Late-stage drafts are like the final boss of Draft Prep Season. "Drafting on hard mode," as our own R.J. White put it.

It's almost worse the more practiced you are. You can grow so accustomed to everyone following a certain script and taking players where they're "supposed" to go that you forget how to improvise. When the chips are down and the time for experimentation is over, old war wounds from mock drafts past begin to have their say, and the focus turns from following a script to getting your guys.

Who were the guys going and getting their guys? That would be these guys:

1) Chris Towers, CBS Sports (@CTowersCBS)
2) Nathan Judah, Express & Star (@NathanJudah)
3) Jesse Severe, Dynasty Sports Life (@dynsportslife)
4) George Kurtz, Sportsgrid (@GeorgeKurtz)
5) Frank Stampfl, CBS Sports (@Roto_Frank)
6) Jake Wiener, Prospects1500 (@GatorSosa)
7) R.J. White, CBS Sports (@rjwhite1)
8) Scott White, CBS Sports (@CBSScottWhite)
9) JR Fenton, TGFBI participant (@JohnRussell215)
10) Nick Fox, NBC Sports (@CT_FOX)
11) B_Don, Razzball (@RazzBDon)
12) Raymond Atherton, Fantasy Aceball (@RaymondAtherton)  

Here are some of the lessons I applied to this draft:

  • Corey Seager doesn't make it out of Round 4 anymore. If I wanted that singularity at shortstop, the most likely of anyone at the position to deliver both a .300 batting average and 30 homers, I knew I had to act at Pick 41. Had Kyle Schwarber lasted to that point, I probably would have gone with him instead, outfield being the weaker position and all. But since he didn't, the only question was if Francisco Lindor, who I actually rank higher than Seager, would also be there. He went at Pick 40, which is probably for the best.
  • Corbin Carroll often doesn't make it out of Round 4 either. And you know what? I've so come to appreciate the rookie that I genuinely considered taking him instead of Seager. My best chance at both was to go with Seager first, which is partly why I did it, but sure enough, Carroll was selected with the fifth pick of Round 5, 53rd overall. Turns out Round 4 was my only shot at him. It would have been well ahead of ADP, but then again, so was 53rd overall. The guy is flying up draft boards faster than ADP can keep up.
  • I have Cristian Javier ranked too low for how much I like him. I must, because I haven't had occasion to draft him yet. So when I noticed he was there in Round 5, which was the point when I first gave a thought to taking a pitcher, I knew I couldn't count on him making it back to me. Alek Manoah, Julio Urias and Max Fried were also there -- and I've had them ranked higher this whole time -- but their skill sets are more similar to each other than to Javier, who's the much better bat-misser. So I eschewed my rankings this time and went with Javier, believing that any one of those other three would be a fine complement for him in Round 6, and sure enough, Fried made it back to me. Might need to update those rankings.

Here are some other notable picks:

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  • You'll notice I selected Rhys Hoskins to be my first baseman in Round 10. Yeah, that was obviously before the news of his season-ending knee injury (we broke this down on the FBT in 5 podcast). Likewise, Frank Stampfl's pick of Raisel Iglesias in Round 7 came before word of him beginning the year on the IL (with a far less serious injury). I always want these mock draft results to be piping hot fresh, but alas, the world keeps turning.
  • Jose Altuve, who we now know will be out until late May or early June with a fractured thumb, was selected in Round 9, 106th overall. I was tempted to take him a round earlier than that, which is closer to how I rank him, but since I had already filled second base with Ozzie Albies in Round 2, it seemed like an unnecessary risk.
  • Jordan Walker simply can't be had at face value anymore, going 101st in this draft. Same goes for Lars Nootbaar, who went 115th. Miguel Vargas at 162 is a little more reasonable than some of our mocks, but it's still well ahead of ADP. Anthony Volpe at 212 is about the earliest I've seen him go but fully justified given the impact he'll make as the Yankees starting shortstop if he wins the job. Even if he doesn't, he won't be marinating in the minors for long.
  • Other picks that reveal how a player's stock has risen over the course of spring training (or the World Baseball Classic, for that matter) include Jonathan India at 125, Masataka Yoshida at 126,  Reid Detmers at 169, Oscar Colas at 180, Jarred Kelenic at 184, Gabriel Moreno at 192, Jake Fraley at 209, Brendan Donovan at 211, Jimmy Herget at 271, Kyle Bradish at 282, Matthew Boyd at 297, Kerry Carpenter at 299, Josiah Gray at 318, Brice Turang at 320, Mitch Keller at 322, Luis Campusano at 326, Scott McGough at 329, Blake Sabol at 344 and Jared Shuster at 347.

Get your guys!