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 8. You can find the complete series here.

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Round 8 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 8 fantasy pick?

 
Q2. Who has the biggest bust potential of any Round 8 fantasy pick?

 
Q3. What is your general strategy tip for Round 8?

The two players that pop in my eyes are the starting pitchers, Jose Berrios and Corey Kluber. Both have tantalizing upside and could potentially vault into SP1 or SP2 territory at a Round 8 price-tag. Kluber was a mega-ace just two years ago, and it wouldn’t be crazy if last year’s struggles were more injury-driven than a real decline. And Berrios has true front-line ace stuff, he just needs to find that consistency. Most of the bats here are solid. I won’t be taking either closer over any of these players. The wait for saves marches on.
– Jarad Evans (@Jarad_Evans)

It looks like I’m going to keep tackling all of the hitting values. That is unless I really need pitching, at which case Kluber is worth the gamble at this going rate. Brantley, McNeil, Castellanos, and Chapman all offer relatively stable floors with sneaky upside. Daredevils, meanwhile, can roll the dice on Correa staying healthy.
– Andrew Gould (@AndrewGould4)

I really like the hitting value in this round. This is a great part of the draft to take three or four hitters in a row because the hitting pool is just so deep. Correa, McNeil, Castellanos, Chapman, and Brantley are all very talented hitters who will help your offense a ton. There is also great upside with Hoskins if he can just get his batting average up to a stomachable level.
– Jon Anderson (@JonPGH)

Scanning the names in Round 8 solidifies my point about Round 7’s relative value. I could make the case for some of these players to be upgraded into the previous round and I’d likely select one — usually Jose Berrios or Aroldis Chapman — before most of the last group. This is where we can find players that could end the season worth two or three rounds more than what we paid for them. I want volume, and I dive deep into this pool.
– Mario Mergola (@MarioMergola)

Similar to Round 7, I’m likely waiting at least another round to get my third SP or even think about a closer. There is just too much hitter value here. If Kluber is still on the board, he has a great chance to end the year as a top-10 SP, especially in a shortened season. Given that average is hard to come by, I really like the prospect of getting McNeil or Brantley here. I’ve even double-dipped with D.J. LeMahieu and McNeil, giving me positional flexibility and enabling me to target power and speed for the remainder of the draft.
– Carmen Maiorano (@carmsclubhouse)

Although there are some decent value picks in this round from Nick Castellanos and Max Muncy to Michael Brantley and Rhys Hoskins, Corey Kluber is so far and away the best option in this round that if you miss out on him, it should be deemed a major disappointment. Going into last year, Kluber was a bonafide top-five pitcher, and nothing has really changed besides a fluke injury and one rough month.
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)

This is another one of my favorite rounds in terms of the value presented. There are two pitchers with high upside in Berrios and Kluber and several 35-homer bats. I’ve been all over Rhys Hoskins, whose 2019 numbers are likely artificially deflated because of a late-season hand injury. I am almost always walking out of this round with one of Hoskins, Carlos Correa, or Nick Castellanos as I continue to look for power bats.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)

Complete Round-by-Round Fantasy Baseball Draft Analysis

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