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Ronald Acuna Jr. 2022 Player Outlook: Elite Player with Uncertain Injury Status
3 years agoRonald Acuna Jr. would be in the discussion for the first overall pick in redraft leagues if he were fully healthy. He hit an electrifying .283/.394/.596 with 24 HR and 17 SB in just 360 PAs before a torn ACL brought his 2021 season to a premature end. Acuna also fixed his biggest issue from 2020: his strikeout total. He posted a career-best 10.6 SwStr% en route to a substantial K% decline (23.6 K% vs. 29.7 in 2020), all without compromising his power metrics (45.6 FB%, 24.2% HR/FB). Unfortunately, that torn ACL is expected to keep him sidelined until at least May, forcing fantasy managers to play a game of chicken. Acuna is likely to be great when he plays, but you're missing a month in a best-case scenario and maybe more if there are any setbacks. Furthermore, Acuna may be hesitant to show off his athleticism coming off of a knee injury, meaning that he might not accumulate the SB totals managers have come to expect. Acuna currently has an ADP of 12.10, meaning that managers are passing on studs such as Bryce Harper (11.00 ADP), Mookie Betts (14.23), Walker Buehler (14.86), and Mike Trout (15.44) to roll the dice on him. As great as Acuna is when healthy, taking him that early when you aren't sure how much he will be able to play is probably not the right move.
