Top 50 MLB Prospects: Outfield

In today’s game, where speed is scarce, the guy you want to own in redraft leagues is Robles and it isn’t even close. He is going five rounds later than Buxton was last year and can’t come close to being that bad. If I don’t get in on the triple-M’s (Marte, Merrifield, and Mondesi), which I usually don’t, my mind is focused on Robles and I’m reaching for him especially if I missed on speed in Round 1.

Top 50 Long-Term Outfield Prospects

The Super Elite

1. Victor Robles, Washington Nationals (21, MLB) – Robles and Soto are a great way to help you forget Bryce Harper. Robles has 70-grade speed and has illustrated excellent bat to ball skills in the minors, striking out consistently less than 20% of the time. A floor of 20 homers and 30 steals seems about right.

2. Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox (22, Triple-A) – The upside is a rich man’s JD Martinez by 2020 and it’s not far-fetched.

The Elite

3. Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros (22, MLB) – Buy low. In only 72 at-bats he struggled in the MLB, but we can blame the .176 BABIP. In that small sample size he walked about 8% of the time and only struck out 18% of the time. He’s raked every step of the way. He’s a big part of the Astros plans this year. Did I say to buy low?

4. Taylor Trammel, Cincinnati Reds (21, High-A) – Going to hammer every fantasy category and hard. He is also showing advanced plate discipline. His numbers in the minors are very comparable to what Byron Buxton illustrated through High-A.

5. Alex Kiriloff, Minnesota Twins (21, High-A) – After missing a season due to TJ surgery he was a hitting machine, batting over .340 with 20 homers and 44 doubles in 130 games.

6. Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels (19, Double-A) – The upside is who we hoped Byron Buxton would be. Why do I keep comparing to a failed prospect (so far)? Anyway, he’s a little heavier on the power and lighter on the speed, but is showing a better hit tool already.

The Next Wave of Superstars

7. Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners (19, Rookie) – The fact that he is already showing plus power at age 19 means he could be a better version of Benintendi because of his size and athleticism. I would not be surprised to see him as a Top 5 overall prospect by 2021 and a 30/30 man in the MLB not too many years after.

8. Jesus Sanchez, Tampa Bay Rays (21, Double-A) – He hit .214 over 27 games in Double-A last year. Ignore that. He’s batted over .300 in every year at every stop since he was 17 years old. He has plus power and could get double-digit steals in the Majors. He has the upside to go .300/30/100 at the highest level.

9. Drew Waters, Atlanta Braves (20, High-A) – Showing that he is a high BABIP player, he’s shown the ability to hit for some power, steal bases and hit for average. The very optimistic upside here is Yelich, with a floor of Pollock if he doesn’t completely bust.

Rock Solid Near Elite

10. Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros (21, Triple-A) – 20 homers in 88 games last year while walking over 10% of the time. The Astros may have to Domingo Santana him in order for him to see a chance to play soon. Yes, I used Domingo Santana as a verb, meaning to trade him away for less than market value because there is no room for him to play in Houston. For their sake, I hope they don’t Teoscar Hernandez him, trading him away for a bag of balls (i.e. Francisco Liriano)

11. Trevor Larnarch, Minnesota Twins (21, Single-A) – Similar profile to Kiriloff with less batting average. The Twins just locked up Max Kepler through 2023 with an option for 2024. They also have Larnarch and Kiriloff and about 17 designated hitters on their roster. I know I have Byron Buxton on the brain in this article, but is he even in the Twins’ long-term plans anymore? If you want to hear me beat up on Buxton more, check this out:

12. Seth Beer, Houston Astros (22, High-A) – The first round pick shot through three levels in his first year, showing excellent power each time. He is thankful that the Astros are no longer in the NL because he profiles as a DH.

High Upside International Stars

13. Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners (18, Rookie) – Crushed rookie ball with plus power, speed, plate discipline, and hit tool. The sample size is small, but I can count on one hand the number of outfielders in the 2018 draft class that rival his upside.

14. Kristian Robinson, Arizona Diamondbacks (18, Rookie) – Robinson is getting the most hype of all the international signees in the low level of the minors. He actually showed less power and plate discipline than J-Rod and was only 12-for-20 on the basepaths. Regardless, the upside is immense.

15. Julio Pablo Rodriguez, Texas Rangers (22, Low-A) – Shown a very good combination of speed and power with an advanced approach. He was not long for rookie ball after 33 at-bats—he had a 42% line drive rate and a 27% walk rate. After those absurd numbers he was quickly promoted to Low-A and continued to excel.

16. Estevan Florial, New York Yankees (21, High-A) – He has been up and down the minors since he was 16 and is starting to get some prospect fatigue. I have to admit that after reviewing his stats, I’m seeing someone with plus power, speed, and plate discipline at a very young age. His track record lacks consistency, but it’s too early to give up on someone with very high upside.

17. Victor Victor Mesa, Miami Marlins (22, Cuba) – His speed is elite, and the scouting reports place him right about here on this list. How his skills translate to baseball in the United States is still somewhat unknown. There’s a possibility the Marlins bring him up this year.

18. George Valera, Cleveland Indians (18, Rookie) – Super limited sample size shows walk rate is equal to the strikeout rate. In 18 at-bats, he’s got himself a homer and a steal. So far, so good.

19. Cristian Pache, Atlanta Braves (20, Double-A) – Elite speed but will likely be average at best in the power and discipline departments. A better real life player than fantasy player in all likelihood. Give me Waters all day over Pache.

Solid Contributors

20. Parker Meadows (19, Low-A) – The brother of Austin was already promoted after being the first pick in the second round last year. In the small sample size he’s shown he can be a plus contributor in power and steals. As he fills out his 6’5” frame, he should have more power upside than his brother.

21. Pablo Reyes, Pittsburgh Pirates (25, MLB) – After reading what Joe Gentile had to say about Reyes, he ranks pretty high on my list.

22. Austin Listi, Philadelphia Phillies (25, Double-A) – Very solid across-the-board numbers in a breakout 2018, trying to be a poor man’s Rhys Hoskins.

23. Christian Stewart, Detroit Tigers (25, MLB) – Excellent power and plate discipline and will get every opportunity to play this year in the big leagues.

Notable Upside

24. Mariel Bautista, Cincinnati Reds (21, Rookie) – In his fourth year at the rookie level, he is starting to show pop with eight homers. He has always maintained a low strikeout rate, he steals bases, and has hit over .300 since he was 18.

25. Brandon Marsh, Los Angeles Angels (21, High-A) – Showing an elite line drive rate and glimpses of plus speed and power.

26. D’Shawn Knowles, Los Angeles Angels (18, Rookie) – In 58 games he hit five homers and stole nine bases while hitting over .300 and walking over 10% of the time. There are a lot of young athletic outfielders in this system.

27. Leody Taveras, Texas Rangers (20, High-A) – Has lost a bit of steam from when he was first touted as an 18-year-old, but has shown enough power and great speed. I’m puzzled that, with his speed, his BABIP is so consistently low. A poor line drive rate may be to blame.

28. Heliot Ramos, San Francisco Giants (19, Single-A) – Took a slight step back in 2018 at a higher level, but still young enough to hone an intriguing skill set.

29. Kyle Isbel, Kansas City Royals (21, Single-A) – Showing above average power and speed in the lower levels with a high batting average. His plate discipline deteriorated upon promotion, but we are still dealing with small sample sizes. He is a player to monitor this year.

Safe Floors

30. Alex Verdugo, Los Angeles Dodgers (22, MLB) – No standout skill and probably most valuable asset is batting average, he is the Luis Urias of outfielders.

31. Yusniel Diaz, Baltimore Orioles (22, Double-A) – A nice floor and little competition in Baltimore. Everything I’ve seen I categorize as “good.”

32. Alek Thomas, Arizona Diamondbacks (18, Rookie) – Superior plate discipline, speed, and batting average at a very young age. Could be the Diamondbacks’ leadoff hitter before you know it.

33. Cal Stevenson, Toronto Blue Jays (22, Rookie) – Led the 2018 draft class in OPS. For more on Cal Stevenson, refer to the following article

The Stat Darlings

34. Corey Ray, Milwaukee Brewers (24, Double-A) – The 176 strikeouts will jump out at you, but he kept the K-rate under 30% while hitting 27 homers, stealing 37 bases, and walking 10% of the time. If he can refine his raw skills in Triple-A this year, he could climb these lists in a hurry.

35. Monte Harrison, Miami Marlins (23, Double-A) – 19 homers and 28 steals were not as good as the outfielder the Brewers did not trade for Yelich (Corey Ray). Harrison also strikes out more.

36. Myles Straw, Houston Astros (24, MLB) – Stole 70 bags across two levels of the minors, hitting around .300 with one home run.

37. Jonah Davis, Pittsburgh Pirates (21, Rookie) – Demolished rookie ball with 14 homers and batting .306 while walking over 11% of the time. A pleasant surprise of the 2018 draft class.

38. Seuly Matias, Kansas City Royals (20, single-A) – 31 homers with a 34.8% strikeout rate. He has some speed but looks to be an all or nothing player.

39. Casey Golden, Colorado Rockies (24, Single-A) – His lucky number is 34, as he led all minor league outfielders in home runs with 34 but also struck out 34% of the time.

40. Buddy Reed, San Diego Padres (23, Double-A) – The 2^nd best mix of power and speed with 13 homers and 51 steals across High-A and Double-A. Really struggled to hit in Double-A, hitting .179 with only one home run. Strikeouts are a concern.

Best of the Rest

41. Adam Haseley, Philadelphia Phillies (22, Double-A)

42. Khalil Lee, Kansas City Royals (20, Double-A)

43. Jordyn Adams, Los Angeles Angels (19, Rookie)

44. Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox (21, High-A)

45. Daz Cameron, Detroit Tigers (22, Triple-A)

46. Travis Swaggerty, Pittsburgh Pirates (21, Single-A)

47. Griffin Conine, Toronto Blue Jays (21, Low-A)

48. Austin Beck, Oakland Athletics (20, Single-A)

49. Calvin Mitchell, Pittsburgh Pirates (19, Single-A)

50. Billy McKinney, Toronto Blue Jays (24, MLB)

Safest Stud - Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox

Eloy has shown that not only does he have prodigious power, he also has an excellent hit tool. He should be in the middle of the order and the best bat on the White Sox by May.

Highest Ceiling - Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels and Victor Robles, Washington Nationals

Adell takes this honor along with Robles because both have the potential to be Top 5 fantasy picks if they reach their potential of 25 homers and over 30 stolen bases. Robles has a slight edge in speed and Adell has a slight edge in power.

Boom or Bust - Kristian Robinson, Arizona Diamondbacks

As mentioned earlier, Robinson has been a darling on 2019 prospect lists. However, his plate discipline and stolen base success rate open up the risk he is a three-category contributor (not a five-category stud) as a finished product.

Fastest Riser - Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners

J-Rod has flashed the most in rookie ball when compared to everyone else on this list. He could be a Top 5 fantasy prospect before his 20th birthday as he has essentially shown no flaws so far.