Who should you pick 1.01 in your fantasy baseball draft?

The MLB season will get underway on Thursday, March 30. With the regular season on the horizon, now is the time to start drafting your fantasy baseball teams for the 2023 season. As you start conducting mock drafts to see how players are valued, not many people see what would happen if they end up with the No. 1 pick. If you log into your draft room and see that you are on the clock first, what should you do?

What does ADP say about the #1 overall pick?

The Live Draft Trends tracker at ESPN.com shows that you should be drafting Shohei Ohtani with the first overall pick in your fantasy baseball drafts. The Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher has DH as a secondary position. Depending on your league settings for roster construction and how you handle Ohtani, his being a two-way player provides your lineup with the most possible upside right out of the gate.

Who should I pick at #1 in Roto leagues?

Barring some super creative home league scoring or splitting Ohtani into two different fantasy assets, Ohtani should be the first overall pick. He showed during the World Baseball Classic all that he was capable of on the mound and in the batter's box. Even if the Angels have another down year, Ohtani has the pure talent to still be the most productive player in fantasy baseball.

Who should I pick at #1 in H2H leagues?

Surprise, surprise, the answer is Ohtani. When it comes down to head-to-head points or categories, Ohtani continues to give you versatility in that he will still get a start once every five days and then the other four, he will likely be the DH. I can understand the appeal of taking Aaron Judge for his power numbers, and I can see the appeal of Julio Rodriguez, especially with the bigger bases for steals. If you wanted to take those guys, that’s fine, but Ohtani is still the choice at 1.01.