What will the Red Sox outfield look like without Jackie Bradley Jr How Does Carlos Correa's Deal Impact Dansby Swanson's Market? This tier includes a number of power-speed options, led by Tucker and Robert, who both went 30/30 in the Minors in 2019 and continued to contribute on multiple fronts in '20. Mantle's pure strength can be seen was demonstrated by the fact that he hit some of the longest home runs in baseball history. Just like the regular-season rankings, players are ranked solely on the 2021 season. Welcome to Bleacher Report's final positional rankings of the 2021 MLB season! He had just 18 swings and misses at in-zone pitches in the entire regular season. He hit .328/.376/.624 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 32 homers, 92 RBI, 108 runs and 36 steals across three . He was also a terrific defender in right field (11 DRS), and he proved capable of handling center field in a pinch. The San Francisco Giants have had 16 different players tally at least 100 plate appearances this season, and that group does not count prized deadline pickup Kris Bryant. Fielding Bible The double play he executed, reaching down to glove a looper in front of him and throwing toward home, with Marcell Ozuna eventually called out for leaving too soon. 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. A catch made high against the right field wall to take extra bases away from Ozuna. 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. Buxton debuted for the Twins in 2015, and since then has become one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. C (Worth noting: Second on that list was DJ LeMahieu, who had a 92.9% in-zone contact rate, then Anthony Rendon and Tommy La Stella tied at 91.2% each.)". 2021 Fantasy Baseball: Outfielders ADP Analysis - Most Talented & Top Bonds had a strong throwing arm even before he began to bulk up. With club control through the 2025 season, he is a long-term building block for the O's. But Ozuna is valued for his bat, for his advanced understanding of how pitchers will try to work against him. Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's best outfielders - ESPN.com M-SABR All Stars: MLB's 2022 All-BB% Team - M-SABR One of the most exciting defensive plays in baseball occurs when there is going to be a play at the plate. The future of Florida's pitching staff is incredibly bright. with only his head and one arm free.The . Let's keep our 2021 MLB Player Rankings series rolling with a look at the top 25 outfielders. Which non-quarterback group will define each top-25 team's season? Through all the excess options, it becomes even more important to find the top values and to not settle for "good enough" production. Regardless of who the Rays plug into the pen, they continue to find success. 2023 MLB Top 30 Prospects; Rankings; Players; Draft; Store; . Below you'll find the consensus rankings that eight of our MLB writers were involved in. Tier 3: Randy Arozarena, Trent Grisham, Michael Conforto, Giancarlo Stanton, Nick Castellanos, J.D. Even though Meusel played just 11 seasons, he still recorded 157 outfield assists. Arozarena is coming off a postseason for the ages, on top of a strong finish in the regular season. He's hit .300 or better in five of the last seven seasons, and in the two he didn't, he batted .299 (in 2017) and was injury-ravaged in the other (2016). 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. 15 throws) with an average arm strength of 88.4 mph on max-effort throws -- a.k.a. The 33-year-old hit .307 with runners in scoring position, and he had a .937 OPS in 205 plate appearances after the All-Star break. 20. Meusel threw strikes to any base from the outfield". The greatest player of this era turns 30 in 2021. 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. Let's keep our 2021 MLB Player Rankings series rolling with a look at the top 25 outfielders. And yes, by the end of the World Series, he did find his best swing, enough to put a punctuation mark on the Dodgers' championship with an eighth-inning home run in Game 6. Scouts have long graded position players on five tools that are central to success in the game: hitting, hitting for power, running, fielding and throwing. Carl Furillo's right arm earned him the nickname, "The Reading Rifle". But Verdugo ingratiated himself with teammates and staff with his passion and play, and he seemed to earn the early respect of socially distant Red Sox fans. 6 player in the Razzball Player Rater, despite playing just 130 games; give him Vladimir Guerrero's 161 games and he would've topped him for the No. Statcast Outfielder Jump Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com Listen. 3 overall player, followed by Trout, who continues to deliver at the plate year after year and remains among fantasys top five players despite his decline on the bases (one steal in 2020). Thursday, it's outfielders -- the top 10 left fielders, center fielders and right fielders. 5. The 24-year-old led the team in OPS+ (147) while hitting .294/.359/.557 with 37 doubles, 30 home runs, 92 RBI and 14 steals in what was essentially his first full season in the majors, aside from last year's shortened slate. Unfortunately for Valentine, he was only able to play 10 seasons in the majors. 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. The 30-year-old is hitting .268/.333/.482 for a 105 OPS+ with 22 doubles, 18 home runs and 66 RBI. There are many questions surrounding Barry Bonds' arms, but none of them are about his ability to throw a baseball. Colavito's arm was so strong that both the Indians and Yankees let him pitch at one point. Sox On 35th's 2023 Pre-Season Top 30 White Sox Prospects: #1-15 While Bo Jackson's greatest accomplishment might be the fact that he is the greatest video game character ever, it is not the only thing that Bo is known for. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Steven Hajjar- Michigan prospect sophomore that fanned 24 of 87 batters faced and 3-0 record in four game. Clemente's arm was not only powerful but it also featured laser-like precision. Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheet: Outfield Rankings for 2021 . 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. 2021 Consensus Top-80 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings 17. 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. 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. Clemente is tied with Willie Mays for the the most Gold Gloves for an outfielder with 12. 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. -- Thomas Harrigan Previous picks: Michael Brantley (hit), Nelson Cruz (power), Trea Turner (run), Kevin Kiermaier (defense) Past production and future expectations played no part in deciding the order. 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. At 321 feet, it was the longest on-the-fly throw for an outfield assist tracked by Statcast (since 2015). 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. He hit .281 with an .800 OPS after the All-Star break, and he capped off the season by winning his first Gold Glove. It has been suggested that the Indians have been cursed after trading Colavito, a fan favorite, to the Detroit Tigers in 1960. My guess, after talking with folks who know him: Yelich was among the players affected by how dramatically the COVID-19 protocol changed processes. Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's . But at the least, we know the potential is there. The top 10 center fielders, based on input from folks under the MLB umbrella: Another historical comp for Trout, unfortunately, is the link that is developing with Ted Williams: their paucity of postseason opportunity. Shortstops with the highest max arm strength, 2022 1. Soto, in my opinion, has that. Kyle Schwarber, Washington Nationals/Boston Red Sox. MLB Best Outfield Throws || MLB 2021 Season (Supercut) The Giants acquired him at the trade deadline, and he is poised to cash in as a free agent this offseason. 7. Carlos Correa (Twins): 95.0 mph 5. Ken Griffey Jr. may have been the greatest player in baseball history had injuries not plagued him during his career. The best player at the position was Ronald Acuna (.280 with 127 runs, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 steals . His production bottomed out during the abridged 2020 campaign, but he bounced back in a big way this year. Realmuto paced all full-time catchers (min. He had such a good showing last year that as some rival executives kick around the idea of a possible Toronto match in a Francisco Lindor trade, they think Gurriel could anchor the package of players going from the Jays to Cleveland. His contact rate was easily the worst of his career, and his swing rate was way down. Statcast Statistics Player Batting 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | All September 10, 2021 | 00:05:48. The regimented preparation that had worked for Yelich in the past was simply not available to him, and he may have suffered for it. There is no shortage of articles ranking MLB players by position, league, age, production or something else entirely. Martinez started cold and never recovered last season, and Meadows was never right after dealing with COVID-19 in July. Tier 1: Ronald Acua Jr., Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper. Honorable Mention:Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals. In the short 2020 season, he had more walks (49) than strikeouts (43). Major League Baseball is loaded with talent in 2021, and the outfield is where you'll find some of the game's biggest stars. 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. Which Outfield Position Has The Best Arm? - On Secret Hunt The 31-year-old is hitting .337/.413/.543 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI in 74 games since the beginning of June, and his 3.5 WAR on the year ranks fifth among all first basemen. Top 60 All-Time Greatest Jays: #6 Jesse Barfield 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. There just isn't another divisional outfield duo that comes very close. You need to do it all to be an MVP these days. Aaron Judge, Yankees Fingers crossed that the 2021 MLB season will begin on time -- and that we get to see some live baseball at the ballpark this year. Top 10 MLB Outfielders for 2022 | Just Baseball As in: This is the type of hitter I want to be; get out of my way.". Scouts noted that he has a plus arm in the. News. 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. According to Bill James' Baseball Abstract, Valentine had the best arm in baseball in the 1970's. And it would be a crime not to grab Bellinger in this five-tools exercise somewhere. Here are the players who just missed the cut, listed alphabetically: 25. 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) The eight-time Gold Glove winner even managed to throw out 11 base runners from left field at age 39. 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. Cobb did have some trouble with his arm however. In order to qualify for the leaderboard, a player must have more Two-Star opportunities than team games / 5. His middling defense (-6 DRS, -4.8 UZR/150) and the time he missed kept him from ranking any higher. Best outfield in each MLB division in 2020 If there is a player in this system who can make a Bryan Ramos-like jump in 2023, my money is on Mieses. So how do you rank a player who didn't have his first 2020 plate appearance until Aug. 30, but may have been the first- or second-best player in October, depending where you want to stack Corey Seager? Here are the Cubs' 2023 Top 30 prospects. 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. He threw a ball 445 feet and 10 inches in 1957 while he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals' Triple-A team. Cubs Top Prospects | MLB.com The 27-year-old already has career-highs in OPS+ (109), hits (126), doubles (29), home runs (25) and RBI (75). T. Alex Verdugo, Kik Hernandez, and Hunter Renfroe were Boston's primary outfielders last season. Yelich was the 2018 NL MVP and runner-up in the MVP voting last year. 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. Myles Straw, Houston Astros/Cleveland Guardians. Below, we're focusing on fantasy baseball outfield sleepers. Rodriguez was a top 10 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 international prospects list for 2019-20 when the signing period opened up in July of 2019. . . There has been industry speculation that he was still dealing with the aftereffect of the fractured right kneecap he suffered at the end of the 2019 season. No position in fantasy baseball is deeper than the outfield. Mookie Betts is the sixth-best outfielder in baseball, and it feels wrong to rank him this low, but wait until you see the top five. Red Sox. 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. Standings. 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. Realmuto, C, PhilliesKey stat: 46.7 percent caught stealing rate in 2019. Bill James had him as the 67th best right fielder in major league history and said he had. As another player the Arizona Diamondbacks gave away, Adam Eaton continually shows himself to be a gritty . Even at age 36, Ichiro was consistently able to throw out runners trying to take an extra base. The Mariners sent pitchers Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, Anthony Swarzak and outfielder Jay Bruce to Seattle for infielder Robinson Cano and pitcher Edwin Diaz. "I'll take a guess that there hasn't been enough impetus for young players to be patient only until recently. This week, MLB.com is tasking five reporters with building the ultimate five-tool Superman, by picking the best examples of each tool from the talented pool of current big leaguers. Play Ball Youth Baseball & Softball. In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. Not just mine, but any site's rankings of outfielders will not be . 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). Didi Gregorius (free agent): 94.7 mph 7. I can promise you with 100 percent certainty that my fantasy baseball outfield rankings for 2021 will not be 100 percent right. The two-time Gold Glove winner had five seasons in which he had more than 10 assists. Top Tools: Best Outfield Defense/Outfield Arm - Baseball The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. The wild card in this tier is Kelenic, MLB Pipelines No. The well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No. Quinn said, "Meusel's arm was the best I ever saw. Braves manager Brian Snitker mentioned during the playoffs that he liked to hear Ozuna predicting to teammates in the dugout the pitch sequencing he was about to see -- and a lot of the time, Snitker said, Ozuna would be exactly right. He ultimately found his way back to Tampa Bay on a new one-year, $3 million deal that includes a 2022 club option. It simply looks at outfield arm strength. Top 15 MLB Corner Outfielders for 2023 | Just Baseball An intercostal strain limited Winker to only one game after Aug. 15. He batted just .169 against right-handed pitchers, with a .345 slugging percentage. Sits in the Top Ten of draft. We're going to try something a little different. He hit .310/.383/.458 with 42 extra-base hits and 47 steals in 52 attempts to lead the majors. MLB The Show 21: 10 Best Outfielders - TheGamer The organization's top four prospects, including all three Top 100 representatives, play the outfield, headlined by 2022 breakout star Jackson Chourio. The longtime utility man split his time between center field (93 games) and second base (47 games), and he posted a 107 OPS+ with 58 extra-base hits in a career-high 585 plate appearances. Ramon Laureano, Oakland A's He has taken to the outfield and his plus-plus arm shuts down running games. Honorable Mentions: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. The fourth tier features OF3 candidates of every type. He had an average max-effort arm strength of 94.1 mph, seventh-fastest among MLB outfielders (min. He also had the two fastest-tracked infield assists to first base -- reaching 94 mph -- and was responsible for about half of the 92-plus mph assists from all infielders. Mookie. Most everyone reading this article is probably asking themselves who Glenn Gorbous is. The 24-year-old hit .251 with 10 homers, 10 steals and 42 runs in 59 games for the Padres last year. Whitaker was ranked the #37 prospect by MLB. He also had one of the strongest arms that baseball has ever seen. More MLB videos How Does Carlos Correa Fit on the Giants? Youth. He had nine assists in 2022. . Statcast Year to Year Stats | baseballsavant.com Backup catcher Curt Casali (180 PA, 97 OPS+, 5 HR, 23 RBI) has also been solid at the plate, and the pitching staff has a fantastic 2.63 ERA with him in the crouch. Who Are the Best Outfield Arms in MLB? - Stadium The 27-year-old batted .308 last season, with a .534 slugging percentage. One of the tougher players to slot on this list, Buxton played in only 61 games while missing time with a hip strain and fractured hand. The identity of the No. The veteran has been a productive fantasy bat for several years, but his 2020 slash line (.322/.412/.515) was well above his performance from 2017-19 (.257/.363/.492). He . Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2022: Best sleepers, breakouts, busts from Hard-throwing top prospect Aaron Ashby has also made three spot starts, and he could make a major impact as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen down the stretch. Speaker was mentioned in Bill James' Baseball Abstract of having the best arm of anyone who played between 1910-1919. Judges 12.5 AB/HR rate ranks fourth among players with 50-plus homers since the beginning of 2017. He's already ranked pitchers and infielders, and he will follow these with the top 10 teams on Friday. Still two years away from arbitration, he will be a cornerstone player for the cost-conscious Rays. 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: Tout Wars 12-team mixed draft results This situation happens when an outfielder can make a great throw to try to nail the runner that is heading home. The Athletics' Outfield Dilemma - MLB Trade Rumors February 24, 2023. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball, Alonso says Aston 'living a dream,' eyes podium. Craig Counsell, Brewers. To qualify for inclusion, a player had to have at least 200 plate appearances. Through Williams's age 21 year -- two seasons -- he had 203 walks, 54 homers and an OPS of 1.041 in 293 games. PART - Positioning, Balls hit in air, Range, and Throwing for Infielders; Range & Positioning on balls hit in air for Outfielders. Reynolds hit.302/.390/.522 with 35 doubles, 24 home runs, 90 RBI and 93 runs scored for a 146 OPS+ despite having little in the way of protection in a bad Pittsburgh lineup. In 2019, it was all about arm strength for Laureano. He tallied a career-high 42 doubles along with 35 home runs, 84 RBI and 101 runs scored in a 5.9 WAR season. For a boost in the batting-average category, target McNeil, Verdugo or Brantley. Even in his time in the minors, his swing-and-miss rate jumped up a few percentage points. He's a career .225/.337/.409 hitter in the minors, and his strikeout rate has risen at every level, topping out at 27% in Triple-A last year and 28.2% in his 238-plate appearance MLB debut . It's possible that Merrifield will move back to the infield if Nicky Lopez struggles in his effort to establish himself as the Royals' second baseman. He earned a starting nod in the All-Star Game, and he deserves a ton of credit for the job he did protecting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. out of the cleanup spot in the Toronto lineup. The goal is to decide which team has the best catchers, infielders, outfielders, bench, starting pitchers and relief pitchers. Translation: Realmuto dominates the catcher throwing department. The left-handed outfielder had a rock solid 2022 season, holding a .281 batting average with 12 home runs while leading the South Atlantic League with 34 doubles joining Project Birmingham. The Tampa Bay Rays began the offseason by declining their$4.5 million club option on catcher Mike Zunino, who logged a 50 OPS+ and minus-0.2 WAR in 118 games with the team in 2019 and 2020. Fantasy baseball 2021 outfield rankings - MLB.com Chicago Cubs Top Prospects | Just Baseball The ultra-versatile Taylor was an All-Star for the first time in 2021, posting a 110 OPS+ with 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 73 RBI, 92 runs scored and 13 steals in 148 games. Sun's out, guns out. Mantle earned one Gold Glove in his career and threw out 117 base runners from the outfield. Only 30 MLB hitters had a lower rate of soft contact than Jimenez -- Fernando Tatis Jr., Corey Seager, Anthony Rendon and Freddie Freeman were among those ranked ahead of him. Mejia, 25, is hitting .263/.323/.429 with 20 extra-base hits, and he has thrown out 32 percent of base stealers on the year. 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 could seemingly throw out any runner trying to pick up an extra base. 2y Buster Olney. 2021 Cleveland farm system best tools - outfield arm He has 19 homers in 63 postseason games, and only three players have more: Manny Ramirez (29), Bernie Williams (22) and Derek Jeter (20). Brewers: The Crew has the Central's best outfield, led by Christian Yelich in right field and Lorenzo Cain in center. In an empty Fenway Park on Aug. 7, Verdugo had a big day -- two home runs, both over the Green Monster, for the left-handed-hitting Verdugo, and then he took a home run away from Travis Shaw in the ninth inning. Twins Top Prospect Vote 2023: Round 3 - Twinkie Town Texas Rangers outfield arms: The Outliers Some of these players were considered to have the best throwing arms on the Texas Rangers, but statistically, they failed to crack the top 10.. Jackson had 183 outfield assists during his 13 year career. 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. 2. Kaline, also known as Mr. Tiger, made his major league debut at age 18. This is Just Baseball's staff consensus ranking of the top 15 corner outfielders in baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays bullpen has chewed through an MLB-leading 533.1 innings this season. Lagares easily has the most rARM per 1,000 innings over the last three seasons. 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. Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs, Brandon Nimmo, New York Mets; Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners; Aaron Hicks, New York Yankees; Victor Robles, Washington Nationals; Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins. MLB fans up in arms over absurd outfield shift has him drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Ted Williams. He led the National League in outfield assists twice in his career. . The Red Sox acquired him at the deadline, and he finished with a 148 OPS+ and 32 home runs in 113 games, posting a .266/.374/.554 line that represented career highs across the board. The third tier is filled with enticing players, but its also rife with uncertainty. Oneil Cruz (Pirates): 97.9 mph 2. Tier 5: Anthony Santander, Victor Robles, Clint Frazier, Max Kepler, Kyle Schwarber, Jesse Winker, Trey Mancini, Andrew McCutchen, Jarred Kelenic, AJ Pollock, Andrew Benintendi, Mark Canha, Chris Taylor, Nick Solak, Mitch Haniger, Aaron Hicks, Brandon Nimmo, Lorenzo Cain, Joc Pederson, Garrett Hampson.