NEW: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Simulator Available

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese? Want to become a better free-throw shooter? Want to learn how to play the guitar?

All seemingly unrelated items, the one thing they share in common is that repeated practice is the means to achieving those goals. Even if practice doesn't make perfect, as the saying goes, there is no denying that practice will make you better.

So, what does this have to do with a (fantasy) baseball blog?

Well, if you want to become better at drafting your fantasy baseball team(s) in 2014, the best way to develop and hone that skill is to practice ... and then practice some more.

While it's a no-brainer to take guys like Mike Trout or Miguel Cabrera at the top of the draft, you will get a better chance of how the draft will play out by completing as many mock drafts as you can. In addition, it makes sense to try out some different strategies to see how that would potentially alter the overall composition of your team.

If you're like me (or most people), you don't have the time to spend hour after hour completing mock drafts.

By using the mock draft simulator on our site (powered by FantasyPros), you can complete a full mock draft in a matter of five minutes. You will draft for your team (you can select league size and draft slot), and the computer will draft for the other slots based on the expert consensus rankings and average draft position.

Starting at some point in February, we will do and post a mock draft per day with analysis. And while that may/should be useful as well, there is nothing like you getting the hands-on practice of doing mocks yourself as opposed to reading about ours.

So, what are you waiting for? Start your fantasy baseball mock drafts now.

* DraftKings: Play Daily Fantasy Sports and get a 100-percent bonus (up to $600) on your initial deposit.

Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers agree to 7-year deal

The Los Angeles Dodgers and their 25-year-old staff ace, Clayton Kershaw, have agreed to a seven-year deal worth $215 million, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.

Per Shelburne, the deal allows Kershaw, who would have been eligibility for free agency in 2015, to opt out of the deal after the fifth season.  Easily becoming the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history, Kershaw's deal beats the extension signed last year by Detroit's Justin Verlander by $35 million.

The winner of two N.L. Cy Young awards in the past three seasons, Kershaw finished second to R.A. Dickey the year he didn't win it.

Not only does Kershaw have a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past five seasons, he has led the N.L. in ERA for three consecutive years including a career-best 1.83 ERA last season.  In addition, he has led the league in WHIP in each of the past three seasons and has 200-plus strikeouts in four consecutive seasons.

Without question, Kershaw will be the slam-dunk top fantasy pitcher when I release my initial 2014 fantasy baseball rankings later this month.