2022 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: Dynasty startup for Head-to-Head (H2H) points leagues

in terms of intensity, nothing quite measures up to that initial draft in a dynasty league. You’re charting your team’s course not just for the upcoming season, but for all of perpetuity. That’s particularly true when the league is set up like this one, with no limits on how many or how long players are kept.

Normally in these drafts, you’ll find a couple of people who completely abandon the near-term to instead build a stockpile of prospects, hoping it blossoms into a true dynasty, but nobody fully committed to that idea in this one. The person who came closest was probably (gulp) me, which wasn’t my intention going in. I’m used to the premium prospects going for a premium and prefer to pick through the leftovers in the middle and late rounds. (There are a lot of prospects, after all.)

But apart from the big three of Bobby Witt, Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman, the premium prospects didn’t go for such a premium. In fact, they were among those slipping to the middle to late rounds. So why not me? With Spencer Torkelson (Round 4), Grayson Rodriguez (Round 7), Anthony Volpe (Round 10), Triston Casas (Round 11), Corbin Carroll (Round 12) and Nolan Gorman (Round 17), I have a stable of prospects all ranked inside my top 20 and all likely to debut at some point this year — next year at the latest. Some would put Nick Lodolo (Round 21) in that group as well.

So is it 2023 I’m aiming for, then? I see no reason to put such limitations on myself. Seeing as my prospects are all so close to contributing, I was content to fill in the gaps on my roster with some of the 30-somethings who slipped for obvious reasons. Anyone who invests in Charlie Morton (Round 9), J.D Martinez (Round 14), Joey Votto (Round 15), Mitch Haniger (round 16), Chris Taylor (Round 20), Kyle Hendricks (Round 22) or Kenley Jansen (Round 23) better do so with some contingencies, and … well, see above.

Basically, I played to both extremes, securing my future when it seemed most efficient to do so and also my present when it seemed most efficient to do so.

And look, I wouldn’t rate my chances of winning it all this year on the level of R.J. White, who I think sold out hardest for the short-term, or Jesse Roche, who was our special guest for the live YouTube broadcast of the draft. Daniel Preciado’s team looks primed to do some real damage as well. But I think I at least gave myself a chance to hang with them. It being a points league and all, my rotation nucleus of Walker Buehler, Sandy Alcantara, Jose Berrios and Charlie Morton should itself take me far.

And when those prospects come to maturity, watch out!

Here’s who all took part in this draft:

1) R.J. White, CBS Sports (@rjwhite1)  
2) Corey Pieper, The Heater Podcast (@copieps)  
3) Jesse Roche, Baseball Prospectus (@jaroche6)  
4) John Russell, TGFBI participant (@JohnRussell215)  
5) Nick Ritrivi, RotoBaller (@nickytapas71)  
6) Chris Mitchell, FantasyData (@CJMitch73)  
7) Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)  
8) TheFairPoll, @fair_poll
9) Nick Mimikos, Stack Attack Podcast (@NMimi)  
10) Phil Ponebshek, Patton & Company
11) Daniel Preciado, Six Man Rotation (@DanJPreciado)  
12) Frank Stampfl, CBS Sports (@Roto_Frank)