Fantasy Baseball Today - Way Too Early First Two Rounds of 2027! (9/17 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)
Episode Date: September 17, 2026Who is in Scott White's first two rounds for 2027? Is PCA first overall? Should Cam Schlittler go in the first round? How far should Ronald Acuña, Julio Rodriguez and Corbin Carroll drop down? Plus, ...there are some surprises who made it into the second round!Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballTodaySign up for the newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters
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What do the first two rounds of 2027 drafts look like?
Find out next on Fantasy Baseball Today Express.
Welcome into FBT Express on Thursday, September 17th.
I am, for example, joined by Scott White,
and Scott has developed his first two rounds for next season,
and we will discuss them right now.
The first six picks, the number one pick of 2027,
should be Shohei Otani, followed by Pekro Armstrong,
Aaron Judge, Yoridan Alvarez, Juan Soto, and Bobby Witt Jr.
Scott, what does PCA have to do to be the first overall pick?
I think, I mean, I don't think this is a strange take.
We just need to see him repeat this a few times.
Like, show the consistent dominance that we've seen from Mishohay Otani,
who apart from a year like this one where he's been banged up,
especially in the second half.
Otani had been a very bankable stud,
like, Altimer type stud bat,
perennial MVP candidate.
Not many players can do that.
Maybe Crow Armstrong is one of those players,
but so far he's had one season like that.
And look, I'm putting him second.
I think I'm not expecting him to drop off too much, clearly.
but I do expect after historic season like this
a step back to be more likely than a step forward
or even completely sustaining it.
I mean, let's presume he gets to 40-40.
You know how many times a 40-40 season has been repeated?
Zero in the history of baseball.
So, like, yeah, it's logical Crowe Armstrong's going to take a step back next year
while Otani was trending toward his fourth straight,000 OPS season
before the injuries kicked in.
So I'll still take Otani over PCA.
All right, the back half of the first round,
we have James Wood at number seven,
followed by Fernando Tatis Jr., Ellie Dela Cruz, Jr. Comenero.
And then rounding out the first round,
we have our first pitchers, Jacob Mizirowski and Kam Schlittler.
So that's an interesting name, Scott.
You got Cam Schlittler all the way into the first round.
Talk about it.
I mean, there's not that much difference between him and Miziravis.
Mizzerowski has the record-setting velocities that draw the ooze and oz,
but that's a double-edged sword.
You know, if you're throwing way more triple-digit fastballs in a season
than any pitcher in history,
I think there's going to be a price to pay for that at some point.
I hope it's not next year.
And I'm not ranking them like it's going to be next year.
But I'm simply pointing out that Schlitler,
has been nearly as good statistically.
They both have historically good ERAs.
And maybe has a slight advantage there in terms of durability.
To the degree we can predict such things with starting pitchers.
So yeah, I think they need to go hand in hand.
And as we look here in round two,
we'll see a third pitcher is right there with them.
All right, quickly recapping the first round,
Shohey Otani, Pete Crow Armstrong, Aaron Judge,
Jordan Alvarez, Juan Soto, Bobby Witt Jr., James Wood, Fernando Tatez, Jr.,
Elie de la Cruz, Jr. Camerero, Jacob Miziarowski, and Camisletler.
Let's take a quick break, and we'll jump into the second round right after this.
Welcome back into FBT Express.
We're taking a look at Scott's way too early, first two rounds for 2027, and we're into the second round
where we have Terrick Scouble, C.J. Abrams, Jackson, Trio, Ronald Acuna, Julio, Julio,
Rodriguez and Corby and Carroll.
So the three names that stand out to me here, Scott, Acuna, J. Rod, Carol.
They're all still here in the early to mid-second round, despite pretty clear down seasons.
Some of that injury related with mostly Acuna here.
But it wasn't enough to deter you from keeping them in this kind of early to mid-second round range.
No, because they're still in the prime of their careers.
I mean, Julio Rodriguez is only 25.
you know, he's kind of still at the start of his career.
And for being that young to have been that bankable for that long,
I think he deserves a pass for the one year.
He, I guess, I guess he had, I guess, 2024.
He kind of also fell short of expectations.
But in between, he had a 30-30 season.
Even the bad years were 2020.
And like the underlying data for Julio Rodriguez doesn't look that different from where it usually does.
I have a hunch maybe the concussion
that sidelined him for a couple weeks
just before the All-Star break.
That's a long time to miss with a concussion,
and maybe the reason he hasn't had
his normal monster second half
has something to do with that.
And in Corbyn Carroll's case,
a back issue that's plagued him since April
probably has something to do
with his diminished production.
And yet he's still been good.
He still had a 2020 season,
so that I think that's all the more
to his credit. Ronald Acuna, of course, has had the knee stuff. But he's finishing the year on a
high note. And I think in terms of his tools, still very loud for Acuna. It's still just a matter
of him staying healthy. He was kind of a mechanical mess earlier this year with the time missed
to injury. But he's come back around here in September. So I think getting them 16, 17, 18, as I
rank them here, Acuna, Rodriguez, and Carol is, clearly it's discounted.
I mean, we're used to seeing these guys going round one.
I wouldn't want to want to discount them more than this.
I think the chances of a bounce back season, given their histories and the state
they're in currently, the age, I think a bounce back is to be expected.
Finishing out the second round, we have Yamamoto here at pick 19, followed by Christopher
Sanchez, Jordan Walker, Ben Rice, Nick Kurtz, and O'Neill Cruz.
So I do think there could be potentially some sticker shock here because names were not
used to going this early in drafts, but Jordan Walker, Ben Rice, and O'Neill Cruz.
Now, second round picks.
Talk about those three.
Yeah.
I mean, obviously they've had monster seasons.
And so I think...
they've performed better than I'm ranking them here.
So I'm factoring in a little bit of a step back.
I think in Jordan Walker and O'Neill Cruz's case,
especially the plate discipline, the strikeouts,
leave a lot of room for skepticism over their breakouts,
and yet their breakouts have been so monstrous
and their exit velocities off the charts
that at some point you just have to hold your nose
and take them in their...
name of upside. And I think this range is the right range to do it. I'm not married to them.
I'm not married to anyone, I guess, in the, well, I'm married to my wife, but I'm not married to any
of these players going in the back half of round two. There is a collection of others that have just
as strong of a case. And I kind of prioritize the scoring format, i.e. steals for Roto by ranking
this group where I did. Ben Rice obviously doesn't give you steals.
And I question whether he needs to be this high
just because he's first base,
obviously not going to have catcher eligibility anymore.
But as a first baseman,
I still think he tops the position.
But does any first baseman need to go this early
given how deep that position?
Would it be better to include a third basement
like a South Stewart or even bank on a Jose Ramirez
bounce back?
Miguel Vargas in that discussion as well.
Would it be better to do the position scarcity thing here?
Players who I think are similarly capable
his hitters. I just feel a little more confident
and right. So for now, I'm putting him
in and leaving those out.
But I'm not married to it, as I said.
All right. For more extensive fantasy baseball coverage,
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