I said something in my Corbin Carroll fantasy the other day, that people might take the wrong way, so to clarify. I think Gunnar Henderson can be better than Bobby Witt Jr., especially in real baseball. I think Corbin Carroll can be excellent, a top 25 overall type bat. When I said I thought Julio Rodriguez was better than Carroll, and Witt Jr. was better than Gunnar, I meant their rookie 2022 seasons vs. these rookies’ 2023 seasons. Can’t expect insane years like what Julio and Bobby did every year. It just doesn’t happen. It doesn’t mean Gunnar Henderson or Carroll can’t be great. Gunnar likely has better contact than Witt Jr., which will lead to a better average. He just doesn’t have the speed as BWJ, so his fantasy value isn’t going to be as pronounced. Fahn-tah-see val-ewe, that’s how fantasy value is pronounced. If I’m being honest, I think we’ve been a little spoiled in recent years with rookies. Haven’t had a real stinker since Michael Fulmer in 2016. Ha, Fulmer out here taking strays in his Google alerts for no reason. In 2017, Aaron Judge hit 52 HRs and .284 as a rookie and Cody Belinger went 39/10, and since then we’ve had some incredible rookie years (I’m ignoring 2020, but Kyle Lewis wasn’t bad in a goofy year). All of that is totally irrelevant for today, but also kinda spoiling us, even if it’s subconsciously. I am merely setting your expectations. Gunnar Henderson is going to rosterable and great, but just try to be realistic. The top of the rookie class will just be a bit lower than last year’s top of the class. So, what can we expect from Gunnar Henderson for 2023 fantasy baseball?
