This is the first 2026 fantasy baseball H2H mock draft conducted by the Pitcher List team. Here are the results of the second mock draft.
With the World Series in full swing and November on the horizon, there is only one thing we can do to scratch the fantasy baseball itch – a Mock draft! And as luck would have it, the PL Podcast Network recently completed one. Without further ado, let’s dissect what happened.
League Format
12 Team H2H Categories Standard 5×5
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, UTIL, UTIL
23 Players per Roster
One Win per Week
Two Ohtanis (DH, and SP)
Draft Order
- The Craft – Eno Sarris
- HacksAndJacks – Brett Ford & Scott Chu
- Nate Schwartz
- This Week – John Ke & Patrick Fitzgerald
- WAF Podcast – Steve Gesuele and Van Burnett
- Nick Pollack
- Eric Samulski
- On The Wire – Adam Howe & Kevin Hasting
- PL Bot – Kyle Bland
- Rick Graham
- Keep or Kut – Chad Young & Pete Ball
- First Pitch – Jake Crumpler
Rounds 1-2
This was an enlightening experience for yours truly, as the first mock I’ve looked at this offseason. In my brain, I thought Junior Caminero’s lack of stolen bases and having just one season under his belt would push him into the mid-late second round despite his historic power output at 22. So much for that, as he went sixth overall. I thought it was a bold start by Nick, especially in retrospect with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going 21st with a sturdier floor and similar upside. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t a bold start, but simply the going market price. Young player allure is alive and well. And, as you will see, it’s also a positional thing with 3B being a shallow spot.
Speaking of which, the Big Amish, AKA Nick Kurtz, was the first first baseman off the board, 15th overall, taken by Rick Graham. I usually lean toward players with a longer track record in the top two rounds, but at the same time, Kurtz’s 142 Power+ this past season was silly. I get it.
Kyle Bland (PL Bot) began with an approach I liked a lot: pairing proven producers, Corbin Carroll and Kyle Tucker, from the ninth spot.
“I generally want 6-7 hitters in the first 10 rounds, with no pitching until at least round 4, and 2 closers feels like the correct amount of capital to invest on draft day,” Bland explained. “Bench hitters are just a wasted roster spot in a shallow league like this, imo. Carroll and Tucker are both 5-category contributors in 2025 who underperformed. They have Top-5 overall player upside.”
Second base stinks has been a popular refrain for some time now, and I won’t disagree. On that note, Eno Sarris closed the second round with Jazz Chisholm Jr. Jr., who this past season became the third player in Yankee history to go 30-30.
Gunnar Henderson feels kinda like an enigma. The 30 steals last year were great, but his Power+ fell from 117 to 100. There’s probably a middle ground there. Regardless, if Henderson regains his power stroke even a little, then Team 5 (The WAF Podcast) will have achieved a phenomenal start, pairing him with their first-rounder, Jo-Ram.
Rounds 3-4
Team 2 (HacksAndJacks: Scott Chu and Brett Ford) built a formidable power foundation, pairing Pete Alonso and Riley Greene with their top two picks, Ohtani and Raleigh.
“We (aka Brett) decided to go with hitting early and often, which is on brand for this site, and I love how much power we picked up. Reliable power, at least in comparison to what is available in the first six or seven rounds, just doesn’t exist, so walking away with three 40-home run bats (plus a possible fourth later) and my dude Riley Greene feels great.”
Meanwhile, Team 11 (Keep or Kut: Pete Ball and Chad Young) went for balance, linking Roman Anthony and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with their first two picks, Fernando Tatís Jr. and Paul Skenes. However, it wasn’t their typical approach for H2H leagues.
“I (Pete) usually go heavy-hitting in H2H Categories, but having done this PL Mock quite a few times before, I knew that pitching would get pushed way down and that this would impact my usual strategy. Roto leagues and a roto-drafting mindset tend to dominate fantasy baseball media and content, so I always love that this mock focuses on H2H. I tend to devalue SB (or, in some cases, Svs) quite a bit in H2H categories. I also prefer to get one or two aces and then kick pitching down the road, confident that I can play matchups and structure my roster each week based on my opponent’s roster. As you can now see from my roster, my typical tendencies were largely ignored, for better or worse.”
Rounds 5-7
Eno Sarris began the fifth by taking the first RP, Edwin Díaz. The Bullpen expert himself, Rick Graham, made Mason Miller the second RP off the board in the sixth. Will Miller get a crack at the Padres’ rotation is the question on everyone’s mind.
Nate Schwartz tabbed Andrés Muñoz in the seventh as the draft’s second closer. Jhoan Duran went four picks later.
Nick has advocated waiting for pitching in H2H category leagues for as long as I can recall, and probably forever. True to his word, he kept the bats rolling in the fifth round, tabbing Jackson Merrill, who had plenty of admirers this time last year. Merrill makes plenty of sense as a bounce-back candidate, considering his 122 Power+ and 120 Process+.
After grabbing Brent Rooker in the sixth, Nick finally began his rotation with Kyle Bradish as the 19th SP off the board.
I don’t think anyone knows what to expect from Ohtani the pitcher. He still feels like a riddle with big-time upside. In that case, I thought Team 4 (This Week: John Ke and Patrick Fitzgerald) built an intriguing rotation by clicking Ohtani in the seventh as their third SP. They had a pretty thoughtful process, too.
“Patrick and I (John) are both projection-based drafters, so I put together some rudimentary numbers based on 2025 stats and PLV projections from the 2025 draft season. Our philosophy was to draft as balanced of a team as possible, so every pick early on would have another pick that balanced out and cover some of the category deficiencies. So when Witt “fell” to us at the 1.04 and we picked up Vlad in the 2nd round, we knew we had a good average base for hitters where we could chase some power-upside guys for our bats later on. Similarly, for pitchers, we paired Gilbert’s volume with Sale and Ohtani’s strikeout upside.”
Eric Samulski (Team 7) started his rotation with Carlos Rodón in the sixth. But I’m guessing the news that he would most likely miss the start of the year, after having had bone chips removed from his elbow, wasn’t out yet.
Eno Sarris had a pretty decent idea of how this draft might pan out. I thought he struck gold by beginning the seventh with Joe Ryan, and he felt similarly.
“I thought this draft might follow Nick’s lead and wait on pitchers, so I pounced on Hunter Brown in the third as a pivot. Joe Ryan and Blake Snell in the 7th and 8th just felt like bargains.”
Rounds 8-10
First Pitch (Team 12) began the eighth with Tyler Glasnow, their fourth SP behind Skubal, Kirby, and Peralta. This set off another SP cascade with Shota Imanaga (Team 10: Rick Graham), Logan Webb (Team 9: PL Bot), and Michael King (Team 8: On the Wire) coming off the board, followed by Shane Bieber, Nick’s second SP.
Load management made Drew Rasmussen difficult to roster at the end of the season. Nonetheless, his 2.76 ERA would have been eighth among qualified SPs. His 5.17 PLV and 2.58 PLA were rock-solid, too. I thought Eric Samulski (Team 7) got a solid bargain, nabbing Ras in the ninth as the 32nd SP off the board.
Rick Graham filled 3B in the ninth round with Matt Chapman. He also grabbed José Altuve two rounds earlier, but afterward admitted that both spots felt a little weak. That seemed to be the consensus; the talent pool at 3B and 2B feels shallow.
The ninth concluded with three closers: Josh Hader (9.8), Aroldis Chapman (9.11), and Cade Smith (9.12).
The tenth ended with catchers Hunter Goodman (10.8), Shea Langeliers (10.9), and William Contreras (10.12).
Rounds 11-15
“Pitching feels very deep this year, but there are a lot of questions around the SP2/3 class that will leave a lot of people burned. Catching is as deep as I can recall, which pushes players down even further in a 12-team league. Second base and third base feel as thin as ever, with few (if any) premium options after the 4th round,” said Nate Schwartz (Team 3).
I agree with Nate 100% about catcher and thought he knocked it out of the park by grabbing Will Smith in the 11th. I also loved him taking Mike Trout in the 13th. Trout’s 128 Process+ and 123 Power+ provide optimism in his rebound candidacy. Can he fix his contact issues? is the question.
The 11th featured three more closers with David Bednar (11.4), Carlos Estévez (11.8), and Trevor Megill (11.9). Devin Williams (12.7) wrapped the top ten closers (excluding Mason Miller).
Speaking of the Trout pick, Nate noted that Eno Sarris had sniped him two picks prior with Nick Lodolo. And, sure enough, Eno listed Lodolo along with Braxton Ashcraft in the 17th as his two personal favorite picks.
Kyle Bland (Team 9: PL Bot) reiterated that you can really wait at catcher by grabbing his favorite value at the position, Ivan Herrera, in the 13th. Looking at Herrera’s 123 Process+ and 112 Power+ has me nodding my head in approval. Bland’s next pick was Zack Wheeler. The TOS diagnosis is rough, but with this being an IL league, it’s a gamble somebody has to make.
Team 12 (First Pitch: Jake Crumpler) kicked off the 14th round with Trey Yesavage beginning as the 49th SP. That feels like a layup given his World Series heroics, and I wonder how much his ADP will rise by the time we hit draft season.
Yesavage kicked off a conga line of SPs, followed by Emmet Sheehan, Ranger Suárez, Zack Wheeler, Jared Jones, Edward Cabrera, and Pablo López. Nick (Team 6) ended up with P-Lo and was stoked, listing him and Merrill as his two favorite picks.
Shane Baz struggled plenty. However, he reached a career-high 166.1 IP, and I still think he has untapped potential. We’ve seen it in spurts. I like the potential value that Rick Graham (Team 10) got with him in the 15th.
Rounds 16-23
Oh, I see how it is. A career .290 hitter swats a career-best 25 home runs, and we are just gonna pretend it didn’t happen! Thankfully, Jake Crumpler (Team 12: First Pitch) said Not on my watch, and grabbed Yandy Díaz to begin the 16th. In all seriousness, I love this value. Part of me thinks, Why draft Freddie Freeman when you can get the Yandy Man 13 rounds later? Fine —slightly fewer RBIs/Runs, but I don’t think they are that far apart. I know it’s not Yankee Stadium South next year, but I don’t care. Yandy is a dang good hitter (122 Process+), and I want as many of those as I can get.
Brett (Team 2: HacksAndJacks) was thrilled to land Hurston Waldrep at 16.11, citing his phenomenal splitter and a critical mechanical adjustment in the minors.
Team 11 (Keep or Kut) caught my eye in the 17th with Jonathan Aranda. The fluky hand injury torpedoed Aranda’s breakout. However, his 132 Power+ suggests his breakout could’ve been even better than the 14 home runs suggested. At that price? Sign me up.
Speaking of pitching value, I know Nathan Eovaldi ended the season on the IL with a strained rotator cuff. However, he also posted a silly 1.73 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across 22 starts. John Ke and Patrick Fitzgerald (Team 4: This Week) grabbed a potential steal in Eo in the 17th before grabbing another potential bargain SP four rounds later.
“…A late round pick we really liked was Bubic, even with the rotator cuff injury to finish the season. Even though health has been an issue for him the past few years, he had really solid numbers last year and if he can continue the breakout season from 2025, this is a really good value in round 21.”
Eno Sarris (Team 1: The Craft) also mentioned taking Wilyer Abreu in the 20th as a pick he liked in a boring sorta way. I couldn’t agree more. I highlighted Abreu a few weeks ago in the final PLV Power Report as someone who could sneakily approach 30 home runs with a full season of at-bats.
I’m infatuated by the possibility of what Payton Tolle could be given his remarkable extension and fastball velocity as a lefty. Nate Schwartz (Team 3) grabbed him in the 16th round. Garret Crochet, Nolan McLean, and Eury Pérez headlined Schwartz’s staff. He embraced what he called a boom/bust pitching approach with Matthew Liberatore (18th), Grayson Rodriguez (19th), Ryan Weathers (20th), and Chad Patrick (22nd).
George Springer’s breathtaking rebirth hasn’t gone unnoticed. However, it seems like Max Muncy’s bounce-back has fallen by the wayside somewhat. Sure, his wasn’t on the same level as Springer’s, but a 137 wRC+ is nothing to sneeze at, and neither was his 124 Process+. Kyle Bland (Team 9: PL Bot) snagged him in the 20th and loved the value.
Pitching was the theme of the later rounds, with the board morphing into a blue sea. Nick ended his draft with five consecutive SPs: Gerrit Cole, Seth Lugo, Merrill Kelly, Andrew Painter, and Sawyer Gipson Long. It’s easy to forget that Lugo put up a 3.00 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 200 IP just two years ago; that’s certainly worth chasing in the 20th.
Trent Grisham had a renaissance out of nowhere, doubling his previous career-high with 34 dingers. Who knows where he lands in free agency? Do the Yankees resign him? Was last year a fart in the wind? I can attempt to answer the last one by saying his 119 Process was pretty darn good. HacksAndJacks (Team 2) rolled the dice on Grisham in the 22nd. At that price? Why not.
Undrafted Players
I mentioned Yandy as a great value compared to Freeman. Even better yet is Willson Contreras. Having lost C eligibility, the elder Contreras has been left in the dust, undrafted. He’s lonely! And judging by his 122 Process+ and 125 Power+, he shouldn’t be ignored despite the Cards having one of baseball’s most boring lineups. Freeman, by the way, had a 109 Power+ and 116 Process+. I don’t know why I’m nagging on Freeman; maybe I’m still suffering from the sudden downfall of Joey Votto, so I want to be ahead of the curve, so to speak. Regardless, the takeaway is that first base is a very deep position.
Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Ezequiel Tovar also went undrafted. But that’s probably not too surprising, given they struggled last season and this league’s fairly shallow roster settings.
Giancarlo Stanton also went undrafted. I know he missed about half the year, but he was superb, posting a 158 wRC+ in about half a season, his best since he won the NL MVP in 2017. And that 141 Power+ pops. A lot.
Ramón Laureano is another batter who busted out last year and went undrafted. Yes, it’s a shallow format, but we can at least use it to gauge who might be a little undervalued at the moment.
I was a little surprised that no one took a stab at Brett Baty, considering multiple managers felt that 2B and 3B were weak positions. Hey, he hit .291 with a 135 wRC+ in the second half!
Brendan Donovan was another 2B who went untouched. I know he’s boring, but his 124 Contact Ability+ and 119 Process+ were quite good.
Biggest Lessons of the Draft
Kyle Bland: “That mid-draft (Rd 14/15) run on pitching was interesting. I might make sure I lock up a starter I like in the early double-digit rounds to get out in front of that. Catcher feels like it’s Cal, a chunky middle group, and everyone else. I’m probably never taking Cal at that price, but I’m happy with the other tiers. The rookie pitchers didn’t have as much helium as I’d expect (Burns, McLean, Schlittler in the 10th; Yesavage in the 14th; Cameron in the 16th; Tong in the 19th). The draft was before Schlittler and Yesavage shoved in the playoffs, so that might bump them up a bit.”
I agree with the PL Bot. If you aren’t committing to Cal with a top pick, there are plenty of solid options at C late in 12-team drafts. Several intriguing options, including Kyle Teel and Francisco Alvarez, went undrafted, as did Gabriel Moreno and… Adley Rutschman.
And, yes, I was also a little surprised to see some interesting rookie SPs last pretty late. Will Warren was another one; he went in the 19th.
Pete Ball/Chad Young: “Don’t draft in October! But I would say don’t be afraid to zig while others are zagging (is that the phrase?). I took what the board gave me and although it wasn’t my usual strategy and I would have preferred an earlier pick to have had things shake out differently, I feel pretty good about my balanced team overall. The lesson that I never seem to grasp in year 16 of playing fantasy baseball is to not take too many bounce-back candidates. In this draft alone, I ended up with Michael Harris II, Luis Robert Jr., Teoscar Hernández, Tanner Bibee, and Christian Walker. That is probably too much 2025 disappointment.”
I feel the same way about bounce-back candidates. I often find myself chasing them to the point where I shoot myself in the foot. Bryan Reynolds in the 17th round (Team 7: Samulski) and Triston Casas in the final round (Team 8: On The Wire) were two that also stood out to me. Tyler O’Neill was another who went undrafted.
No one clicked Marcell Ozuna either. I know he burned plenty of bridges, but his 119 DV+, 110 Power+, and 117 Process+ suggest a potential comeback, depending on where he lands in free agency.
…So who won?
With this being a mock draft, there can be only one winner. So who had the prettiest roster?
Kyle Bland: “Nate Schwartz. That top-3 is stacked. Juan Soto with 30+ SB potential is right up there for the best 5-category combination in baseball. Crochet at the end of the 2nd is a steal. Legit SP1 chance, especially if Skubal moves to a more hitter-friendly park. Marte is the best 2B in baseball, in fantasy and reality. The mixing and matching of young upside pitchers with veterans who model well is very fun.”
Rick Graham: “I really like Kyle’s team, especially those top 4 hitters in Carroll, Tucker, Harper, and Seager. The starting pitching is balanced with steady arms in Sanchez and Webb, complemented by upside in Schwellenbach and Burns. And I like what he did with his closers in Megill and Tanner Scott late.”
John Ke/Patrick Fitzgerald: John: “I really like Rick Graham’s team, if only for the immense upside. The top-four hitters are really fun, even if there is injury risk there, but that team is just going hit homers like crazy. There’s certainly some lottery tickets with the starting pitching, in grabbing Mason Miller (yes, I think he’ll start) and Cam Schlittler, but grabbing Bryce Miller in the 13th and Ranger Suárez in the 14th helps balance that out a bit. The reliever picks are certainly interesting, but I’m not going to doubt Rick’s ability to pick up saves.”
Nate Schwartz felt similarly and also voted for Graham’s team.
