A year after general manager Trent Baalke memorably declared the 49ers weren’t rebuilding but reloading, he was posed this question in January: What are you doing now?

“I don’t think anybody will admit in the National Football League that they are in rebuild mode,” Baalke said. “I think we’ve got a lot of nice young pieces, guys who have a lot of experience, several key veteran guys coming back. We’ve got a lot of ammunition over the next several months to improve this football team via free agency, the draft. So I like where this team is, but we have a lot of work to do.”

That’s a wordy answer that could have been chopped from 77 words to two. What Baalke said: We’re rebuilding.

It might not be an admission GMs make publicly — tickets must be sold, after all — but Baalke’s inaction since free agency began March 9 has spoken for him. The 49ers are committed to a start-from-scratch youth movement and are buckling up in anticipation of a bumpy 2016.

As Baalke noted, the 49ers have a lot of work to do, but they’ve done next to nothing with their $50-plus million in salary-cap space. Their free-agent signings: well-traveled quarterback Thad Lewis and guard Zane Beadles, who is probably a downgrade from his predecessor, Alex Boone, who signed with the Vikings.

Free-agent strategy

The 49ers have eschewed patching their roster with veterans at least partly because they thought the best players in a so-so free-agent class were wildly overpriced. However, they also know they aren’t a few big-money players away from competing. And they plan to use 12 draft picks to add to what they consider their best asset: the potential of young players.

The team’s youth was what head coach Chip Kelly cited last month when asked for his impressions of the roster he inherited. What did Kelly glean after studying video of a 5-11 season in which the 49ers ranked last in points scored, 29th (of 32 teams) in total defense and had the NFL’s second-worst point difference?

“I was impressed with the overall athleticism and youth of the team,” Kelly said. “… I think there’s some really good young talent on the team.”

Left unsaid: The 49ers will try to get things done in 2016 with players who haven’t done much in the NFL.

Consider the 49ers have three players with more than six career sacks, two wide receivers or tight ends with more than 40 career catches, one player with more than 10 career interceptions, and zero running backs with as many as 900 career rushing yards.

Of the 70 players on their roster, 50 have three or fewer seasons of NFL experience.

Draft and develop

They will try to add several high-impact rookies with their draft picks. Baalke referenced those selections last week when asked about his on-the-sidelines approach to free agency.

“We haven’t done much,” Baalke told reporters at the NFL owners’ meetings. “We’re a draft-and-develop team. That’s what we are.”

However, the 49ers are in their current position partly because they haven’t drafted and developed well enough.

None of their 40 selections since 2012 has been selected to a Pro Bowl (safety Eric Reid went as an alternate in 2013) and Baalke’s draft-and-stash strategy hasn’t worked. From 2012 through ’14, he used five of his 23 picks on players coming off significant knee injuries, spending second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round selections on those rehabbing prospects.

Last year, two of those players weren’t in the NFL and the remaining three played an average of 103 snaps for the 49ers.

Talent drain

In many cases, Baalke’s string of uninspiring drafts has meant the 49ers haven’t been able to adequately replace decorated players. For example, defensive lineman Tank Carradine (second round, 2013) hasn’t filled the Justin Smith void, guard Brandon Thomas (third round, 2014) hasn’t replaced Mike Iupati and tight end Vance McDonald (second round, 2013) hasn’t made anyone forget an in-his-prime Vernon Davis.

Baalke did find a solid replacement for Patrick Willis in Chris Borland, but the 2014 third-round pick retired after a stellar rookie season. It’s also clear Carlos Hyde (second round, 2014) is a No. 1 running back, but he already has been sidelined for 11 games, one fewer than his predecessor, Frank Gore, has missed in his 11-year career.

The bottom line is Baalke’s recent drafts haven’t been good enough and he can’t afford to whiff in 2016. The 49ers do have 12 picks, but their haul is bottom heavy. They have three of the first 104 picks and nine selections are in the fourth through sixth rounds.

Difficult task

Not many general managers consistently mine solid starters in the later rounds and Baalke is no different. Since 2012, he has selected 26 players after the third round, and just two — defensive tackle Quinton Dial and outside linebacker Aaron Lynch — are clear 2016 starters.

Such facts help explain why the present outlook is bleak, but there is reason for some optimism. The 49ers will have at least 10 more draft picks in 2017 and will also carry over a small fortune to next year’s salary cap.

If that capital is used wisely, a turnaround is possible. But that’s not likely to happen this season.

Before a potential revival, there will be rebuilding.

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Eric_Branch

Team Unproven

A look at the 49ers’ leaders in various categories:

RUSHING YDS (RB)

Carlos Hyde (age: 25)803

Shaun Draughn (28)527

DuJuan Harris (27)452

Mike Davis (23)58

Jarryd Hayne (28)52

Kendall Gaskins (25)38

RECEPTIONS (WR/TE)

Torrey Smith (27)246

Jerome Simpson (30)150

Vance McDonald (25)40

Quinton Patton (25)36

Garrett Celek (27)27

Bruce Ellington (24)19

SACKS

Ahmad Brooks (32)47.5

Aaron Lynch (23)12.5

NaVorro Bowman (27)11.5

Glenn Dorsey (30)6

Antoine Bethea (31)5.5

Quinton Dial (25)4.5

INTERCEPTIONS

Antoine Bethea (31)18

Tramaine Brock (27)10

Eric Reid (24)7

Kenneth Acker (24)3

NaVorro Bowman (27)3

Michael Wilhoite (29)3