clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Fantasy Baseball 2014: Early Top 30 Outfielder Rankings

Ray publishes his early top 30 outfielder rankings discussing several players in his top 30, including Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig and others.

By Ray Guilfoyle
Jonathan Ernst

Today, I continue my early 2014 position rankings, and I give you my early take on the top 30 fantasy outfielders for 2014. I will not offer much in comments here, as I will save them for our 2014 Consensus Position Rankings that will publish beginning in January.

To date, I have published my early catcher, first base, second base, shortstop and third base rankings, and you can find them in the links below, in addition to my early top 50 hitters and top 25 starting pitchers:

Catcher

First Base

Second Base

Shortstop

Third Base

Early Top 50 Hitters for 2014

Early Top 25 Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2014

Now let's take a look at my early top 30 fantasy outfielder rankings for 2014:

Rank

Name

Team

1

Mike Trout

Angels

2

Andrew McCutchen

Pirates

3

Ryan Braun

Brewers

4

Adam Jones

Orioles

5

Carlos Gonzalez

Rockies

6

Bryce Harper

Nationals

7

Giancarlo Stanton

Marlins

8

Carlos Gomez

Brewers

9

Yasiel Puig

Dodgers

10

Jose Bautista

Blue Jays

11

Jay Bruce

Reds

12

Alex Rios

Rangers

13

Shin-Soo Choo

Reds

14

Justin Upton

Braves

15

Hunter Pence

Giants

16

Domonic Brown

Phillies

17

Yoenis Cespedes

Athletics

18

Matt Holliday

Cardinals

19

Jayson Werth

Nationals

20

Matt Kemp

Dodgers

21

Mark Trumbo

Angels

22

Jason Heyward

Braves

23

Jacoby Ellsbury

Red Sox

24

Wil Myers

Rays

25

Michael Cuddyer

Rockies

26

Allen Craig

Cardinals

27

Alex Gordon

Royals

28

Starling Marte

Pirates

29

Carlos Beltran

Cardinals

30

Desmond Jennings

Rays

Giancarlo Stanton, MIA

I can almost guarantee that Giancarlo Stanton will have his best season as a major leaguer in 2014. That's right. He will have his best season, probably hit 40+ home runs and drive in 110 runs. You know why? It is due to the fact that I own him in one of my NL only keeper leagues, the UBA league, and he is in the last year of his contract on my roster.

But seriously, Stanton has yet to play an injury-free season in his brief major league career, and one of these years he will. If he can play 150 games in a season, he has the potential to hit 40 home runs even in the sad Marlins lineup. Actually, their lineup is getting better slowly, with the addition of Christian Yelich and Marcel Ozuna, and a full season from Logan Morrison, they should be better in 2014.

Bryce Harper, WAS

Harper had a solid sophomore season, but played with injuries and missed 44 games in 2013, mainly due to running hard into the right field wall in Dodger Stadium. Even though he missed 44 games, Harper hit .274-.368-.486 with 20 HRs, 71 runs, 58 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He is capable of a 25 home run, 25 stolen base season in 2014, and I am probably low on his power.

What does Harper have to do to have a breakout season? He already has two 20 home run seasons. Does he have to go 30 HR/ 100 RBI for a breakout?

Yasiel Puig, LAD

I have seen some on Twitter saying that Puig is a top 5 player in fantasy leagues in 2014. Look, I am a Dodgers fan, You know that already. But, I need more than 100 games to place Puig in my top 5. (But, I hope he is right).

Puig hit .319-.391-.534 with 19 HRs, 66 runs, 42 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 104 games in 2013, placing second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. What can he do in 2014? An off the top of my head projection would be 25 home runs, 90 runs scored, 75 RBI and 20-25 stolen bases. Oh, and those who think he doesn't walk enough, Puig increased his walk rate to just over 10% in the second half of the season. Actually, I think he could be the Dodgers leadoff hitter should Carl Crawford be traded this offseason.

Matt Kemp, LAD

When healthy, Kemp is a top 3-4 outfielder and a first round pick in most fantasy leagues. But, the last two seasons, he has had one injury after another. He was not 100% healthy even at the start of the season, as I think he was still recovering from the offseason shoulder surgery. Then he had a few stints on the DL due to the hamstring injury, and then he injured his ankle sliding awkwardly into home plate. This offseason, he had surgery to clean up his shoulder and to repair the ankle that, at one point, was considered "career threatening" if he injured it again. Not good news.

I ranked him as my 20th ranked outfielder here, assuming he is healthy in 2014. We already know he will probably miss the start of the 2014 season. But, if the ankle and shoulder are fully healthy, he should be good for 20+ home runs, a .280-.290 batting average and 90 runs scored and 90 RBI. But, his health is a big question mark at this point.

Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy baseball rankings, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, the one stop spot on the internet for all the fantasy baseball information you will need to win in 2014.

More from Fake Teams: