Kody Clawson | March 11th, 2020
As usual, outfield is a position that is as deep as it is varied. You’ll find many different skillsets available amongst the position. But you’ll also need at least three and maybe up to five from the position to fill out your roster. So let’s look at the position not only in rank, but also in skillset, in order to see who you should draft when.
Make sure to check out all of our Fantasy Baseball Rankings here.
Best of the Best
1. Christian Yelich
2. Mike Trout
3. Ronald Acuna Jr.
4. Cody Bellinger
5. Mookie Betts
For a lot of early drafts, these were the first five hitters (if not overall players) off the board. Yelich is my number one guy in 5×5 leagues, although you could talk me into any of the first three guys at pick one, and I’d probably agree with your argument. Bellinger is next man up after the top three, but you’re probably drafting him as a first baseman rather than as an outfielder. Mookie’s trade to the Dodgers slightly diminishes his value, as he’ll have less RBI opportunities in an NL lineup vs an AL one.
Second Round Studs
6. J.D. Martinez
7. Juan Soto
These guys’ value is basically a coin flip. J.D. Martinez provides a little more power, while Soto has a little more balance to his skill set.
The Rest of the Best
8. Bryce Harper
9. Starling Marte
10. George Springer
11. Aaron Judge
12. Giancarlo Stanton
Harper and Marte are both potentially five-category beasts, able to provide you with a whole lotta everything. Springer and Judge will provide massive power numbers. Both Judge and Stanton could honestly be the best players in this tier if we knew he could stay healthy for the season, but no one is certain at this point if that’s even possible for him anymore.
Later Five Category Guys
13. Austin Meadows
14. Ketel Marte
15. Tommy Pham
There’s a decent amount of power-speed potential with these three. Meadows has become the best bat in an offense that, despite the platoon games they play, will probably once again be one of the top offenses in the league. Marte broke out last year, and while there will be some regression, he should still be a solid player in a very solid lineup. Pham is a 25-25 threat that should accumulate decent counting stats in his spot in the Padres lineup.
Power Stars
16. Eddie Rosario
17. Kris Bryant
18. Marcell Ozuna
19. Eloy Jimenez
20. Jorge Soler
21. Nicholas Castellanos
22. Charlie Blackmon
If you need power, this is the cluster of guys you can depend on for just that. Eddie Rosario is an underrated power threat in the middle of one of the most explosive offenses in history. Bryant is this far down for me because his power struggles have not gone away and it looks like the team may want to try him at leadoff, where he’ll be more OBP focused than power focused. Marcell Ozuna had a down year last year, but a show-me deal in Atlanta’s home ballpark may be just what the doctor ordered. Eloy Jimenez is a young talent waiting to break out, while Jorge Soler broke out in a big way last year, leading the AL in HRs. Both Castellanos and Blackmon get fantastic parks to leverage their power talent.
Duel Threats
23. Whit Merrifield
24. Michael Brantley
25. Andrew Benintendi
26. Victor Robles
27. Luis Robert
28. Ramon Laureano
29. Bryan Reynolds
30. Yasiel Puig
While Merrifield doesn’t have fantastic power, .280-15-30 ain’t nothing to sneeze at. Could that power show up more if he got traded? Brantley and Benintendi are the kings of solid but not spectacular accumulators. Victor Robles has speed for days; let’s see if we can get that to show up in actual steals totals. Luis Robert has all the talent in the world but his plate discipline leaves a lot to be desired. Laureano is a 20-20 threat in a solid Oakland offense. Bryan Reynolds was another breakout player in Pittsburgh. He’ll be a solid accumulator for the Pirates. Yasiel Puig is a man without a team, but as soon as he has a landing spot, he might go up from here.
Big Boppers
31. Joey Gallo
32. Kyle Schwarber
33. Max Kepler
34. Michael Conforto
35. Franmil Reyes
These guys are the flawed power bats that can still contribute to your roster. Gallo took a step forward in batting average last year; now to see if he maintains those gains. Schwarber’s 2019 was a tale of two halves (97 wRC+ 1st half vs 151 wRC+ 2nd half).
Interesting Skills Dudes
36. Alex Verdugo
37. Andrew McCutchen
38. Adam Eaton
39. Lorenzo Cain
40. Jeff McNeil
41. Brian Anderson
42. David Dahl
These are later guys that have interesting skill sets and are projected to hit early in their team’s lineup. Runs are a category, and as long as these guys stay in their spot, they should get plenty of them, along with some added category help elsewhere.
Late Speed
43. Oscar Mercado
44. Byron Buxton
45. Mallex Smith
I don’t value speed as much as a lot of other people do, but these are the best late speed options left. They have their warts, but they won’t kill you as far as overall production in a category league situation.
Late Power
46. Trey Mancini
47. Willie Calhoun
48. David Peralta
49. Danny Santana
50. Justin Upton
51. Joc Pederson
52. Randal Grichuk
53. Ryan Braun
54. Shin-Soo Choo
A Breakout Away
55. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
56. Hunter Dozier
57. Avisail Garcia
58. Scott Kingery
59. Nomar Mazara
60. Hunter Renfroe
61. Kyle Tucker
62. Mark Canha
63. Nick Senzel
64. J.D. Davis
65. Ian Happ
It’s Not Nothing (playing time accumulators)
66. Corey Dickerson
67. Kole Calhoun
68. Gregory Polanco
69. Niko Goodrum
70. Anthony Santander
71. Jackie Bradley Jr.
72. Kevin Kiermaier
73. Mike Yastrzemski
74. Austin Hays
75. Victor Reyes
76. Domingo Santana
77. A.J. Pollock
78. David Fletcher
79. Teoscar Hernandez
80. Christin Stewart
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