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10 Burning Questions: Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, Josh Jung (2022 Fantasy Baseball)

10 Burning Questions: Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, Josh Jung (2022 Fantasy Baseball)

Each and every week, I’ll address 10 burning questions that I’m looking either for answers for during the week or questions that may help fantasy managers navigate the week-to-week grind of their team.

This will be the last edition of this column for the 2022 season. Thanks for reading along and I hope you found value in it.

Let’s get to it.

What Can We Expect From Gunnar Henderson?

We are beyond the point in the season where teams have to worry about future control for their top prospects, and there may not be a prospect more ready for the show – and fantasy – than Henderson. He’s risen up the rankings over the last couple of years, and he’s the No. 1 prospect in baseball – depending on the lists you look at.

Henderson handled the move to Triple-A well, slashing .289/.388/.520 with 11 home runs in 58 games. The strikeout rate climbed to 25.9 percent, which is worth noting when he does debut. He has a nice power/speed blend and should find himself in the lineup nearly every day for the Orioles down the stretch. I think 6-7 home runs and 3-4 steals with a .260 average isn’t unrealistic for the rest of the season, depending on when he debuts.

What About Corbin Carroll?

This isn’t Carroll from HR, it’s Carroll from Arizona. And while Henderson tops many of the top prospect lists, Carroll is the other guy at the top of the other lists.

It’s not a given that he gets the call – he doesn’t even have 650 career minor-league plate appearances to his name – but the Diamondbacks really have no reason not to. He’s thriving in the minors – as expected – with 31 steals and 21 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A.

What’s encouraging is that he cut his strikeout rate moving levels while maintaining his high walk rate.

I’d expect a handful of steals and home runs from him with around a .270 average. If he and Henderson get called up at the same time, I’m taking Carroll.

What Are Your Thoughts on Josh Jung?

While I like the ceiling of Henderson and Carroll more for this lovely game we play, I like Jung’s floor and transition to big-league success more.

If it wasn’t for an injury, we would have seen Jung break camp with the Rangers as their starting third baseman. There’s still time for that to happen, as he has a big-league-ready bat with a fantastic hit tool. We chase upside so often that we forget just how valuable high-floor players are. Make Jung a priority add.

Is Cade Cavalli a Must-Add?

The Nationals sent a bit of a surprise when they announced that Cavalli was going to make his big-league debut this Friday against the Reds in Washington. He’s a super exciting prospect, but as enticing as he is with his pure stuff, he is equally concerning with his control and command struggles and his high reliever risk.

Pitchers have been hard to come by on the waiver wire, and those who need strikeouts should make Cavalli the priority if you’re picking between the four prospects.

What Was Your Best Call of the Year?

I’m taking a look at my top 450 rankings (points leagues) that I submitted on March 24, and it’s pretty funny to see how sure I was on a player who ended up doing really well or really poorly.

Some of my better calls were:

Sandy Alcantara (23rd overall preseason)

Aaron Judge (29th overall)

Francisco Lindor (41st overall)

Dylan Cease (61st overall)

What About Your Worst Call?

Ugh, too many.

Some of the ones that stand out are:

Trevor Rogers (78th overall)

Shane McClanahan (83rd overall)

Justin Verlander (66th overall)

Chris Sale (97th overall)

Bo Bichette (8th overall)

Lance Lynn (26th overall)

Akil Baddoo (185th overall)

Are You Changing Your Approach at all Next Season?

I’m pretty happy with my process this year. I think you’re going to see a shift of people investing second- and third-round picks into closers after the terrible season for them this year. But that’s something I’ve typically done in the past.

I’m going to take a look, like I always do, at what I got right and wrong, and where I can improve. I really think it’s important to target players who hit toward the top of the lineup, so I’ll continue to stress that. I also know that I should probably not fade closers or catchers as often as I do – especially with the current crop of productive hitters behind the plate.

Who is an Offseason Target for You?

I absolutely love targeting players who are coming off of a down season – especially if there are indicators that they should have performed better than they actually did or if they are battling injuries.

A few players I’m looking to target in my dynasty leagues this off-season are:

Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS – SD)

Bryson Stott (2B, SS – PHI)

Nick Lodolo (SP – PHI)

Grayson Rodriguez (SP – BAL)

Spencer Torkelson (1B – DET)

Cedric Mullins (OF – BAL)

Mitch White (SP – TOR)

Royce Lewis (SS – MIN)

Who are Some Players Rostered in 50 Percent of Leagues or Fewer I Should Target?

Here are 10 hitters and pitchers who you should add to your watchlist who are available in 21-50 percent of leagues (using Yahoo rostership numbers).

Hitters:

Nico Hoerner (2B, SS – CHC)

Oneil Cruz (SS – PIT)

Lars Nootbaar (OF – STL)

Brett Baty (3B – NYM)

Harold Ramirez (1B, OF – TB)

Pitchers:

Reid Detmers (SP – LAA)

Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – DET)

Tanner Scott (RP – MIA)

Nick Lodolo (SP – CIN)

Tyler Glasnow (SP – TB)

What About 20 Percent?

Like above, here are 10 hitters and pitchers rostered in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues or fewer who should be on your deep-league radar.

Hitters:

Leody Taveras (OF – TEX)

Corbin Carroll (OF – ARI)

Bryston Stott (2B/SS – PHI)

Gunnar Henderson (SS – BAL)

Josh Jung (3B – TEX)

Pitchers:

Spenser Watkins (SP, RP – BAL)

Cade Cavalli (SP – WAS)

J.P. Sears (SP/RP – OAK)

Roansy Contreras (SP – PIT)

Mitch White (SP – TOR)


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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy baseball, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you navigate your season. From our Lineup Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball season.

Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.

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