He also played a solid defensive center field in a 5.7 WAR season. RP - Joe Mantiply, ARI (2.5 BB%) Devin Wiles. While the debate has raged on for years regarding if Jackson actually participated in fixing the World Series, there is little debate that he is one of the greatest players of all-time. 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Outfielders Rankings, Consensus Preseason Rankings for OF | FantasyPros 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Expert Consensus Ranking (32 of 36 Experts) - Feb 28, 2023 Pick. Of course, that required trading several core players, but given the fact that Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez were all rentals at last year's deadline, the Cubs made out phenomenally. Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels definitely ranks in the top 10 outfielders, along with Mookie Betts and Charlie Blackmon. He hit .271 with a .349 on-base percentage, tallying 34 extra-base hits, 30 steals and 3.2 WAR, and he was also a Gold Glove finalist in center field. Mays' throwing arm deserves more recognition as he was he had the second strongest arm of any outfielder in the 1960s. The two-year, $14 million contract Hernandez signed with Boston ended up being one of the best bargains of the 2020-21 free-agent market. Here are the players who just missed the cut, listed alphabetically: 25. Crow-Armstrong soaking in first Spring Training with Cubs. Runners were afraid to take the extra base when these outfielders had the ball in their hands. Top Tools: Best Outfield Defense/Outfield Arm - Baseball . At 321 feet, it was the longest on-the-fly throw for an outfield assist tracked by Statcast (since 2015). Previous picks: Michael Brantley (hit), Nelson Cruz (power), Trea Turner (run), Kevin Kiermaier (defense). This situation happens when an outfielder can make a great throw to try to nail the runner that is heading home. MLB By Chris Novak on March 3, 2023. That Betts is the best right fielder in the game is assumed. The safe bet is that he'll bounce back and do a ton of damage in the summer ahead. Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Outfield tiers for 2023 drafts This will likely be the most questioned name on this list. Barfield would consistently throw strikes from right field to home plate. Scouts noted that he has a plus arm in the. It simply looks at outfield arm strength. As a rookie, he hit .314/.377/.503 with 37 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 RBI to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting and rack up 4.2 WAR. Just like the regular-season rankings, players are ranked solely on the 2021 season. He also slugged 38 home runs while winning his second straight Gold Glove. Soto has created a mountain of crazy numbers already, but here's one of my favorites: When he led off an inning in 2020 -- when pitchers might've been most likely to challenge him -- Soto went 13-for-25, with four doubles, four homers, eight walks, one hit by pitch and one strikeout. With the unique 2020 season behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the hot stove season. With club control through the 2025 season, he is a long-term building block for the O's. He was snubbed as a Gold Glove finalist despite tallying 11 DRS with a 5.4 UZR/150 in right field while also holding his own when he shifted to center field down the stretch. Mike Trout was born on Aug. 7, 1991, and every so often, it's worth a few moments to consider the start to his career, to remind yourself that you are watching a historic peer of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth. Clemente's arm was not only powerful but it also featured laser-like precision. Sometimes he looked like he was guessing wrong over and over and over, with the befuddlement covering his face as he walked away from the plate. 2021:Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection as an outfielder Started 58 of 59 games played in centerfield Batted .262 (53-for-202) with nine home runs and 33 RBI Scored 35 runs and walked 26 times Swiped 9 of 13 bases (69.2 percent) MLB: The 40 Best Outfield Arms in Baseball History Kyle Schwarber, Washington Nationals/Boston Red Sox. Buxton debuted for the Twins in 2015, and since then has become one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. While a member of the Indians minor league team in San Diego, he once threw a ball from home plate and it landed 436 feet away, deep over the center field fence. However, he was also a 4.2 WAR player at the time of the trade. The organization's top four prospects, including all three Top 100 representatives, play the outfield, headlined by 2022 breakout star Jackson Chourio. Soto, in my opinion, has that. Rather than ranking individual players, we set out to name the best multi-player units in baseball. Martinez started cold and never recovered last season, and Meadows was never right after dealing with COVID-19 in July. He hit .328/.376/.624 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 32 homers, 92 RBI, 108 runs and 36 steals across three . Share. This is the 14th highest total of all-time. His shoulder first began giving him problems in . Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: Tout Wars 12-team mixed draft results The corner outfield duo of Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker both rank among the MLB leaders in a number of offensive categories: Joining them isTyler Naquin, who earned a spot on the MLB roster on a minor league contract and is earning $1.5 million on a one-year deal. His career will always be under a microscope, but it's hard to call his 2021 performance anything but superstar-caliber. The 27-year-old batted .308 last season, with a .534 slugging percentage. Baseball Savant. In 2019, it was all about arm strength for Laureano. There is no shortage of articles ranking MLB players by position, league, age, production or something else entirely. Andre Dawson had a cannon for an arm. 5 Best Outfield Throwing Arms in the Majors - Sportscasting All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. MLB Power Rankings: A look at the best outfields in baseball with the Now the #20 prospect in the Yankees' organization, Hardman posted a 109 wRC+ across High-A and Double-A last season with 22 HRs in 111 games, but his over 30% K% is alarming for his projectability long-term. Buxton, Taylor and Gallo are such great, award-winning fielders that it's easy to forget about Kepler, who would be the best defensive outfielder on many teams. Previous picks: Mookie Betts (hit), Joey Gallo (power), Christian Yelich (run), Harrison Bader (defense), Cody Bellinger, CF, DodgersKey stat: 101.1 mph max arm strength. Top College Baseball Draft Prospects by Position Ramirez has never won a Gold Glove and he is thought of more for his offensive prowess than his defensive abilities. He is an OBP machine, a mini-Votto. Here are this years top fantasy outfielders, broken down into tiers. While one of Ramirez's most memorable moments in the field occurred when he walked into the Green Monster mid-game, it should also been noted that Ramirez has also showcased his arm in front of that very same wall. Free shipping for many products! Prior to a game in the 2004 ALDS versus the Yankees, Guerrero threw a ball 370 feet in warm-ups. Below, we're focusing on fantasy baseball outfield sleepers. Astros Top Five Outfield Prospects For 2022 - The Crawfish Boxes Scott Pianowski continues his tiered positional rankings by examining the outfield landscape for 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. Runners were hesitant to try to take an extra base when the ball was hit to right in Coors Field between 1995 and 2003. During Wednesday night's game against the Athletics, Yankees outfield Aaron Hicks broke a Statcast record for the fastest ball thrown in recorded history with a 105.5 mph, 246 . The 24-year-old hit .251 with 10 homers, 10 steals and 42 runs in 59 games for the Padres last year. MLB Best Outfield Throws || MLB 2021 Season (Supercut) It's not like swinging hard and hitting a ball 115 mph. MLB Power Rankings: The 25 Best Outfield Arms in MLB History | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report MLB Final NYY 7 LAA 4 Soccer Today 6:30PM ARS AVFC Today. Realmuto paced all full-time catchers (min. 0:00 / 11:29 MLB Best Outfield Throws || MLB 2021 Season (Supercut) Punchouts 18.6K subscribers 96K views 1 year ago Some of the best throws from the 2021 MLB season! The quick reaction and retreat and leap before taking extra bases away from Brandon Lowe in Game 4 of the World Series. Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheet: Outfield Rankings for 2021 The Bulldogs and Sooners are joined by California (which is off to a strong 6-1 start) and Ohio State (a . I think we'll see him hunt early in counts against next season.". The future of Florida's pitching staff is incredibly bright. He had an average max-effort arm strength of 94.1 mph, seventh-fastest among MLB outfielders (min. After fielding the fly ball, Clemente unleashed a rocket that cause Retterman to retreat back to third base. "I'll take a guess that there hasn't been enough impetus for young players to be patient only until recently. Most teams need to go at least six starters deep over the course of a season, and the Brew Crew also have three quality back-end starters behind their ace-caliber arms. Mining the News (3/1/23) | RotoGraphs Fantasy Baseball . Lagares easily has the most rARM per 1,000 innings over the last three seasons. $0.99 Edmonds is currently third among active players in outfield assists with 131. 8 prospect in the game. In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. "He's a hitting outlier," Votto responded. Then theres Stanton, who might be the biggest boom-or-bust pick in fantasy. Tabbed as the 58th-best outfield prospect nationally (D1Baseball). The late-bloomer is controllable for two more seasons, and the Blue Jays could explore a long-term extension to make sure he sticks around as part of the offensive core that also includes Guerrero, Bo Bichette and George Springer. Judges 12.5 AB/HR rate ranks fourth among players with 50-plus homers since the beginning of 2017. The wild card in this tier is Kelenic, MLB Pipelines No. Managers who dont grab an outfielder in the first two rounds will still have an ample supply of impact players to choose from after that. he Boston Red Sox outfield exceeded expectations in 2021. Outfielder Jump Leaderboard Current: Outfielder Jump 2022 Minimum Attempts (Q) Update Download CSV Jump is calculated only on plays that are Two Stars or harder, meaning with a 90% Catch Probability or lower. Each player was included in the rankings at the position where he played the most innings. 2. T. Alex Verdugo, Kik Hernandez, and Hunter Renfroe were Boston's primary outfielders last season. The 27-year-old became the first 30/30 player in Orioles history, hitting .291/.360/.518 with 37 doubles, 30 home runs and 30 steals while finishing fourth in the league in hits (175), sixth in total bases (312) and 10th in OPS+ (135). Worst OF Arms (for regular, starting outfielders) in MLB history? Fielding Bible 15 throws) with an average arm strength of 88.4 mph on max-effort throws -- a.k.a. Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Count on these outfielders to shine He is widely seen as defensively challenged and although he is just 30, his future is clearly going to be at DH. One evaluator said that Bellinger's swing is so unusual that he'll probably always struggle for consistency, for finding the feel he needs to be successful, and because of that, he'll probably have a lot of ups and downs. He was hitting .283/.394/.596 with 19 doubles, 24 home runs and 17 steals through 82 games at the time of the injury, good for a 3.6 WAR season. On the other hand, the league still hasn't had a chance to develop a counterattack against the right-handed-hitting masher. The so-called five-tool player is a special breed, as those who truly rate above average in each category are extremely rare. Listen. Anyone paying attention to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 knew Bryan Reynolds was capable of the type of season he put together in 2021. Tagged: 2023 MLB Draft, MLB Draft, Dylan Crews, Jacob Gonzalez, Max Clark, Brock Wilken, Walker Jenkins, Christian Little, Patrick Reilly, Dylan Cupp, Thomas White, Enrique Bradfield, Tanner Witt, Jaxon Wiggins, Teddy McGraw, Carson Montgomery, TJ Nichols, Drew Bowser, Jackson Baumeister, Will Sanders, Blake Mitchell, Tre' Morgan, Tommy Troy, Adj ER Saved - Our metric for catcher value in staff handling (similar to Catcher ERA but with important adjustments) Statcast Year to Year Stats | baseballsavant.com . Throughout the history of baseball, there have been some outfielders that have had cannons for arms. Edmonds had phenomenal range while he was younger, and there are many instances in which he scaled the outfield wall to retrieve would-be home runs. He's clearly taken pride in his plate discipline from an early age and been rewarded with performance and -- I would also guess -- supportive coaching. Catch up on the 2021 MLB Player Rankings series:Catchers,First Basemen,Second Basemen, Third Basemen,Shortstops. With the Astros first pick the 2021 draft, they took a prospect who fell right in their laps. The 31-year-old remains one of baseballs most imposing sluggers, but he has appeared in just 41 regular season games over the past two years. However, Mays is more well-known for "The Catch" than for his arm. At age 19, Kaline recorded 16 of his career 170 outfield assists. The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. This is not unusual: Cal Ripken Jr. spent his whole career fighting for feel, winning two MVP awards but also posting seven seasons in which he batted in the .250s or lower. A hyped prospect since he was selected fifth overall in the 2015 draft, his breakout season went a long way toward replacing George Springer's lost production. Take a look at this strikeout from his MLB debut season in 2021: At the moment Drew Rasmussen releases this fastball, Duran's hands are moving up and back, his leg is elevated, and he has a whole lot of movement to execute to catch up with the 98-mph pitch. Walker won seven Gold Gloves and ended his career with 154 outfield assists. 1 guy is pretty obvious, through the compilation of thought from folks around the industry. Gorbous is the answer to the trivia question: "Who has the longest throw in baseball history"? Previous picks: Anthony Rendon (hit), Mike Trout (power), Byron Buxton (run), Simmons (defense), Ramn Laureano, CF, AsKey stat: 321-foot assist on Aug. 11, 2018. February 26, 2023. Stadium MLB insider Russell Dorsey breaks down who the top five outfield arms in MLB are. Bryson Worrell - Baseball - East Carolina University Athletics That's primal, natural. Why the Twins' outfield defense could be baseball's best Baseball's worst fielders at every position | Sporting News Will draft 15-20 pick. The Giants acquired him at the trade deadline, and he is poised to cash in as a free agent this offseason. Aaron Judge, Yankees He is, by any measure, the best outfielder and player of his generation. I texted Votto that I thought Williams would've loved to watch the Nationals' Juan Soto, who might be the closest replica to Williams, with his remarkable plate discipline and power. Santander is locked into an everyday role with the Orioles, and he has produced 31 homers with 91 RBIs and an .807 OPS in 130 games over the past two years. Robles struggled in 2020, but he had 17 homers, 28 steals, 65 RBIs and 86 runs in '19 and has no competition for playing time this season. -- Thomas Harrigan Previous picks: Michael Brantley (hit), Nelson Cruz (power), Trea Turner (run), Kevin Kiermaier (defense) Shortstops with the highest max arm strength, 2022 1. Up next is the 22-year-old Soto, whose production over his first three seasons has him drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Gallo, Soler, Lewis, Yastrzemski, Happ, Rosario and Mountcastle can provide it. Pitchers are on the other end of Soto's will, as well. He's not just an MVP-caliber hitter; he has one of the strongest outfield arms in the league. Unfortunately for Valentine, he was only able to play 10 seasons in the majors. March 1, 2023. The well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No. Wil Myers, San Diego Padres; Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros; Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies; Nicholas Castellanos, Cincinnati Reds, Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's best outfielders, NBA investigating after Morant shows gun in video, QB Young 5-10 1/8, 204 pounds at NFL combine, Horns' Robinson: Versatility worthy of early pick, Edey leads Wooden finalists; Bama's Miller off list, Chase Elliott out indefinitely after tibia surgery, Jays' Guerrero to miss WBC with inflamed knee, Sources: Patriots tell QB Hoyer he's being cut, Ledecky sees 9-year win streak in U.S. snapped, Inside the long-awaited return of Jon Jones and his quest for heavyweight glory, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? 9. Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman, 505 PA, .235/.309/.504, 56 XBH (31 HR), 76 RBI, 75 R, 4.3 WAR. Hernandez was signed as a super-utility . The eight-time Gold Glove winner was finally inducted into Cooperstown in 2010. The 30-year-old showed a less patient approach at the plate, which resulted in a middling .318 on-base percentage, but his power production is enough to earn him a spot here. He hit the walk-off home run in the NL Wild Card Game and had a three-homer game in Game 5 of the NLCS. What follows is a ranking of the Top 10 left fielders in baseball. Rob Neyer ranked him as our best right fielder in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups (pre-Bautista). Honorable Mention:Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals. 2021 Consensus Top-80 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings Mookie is one of the best defensive right-fielders of all time. Evans was considered to have one of the greatest throwing arms in baseball in the 1970s. He has also done a solid job handling the staff with a 3.87 ERA behind the plate. It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . If Stanton stays on the field in 2021, his production could swing many fantasy leagues. The 30-year-old is hitting .268/.333/.482 for a 105 OPS+ with 22 doubles, 18 home runs and 66 RBI. Hot Stove Tracker Starting Lineups Transactions . That seems almost impossible. 14. At 321 feet, it was the longest on-the-fly throw for an outfield assist tracked by Statcast (since 2015). The tattoo was earned, as Mondesi had one of the strongest arms in baseball in the 1990s. All of what you need to know about Meusel's arm was said by Bob Quinn, former president of both the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. The two-time Gold Glove winner had five seasons in which he had more than 10 assists. Speaker was mentioned in Bill James' Baseball Abstract of having the best arm of anyone who played between 1910-1919. Great teams are composed of . Cobb had 271 errors as an outfielder in his career. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Jesse Barfield had an incredibly strong and an incredibly accurate throwing arm. There are many questions surrounding Barry Bonds' arms, but none of them are about his ability to throw a baseball. 8. Something that jumped out to Giants staffers last year was Yastrzemski's fearlessness in two-strike counts: After the count reached no balls and two strikes, he hit .222; after the count was 1-2, his OPS was 1.033. 17. Colavito is another player on this list who has a legendary arm. He had an average max-effort arm strength of 94.1 mph, seventh-fastest among MLB outfielders (min. The 26-year-old finished the season as a 6.0 WAR player, earning a spot among the Gold Glove finalists in center field on top of his excellent offensive numbers. Between a breakout 2021 campaign and 2022, the journeyman reliever dropped his strong 9.6% walk rate to a miniscule 2.5%, good for best in the league. Homegrown players Steven Duggar and Austin Slater have also seen semi-regular time in the outfield, though Duggar was recently optioned to Triple-A now that Bryant can provide corner outfield depth as well. Of the 60 games Ozuna played last season, only 21 were in the outfield, so if you wanted to make the argument that he should be ranked among designated hitters, well, you'd have a good case. Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers/New York Yankees. Myles Straw, Houston Astros/Cleveland Guardians. Bez was responsible for five of the 31 tracked assists of at least 90 mph by infielders last season, the second most in MLB, and his average arm strength on max-effort throws (88.3 mph) was the third best among infielders. He was ranked the 40th-best free agent this offseason, per Giants Baseball Insider's rankings. The lefty bat can play both first base and outfield, and has even filled in a third base. It is a shame that his career was cut short as the result of a hip injury. Below you'll find the consensus rankings that eight of our MLB writers were involved in. Let's keep our 2021 MLB Player Rankings series rolling with a look at the top 25 outfielders. With three more home runs from Albies, the 2021 Braves will become only the second team in MLB history to have all four primary infielders tally 25 home runs, per ESPN Stats & Information's Jared Berson, joining the 2008 Florida Marlins. Fantasy baseball 2021 outfield rankings - MLB.com 2024 MLB Draft - Top 100 Prospects Prospects Live Sits in the Top Ten of draft. Before he retired in the middle the 2010 season, Junior was the active leader in outfield assists with 154. with only his head and one arm free.The . J.T. Top 15 MLB Corner Outfielders for 2023 | Just Baseball Williams played in just one World Series, and at a time when he was nursing an elbow bruise, Williams hit .200, with five walks and one RBI in seven games. Whether it's unleashing the ball from deep in the outfield, across the infield or behind the plate, it can make the seemingly impossible happen. The man known as El Mago (The Magician) is blessed with many gifts and would have been a fine pick for the fielding tool, but lets focus on his rocket for a right arm. Those are qualities the. He led the NL in home runs, RBIs and total bases last season, thriving with runners in scoring position: in those moments, Ozuna batted .364, with a .444 on-base percentage and a .623 slugging percentage. Statcast Outfielder Jump Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com 22). All three of those guys could finish in the top 10 in NL Cy Young voting, but the staff goes deeper than that trio. With free agency looming after the 2022 season, another performance like that would set him up for a huge payday next winter. All told, he hit .333 with 17 homers and a 1.158 OPS over 43 games in 2020. He also has a career-high 16 steals in 18 attempts and provides Gold Glove-caliber defense. He has a 103 OPS+ with 22 home runs, 84 RBI and an NL-leading 32 doubles. Among the four outfielders with a perfect 99 fielding rating is Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton. From first-time All-Star Andrew Kittredge (44 G, 1.41 ERA) to reclamation project Collin McHugh (27 G, 1.30 ERA) to 31-year-old rookie Louis Head (20 G, 3.16 ERA), they continue to plug and play better than any organization in baseball when it comes to building a bullpen. The Milwaukee Brewers aren't far behind with a 3.11 ERA, and they have a trio of bona fide aces atop the staff that have helped lead them to the top of the NL Central standings.
