The San Francisco Giants have had 16 different players tally at least 100 plate appearances this season, and that group does not count prized deadline pickup Kris Bryant. He hit .264/.367/.487 with 29 doubles, 23 home runs and 10 steals, which, coupled with his usual standout defense in right field, was enough for him to finish fourth in WAR on a stacked Dodgers roster. The Bulldogs and Sooners are joined by California (which is off to a strong 6-1 start) and Ohio State (a . His defensive metrics in center field (14 DRS, 12.1 UZR) helped him post a career-best 4.9 WAR season. Unfortunately for Valentine, he was only able to play 10 seasons in the majors. Here are this years top fantasy outfielders, broken down into tiers. Guerrero has the second best arm of any player in baseball today. Harper wraps up the first tier. 2021 Topps series 1,Rookie Monte Harrison #126 Miami marlins outfield baseball. Of the 60 games Ozuna played last season, only 21 were in the outfield, so if you wanted to make the argument that he should be ranked among designated hitters, well, you'd have a good case. Cobb's 392 outfield assists are second all-time. That's why the model. Brewers: The Crew has the Central's best outfield, led by Christian Yelich in right field and Lorenzo Cain in center. Need more power? He also quietly held his own in right field (3 DRS, 2.0 UZR/150) after posting negative defensive metrics in left field previously, and his 7.1 WAR led all outfielders and ranked fifth among all players in 2021. He might just be entering his throwing prime, making this the perfect time to claim his golden arm for my superplayer. The 23-year-old is expected to return sometime during the first half of next season. With three more home runs from Albies, the 2021 Braves will become only the second team in MLB history to have all four primary infielders tally 25 home runs, per ESPN Stats & Information's Jared Berson, joining the 2008 Florida Marlins. His middling defense (-6 DRS, -4.8 UZR/150) and the time he missed kept him from ranking any higher. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and accurate through Monday's games. Stadium MLB insider Russell Dorsey breaks down who the top five outfield arms in MLB are. Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels definitely ranks in the top 10 outfielders, along with Mookie Betts and Charlie Blackmon. Carl Furillo's right arm earned him the nickname, "The Reading Rifle". "He's a hitting outlier," Votto responded. He's clearly taken pride in his plate discipline from an early age and been rewarded with performance and -- I would also guess -- supportive coaching. With the Astros first pick the 2021 draft, they took a prospect who fell right in their laps. Managers who don't grab an outfielder in the first two rounds will still have an ample supply of impact players Even though Meusel played just 11 seasons, he still recorded 157 outfield assists. Braves manager Brian Snitker mentioned during the playoffs that he liked to hear Ozuna predicting to teammates in the dugout the pitch sequencing he was about to see -- and a lot of the time, Snitker said, Ozuna would be exactly right. With club control through the 2025 season, he is a long-term building block for the O's. Each player was included in the rankings at the position where he played the most innings. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? The 29-year-old opted out of the final two years of his contract shortly after the World Series concluded. Ozuna, meanwhile, is back with the Braves after signing a four-year contract. As another player the Arizona Diamondbacks gave away, Adam Eaton continually shows himself to be a gritty . ESPN's Paul Hembekides sent this along: "I think his issues in 2020 stem from a lack of confidence -- he just stopped swinging. Scott Pianowski continues his tiered positional rankings by examining the outfield landscape for 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. Statcast Leaders Baseball Savant Top Prospect Stats. Mookie Betts is the sixth-best outfielder in baseball, and it feels wrong to rank him this low, but wait until you see the top five. That duo has started all but one game behind the dish for the Rays this year and posted the following combined stat line in the process: Zunino, 30, was an All-Star for the first time this year. The goal is to decide which team has the best catchers, infielders, outfielders, bench, starting pitchers and relief pitchers. Bez was responsible for five of the 31 tracked assists of at least 90 mph by infielders last season, the second most in MLB, and his average arm strength on max-effort throws (88.3 mph) was the third best among infielders. That's primal, natural. Martinez started cold and never recovered last season, and Meadows was never right after dealing with COVID-19 in July. Abreu's strong arm helped him win his only Gold Glove in 2005. Mantle's pure strength can be seen was demonstrated by the fact that he hit some of the longest home runs in baseball history. 6. Throughout the history of baseball, there have been some outfielders that have had cannons for arms. And I'm talking about strong arms, not merely accurate ones. Cobb had 271 errors as an outfielder in his career. (Worth noting: Second on that list was DJ LeMahieu, who had a 92.9% in-zone contact rate, then Anthony Rendon and Tommy La Stella tied at 91.2% each.)". The Red Sox acquired him at the deadline, and he finished with a 148 OPS+ and 32 home runs in 113 games, posting a .266/.374/.554 line that represented career highs across the board. Statcast Statistics Player Batting 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | All The Tampa Bay Rays began the offseason by declining their $4.5 million club option on catcher Mike Zunino, who logged a 50 OPS+ and minus-0.2 WAR in 118 games with the team in 2019 and 2020. His nickname is Laser Ramn, so you already knew hed have to make this list. The organization's top four prospects, including all three Top 100 representatives, play the outfield, headlined by 2022 breakout star Jackson Chourio. Its not as if my defense pick, Andrelton Simmons, has a poor arm. His throwing abilities were recognized by Bill James, as Guerrero was noted to have the best arm of the 1990s. My guess, after talking with folks who know him: Yelich was among the players affected by how dramatically the COVID-19 protocol changed processes. He entered spring training far from assured of a spot on the Baltimore Orioles' Opening Day roster, but he won the starting center field job and went on to have the biggest breakout season of 2021. Didi Gregorius (free agent): 94.7 mph 7. Below, we're focusing on fantasy baseball outfield sleepers. He had nine assists in 2022. . This prevented the Orioles from scoring that inning and the Pirates would go on to win the World Series. Luis Mieses OF (Prev. In an empty Fenway Park on Aug. 7, Verdugo had a big day -- two home runs, both over the Green Monster, for the left-handed-hitting Verdugo, and then he took a home run away from Travis Shaw in the ninth inning. In addition to a standard strength-training regimen for upper body and arm strength, outfielders can perform daily throwing drills, such as one-knee throwing and long tosses, to build their. There was a lot of debate during the truncated season why Yelich struggled so much -- and there's no disputing that his troubles were acute, something more than a slump. Each writer provided anywhere from 80-100+ outfielders so we could create our consensus top-80. Two seasons into his 13-year deal with the Phillies, his production has been excellent -- a .385 on-base percentage, an OPS+ of 134, 139 runs in 215 games. These guys. Look no further than Realmuto, the class of defenders behind home plate and the quickest gun in the Major Leagues. He could seemingly throw out any runner trying to pick up an extra base. Walker won seven Gold Gloves and ended his career with 154 outfield assists. Those being Eric Cross, Chris Clegg, Mick Ciallela, Justin Johnson, Jorge Montanez, David Mendelson . He . This situation happens when an outfielder can make a great throw to try to nail the runner that is heading home. Mantle earned one Gold Glove in his career and threw out 117 base runners from the outfield. Sits in the Top Ten of draft. It's not like swinging hard and hitting a ball 115 mph. Steven Hajjar- Michigan prospect sophomore that fanned 24 of 87 batters faced and 3-0 record in four game. The precision is there (nine errors across nearly 1,140 innings last year), and so is the power and reaction time. The well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No. Fantasy managers can still find some starting-caliber outfielders in this tier. The top 10 right fielders, based on input from folks around baseball: From Sarah Langs of MLB.com, about Betts: "He ended the year with a 93.3% contact rate on in-zone pitches, which led all hitters with at least 250 swings at in-zone pitches. His defensive abilities were rewarded as he received 10 Gold Gloves over the course of his career. That notably excluded Mike Trout (146 PA). Tier 1: Ronald Acua Jr., Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper. Prior to a game in the 2004 ALDS versus the Yankees, Guerrero threw a ball 370 feet in warm-ups. He had an average max-effort arm strength of 94.1 mph, seventh-fastest among MLB outfielders (min. Catch up on the 2021 MLB Player Rankings series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen,. Ranking MLB's top 10 at each infield spot for 2021. . He has never finished lower than third on the MLB pop time leaderboard since Statcast launched, and 2019 was his fastest season yet. The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Outfielders Rankings, Consensus Preseason Rankings for OF | FantasyPros 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Expert Consensus Ranking (32 of 36 Experts) - Feb 28, 2023 Pick. The 29-year-old proved that performance was sustainable over a full season this year, logging a 133 OPS+ while hitting .296/.346/.524 with 29 doubles, 32 home runs and 116 RBI. Mookie. The 27-year-old became the first 30/30 player in Orioles history, hitting .291/.360/.518 with 37 doubles, 30 home runs and 30 steals while finishing fourth in the league in hits (175), sixth in total bases (312) and 10th in OPS+ (135). Trout is about halfway through his career, maybe even further along than that. But despite all of that offensive imperfection, the lasting impression Betts left behind is that of the closest thing you can have to a perfect player in a sport filled with moments of failure. Whether it's unleashing the ball from deep in the outfield, across the infield or behind the plate, it can make the seemingly impossible happen. Top Outfield Defense in the Minor Leagues: Kevin Kiermaier ( Tampa Bay Rays) Though Kiermaier wasn't the unanimous winner in this category, his defense earned universal praise across the scouting community. Those are absurd numbers to maintain for a full week, let alone half of a season. Tabbed as the 58th-best outfield prospect nationally (D1Baseball). The Venezuela native surged three levels in his age-18 season, showing off plus power and 70-grade speed on his way to becoming the No. Honorable Mention: Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. The 33-year-old figures to be a hot commodity on the free-agent market this winter. The 24-year-old led the team in OPS+ (147) while hitting .294/.359/.557 with 37 doubles, 30 home runs, 92 RBI and 14 steals in what was essentially his first full season in the majors, aside from last year's shortened slate. As a 28-year-old rookie, Garcia posted a 101 OPS+ with 31 home runs, 90 RBI and 16 steals, and he was a surprise All-Star for the rebuilding Rangers. Amazingly, his arm was not the best part of his game defensively. One important stipulation: Each player could only be selected for one of the five tools. Pete Crow-Armstrong named among top OF prospects in MLB 38M ago / by James Neveau Cubs hicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has been turning heads with his skills both at the plate and on defense, and a new ranking lands him among the best outfield prospects in the game. In five-and-two-thirds career innings, Colavito only gave up one hit. Only 30 MLB hitters had a lower rate of soft contact than Jimenez -- Fernando Tatis Jr., Corey Seager, Anthony Rendon and Freddie Freeman were among those ranked ahead of him. 17. At 321 feet, it was the longest on-the-fly throw for an outfield assist tracked by Statcast (since 2015). Tagged: 2023 MLB Draft, MLB Draft, Dylan Crews, Jacob Gonzalez, Max Clark, Brock Wilken, Walker Jenkins, Christian Little, Patrick Reilly, Dylan Cupp, Thomas White, Enrique Bradfield, Tanner Witt, Jaxon Wiggins, Teddy McGraw, Carson Montgomery, TJ Nichols, Drew Bowser, Jackson Baumeister, Will Sanders, Blake Mitchell, Tre' Morgan, Tommy Troy, But that seemed to be more about a rookie being overly aggressive than anything else. His 26 home runs trail only Salvador Perez among all backstops. Minimum 800 innings 6. It's not all about arm strength, of course. That Betts is the best right fielder in the game is assumed. With the unique 2020 season behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the hot stove season. The 27-year-old batted .308 last season, with a .534 slugging percentage. When he's locked in and at his best, they reported, he's consistently pulling the ball, driving it, and this is not what Betts was doing. They've responded with an MLB-best 3.05 ERA. All told, he hit .333 with 17 homers and a 1.158 OPS over 43 games in 2020. While his .286 on-base percentage and 31.2 percent strikeout rate leave something to be desired, he was a stellar defender (16 DRS, 11.8 UZR/150) to go along with his power production in a 3.8 WAR season. Similarly, Grisham has played fewer than 120 games in the Majors. Aaron Judge, Yankees He hit .271 with a .349 on-base percentage, tallying 34 extra-base hits, 30 steals and 3.2 WAR, and he was also a Gold Glove finalist in center field. Bellinger has made some spectacular throws, like his 268-foot laser from right field to third base to bail the Dodgers out of a late-inning bases-loaded jam against the Mets last May 27 (his second outfield assist of that game). Non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs at the start of last offseason, Schwarber signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Nationals. Yelich and Bellinger, the National League MVP Award winners in 2018 and '19, respectively, turned in disappointing campaigns a season ago, but were expecting big things from both in '21. The 26-year-old had 32 doubles, 20 home runs, 20 steals and 94 runs scored, and he was a Gold Glove finalist in left field. Mays is in the discussion for the greatest player of all-time. As we wait, Buster Olney continues his annual ranking of the 10 best players at each position heading into the coming season, based on input from industry evaluators. The club also traded away Diego Castillo at the deadline in exchange for JT Chargois and Austin Shenton. He's a career .225/.337/.409 hitter in the minors, and his strikeout rate has risen at every level, topping out at 27% in Triple-A last year and 28.2% in his 238-plate appearance MLB debut . He immediately impressed both his manager and scouts with his impressive throwing arm. In addition to the fact that he ran the fastest ever-recorded 40-meter time at the NFL combine (4.08 seconds), the two-sport star had one of the best arms in baseball history. Harper hit .338/.476/.713 with 20 home runs after the All-Star break, doing his part to help a Phillies team that tried in vain to chase down a postseason berth. Or his 92 mph rocket from right to nail Stephen Strasburg at first base and preserve a Hyun-Jin Ryu no-hit bid on May 12. He even threw a ball 100.8 mph on April 21, though it didnt result in an assist. The tattoo was earned, as Mondesi had one of the strongest arms in baseball in the 1990s. even despite missing a good chunk of 2021 . Major League Baseball is loaded with talent in 2021, and the outfield is where you'll find some of the game's biggest stars. Mervis' busy spring preparing him for Majors. March 1, 2023 5:25 pm ET. The 24-year-old has a 131 OPS+ with 23 doubles, 27 home runs and 76 RBI, and he has also made significant strides defensively at the hot corner. Sometimes he looked like he was guessing wrong over and over and over, with the befuddlement covering his face as he walked away from the plate. The corner outfield duo of Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker both rank among the MLB leaders in a number of offensive categories: Joining them isTyler Naquin, who earned a spot on the MLB roster on a minor league contract and is earning $1.5 million on a one-year deal. The Tampa Bay Rays began the offseason by declining their$4.5 million club option on catcher Mike Zunino, who logged a 50 OPS+ and minus-0.2 WAR in 118 games with the team in 2019 and 2020. Baseball's best arms: Ranking MLB's top 10 starters & relievers for 2021. 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The writers involved are Eric Cross, Chris Clegg, Mick Ciallela, Justin Dunbar, Ryan Kirksey, Nic Civale, Logan Kritzeck, and Matt Heckman. Throughout the year, we released monthly updates to our position-by-position power rankings, selecting the top 10 players at each spot. Barfield would consistently throw strikes from right field to home plate. In the 60-game season, Bellinger hit .239 and was moved down in the lineup to the No. Edmonds had phenomenal range while he was younger, and there are many instances in which he scaled the outfield wall to retrieve would-be home runs. 2021:Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection as an outfielder Started 58 of 59 games played in centerfield Batted .262 (53-for-202) with nine home runs and 33 RBI Scored 35 runs and walked 26 times Swiped 9 of 13 bases (69.2 percent) The regimented preparation that had worked for Yelich in the past was simply not available to him, and he may have suffered for it. Utley's UZR/150 has been at least 8.0 in nine of his 10 seasons as a regular in the big leagues. Red Sox. Thursday, it's outfielders -- the top 10 left fielders, center fielders and right fielders. But Bellinger is one of only three outfielders with a tracked throw over 101 mph last season -- Hunter Renfroe and Aristides Aquino are the others -- and that wasn't the first time he hit triple-digit velo on a throw from the outfield (he also did it once during the 2018 postseason). After playing in just over 63 percent of the New York Yankees' games during the three-year stretch prior to this season, Aaron Judge finally stayed healthy and turned in an MVP-caliber campaign. 6 player in the Razzball Player Rater, despite playing just 130 games; give him Vladimir Guerrero's 161 games and he would've topped him for the No. As a rookie, he hit .314/.377/.503 with 37 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 RBI to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting and rack up 4.2 WAR. Listen. Cobb is widely regarded as one of the best baseball players in the history of the game. The safe bet is that he'll bounce back and do a ton of damage in the summer ahead. Welcome to Bleacher Report's final positional rankings of the 2021 MLB season! With Charlie Morton and Blake Snell both departing during the offseason and Tyler Glasnow lost to Tommy John surgery, more pressure has fallen on the relief corps to prop up the pitching staff. After a terrific finish to the 2019 season with the Chicago Cubs, Nick Castellanos signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds in free agency. Mejia, 25, is hitting .263/.323/.429 with 20 extra-base hits, and he has thrown out 32 percent of base stealers on the year. It has been suggested that the Indians have been cursed after trading Colavito, a fan favorite, to the Detroit Tigers in 1960. His contact rate was easily the worst of his career, and his swing rate was way down. In addition to his impressive offensive numbers, Cobb also thrilled fans with his arm. Soto, in my opinion, has that. Managers who dont grab an outfielder in the first two rounds will still have an ample supply of impact players to choose from after that. The top 10 center fielders, based on input from folks under the MLB umbrella: Another historical comp for Trout, unfortunately, is the link that is developing with Ted Williams: their paucity of postseason opportunity. 2. As the anchor of the Dodgers' package for Betts, Verdugo was the centerpiece in perhaps the most unpopular Boston baseball deal since Babe Ruth was shipped off to the Yankees, and he joined the Red Sox with a well-publicized reputation as a less-than-ideal teammate. The former Red Sox great and six-time Gold Glove winner is known for his arm. I can promise you with 100 percent certainty that my fantasy baseball outfield rankings for 2021 will not be 100 percent right. Starling Marte, Miami Marlins Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs/San Francisco Giants. Free shipping for many products! 1. You need to do it all to be an MVP these days. He's played at that level, and sometime this season, he'll surpass 1,000 runs for his career, and move beyond 1,500 hits. So how do you rank a player who didn't have his first 2020 plate appearance until Aug. 30, but may have been the first- or second-best player in October, depending where you want to stack Corey Seager? Now the #20 prospect in the Yankees' organization, Hardman posted a 109 wRC+ across High-A and Double-A last season with 22 HRs in 111 games, but his over 30% K% is alarming for his projectability long-term. He was hitting .283/.394/.596 with 19 doubles, 24 home runs and 17 steals through 82 games at the time of the injury, good for a 3.6 WAR season. "There's a nuance to disciplined hitting that needs to become a habit. Through all the excess options, it becomes even more important to find the top values and to not settle for "good enough" production. Still two years away from arbitration, he will be a cornerstone player for the cost-conscious Rays. PART - Positioning, Balls hit in air, Range, and Throwing for Infielders; Range & Positioning on balls hit in air for Outfielders. That leaves the Cincinnati Reds as the pick. In the third season of a five-year, $60 million contract, Pollock enjoyed his best season in a Dodgers uniform, hitting .297/.355/.536 for a 137 OPS+ with 27 doubles, 21 home runs and 69 RBI. In 2019, it was all about arm strength for Laureano. Starling Marte made a unique bit of history in 2021, becoming the first player in MLB history with at least 20 stolen bases in both leagues in the same season. In the short 2020 season, he had more walks (49) than strikeouts (43). In a Houston Astros lineup loaded with star power, Kyle Tucker was arguably the team's most productive hitter in 2021. There are currently 13 relief pitchers on the injured list for the Rays, including standout closer Nick Anderson and hard-throwing setup man Pete Fairbanks. Pitchers are on the other end of Soto's will, as well. 7. Springer has been one of the most productive outfielders in the game over the past five years, and he has joined up with a Blue Jays team that averaged 5.03 runs per game in 2020.