Fantasy Baseball Mock Auction Draft: Building the Perfect Team with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Roki Sasaki and More

While sharing mock draft strategies that I've been trying (hitter-focused, ace-focused, and reliever-focused), I've gotten the chance to see what my “perfect” team looks like. Of course, the actual perfect team would be the top performer at each position, but that's not a realistic outcome.

Instead, I'm looking at perfect as meaning getting the guys I want in each round and making the most complete team. It's not always quite that easy in a snake draft, where you can only choose from who is available at the time, but auction drafts are different.

In an auction, every owner gets the chance to draft every player. You are tasked with targeting the guys you want while taking advantage of undervalued players and filling out the roster with whatever remaining cash you have after building the core. It's not just “pick one of these guys.”

I took part in an auction draft Saturday night with a few self-imposed rules that fit my drafting style:

• Do whatever it takes to get Shohei Ohtani
• No other pitchers for more than $1 until all hitting positions have been filled
• Get my top player at two other positions
• End up with at least three multi-positional players

This draft was for a rotisserie/categories 10-team league with three general OF spots, no requirement for relief pitchers, and a $260 budget. Stats referenced below are from MLB.com.

SP/DH Shohei Ohtani, LAD - $58

Aaron Judge went for $51 and no one else over Bobby Witt Jr.'s $45. Ohtani costs a pretty penny, but he's the best player in fantasy baseball. He has a case as both the best pitcher and best hitter in fantasy (though that could be argued) and will put up stats every day while also giving you ace-level pitching work.

The only downside is that he's only available at DH when not pitching, so that locks up your lineup a little bit, but I drafted to work around that small issue. Ohtani is the no-doubt top guy.

SS/OF Mookie Betts, LAD - $42

Betts is one of my favorite first-round picks in snake drafts. He's not the best player at either shortstop or in the outfield, but he is a high-level performer at both a tough offensive position (SS) and the position at which you need the most players (OF).

Betts is our first multi-position guy (I'm not including Ohtani, even though he technically counts), and grabbing him here opens the options for how to proceed as the draft continues.

SS Corey Seager, TEX - $25

Seager is a high-level power hitter for his position but has been hampered by injuries. The risk is worth the reward in this case partly because I already have Betts, who can fill in at SS when Seager misses time.

While playing around 120 games each of the past two seasons, Seager averaged close to 30 doubles and 30 home runs. You have to plan for him to miss some time, but starting with Betts let me not worry about that outcome while also allowing both players to be in the lineup at the same time.

I sat out a decent portion of the auction after grabbing both Ohtani and Betts early. A lot of really good players were drafted, but that included a lot of high-level pitchers, who I planned to avoid. You can't get everyone after spending $100 on the top two players on the roster.

3B/OF Jazz Chisholm Jr., NYY - $20

Add another multi-position guy to the tally. Chisholm has something of a low floor, but he also excelled after joining the Yankees near the trade deadline last year. In less than 200 at-bats with New York, Chisholm batted .273 (previous season high .254) and racked up seven doubles, 11 home runs, and 18 stolen bases (previous season high 23). Extrapolate his NY numbers to 500 at-bats (a number he reached for the first time last year), and he would have 136 hits, 20 doubles, 30 homers, and 51 stolen bases.

The latter three numbers would tie or set career highs, so it's important to expect some regression. He's unlikely to be on such a tear given his career performance. This is a guy who will play the whole season at 27 years old, though, and has a lefty swing that fits perfectly in the Yankee's home park.

Chisholm is a bit of a high-ceiling, low-floor option, but his versatility gives him extra value, and he's returning to where he played his best. I see it as a worthy investment.

C William Contreras, MIL - $18

2B Marcus Semien, TEX - $18

Here are my two “best players at their position.” Contreras is generally seen as the best fantasy catcher, and it's a position that isn't easy to find consistent production at. Especially for only $18, I see this as a can't-miss draft pick.

Semien is ranked in the top five at his position, but Ketel Marte from Arizona is the consensus as the top 2B player. Marte had a career-best season last year, and it would be wise to expect regression. That still makes him a good player, but I like Semien, who has missed just four total games over the past four seasons while averaging around 31 doubles and 31 home runs.

OF Teoscar Hernandez, LAD - $13

OF James Wood, WSH - $11

OF Mike Trout, LAA - $9

I had both Betts and Chisholm at this point but no players who slot in at only OF. I didn't feel rushed into grabbing players at that position, but some value and interesting picks came in this $10 range that made sense for the roster.

I expected Hernandez to have his best season last year because he joined the stacked Dodgers lineup and was set up for success. He did, in fact, have his best season. He's back in the same situation this year, and while it's wise to expect a little regression, this is good value for a guy coming off 32 doubles, 33 home runs, 84 runs scored, and 99 RBI. There are real strikeout issues (399 the past two seasons), but Hernandez can mash and is back in a great ecosystem for runs.

Wood got his first 295 at-bats last season and showed some of the flash that made him an intriguing prospect. He had 13 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, and 14 stolen bases in close to a half-season's worth of play. Again, there are strikeout woes: Wood K'd 97 times, nearly one-third of his at-bats. He needs to cut that rate, but there are good things on the horizon for Wood.

Trout is the opposite end of the spectrum, a former superstar who has been so set back by injuries that we don't know what level he can reach anymore. By grabbing him for just $9, I'm making a bet that he can find some of his best form while not making a huge investment. If nothing else, Trout starts the year with three games against the lowly White Sox.

C/1B Salvador Perez, KC - $9

1B/OF Cody Bellinger, NYY - $9

Add two more multi-position guys, getting us to four total. When I think of that moniker this season, these are the two players that come to mind first. I am happy to wait on drafting a first baseman because that position is often easier to find production at than any other. In this case, my only 1B-eligible players ended up being Perez and Bellinger, and that's totally fine when considering that I'll be able to pick up a decent free agent pretty much any time.

Contreras will handle most days at catcher on our roster, but Perez is a worthy fill-in. He plays both catcher and first base, on top of DH, so he spends plenty of time in the lineup (158 games last season). He has been over 20 doubles and 20 homers every year since 2015 other than the shortened COVID season of 2020.

Bellinger is another lefty heading to the Yankees, where his swing might produce more power than anywhere else. While he has experienced everything from MVP-level play to being taken out of the lineup, Bellinger has settled in as a fine fantasy hitter, especially with the versatility to play multiple positions.

3B Alex Bregman, BOS - $8

Bregman ends up as the last position player added and a guy that I'm stoked about grabbing here. Signs point toward Bregman starting the season at second base for the Red Sox. If he does, that will soon make him eligible to play 2B in fantasy, adding to his value.

Specific to this roster, I only had one guy available for third base (Chisholm) and one for second base (Semien). Bregman might be the backup to both spots within the first two weeks of the season while supplying above-average offensive production. This is one of my favorite picks of this draft because of how it rounds out the team.

SP Roki Sasaki, LAD - $8

SP Sandy Alcantara, MIA - $7

I was tempted to break the rule of waiting on all pitchers, but I held out long enough to fill the lineup before grabbing two guys with ace upside for just $15 combined. I prefer waiting on pitching because there are so many guys, and it's easy to stream pitchers. The staff I ended up with reinforced that thinking.

Sasaki was the most sought-after free agent pitcher this offseason both because of his small contract and his tantalizing skills. He was seen as the best international pitcher not in MLB, so the Dodgers completed their offseason coup by solidifying the rotation completely. Sasaki might not be a superstar right away, but I like this low-cost bet.

Alcantara is coming off Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2024. It's always risky to trust a player after a major injury, but Alcantara was an ace before he went down. He strikes out just under a batter per inning, but he's also better than average with walks and has only had an ERA over 4.00 once in five full seasons (including the COVID year).

This is all about high risk, high reward, and the low financial investment makes it worth it given the upside.

SP Mitch Keller, PIT - $1

SP Jared Jones, PIT - $1

SP MacKenzie Gore, WSH - $1

Add more “high reward” to the guys here. Anyone whom you pay only $1 for can't truly be a bad pick; you can always drop these players without even noticing it. Keller and Jones will be outshined by their teammate Paul Skenes, but these two offer decent value as well, especially Jones.

They will both likely make their first start against Miami, a prime matchup, which makes them valuable draft pieces. Keller is more of a streamer who won't require a year-long spot, but Jones has the chance to be a keeper as early as this season. Jones struck out over 26% of the batters he faced in his rookie season (average is around 22%) while sitting just a hair better than average with walks. Improvements from the 23-year-old will make him a very good fantasy option.

Gore is Washington's top pitcher. He begins the season against the Phillies, so that might not be the time to deploy him, but Gore will be able to feast on lesser teams, like the Marlins. He has improved his walk rate and ERA in each of his three seasons and nearly did the same with his strikeout rate, bringing all three to an average-or-better level. I like Gore to take another jump into the season-long keeper range this year.

RP Kenley Jansen, LAA - $2

RP Pete Fairbanks, TB - $1

I like the idea of skipping closers and essentially ignoring saves, but these two are fine to fill the last two spots with the understanding that they could be dropped before the season starts. Their biggest benefit is the matchups to start the season.

Jensen and Los Angeles start off against the White Sox, the team that set the record for losses in a season last year. Fairbanks begins at home against the Rockies (taking away the Coors Field effect), the team that won the second-fewest games last season. Neither Chicago nor Colorado are likely to be much better this year.

Jensen and Fairbanks have a chance to churn out a couple saves during the first weekend because of the advantage their teams will have. Again, because of the low cost, these guys can easily be dropped at any time, so there's nothing wrong with grabbing them as placeholders who can be valuable for a few days.