Ten Outfielders Who Outperformed My 2012 Rankings

As I wrote in Part 2 of my Review of my Top 100 Outfielders for 2012, there are always going to be guys that outperformed my rankings, and others that underperformed my rankings. To finish off the Outfielder Rankings Review, I am just going to highlight a few outfielders who outperformed my 2012 rankings, and a few others who made me look bad.

Today I will highlight 10 outfielders, amongst the outfielders I ranked 41 - 100, who outperformed my 2012 rankings. Tomorrow, I will look at the 10 outfielders who underperformed my 2012 rankings.

Below are my outfielder rankings 41 - 100 for 2012:

41. Peter Bourjos, LAA

42. Carlos Lee, HOUS

43. Dexter Fowler, COL

44, Matt Joyce, TB

45. Coco Crisp, OAK

46. Michael Cuddyer, COL

47. Cameron Maybin, SD

48. Lucas Duda, NYM

49. Alex Rios, CHW

50. Yonder Alonso, SD

51. Josh Willingham, MIN

52. Jose Tabata, PIT

53. Denard Span, MIN

54. Seth Smith, OAK

55. Jason Bay, NYM

56. Chris Heisey, CIN

57. Jason Kubel, ARI

58. Austin Jackson, DET

59. Michael Brantley, CLE

60. Martin Prado, ATL

61. Carlos Quentin, SD

62. J.D. Martinez, HOU

63. Lorenzo Cain, KC

64. Delmon Young, DET

65. Nolan Reimold, BAL

66. Brennan Broesch, DET

67. Emilio Bonafacio, MIA

68. Alfonso Soriano, CHC

69. Eric Thames, TOR

70. David DeJesus, CHC

71. Bryce Harper, WAS

72. Mike Trout, LAA

73. Yoenis Cespedes, OAK

74. Ben Revere, MIN

75. Dayan Viciedo, CHW

76. Alex Presley, PIT

77. Jerry Sands, LAD

78. Mike Carp, SEA

79. Mitch Moreland, TEX

80. Grady Sizemore, CLE

81. David Murphy, TEX

82. Allen Craig, STL

83. Marlon Byrd, CHC

84. John Mayberry, PHI

85. Melky Cabrera, SFG

86. Josh Reddick, OAK

87. Alejandro de Aza, CHW

88. Angel Pagan, SFG

89. Brandon Belt, SFG

90. Bobby Abreu, LAA

91. Garret Jones, PIT

92. Vernon Wells, LAA

93. Rajai Davis, TOR

94. Gerardo Parra, ARI

95. Andres Torres, NYM

96. John Jay, STL

97. Jordan Schafer, HOU

98. Luke Scott, TB

99. Ryan Raburn, DET

100. Nyjer Morgan, MIL

The Outperformers

Here are 10 outfielders who outperformed my 2012 Outfielder Rankings (in no particular order):

1. Josh Willingham, MIN

Willingham displayed power in a pitchers park, hitting .260-.366-.524 with 35 HRs, 30 doubles, 85 runs and 110 RBI in 2012. He set career highs in home runs, runs, RBI, ISO and SLG and hit 5 or more home runs in five of six months this season. He will be in the upper half of my Top 50 Outfielders for 2013.

2. Austin Jackson, DET

Jackson had a breakout year in 2012, hitting .300-.377-.479 with 16 HRs, 103 runs, 66 RBI and just 12 stolen bases. The stolen bases were cut in half even though the OBP jumped 60 points. I wouldn't expect to see his power grow from here, but he definitely has the speed to steal 20+ bases in 2013.

3. Bryce Harper, WAS

Harper outperformed even my lofty expectations of 15 HRs and 15 stolen bases in 2012. Harper hit .270-.340-.477 with 22 HRs, 98 runs, 59 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 533 at bats. All that at the age of 19 and less than 700 minor league at bats. The question for fantasy owners is will he follow the footsteps of Jason Heyward, Brett Lawrie, Eric Hosmer and others who struggled in their first full year in the big leagues, or will he become the next big superstar at the age of 20? My early projections are for him to put up a 25 home run, 25 stolen base season, with 100+ runs scored and 80 RBI.

4. Mike Trout, LAA

No reason to write any more words on the 2012 American League MVP ( if I had a vote). Can he duplicate his 2012 season in 2013? I think he will struggle to do so. It won't be easy duplicating his 2012 stat line: .326-.399-.564 with 30 HRs, 129 runs, 83 RBI and 49 stolen bases. I can see him stealing 50+ bases next year, just because he is so fast, and his plate discipline appears to be solid, but to repeat a 30 HR season may be a bit too much to ask.

5. Allen Craig, STL

I wrote about Craig awhile back where I ranked him as my 5th ranked fantasy first baseman for 2012. In 469 at bats, Craig hit .307-.354-.522 with 22 HRs, 76 runs, and 92 RBI. He is certainly a late bloomer, and there is some risk in my #5 ranking, but I think he can improve upon his 2012 production in 2013. I tweeted recently that Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire probably doesn't get enough credit for the success of some of the Cardinals hitters. I can see Craig could put up a 30-100-.300 season in 2013.

6. Melky Cabrera, SFG

Yeah, everyone knows that Melky was caught taking PEDs, but we don't know how much they really helped him either. Melky hit .346-.390-.516 with 11 HRs, 84 runs, 60 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 459 at bats in 2012. He is a free agent this offseason and it will be interesting to see if the Giants attempt to resign him or if he will land elsewhere. I could see the Braves taking a chance on him to replace Michael Bourn this offseason.

7. Josh Reddick, OAK

Where did this power come from? Especially in THAT ballpark? Reddick hit just .242-.305-.463 with 32 HRs, 85 runs, 85 RBI and 11 stolen bases for the surprising A's in 2012. His performance this season makes me wonder how many home runs he would have hit in Boston's Fenway Park.

8. Alfonso Soriano CHC

Soriano had his best season since 2007, hitting .262-.322-.499 with 32 HRs, 68 runs and a career high 108 RBI. Add to that stat line the fact that he hit zero home runs and drove in 11 runs in April, and his season was even more impressive. Counting on 30+ HRs from a 37 year old in 2013 might be asking a bit much, but he should be able to provide fantasy owners with 20+ home runs.

9. Jason Kubel, ARI

After hitting just 12 HRs in an injury shortened 2011 season, Kubel moved to Arizona and hit 30 home runs in 2012. He hit .253-.327-.506 with 30 HRs, 75 runs and 90 RBI in 506 at bats. He turns 31 in 2013, and there is a chance that he follows Chris Young out of Arizona with the glut of outfielders in Arizona. His contract might be easier for another team to take on in any deal, but Justin Upton's potential might bring back more of what Kevin Powers needs to build the Diamondbacks into a perennial winner.

10. Yoenis Cespedes, OAK

No one had any idea what to expect from Cespedes back in spring training. Some, including me, felt he would start the season in the minors to adjust to major league baseball in the U.S., while others felt that GM Billy Beane was anxious to show off his talented outfielder. And that is what he did, and Cespedes did not disappoint. Cespedes hit .292-.356-.505 with 23 HRs, 70 runs, 82 RBI and 16 stolen bases in his first look at big league pitching, which, to me, is pretty amazing. Who am I to doubt Billy Beane?