Editor's Note: The Paths to Glory series is intended to serve as a starting point for your team. As we all know, baseball drafts become unpredictable as spring training progresses, but the three options provided here should put you on the right path.

It's understandable why owners wouldn't want to take Giancarlo Stanton with one of the first four picks in a Head-to-Head draft. Simply put, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt and Josh Donaldson authored MVP-type seasons a year ago, and Stanton did not. If you're in a points league, his strikeouts are another strike against him.

But the only reason Stanton wasn't in the MVP discussion in 2015 was because he broke his hand. He had been on pace to challenge for that award, and he did finish second in the 2014 National League voting. Any stigma attached to Stanton by virtue of being a Marlin is unsupported by his stats, as he has driven in 172 runs and scored 136 runs over 219 games the last two seasons. And, yes, he has missed a lot of games, but he would have played full seasons if not for getting hit in the face in 2014 and last year's hand injury. At least over the last two years, he doesn't look like a player who is a chronic health risk.

So not only should you feel free to take Stanton as early as the fifth pick overall, you are probably getting a bargain if he falls to you any later than that. Not only are you getting a player who could provide the most power of any hitter in Fantasy, but you have secured one of the top outfielders, which is no mean feat. The first outfield tier is not very deep, and bringing Stanton aboard allows you the luxury of filling some other needs.

Even with taking Stanton in the first round, it can be tricky getting your first base, outfield and starting pitching needs filled by the end of the sixth round. If you're really lucky, one of Edwin Encarnacion, Anthony Rizzo or Joey Votto could fall to your second-round pick, and that's an opportunity you can't pass up. However, even if your best first base option is Chris Davis, it's time to fill that 1B slot.

With Stanton and Davis, you are doubling down on strikeouts, but both draw walks and just flat out crush baseballs. Drafting Davis has another benefit as well. Because he is dual eligible at first base and outfield, having him provides you with some flexibility in the coming rounds, as you have to contend with dwindling quantities of attractive options at both positions.

I'm very big on Matt Carpenter this year, so I like him in third round, but if you think he'll slide another round, you could target pitching here. The duo of Dallas Keuchel and Felix Hernandez is perfectly fine and potentially attainable in Rounds 4 and 5. Because you already have Davis, you can afford to draft David Ortiz in Round 6. He'd fill your utility slot until gaining first base eligibility, and then Davis could shift to the outfield. Granted, it could take Ortiz a while to get his five games at first base, but this gambit is worth a try.

If you are scared off by Davis' strikeouts and inconsistency, you could take Jose Abreu with your second pick instead. The biggest downside here is that you're under more pressure to grab a second outfielder within the following two or three rounds. In this scenario, you would have Stanton and Charlie Blackmon as your top two outfielders and Chris Sale and Danny Salazar at the top of your rotation. Not bad at all.

That still leaves you with a fifth round pick to fill another need. This strikes me as an appropriate place to draft Kyle Schwarber, though there is enough hype surrounding him that he may not last this long. If you can't draft Schwarber here, you could pursue Jonathan Lucroy, though I'd be more disposed to use the pick on Xander Bogaerts, Corey Seager or Anthony Rendon.

There is something to be said for going for two starting pitchers early if you think you can still put a strong offensive core together. If you already have Stanton in the fold, this strategy might be worth a shot, and you have a realistic chance of getting Madison Bumgarner and Corey Kluber if you strike early enough.

One potential haul from Rounds 4 through 6 is the trio of Rendon, Troy Tulowitzki and Adrian Gonzalez. Rendon and Tulowitzki are loaded with risk, as both are coming off down years and are injury risks. However, if both can play near the top of their potential, they would make your strategy of taking two starting pitchers early pay off. Gonzalez is not an exciting first base option, but he represents a large upgrade over the hitters at the position you would have to settle for if you waited any longer.