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While the delay to the start of the MLB season is hard on everyone, it does allow for deeper dives into different aspects of fantasy baseball. You’ll notice that we’re doing this on a team-by-team and player-by-player basis with a pair of series we’ve put together. Additionally, we’re going to examine fantasy baseball on a round-by-round basis, covering 12 players per article and providing you a plethora of info specific to each fantasy baseball round.
We’ll get things started with Round 5. You can find the complete series here.
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Round 5 Player List
| Rank | Player | Team | Positions |
| 49 | Anthony Rizzo | CHC | 1B |
| 50 | Chris Paddack | SD | SP |
| 51 | Luis Castillo | CIN | SP |
| 52 | Yu Darvish | CHC | SP |
| 53 | Whit Merrifield | KC | 2B,CF,RF |
| 54 | Patrick Corbin | WSH | SP |
| 55 | Yoan Moncada | CWS | 2B,3B |
| 56 | Eloy Jimenez | CWS | LF |
| 57 | Bo Bichette | TOR | SS |
| 58 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | SP |
| 59 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | TOR | 3B,DH |
| 60 | Jonathan Villar | MIA | 2B,SS |
Expert Analysis*
| EXPERT | VALUE | RISK | STUDS | BUSTS | |
| Jarad Evans | @Jarad_Evans | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Andrew Gould | @AndrewGould4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Jon Anderson | @JonPGH | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Mario Mergola | @MarioMergola | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Carmen Maiorano | @carmsclubhouse | 7 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Bobby Sylvester | @bobbyfantasypro | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Dan Harris | @danharris80 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
*Value: A total assigned to how the overall fantasy value of the round compares with other rounds relative to ADP/ECR (10 = most value : 1 = least value); Risk: A total assigned to how much potential risk exists compared with other rounds (10 = most risk : 1 = least risk); Studs: the number of potential league-winning players that can be found in the round; Busts: the number of potential busts that can be found in the round.
Q1. Who has the most league-winning potential of any Round 5 fantasy pick?
| EXPERT | PICK |
| Jarad Evans | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
| Andrew Gould | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
| Jon Anderson | Eloy Jimenez |
| Mario Mergola | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
| Carmen Maiorano | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
| Bobby Sylvester | Jonathan Villar |
| Dan Harris | Bo Bichette |
Q2. Who has the biggest bust potential of any Round 5 fantasy pick?
| EXPERT | PICK |
| Jarad Evans | Jonathan Villar |
| Andrew Gould | Yu Darvish |
| Jon Anderson | Jonathan Villar |
| Mario Mergola | Lucas Giolito |
| Carmen Maiorano | Yu Darvish |
| Bobby Sylvester | Jonathan Villar |
| Dan Harris | Yu Darvish |
Q3. What is your general strategy tip for Round 5?
Round five has ridiculous upside with seven candidates that could make the jump to fantasy superstardom in Paddack, Castillo, Moncada, Jimenez, Bichette, Giolito, and Guerrero Jr. I’m willing to bet that at least one of these players will be a first or second-round pick in 2021. Of course, there is always added risk in drafting young players, but at this point I view the risk as well worthwhile.
– Jarad Evans (@Jarad_Evans)
In a grouping of high-upside youngsters, Rizzo and Corbin stand out as sage value buys. Risk aside, the experts also seem to be too sour on Villar, whose annual improvements continue to go ignored. That said, I can’t fault anyone rolling the dice on Guerrero, Jimenez, or Giolito if already establishing a reliable foundation.
– Andrew Gould (@AndrewGould4)
Risky business here. The only options I would call super safe are Rizzo (in an OBP league) and Corbin. I want no part of Merrifield, Bichette, or Moncada this year. This is a good round to grab an SP2, either going safe with Corbin or taking the shot at truly elite production with a Giolito or Paddack. Eloy is my favorite overall player here, as a .300 batting average with league-leading power numbers is in the range of outcomes for him, I think.
– Jon Anderson (@JonPGH)
Round five is where I have been making my toughest decisions. The depth here is unparalleled as we have solid options in Anthony Rizzo and Patrick Corbin and high-upside targets like Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Eloy Jimenez. To narrow down my options, I focus on my current roster at this point. Ideally, by the end of round five, I want to have three hitters and two pitchers, so I will draft my fifth player to fit that mold. This is also the earliest I’ve seen a closer get drafted and, if all my other targets are off the board and I want to get ahead of the curve, I can justify it.
– Mario Mergola (@MarioMergola)
This is a great round to get your SP2 to focus on the plethora of hitters in the next couple rounds. I have Paddack as an SP1, so I will likely take him as my SP2 to build a foundation for my pitching staff. I have Vlad in my top 30, so he would be my first hitter off the board here. I’m avoiding the Chicago pitchers at this price.
– Carmen Maiorano (@carmsclubhouse)
This round is a nightmare for me. I’m fond of many of these players but only Villar at his ADP, and he is quite the risk. I might be willing to reach for Manny Machado, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge or Tyler Glasnow once Villar is off the board.
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)
This is actually one of the best rounds of the draft, because it offers a combination of high-floor, high-ceiling players. I usually want to get out of the first six rounds or so with three top starters, so I’ll usually grab one on this round. Other than that, Bichette is often my target, as he should have a big all-around year batting leadoff for the Blue Jays.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
Complete Round-by-Round Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis
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