Frank Ammirante | Wed, Apr 8th 2026, 7:07am EDT

10 Burning Questions (2026 Fantasy Baseball)

Welcome to our weekly fantasy baseball burning questions article. Each week, I’ll dive into 10 key questions that are popular within the fantasy community. These will be carefully chosen to ensure that only the most polarizing topics and players are featured.

This week, we’re focusing on players who may be breaking out and players off to cold starts. We’re also discussing potential closers.

Fantasy Baseball 10 Burning Questions

1. Is Jordan Walker breaking out?

Jordan Walker came into Tuesday’s action slashing .314/.385/.629 with three home runs and one stolen base in 39 plate appearances. The batted ball metrics look great (16.7% barrel rate), which makes you feel encouraged that this is potentially sustainable.

You also have to like how Walker has increased his walk rate from 7.3% to 10.3% while trimming his strikeout rate from 31.8% to 28.2%. Now hitting in the cleanup spot for the rebuilding Cardinals, this looks like a legit breakout.

2. Is Cam Smith for real?

Another legit breakout is Cam Smith, who was a key piece of the Kyle Tucker trade last season. The 23-year-old outfielder is slashing .297/.422/.595 with three home runs and three stolen bases in 45 plate appearances.

The walk rate has skyrocketed from 8.7% to 15.6%, while the strikeout rate has dropped from 27.8% to 24.4%. Smith is here to stay, looking like a 20/20 threat in an improved Astros lineup.

3. Should you be concerned about Jac Caglianone?

Jac Caglianone is struggling so far, slashing .281/.361/.344 with zero home runs in 36 plate appearances coming into Tuesday. The good news is Caglianone is walking at a decent clip (8.3%) while keeping his strikeout rate in check (25%).

The barrel rate isn’t up to Caglianone’s potential, but it’s still respectable at 8.7%. I recommend being patient with Caglianone, as he is a hitter with elite raw power. Bench him until he shows signs of life.

4. Is Gregory Soto the closer for the Pirates?

Gregory Soto is the best bet for saves for the Pirates. The veteran closer only has one save, but his stuff looks phenomenal, as highlighted by a 48% strikeout rate. Soto racked up 30 saves for the Tigers back in 2022, so there’s experience here.

It’s also worth noting that the Pirates have deployed Danny Santana in non-closing situations at times. For now, we can consider Soto as the frontrunner for saves in Pittsburgh, but this is a fluid situation.

5. Is Bryan Baker the best bet for saves in Tampa Bay?

We have another fluid situation in Tampa, where Griffin Jax has struggled mightily, opening the door for Bryan Baker, who notched a save on Monday. Baker has shown elite stuff, featuring an otherworldly 46.2% strikeout rate.

With Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger nearing returns from the injured list (IL), there’s a chance this situation could become complicated. But there’s also a chance Baker establishes himself as the hot hand, earning trust as the closer. Pick him up off the waiver wire and see what happens.

6. Is Jose Soriano legit?

Jose Soriano is off to a phenomenal start, putting up a 0.45 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP with a 29.6% strikeout rate, which is an increase of 8.6% from last year. This is supported by an uptick in swinging-strike rate from 11.3% to 14.4%.

Soriano was one of my favorite starting pitcher sleepers because of a 3.93 SIERA last season, along with excellent stuff. He looks like a rock-solid mid-rotation arm who will stick on your roster all season long.

7. How good is Andy Pages?

Andy Pages has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball so far, slashing an absurd .474/.500/.789 with three home runs and one stolen base in 40 plate appearances.

You have to love the 17.5% strikeout rate and 54.8% hard-hit rate (88th percentile) so far. While he’s obviously going to regress at some point, he has 25/10 upside and will outperform his draft day cost.

8. What’s up with Pete Crow-Armstrong?

Pete Crow-Armstrong is off to a slow start, slashing .211/.250/.237 with zero homers and three steals in 41 plate appearances. The plate discipline hasn’t been good at all, including a 4.9% walk rate and a 29.3% strikeout rate.

This is concerning because it’s a continuation of what we saw in the second half of last season, when Crow-Armstrong slashed .216/.262/.372 with a 72 wRC+. It seems like the league has figured out Crow-Armstrong, so he clearly needs to adjust at the plate. I’m definitely concerned.

9. Should I be worried about Jose Ramirez?

Jose Ramirez has been the model of consistency, but he’s off to a slow start, slashing .146/.239/.268 with one home run and two stolen bases in 46 plate appearances.

Given the lengthy track record here, there’s no reason to worry. Ramirez is still walking at a 10.9% clip with a 13% strikeout rate. He’s likely to get back on track sooner rather than later.

10. Is CJ Abrams taking the next step?

CJ Abrams has been on fire to start the year, slashing .286/.390/.629 with four homers and two steals. I love that he’s bumped his walk rate from 5.8% to 12.2% while striking out only 17.1% of the time.

The batted ball metrics look good as well, including a 10.7% barrel rate. This could be the case of a young player taking the next step. Still only 25 years old, there’s a lot to like here. What if Abrams gets traded to a contender later in the year? I’d buy high.

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