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Fantasy Baseball 2012: Top 100 Outfielder Rankings-Ryan Braun Wins Appeal

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I am definitely glad that we got the Ryan Braun news yesterday instead of today. I have to say I am very shocked that his proposed suspension was overturned, but we are not here to discuss that. We are here to discuss my updated outfielder rankings, and now that we know Braun won't be suspended, he will be my #2 overall outfielder behind Matt Kemp. I am not sure how anyone can rank Jose Bautista ahead of these two hitters, unless you are in a league that places an emphasis on OBP. Actually, I might be lower on Bautista than some others, but my reasons are after the jump.

Onto my 2012 Top 100 Outfielder Rankings

1. Matt Kemp , LAD

2. Ryan Braun, MIL

3. Justin Upton, ARI

4. Carlos Gonzalez, COL

5. Curtis Granderson, NYY

6. Mike Stanton, MIA

7. Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS

8. Jose Bautista, TOR

9. Andrew McCutchen, PIT

10. Jay Bruce, CIN

The rest of my 2012 Top 100 Outfielder Rankings after the jump:

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11. Josh Hamilton, TEX

12. Alex Gordon, KC

13. B.J. Upton, TB

14. Matt Holliday, STL

15. Hunter Pence, PHI

16. Adam Jones, BAL

17. Carl Crawford, BOS

18. Desmond Jennings, TB

19. Michael Morse, WAS

20. Ben Zobrist, TB

21. Shin-Soo Choo, CLE

22. Nelson Cruz, TEX

23. Jason Heyward, ATL

24. Andre Ethier, LAD

25. Shane Victorino, PHI

25.a. Nick Markakis, BAL

26. Corey Hart, MIL

27. Chris Young, ARI

28. Lance Berkman, STL

29. Michael Bourn, ATL

30. Jayson Werth, WAS

31. Drew Stubbs, CIN

32. Brett Gardner, NYY

33. Carlos Beltran, STL

34. Ichiro Suzuki, SEA

35. Nick Swisher, NYY

36. Torii Hunter, LAA

37. Howie Kendrick, LAA

38. Logan Morrison, MIA

39. Jeff Franceour, KC

40. Colby Rasmus, TOR

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

I decided to drop Jose Bautista because I think his power may drop slightly this season and his BA will drop well below .300. He will still hit plenty of home runs, just not as many as Mike Stanton. Stanton could lead all of MLB in home runs this year, and I think he can go 40+ this season. Yes, he will hit more fly balls and more of them will leave the new Marlins Stadium with the normal size left field wall.

Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun are the top two outfielders, and I think they should be the top 2 overall picks in fantasy drafts this season.

I moved Jay Bruce up to 10th as he is primed to follow up his 32 HR and 97 RBI 2011 season with another 30+ HR season and could breach the 100 RBI level as well. He lost some weight this offseason, so we could see him run a bit more this season as well.

The National League has 7 of the top 10 outfielders, and the top 4 overall, as Carlos Gonzalez and Justin Upton are better all around hitters than Curtis Granderson, and should hit for a better BA than Granderson as well.

Some of outfielders who moved up my rankings slightly include Andre Ethier, Michael Morse, and Shin-Soo Choo, as Choo and Ethier are set up for solid bounce back seasons, and I think Morse will come close to duplicating his 2011 breakout season in 2012.

I am starting to believe in Dexter Fowler after being down on him for several years. His second half last year was pretty impressive, and it appears he has worked his tail off this offseason to add some muscle, which could result in a few more homers.

Speaking of working his tail off, did anyone see the ESPN video of Matt Kemp working out. The man is driven to prove the BBWWA writers were wrong for voting for Ryan Braun for the NL MVP last season. He won't go 50-50 but could he approach 40-40 again. Sure. And, he is batting third this season, most likely ahead of Andre Ethier.

Is it me, or is outfield thinner than usual this season? After the top 40 or so, there are lots of question marks and one category hitters.