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 keep things going with Round 12. You can find the complete series here.

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Round 12 Player List

Expert Analysis*

 
*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 12 fantasy pick?

 
Q2. Who has the biggest bust potential of any Round 12 fantasy pick?

 
Q3. What is your general strategy tip for Round 12?

I love targeting the upside of Byron Buxton at this point of the draft because he is on an amazing offense, and of course you are familiar with his tools. At the bare minimum, Buxton will contribute in the all-important steals category so he won’t crater your roster even if he flops. If you need a SP, this round has solid veterans that will eat up innings and fill a depth role on your pitching staff. Finally, Krush Davis is one of my favorite bounce-back picks.
– Jarad Evans (@Jarad_Evans)

This dozen is littered with big-name value. If MLB is able to open for business in 2020, Paxton should skyrocket a few rounds since he could now be ready for Opening Day. The same could be true for Ohtani, who could easily deliver a nice profit just as a hitter. Hendricks is a great value for drafters who have locked up high-strikeout hurlers, and Kimbrel warrants a mulligan here.
– Andrew Gould (@AndrewGould4)

I could not love Shohei Ohtani any more in a daily moves league. He should go in the first four rounds in a league like that, so getting him after pick 100 would be a dream situation. If he’s gone, I love Paxton as well with the delayed season making him a top 30 pitcher without missing any time. These guys probably won’t fall this far, but if they do – you’d better draft them.
– Jon Anderson (@JonPGH)

One of the reasons why I am perfectly fine taking risks in any of the prior few rounds is because we’re bound to have value as a result of others doing the same. Players like Lorenzo Cain, James Paxton, Madison Bumgarner, and Willson Contreras can all pay huge dividends and provide some much-needed stability. Really, I’m flipping the script from the norm by taking risk first and safety second, and this crop of players is why it’s possible. As an aside, Shohei Ohtani’s flexibility in any format makes him a must-own at this point, and his stock rises dramatically if we are drafting in a league with daily moves.
– Mario Mergola (@MarioMergola)

This is SP3 heaven if you haven’t taken one yet. Paxton, Hendricks, and Bumgarner could easily return a positive ROI. I’m targeting needs, but if I’ve done a good job of balancing my roster thus far, I’m taking my top-ranked hitter, and that’s likely to be Khris Davis. I also love Danny Santana’s positional flexibility and think this round is his floor. The players in this round also pose more injury risk than most (Paxton, Buxton, Ryu, Contreras, Cain, Ohtani), so my strategy for this round also depends how much risk is in my portfolio already. Said in a nerdier way, the boringness of my roster is likely to regress to the mean in this round.
– Carmen Maiorano (@carmsclubhouse)

Much like Round 11, this round is oozing with tremendous options when considering their ADP. James Paxton, Danny Santana, Madison Bumgarner and Lorenzo Cain are all well within my top 100 picks and I’d be thrilled to end up with several of them before anyone else starts considering plucking them out of my queue. Beyond those four, however, the value dries up quickly.
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)

This is about as mixed a round as there is in the draft. There are plenty of values, including James Paxton and Shohei Ohtani, who benefit greatly from a delayed season. And there’s the safest option in the game past pick 100 with Kyle Hendricks. But there is also a ton of risk, as Madison Bumgarner, Lorenzo Cain, Craig Kimbrel, Byron Buxton, and Danny Santana could all have disastrous seasons if things go wrong. I often find myself with Hendricks in this range, but if I’m drafting now, Paxton or Ohtani is where I’d spend my draft capital.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

Complete Round-by-Round Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis

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