Fantasy Baseball 2023 Mock Draft 1.0: Who goes in the first round?

The Yahoo fantasy baseball analysts — Andy Behrens, Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don — took part in a first-round mock draft. Each analyst gets four picks in the first (to represent a 12-team league). But don't worry, this is just the first iteration of this mock — our two-round mock is here, and the three-rounder is coming soon.

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Now, on to the picks:

Round 1, Pick 1: Trea Turner, SS, Philadelphia Phillies

He's hit .311 over the past four seasons with elite speed, power and run production — a perfect fantasy profile. — Behrens

Round 1, Pick 2: Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves

Acuña Jr. already has a near-40/40 season to his credit, and he just turned 25. — Behrens

Round 1, Pick 3: Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Guardians

Ramirez is now firmly established as a player who will finish among the category leaders in four of the five standard fantasy stats. — Behrens

Round 1, Pick 4: Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees

It should go without saying that a guy coming off a 62-homer season is a decent choice pretty much anywhere in the first round. — Behrens

Round 1, Pick 5: Julio Rodriguez, OF, Seattle Mariners

The super soph brings category juice, unknown upside, and fun. The Mariners have built a solid lineup around Rodriguez, too — Pianowski

Round 1, Pick 6: Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros

We still haven't seen his best season; Tucker's upside is AL MVP. One of the rare players capable of grabbing all five categories. — Pianowski

Round 1, Pick 7: Mookie Betts, OF/2B, Los Angeles Dodgers

I know upside is the fun word, but floor matters, too. When has Mookie Betts ever let you down? He's the favorite to lead the league in runs scored for the fourth time. — Pianowski

Round 1, Pick 8: Yordan Alvarez, OF, Houston Astros

He's not a runner, but the rest of the Alvarez Statcast page is gloriously pinned to the right. As silly as Alvarez's stats were last year, he was actually unlucky with his batted-ball fortune. If that luck balances out, he can break the game. — Pianowski

[2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP]

Round 1, Pick 9: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays

Still just 23 years old, Vlad is the favorite to lead MLB in batting average and will benefit from Toronto's new park dimensions. — Del Don

Round 1, Pick 10: Shohei Ohtani, UTIL, Los Angeles Angels

There's concern he'll stop running, and he's UTIL only, but Ohtani's bat is good enough to go here regardless. — Del Don

Round 1, Pick 11: Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays

Still just 24 years old, Bichette has said he wants to run more in 2023, and he'll also get a big boost from Toronto moving in its fences. — Del Don

Round 1, Pick 12: Gerrit Cole, SP, New York Yankees

He was incredibly unlucky last year for multiple reasons and should bounce back as fantasy's top pitcher in 2023. — Del Don

Stay tuned for the next iterations of our Expert Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft for 2023!