It might seem early to some, but for us fantasy baseball fanatics, late-January signals the start of preparation for draft season. As a member of the fantasy sports industry going on four years now, I have had the privilege of regularly taking part in “Expert” mock drafts.

Howard Bender of organizes his so-called Mock Draft Army, a series of weekly mock drafts featuring analysts from all over the industry each year. I will take part in at least one mock for the next couple of months then report back to Sporting News to shed some light on the trends, highlights and developments.

The following is a breakdown of the first round of a 15-team draft with standard, head-to-head scoring settings. Notably, the rosters in this setup include two starting catchers with five outfielders in addition to a corner-infield and middle-infield spots. In other words, this one was quite deep.

I was slotted in the 15th position, so I’ll provide my thoughts on the first 14 picks then reveal my first-round selection. Here we go.

2017 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft: Top 15 picks

1.1 - Mike Trout (OF, LAA)

1.2 - Clayton Kershaw (SP, LAD)

Kershaw at second overall is a bit on the questionable side after injuries limited him to 149.0 innings in 2016, but when you are taking part in a deep draft, it's sometimes necessary to reach for a player you really want. Kershaw is the top starting pitcher in fantasy and in the process of putting together arguably the best decade of pitching in MLB history.

1.3 - Jose Altuve (2B, HOU)

He may be small in stature, but his stats tower among the crowd. Altuve surprised everyone by belting 24 home runs in 2016, and he did so at virtually no expense to his all-around production. The four-time All-Star led the league in hits (216) for the third straight season, swiped 30 bags, scored a career-high 108 runs and won his second batting title. He is a clear top-five pick.

1.4 - Mookie Betts (OF, BOS)

The top three in AL MVP balloting last year are represented among the top four picks of this mock. Betts’ progression over the past three seasons has been incredibly impressive. The 24-year-old outfielder smacked 31 homers, stole 26 bases and crossed home plate a whopping 122 times in 2016.

1.5 - Nolan Arenado (3B, COL)

Arenado is not likely to escape the top five picks in any mixed-league draft this year. The Rockies Gold Glover at the hot corner has led the National League in both homers and RBIs each of the past two years.

1.6 - Paul Goldschmidt (1B, ARI)

Goldschmidt actually seems like a value pick at sixth. The four-time All-Star did see his home runs fall from 33 in 2015 to 24 in 2016, but he set new career highs in steals (32) and runs (106) while still driving in 95 and posting a .297/.411/.489 slash line. You simply cannot match Goldy’s all-around skills at first base.

1.7 - Manny Machado (3B, BAL)

Third base is flat-out loaded heading into the 2017 season, as there were four selected in the first nine picks of this mock draft. Machado has developed into one of most reliable power hitters in the league over the past two years, totaling 72 homers and 70 doubles with a .518 slugging percentage while missing only five games since the start of the 2015 season.

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1.8 - Kris Bryant (3B, CHC)

Bryant followed up NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2015 with an NL MVP Award in 2016, smashing 39 homers while driving in 102 runs and scoring a NL-high 121 run for the World Champs. He is an easy top-10 choice.

1.9 - Josh Donaldson (3B, TOR)

1.10 - Max Scherzer (SP, WAS)

In 2016, Scherzer became just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. The 32-year-old righty led the senior circuit with a career-high 284 strikeouts, 20 wins, 0.97 WHIP and 228.1 innings. The Nationals should contend once again, so Scherzer, who has worked at least 214 innings while posting a 2.95 ERA across the past four seasons, is worthy of consideration in the 10-15 range of most drafts.

1.11 - Anthony Rizzo (1B, CHC)

Rizzo is entering the so-called “prime” of his career and he has already cleared the 30-homer threshold in each of the past three seasons. The 27-year-old slugger has been an impressively consistent performer since the start of 2014, posting an OPS+ of 152, 146 and 146, respectively, across the past three years.

1.12 - Trea Turner (SS, WAS)

Turner had a remarkable rookie campaign, posting a .342/.370/.567 slash line with 13 homers, 14 doubles, eight triples and 33 steals over just 73 games. Many are watering at the mouth as they consider his potential to extrapolate those numbers across a full season while carrying multi-position eligibility. There is plenty of risk here, but if you want Turner, a late-first or early-second round pick seems to be the price.

1.13 - Bryce Harper (OF, WAS)

A year ago, It would have been almost unimaginable that Harper would enter 2017 as possibly the third-best fantasy asset from the Nationals. However, despite mostly solid numbers last season, including 24 homers and 21 steals, Harper regressed significantly from his MVP performance of 2015. He is understandably riding the fringe of first-round status.

1.14 - Charlie Blackmon (OF, COL)

Blackmon’s steals fell from 43 in 2015 to 17 last year, but that is about the only offensive category in which he failed to set a new career high. As a talented table-setter for a potent lineup in the league’s top run-producing venue, Blackmon is a viable top-10 selection with the potential to go 30-30 and lead the league in runs scored.

1.15 - Miguel Cabrera (1B, DET)

It was finally my turn among this deep field, and I was quite happy to see who remained on the board. Cabrera put up exceptional numbers in 2015, but he played just 119 games due to injury. Going into 2016, that cooled the once certain top-three draft status of the future Hall-of-Famer. All Cabrera managed to do in his age-33 season was bat .316 with a .956 OPS and 38 roundtrippers. The 15th pick will obviously fall into the second round of most fantasy baseball drafts, meaning Cabrera could shockingly become one of the best bargains of the year in my summation.