He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. We're focusing solely on 2021 production, so previous track record and future projections were not a factor. Throughout the history of baseball, there have been some outfielders that have had cannons for arms. After missing much of the 2019 season and all of last year with a gruesome injury, Haniger finally returned to action, posting a 122 OPS+ with 39 home runs and 100 RBI for the upstart Mariners. As we wait, Buster Olney continues his annual ranking of the 10 best players at each position heading into the coming season, based on input from industry evaluators. Cobb had 271 errors as an outfielder in his career. Shortstop Dansby Swanson is hitting .322/.372/.594 with 10 home runs in 36 games since the All-Star break. 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. Mookie. 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. But Bellinger is one of only three outfielders with a tracked throw over 101 mph last season -- Hunter Renfroe and Aristides Aquino are the others -- and that wasn't the first time he hit triple-digit velo on a throw from the outfield (he also did it once during the 2018 postseason). Yelich and Bellinger, the National League MVP Award winners in 2018 and '19, respectively, turned in disappointing campaigns a season ago, but were expecting big things from both in '21. It's not like swinging hard and hitting a ball 115 mph. Bill James had him as the 67th best right fielder in major league history and said he had. but if he regresses to 2017 or 2021 levels no one should complain. Anyone paying attention to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 knew Bryan Reynolds was capable of the type of season he put together in 2021. Walker was known for his abilities at the plate, but he also had a gun for an arm. The best arms tend to have lower rates because they get run on less, though Clemente is barely in the top 70 all time and IIRC Vlad doesn't even crack the top 200 Though I guess my point agrees with you, he wasn't great but he wasn't awful 2 Buzzed27 San Francisco Giants 5 yr. ago Not sure what you're talking about exactly. 8 prospect in the game. "I'll take a guess that there hasn't been enough impetus for young players to be patient only until recently. Kyle Schwarber, Washington Nationals/Boston Red Sox. Mays had 195 career outfield assists and he won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves. Harper hit .338/.476/.713 with 20 home runs after the All-Star break, doing his part to help a Phillies team that tried in vain to chase down a postseason berth. Ramon Laureano, Oakland A's T. Alex Verdugo, Kik Hernandez, and Hunter Renfroe were Boston's primary outfielders last season. 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. After a slow start, reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman is once posting elite numbers. Ramirez has never won a Gold Glove and he is thought of more for his offensive prowess than his defensive abilities. Guerrero has the second best arm of any player in baseball today. 9. He ultimately found his way back to Tampa Bay on a new one-year, $3 million deal that includes a 2022 club option. Dawson racked up 157 outfield assists in his 21 major league seasons. 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, Jackson had 183 outfield assists during his 13 year career. Fantasy managers can still find some starting-caliber outfielders in this tier. There are many questions surrounding Barry Bonds' arms, but none of them are about his ability to throw a baseball. Second baseman Ozzie Albies has been one of the most productive players at the position since his first full season in 2018, and this season is no different. The wild card in this tier is Kelenic, MLB Pipelines No. Aside from having a ton of playable depth, the Giants have also slugged an MLB-leading 14 pinch-hit home runs. 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. One of the most exciting defensive plays in baseball occurs when there is going to be a play at the plate. 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. 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. His strong defensive play definitely helped make up for the fact that he had a low OPS. Mantle's pure strength can be seen was demonstrated by the fact that he hit some of the longest home runs in baseball history. Sits in the Top Ten of draft. Vote for who you think are the best MLB outfielders currently playing in the league today . Oneil Cruz (Pirates): 97.9 mph 2. Or his game-saving throw from center field to the plate against the Red Sox in the 10th inning of Game 3 of the 2018 World Series. The MLB Tonight panel breaks . In 2015, Marte had a 16-1 number (A-DP) as part of perhaps baseball's best fielding outfield. His career OPS is 1.000, exactly. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? With big-name, big-money free agents, there is usually a question of how the player will respond in big games, big moments. But Ozuna is valued for his bat, for his advanced understanding of how pitchers will try to work against him. The 24-year-old has a 131 OPS+ with 23 doubles, 27 home runs and 76 RBI, and he has also made significant strides defensively at the hot corner. Or his 92 mph rocket from right to nail Stephen Strasburg at first base and preserve a Hyun-Jin Ryu no-hit bid on May 12. This prevented the Orioles from scoring that inning and the Pirates would go on to win the World Series. In Trout's only three games in the postseason, as the Angels were swept by the Royals in a 2014 division series, he went 1-for-12 with a solo home run and three walks. Yelich is 29 years old. He led the National League in outfield assists twice in his career. But the best of the best can fire lasers directly at their targets, from any position. LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting contract, Previewing the 2023 college baseball season: Teams and players to watch, key storylines, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, Ranking MLB's top 10 at each infield spot for 2021, Baseball's best arms: Ranking MLB's top 10 starters & relievers for 2021, Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's best teams, Free agency, trade talk, offseason news , Author of "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty". And I'm talking about strong arms, not merely accurate ones. Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox His nickname is Laser Ramn, so you already knew hed have to make this list. As in: This is the type of hitter I want to be; get out of my way.". 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. Buck Showalter, Mets. He also played a solid defensive center field in a 5.7 WAR season. September 10, 2021 | 00:05:48. If Stanton stays on the field in 2021, his production could swing many fantasy leagues. He might just be entering his throwing prime, making this the perfect time to claim his golden arm for my superplayer. Rather than ranking individual players, we set out to name the best multi-player units in baseball. The damage he did in the playoffs and World Series, against some of the best pitchers in the world, was absolutely staggering. He hit .281 with an .800 OPS after the All-Star break, and he capped off the season by winning his first Gold Glove. Amazingly, his arm was not the best part of his game defensively. A catch made high against the right field wall to take extra bases away from Ozuna. Share. 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. "There's a nuance to disciplined hitting that needs to become a habit. The 29-year-old proved that performance was sustainable over a full season this year, logging a 133 OPS+ while hitting .296/.346/.524 with 29 doubles, 32 home runs and 116 RBI. In the 60-game season, Bellinger hit .239 and was moved down in the lineup to the No. Hitting with discipline is something you elect to do. 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. 3. It has been suggested that the Indians have been cursed after trading Colavito, a fan favorite, to the Detroit Tigers in 1960. Over the past two seasons, he has a .393 on-base percentage, and an OPS+ of 140. The future of Florida's pitching staff is incredibly bright. Jesse Barfield had an incredibly strong and an incredibly accurate throwing arm. 6 spot. . Those are qualities the. His defensive abilities were rewarded as he received 10 Gold Gloves over the course of his career. The organization's top four prospects, including all three Top 100 representatives, play the outfield, headlined by 2022 breakout star Jackson Chourio. His 26 home runs trail only Salvador Perez among all backstops. The best player at the position was Ronald Acuna (.280 with 127 runs, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 steals . Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, PadresKey stat: 91.8 mph average max-effort arm strength in 2019. 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. Other choices were more complicated, particularly by the question of who might be more suited to be ranked among the designated hitters. Reels. Adj ER Saved - Our metric for catcher value in staff handling (similar to Catcher ERA but with important adjustments) On the back of plus-plus speed, Kiermaier shows off tremendous instincts for the position. The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. It's partially controllable. There are currently 13 relief pitchers on the injured list for the Rays, including standout closer Nick Anderson and hard-throwing setup man Pete Fairbanks. Tier 1: Ronald Acua Jr., Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper. Mookie is one of the best defensive right-fielders of all time. He has a 103 OPS+ with 22 home runs, 84 RBI and an NL-leading 32 doubles. Tier 4: Jeff McNeil, Byron Buxton, Wil Myers, Alex Verdugo, Joey Gallo, Jorge Soler, Tommy Pham, Kyle Lewis, Ramn Laureano, Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Brantley, Ian Happ, Dylan Moore, Eddie Rosario, Ryan Mountcastle, Dylan Carlson. He looks ready for a huge breakout season, after another year of offensive maturation. 22). Those being Eric Cross, Chris Clegg, Mick Ciallela, Justin Johnson, Jorge Montanez, David Mendelson . 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). Robert may have the higher ceiling of the two, but he also has the lower floor. Slowed by a variety of injuries in 2020, Bryant returned healthy and productive this year. 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. Then theres Stanton, who might be the biggest boom-or-bust pick in fantasy. But for now, it's not wholly clear whether the universal DH will be adopted for the 2021 season, despite the fact that both MLB and the Players Association want it. Statcast Statistics Player Batting 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | All March 1, 2023 5:25 pm ET. What follows is a ranking of the Top 10 left fielders in baseball. He made more consistent contact while maintaining his usual elite average exit velocity and hard-hit rate metrics. All of the sudden, the ball is at the base, and a runner who thought he had it made is out. His middling defense (-6 DRS, -4.8 UZR/150) and the time he missed kept him from ranking any higher. It must be noted here that Tatis did have an issue with throwing miscues that drove down his overall defensive value. 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. 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 24-year-old hit .251 with 10 homers, 10 steals and 42 runs in 59 games for the Padres last year. You can't go wrong taking him in the top five, either. The 30-year-old is hitting .268/.333/.482 for a 105 OPS+ with 22 doubles, 18 home runs and 66 RBI. The top 10 right fielders, based on input from folks around baseball: From Sarah Langs of MLB.com, about Betts: "He ended the year with a 93.3% contact rate on in-zone pitches, which led all hitters with at least 250 swings at in-zone pitches. The 27-year-old batted .308 last season, with a .534 slugging percentage. A.J. Statcast Leaders Baseball Savant Top Prospect Stats. The home run he stole from Freddie Freeman in the NLCS, his leap perfectly timed. Meusel threw strikes to any base from the outfield". 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? 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. Listen. His defensive metrics in center field (14 DRS, 12.1 UZR) helped him post a career-best 4.9 WAR season. Judges 12.5 AB/HR rate ranks fourth among players with 50-plus homers since the beginning of 2017. He is, by any measure, the best outfielder and player of his generation. In a down year by his standards, Betts was still a 4.2 WAR player. Minimum 800 innings 6. After a terrific finish to the 2019 season with the Chicago Cubs, Nick Castellanos signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds in free agency. There's still a chance we'll see him in the Majors before the end of April, however, so he's someone to keep in mind in the latter half of fantasy drafts. 1 spot. Adam Eaton, Chicago White Sox, Right field, 11, (14-3) Adam Eaton of the Chicago White Sox makes a run for it | Ezra Shaw/Getty Images. He is an OBP machine, a mini-Votto. February 13, 2023. 15 throws) with an average arm strength of 88.4 mph on max-effort throws -- a.k.a. Honorable Mention:Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals. That duo has started all but one game behind the dish for the Rays this year and posted the following combined stat line in the process: Zunino, 30, was an All-Star for the first time this year. Myles Straw, Houston Astros/Cleveland Guardians. We are simply looking for which team has the most productive unit this season. You need to do it all to be an MVP these days. 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). He is widely seen as defensively challenged and although he is just 30, his future is clearly going to be at DH. The Mariners sent pitchers Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, Anthony Swarzak and outfielder Jay Bruce to Seattle for infielder Robinson Cano and pitcher Edwin Diaz. In the short 2020 season, he had more walks (49) than strikeouts (43). Mar 22, 2021. Geraldo Perdomo (D-backs): 96.7 mph 3. Play Ball Youth Baseball & Softball. The club also traded away Diego Castillo at the deadline in exchange for JT Chargois and Austin Shenton. Once regarded as injury-prone, the 28-year-old has missed only 10 games over the past three years combined, averaging 36 homers, 107 RBIs, 105 runs and 16 steals per 162 games in that span. Abreu's strong arm helped him win his only Gold Glove in 2005. Williams loved to talk hitting, and through the last years of his life, he developed friendships with the likes of Tony Gwynn. He . 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. The 29-year-old opted out of the final two years of his contract shortly after the World Series concluded. 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. March 1, 2023. The question that resonated at the end of October is about the best position player on the planet -- Betts, or Mike Trout? Ichiro has the strongest and most powerful arm of any outfielder in the major leagues today. Translation: Realmuto dominates the catcher throwing department. In five-and-two-thirds career innings, Colavito only gave up one hit. All told, he hit .333 with 17 homers and a 1.158 OPS over 43 games in 2020. The aisle of youth had two of the best young arms in Cuba but Raisel Iglesias and Yoan Lopez now represent two of the best Cuban arms in the Majors. Scouts noted that he has a plus arm in the. Honorable Mentions: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. Acuna was squarely among the NL MVP front-runners when he suffered a season-ending torn ACL on July 10. With the unique 2020 season behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the hot stove season. That Betts is the best right fielder in the game is assumed. He has taken to the outfield and his plus-plus arm shuts down running games. Catch up on the 2021 MLB Player Rankings series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen,. 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. But despite all of that offensive imperfection, the lasting impression Betts left behind is that of the closest thing you can have to a perfect player in a sport filled with moments of failure. He also slugged 38 home runs while winning his second straight Gold Glove. 20. To qualify for inclusion, a player had to have at least 200 plate appearances. Speaker is the MLB record holder for most career outfield assists with 449. Trent Grisham, San Diego Padres Wilmer Flores (358 PA, 102 OPS+, 15 HR, 44 RBI), LaMonte Wade Jr. (249 PA, 123 OPS+, 16 HR, 41 RBI) and Darin Ruf (230 PA, 151 OPS+, 14 HR, 33 RBI)have all been extremely productive in utility roles. This is a pretty straight forward category. Since there are three times as many outfielders as there are other positions on the diamond, it made sense to tack an honorable mention list of 25 guys onto our top 25 list. In his first 303 games in the big leagues, he has a .380 OBP and an .859 OPS. Need more power? Yes, Gallo hit .160 with a 38.6 percent strikeout rate after the Rangers traded him to the Yankees.