord of fantasy goodness. Should flirt with 20-20 while chipping in 90 runs, 65 RBI.   (Evans)

Pick 35: Troy Tulowitzki, Col, SS – His year is bizarre and I expect a correction in light of his larger sample of excellence, though perhaps in less hospitable surroundngs (but in a better frame of mind). (Salfino)

Pick 36: Joc Pederson, LAD, OFYeah he has strikeout fleas big time but also big-time power in a great lineup and in a park that now plays for power. Lots could go wrong. More could continue to go right.  (Salfino)

Eric Hosmer, a nearly flawless hitter. (Getty)
Eric Hosmer, a nearly flawless hitter. (Getty)

ROUND 4

Pick 37: Eric Hosmer, KC, 1B – He's arrived and become the hitter everyone though he'd be when he was drafted third overall. His hitting profile is nearly flawless -- a 97 on the Inside-Edge 100-point scale across 23 categories.  (Salfino)

Pick 38: Josh Reddick, Oak, OF – Uniformly excellent offensive performance. Highlight: While all MLB hitters strike out about 21% of plate appearances, Reddick strikes out only that often even after the pitcher gets him to two strikes (MLB K rate after two strikes is 39%).  (Salfino)

Pick 39: George Springer, Hou, OF His BA is dreadful, but the now healthy future star is a strong candidate for a 20-55-55-15 line rest of season. (Evans)

Pick 40: Marcus Semien, Oak, 2/3/SThis will be a shock to some, but I believe Semien is the real deal. He's driving the ball, sports a reduced K rate and is a fixture at or near the top of Oakland's lineup.  (Evans)

Pick 41: Adrian Beltre, Tex, 3B –  April got people worried, but he's mashing in May. Next stop: Hall of Fame. (Pianowski)

Pick 42: Robinson Cano, Sea, 2BI'm happy to base my price on what he did last year in Seattle, though that may or may not be worth Round 4 money.   (Pianowski)

Pick 43: Buster Posey, SF, C/1Had a quick thought about Vogt here, but Posey has track record on his side, and he's been solid to date - plus, return of Pence gives SF offense a boost  (Funston)

Pick 44: Kolten Wong, StL, 2B – Wanted one of my two favorite young, up-and-comer 2Bs (Wong or Betts) - admittedly, Betts' current 3-for-25 slump pushed me to Wong (Funston)

Pick 45: Johnny Cueto, Cin, SP – It'a hard to argue against Cueto at this point. He's clearly one of the very best pitchers in baseball. (Del Don)

Pick 46: Prince Fielder, Tex, 1BHe used to be a top fantasy pick, and probably still should be. Fielder's current line of .344/.401/.497 isn't much different than his career mark of .286/.388/.522.  (Del Don)

Pick 47: Corey Kluber, Cle, SP – Absolutely dominant in his last two starts, striking out 30 batters over 17.0 innings. (Behrens)

Pick 48: Madison Bumgarner, SF, SP – I'm supposed to worry about all those innings he pitched last season, but he's been dominant lately. (Behrens)

ROUND 5

Pick 49: Mookie Betts, Bos, 2/OBetts has obvious 20/20 potential, and I'm not worried about the batting average. His BABIP is weirdly low at the moment. (Behrens)

Pick 50: Albert Pujols, LAA, 1B – After a slow start, he's basically been his usual self in May. For the month, he's hitting .274 and slugging .500.  (Behrens)

Pick 51: Aroldis Chapman, Cin, RPI'm all for waiting on closers, but Chapman is the clear best option. His 1.21 WHIP is disappointing, but his run prevention remains strong despite it thanks to the high K rate.   (Del Don)

Pick 52: Hunter Pence, SF, OFHe's only lasted this long because Pence has missed most of the season. But he's fully healthy now, and a good value here.  (Del Don)

Pick 53: Chris Sale, CWS, SP – Past two starts he's looked like the nasty, 200-K, low ratio, Cy Young-level talent that we've come to know and love.  (Funston)

Pick 54: Gerrit Cole, Pit, SP –  He's getting nearly 10 K/9 and his FIP (2.42) nearly matches his ERA (2.40). And, at age 24, with 300-plus MLB innings pitched, all arrows are pointing up. (Funston)

Pick 55: Brett Gardner, NYY, OF Walks up, whiffs down, running more aggressively, still pops one out every now and again. Forever underrated.   (Pianowski)

Pick 56: Zack Greinke, LAD, SPI wanted Brian Dozier here, but no utility or MI spot to use. Instead, I'll go with a high-floor pitcher in a safe environment.   (Pianowski)

Pick 57: Wil Myers, SD, OFFormer top prospect blossoming right before our eyes. Hopeful his sore wrist is only a slight derailment. Have to like his across-the-board production.   (Evans)

Pick 58: Billy Hamilton, Cin, OFBA zombie thus far due to ongoing first-strike issues, but steal swiping bags at a torrid pace. If he can hit .250, another 50 steals, 60-65 runs a foregone conclusion.   (Evans)

Pick 59: Matt Holliday, StL, OF – I've learned to stop worrying and just love Holliday. His on-base percentage after two strikes is .338, which is unreal (average is .250). He's aging like fine wine. (Salfino)

Pick 60: J.D. Martinez, Det, OFFrom the start of 2014 through May 18, Martinez has compiled about a full season (161 games). He's hit .301 with 31 homers. He's ranked ninth in slugging (.536) between Miggy (.540) and Encarnacion (.526).  (Salfino)

ROUND 6

Pick 61: MAnny Machado, Bal, 3BLike Hosmer, the bet is that Machado is a transformed player. But Machado, still 22, is nearly three years younger than Hosmer and thus may be just tapping his vast potential.  (Salfino)

Pick 62: Russell Martin, Tor, C – I said in March Martin would score 80 runs but I think that's rather obvious now and with the enormous power (10th in slugging) in that friendly park, you have to pay up. (Salfino)

Pick 63: Andrew Miller, NYY, RP As always, RP is a position defined by landmines. Miller provides safety. He's the Aroldis of the AL, a dominant, high-K closer with electric stuff. (Evans)

Pick 64: Yoenis Cespedes, Det, OF –  Everyone in the fantasy community frowned on the Tiger in the preseason (Pianowski, I'm looking at you). However, he's posted a borderline OF2 line through two months. I'll gladly invest in another 15-20 HRs and 65-70 RBI. (Evans)

Pick 65: Kendrys Morales, KC, 1B – The Royals offense is a bankable thing, go figure. (Pianowski)

Pick 66: Dexter Fowler, ChC, OFLooks like this is growing up. Plus lineup, and he's finally learned how to steal bases.   (Pianowski)

Pick 67: Ian Kinsler, Det, 2B – I like a lot of the fresh, young talent at 2B, but sometimes there's nothing like the security that comes from a veteran (who also happens to be crushing it) with a proven track record.  (Funston)

Pick 68: David Robertson, CWS, RP –  He's basically been every bit as dominating as Andrew Miller, thus far, but without the looming specter of Dellin Betances behind him. (Funston)

Pick 69: Evan Longoria, TB, 3B – It's a boring pick, but Longoria has a long track record, and third base is fairly thin. (Del Don)

Pick 70: Charlie Blackmon, Col, OFHe's not off to a huge start, but Blackmon is the leadoff hitter for the Rockies, and Coors Field remains a huge advantage.  (Del Don)

Pick 71: Brian Dozier, Min, 2B – He's not usually one of my pet players, but I'm not gonna refuse 20/20 power/speed potential with on-base skills. (Behrens)

Pick 72: Howie Kendrick, LAD, 2B –  The batting average is legit, and he's on pace for 90 runs and 17 homers, with a modest helping of steals. (Behrens)

 

TALE OF THE TAPE (TEAMS THUS FAR)