It has been a few weeks since I published any rankings, so let me apologize for that. The story is the same....work is busy, plus, I went to the Penn State-Iowa game last weekend, so my weekend activities resulted in me not being able to write.
Before I post some quick thoughts on my outfielder rankings, here are my rankings to date, along with Dave's projections for the players I ranked.
Ray's Early 2017 Position Rankings
Dave's Early Position Rankings & Projections
Dave's 2017 Projections
Note: Dave only projected players ranked in Ray's top 20 rankings
Quick Thoughts
Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts moves up into the second spot in my outfielder rankings after a tremendous 2016 season where he hit .318 with 31 home runs, 122 runs scored, 113 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He hits in the middle of one of the best lineups in baseball, and barring injury should repeat as a 20-20 hitter once again in 2017.
Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon also made a big move in my rankings. He is proving to be one of the more consistent fantasy outfielders in the game, and put up his best overall season since becoming a full time player. He hit for more power but didn't run as much this season, which I imagine was a conscious effort on his part to stay healthy and in the Rockies lineup. I think he may have a hard time repeating the 29 home runs in 2017, as his HR/FB% jumped despite minor increases in hard hit rate and fly ball rate.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen had his worst season as a big leaguer, yet still put up respectable home run, runs scored and RBI totals even in a down year. He struggled through a and first half, but was pretty much back to normal in the second half, despite playing hurt for most of the season. The Buccos are considering moving him to right field in an effort to keep him healthy and in the lineup in 2017. That said, he very well could be playing in a different uniform next season.
As you can see, I am very optimistic on Rockies outfielder David Dahl heading into the 2017 season, ranking him in my top 20 outfielders. He has the bat to put up a 20 home run, 20 stolen base season playing in the friendly confines of Coors Field. He will have to stay healthy to do so, but he is one who could rank in the top 10 outfielders this time next season.
There are several guys ranked between 40-50 that have the potential to rise in these rankings before the season starts, including Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn. I might have Quinn ranked too high right now, but my ranking assumes he will be a starter out of spring training. He has the bat and speed to hit double digit home runs and steal 40 bases, but like many on this list, he has to stay healthy, which is something he has had difficulty doing in his minor league career. His best outcome is a better version of Billy Hamilton.
I see Mets outfielder Michael Conforto having a bounce back season in 2017. He makes a lot of hard contact and hits enough fly balls to be a .280ish hitting with 20+ home runs hitting in the middle of the Mets lineup next season. Don't sleep on him in drafts.
I almost forgot to rank Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber but added him earlier this morning, that is why you will see 51 players ranked. Schwarber is a tough guy to rank as we still don't know how healthy his knee is as he wasn't able to play in the outfield in the World Series. He is probably a defensive replacement in many games, thus reducing his number of plate appearances in 2017, so that must be factored into any projections for playing time and PAs.
Early Top 50 Outfielder Rankings for 2017
Rank |
Name |
Team |
G |
PA |
HR |
R |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
wOBA |
wRC+ |
WAR |
1 |
Mike Trout |
159 |
681 |
29 |
123 |
100 |
30 |
0.315 |
0.441 |
0.550 |
0.418 |
171 |
9.4 |
|
2 |
Mookie Betts |
Red Sox |
158 |
730 |
31 |
122 |
113 |
26 |
0.318 |
0.363 |
0.534 |
0.379 |
135 |
7.8 |
3 |
Kris Bryant |
155 |
699 |
39 |
121 |
102 |
8 |
0.292 |
0.385 |
0.554 |
0.396 |
149 |
8.4 |
|
4 |
Charlie Blackmon |
Rockies |
143 |
641 |
29 |
111 |
82 |
17 |
0.324 |
0.381 |
0.552 |
0.394 |
130 |
3.9 |
5 |
Ryan Braun |
135 |
564 |
30 |
80 |
91 |
16 |
0.305 |
0.365 |
0.538 |
0.378 |
133 |
3.2 |
|
6 |
George Springer |
162 |
744 |
29 |
116 |
82 |
9 |
0.261 |
0.359 |
0.457 |
0.353 |
124 |
4.5 |
|
7 |
Bryce Harper |
147 |
627 |
24 |
84 |
86 |
21 |
0.243 |
0.373 |
0.441 |
0.343 |
112 |
3.5 |
|
8 |
Nelson Cruz |
155 |
667 |
43 |
96 |
105 |
2 |
0.287 |
0.360 |
0.555 |
0.383 |
147 |
4.2 |
|
9 |
Andrew McCutchen |
Pirates |
153 |
675 |
24 |
81 |
79 |
6 |
0.256 |
0.336 |
0.430 |
0.329 |
106 |
0.7 |
10 |
Gregory Polanco |
Pirates |
144 |
587 |
22 |
79 |
86 |
17 |
0.258 |
0.323 |
0.463 |
0.331 |
108 |
2.5 |
11 |
Christian Yelich |
155 |
659 |
21 |
78 |
98 |
9 |
0.298 |
0.376 |
0.483 |
0.367 |
130 |
4.4 |
|
12 |
Yoenis Cespedes |
Mets |
132 |
543 |
31 |
72 |
86 |
3 |
0.280 |
0.354 |
0.530 |
0.369 |
134 |
3.2 |
13 |
Trea Turner |
Nationals |
73 |
324 |
13 |
53 |
40 |
33 |
0.342 |
0.370 |
0.567 |
0.395 |
147 |
3.3 |
14 |
Ian Desmond |
156 |
677 |
22 |
107 |
86 |
21 |
0.285 |
0.335 |
0.446 |
0.336 |
106 |
3.3 |
|
15 |
Starling Marte |
Pirates |
129 |
529 |
9 |
71 |
46 |
47 |
0.311 |
0.362 |
0.456 |
0.351 |
121 |
4.0 |
16 |
Carlos Gonzalez |
Rockies |
150 |
632 |
25 |
87 |
100 |
2 |
0.298 |
0.350 |
0.505 |
0.361 |
108 |
1.9 |
17 |
A.J. Pollock |
Dbacks |
12 |
46 |
2 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
0.244 |
0.326 |
0.390 |
0.315 |
89 |
0.4 |
18 |
Matt Kemp |
156 |
672 |
35 |
89 |
108 |
1 |
0.268 |
0.304 |
0.499 |
0.333 |
109 |
0.7 |
|
19 |
David Dahl |
Rockies |
63 |
237 |
7 |
42 |
24 |
5 |
0.315 |
0.359 |
0.500 |
0.367 |
111 |
1.2 |
20 |
Giancarlo Stanton |
Marlins |
119 |
470 |
27 |
56 |
74 |
0 |
0.240 |
0.326 |
0.489 |
0.344 |
114 |
1.7 |
21 |
Mark Trumbo |
159 |
667 |
47 |
94 |
108 |
2 |
0.256 |
0.316 |
0.533 |
0.358 |
123 |
2.2 |
|
22 |
Michael Brantley |
11 |
43 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
0.231 |
0.279 |
0.282 |
0.238 |
42 |
0.0 |
|
23 |
J.D. Martinez |
120 |
517 |
22 |
69 |
68 |
1 |
0.307 |
0.373 |
0.535 |
0.384 |
142 |
1.8 |
|
24 |
Jay Bruce |
Mets |
147 |
589 |
33 |
74 |
99 |
4 |
0.250 |
0.309 |
0.506 |
0.340 |
111 |
0.9 |
25 |
Jose Bautista |
116 |
517 |
22 |
68 |
69 |
2 |
0.234 |
0.366 |
0.452 |
0.355 |
122 |
1.4 |
|
26 |
Adam Jones |
Orioles |
152 |
672 |
29 |
86 |
83 |
2 |
0.265 |
0.310 |
0.436 |
0.319 |
96 |
1.4 |
27 |
Byron Buxton |
92 |
331 |
10 |
44 |
38 |
10 |
0.225 |
0.284 |
0.430 |
0.304 |
86 |
1.7 |
|
28 |
Justin Upton |
Tigers |
153 |
626 |
31 |
81 |
87 |
9 |
0.246 |
0.310 |
0.465 |
0.329 |
105 |
1.4 |
29 |
Khris Davis |
150 |
610 |
42 |
85 |
102 |
1 |
0.247 |
0.307 |
0.524 |
0.349 |
123 |
2.5 |
|
30 |
Miguel Sano |
Twins |
116 |
495 |
25 |
57 |
66 |
1 |
0.236 |
0.319 |
0.462 |
0.334 |
107 |
1.3 |
31 |
Kyle Schwarber |
Cubs |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.000 |
0.000 |
0.000 |
0.000 |
-24 |
-0.1 |
32 |
Odubel Herrera |
Phillies |
159 |
656 |
15 |
87 |
49 |
25 |
0.286 |
0.361 |
0.420 |
0.338 |
110 |
3.8 |
33 |
Jackie Bradley Jr. |
Red Sox |
156 |
636 |
26 |
94 |
87 |
9 |
0.267 |
0.349 |
0.486 |
0.354 |
118 |
4.8 |
34 |
Billy Hamilton |
119 |
460 |
3 |
69 |
17 |
58 |
0.260 |
0.321 |
0.343 |
0.294 |
78 |
3.1 |
|
35 |
Adam Duvall |
Reds |
150 |
608 |
33 |
85 |
103 |
6 |
0.241 |
0.297 |
0.498 |
0.333 |
104 |
2.8 |
36 |
Carlos Beltran |
FA |
151 |
593 |
29 |
73 |
93 |
1 |
0.295 |
0.337 |
0.513 |
0.358 |
124 |
2.3 |
37 |
Ben Zobrist |
Cubs |
147 |
631 |
18 |
94 |
76 |
6 |
0.272 |
0.386 |
0.446 |
0.360 |
124 |
4.0 |
38 |
Max Kepler |
Twins |
113 |
447 |
17 |
52 |
63 |
6 |
0.235 |
0.309 |
0.424 |
0.313 |
93 |
1.1 |
39 |
Kole Calhoun |
Angels |
157 |
672 |
18 |
91 |
75 |
2 |
0.271 |
0.348 |
0.438 |
0.340 |
118 |
4.0 |
40 |
Dexter Fowler |
Cubs |
125 |
551 |
13 |
84 |
48 |
13 |
0.276 |
0.393 |
0.447 |
0.367 |
129 |
4.7 |
41 |
Nomar Mazara |
Rangers |
145 |
568 |
20 |
59 |
64 |
0 |
0.266 |
0.320 |
0.419 |
0.318 |
94 |
1.2 |
42 |
Michael Conforto |
Mets |
109 |
348 |
12 |
38 |
42 |
2 |
0.220 |
0.310 |
0.414 |
0.312 |
96 |
1.3 |
43 |
Jose Ramirez |
Indians |
152 |
618 |
11 |
84 |
76 |
22 |
0.312 |
0.363 |
0.462 |
0.355 |
122 |
4.8 |
44 |
Andrew Benintendi |
Red Sox |
34 |
118 |
2 |
16 |
14 |
1 |
0.295 |
0.359 |
0.476 |
0.357 |
120 |
0.6 |
45 |
Hunter Pence |
106 |
442 |
13 |
58 |
57 |
1 |
0.289 |
0.357 |
0.451 |
0.349 |
121 |
2.1 |
|
46 |
Jacoby Ellsbury |
148 |
626 |
9 |
71 |
56 |
20 |
0.263 |
0.330 |
0.374 |
0.308 |
91 |
2.0 |
|
47 |
David Peralta |
Dbacks |
48 |
183 |
4 |
23 |
15 |
2 |
0.251 |
0.295 |
0.433 |
0.308 |
84 |
0.3 |
48 |
Joc Pederson |
Dodgers |
137 |
476 |
25 |
64 |
68 |
6 |
0.246 |
0.352 |
0.495 |
0.360 |
129 |
3.6 |
49 |
Adam Eaton |
157 |
706 |
14 |
91 |
59 |
14 |
0.284 |
0.362 |
0.428 |
0.344 |
115 |
6.0 |
|
50 |
Stephen Piscotty |
153 |
649 |
22 |
86 |
85 |
7 |
0.273 |
0.343 |
0.457 |
0.345 |
115 |
2.8 |
|
51 |
Roman Quinn |
Phillies |
15 |
69 |
0 |
10 |
6 |
5 |
0.263 |
0.373 |
0.333 |
0.322 |
100 |
0.4 |
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