Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Second Annual New York State of Sports Mock Fantasy Baseball Draft! Last year, columnist Mike Ulatoski took home the prize. The scoring format is a Standard Roto, 8-man team league. This draft has 30 picks – a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, a third baseman, a shortstop, a corner infielder, a middle infielder, five outfielders, a utility hitter, and nine pitchers.

We’ll break this series down into four parts: rounds 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, and 16-30. Let’s get it started with the first five rounds. After I list the picks, I will provide what I think was a strength and weakness of each team’s first five rounds. Due to size restrictions, the first four players are in the first chart, and the second half of the draft is in the second half.

1. Jeff Steinberg, NYSOS Staff Writer
   What I like: Being sure to get premium talent at 2B and SS early is a great decision, especially with the shallow talent there.
   What I don’t like: Jeff may have overreached on Jiminez at 16 and Price at 32 – both are great pitchers, but both went earlier than rated.
2. Mike Ulatoski, NYSOS Staff Writer (Last year: First place)
   What I like: Mike got great value across the board here, especially grabbing Prince Fielder’s 32 HR and 82 RBI with the 34^th overall pick. Look for those numbers to shoot up in a contract year.
   What I don’t like: It’s hard to find a fault in Mike’s team, but he drafted all corner infielders and pitchers with his first five. He may lack depth at other positions later on in the draft.
3. Adam Poedubicky, NYSOS Staff Writer (Last year, Fourth place)
   What I like: I’ll try to be critical, given that this is my team – Robinson Cano is the premier talent at second base, bar none.
   What I don’t like: Both Cliff Lee and Josh Johnson are injury prone – not something you like to see with your first two starters.
4. Matt Vereb: NYSOS Editor (Last year: Third place)
   What I like: Matt will very rarely lose in the power category with Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, and Nelson Cruz
   What I don’t like: Matt’s first two picks were first basemen – this could hurt him depth-wise in the long run.
5. Steve Fiorenza, Avid NYSOS Reader
   What I like: Steve has undoubtedly the best outfield in Ryan Braun, Josh Hamilton, and Matt Kemp.
   What I don’t like: A great outfield leads to zero pitchers taken in his first five picks. Hopefully, Steve has some sleepers planned for the later rounds.
6. Kenny Mauss, NYSOS Staff Writer (Last Year, Sixth place)
   What I like: His offense is extremely balanced, being the first person to fill out an infield.
   What I don’t like: Ken waited through the first five rounds before diving into the outfielders. Outfield always has a ton of players come and go, so he could pick up some late bloomers on the waiver wire or later rounds of the draft.
7. Dan Shaw, NYSOS Staff Writer
   What I like: Dan grabbed Carl Crawford and Roy Halladay, in my opinion, the two best players at their position.
   What I don’t like: Joe Mauer. He’s a great player and you’d want him on your team – in real life. In fantasy baseball, he produces only one stat: hits. You can find that anywhere else in the market.
8. Scott Kasper, Avid NYSOS Reader
   What I like: Scott has a great, balanced core, despite having the last pick. He has power in his Boston bats, speed in Andrew McCutchen, and first and second place in last year’s AL Cy Young Award race.
   What I don’t like: Scott neglected the middle infield here. He had to in order to build the core that he has, but those positions are very limited on talent.

Fans, who do you think has the best and worst team so far? Keep an eye out for Rounds 6-10 soon!