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Sonny Gray 2022 Player Outlook: Much Too Cheap After A Bad 2021 Season
3 years agoSonny Gray fell flat in 2021 after two very impressive seasons with the Reds. He managed just 135 1/3 innings pitched with a 4.19 ERA after starting the year late due to injury. The strikeout rate (27%) was his worst mark since 2018 (although that is still a strong number), and he once again failed to post an above-average walk rate (8.7%). That said, there is a lot of good news under the hood. He once again posted a strong ground-ball rate (49%), his slider remained a great pitch (16.7% SwStr%, 55.8% GB%), and none of his pitches allowed more than an 8.3% Brl% (and he threw six different pitches last year). Gray was traded to the Minnesota Twins during Spring Training and is expected to be near the top of the team's rotation. At 32 years old, age is not a big concern, and he will project as well above average in strikeouts and ground balls, which not many other pitchers will do. The best news of all is that he will be quite cheap given his disappointing 2021 season and the lack of hype his name comes with. His ADP of 170 is a really attractive price, and fantasy managers would be wise to buy low on Gray in 2022 despite pitching for a new team.
