Through all the excess options, it becomes even more important to find the top values and to not settle for "good enough" production. 3. Despite only having played 15 seasons, Abreu is second on the active list for outfield assists with 132. The third tier is filled with enticing players, but its also rife with uncertainty. Minimum 800 innings 6. Milwaukee Brewers Top 30 prospects list 2023 preseason - mlb.com Dynamic Outfield Trio May Provide Nucleus For Seattle Mariners - Forbes Martinez, Charlie Blackmon, Teoscar Hernndez, Austin Meadows, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The league may have changed the rules on shifting . As a 28-year-old rookie, Garcia posted a 101 OPS+ with 31 home runs, 90 RBI and 16 steals, and he was a surprise All-Star for the rebuilding Rangers. 2022 Staff Consensus Top-80 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Rankings 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. Which outfielder has the strongest arm 2021? We're focusing solely on 2021 production, so previous track record and future projections were not a factor. After fielding the fly ball, Clemente unleashed a rocket that cause Retterman to retreat back to third base. Speaker was mentioned in Bill James' Baseball Abstract of having the best arm of anyone who played between 1910-1919. Mookie is one of the best defensive right-fielders of all time. Carlos Correa (Twins): 95.0 mph 5. 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. He did it across 72 games and 322 plate appearances on a Washington Nationals team that was floundering at the bottom of the NL East standings. No position in fantasy baseball is deeper than the outfield. 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. Sun's out, guns out. Reels. Carl Furillo's right arm earned him the nickname, "The Reading Rifle". 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. 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. While his .286 on-base percentage and 31.2 percent strikeout rate leave something to be desired, he was a stellar defender (16 DRS, 11.8 UZR/150) to go along with his power production in a 3.8 WAR season. Mays had 195 career outfield assists and he won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves. His contract and track record mean more is expected of him, but he was still a top-15 outfielder. Ha-Seong Kim (Padres): 95.2 mph 4. Statcast Leaders Baseball Savant Top Prospect Stats. Speaker also holds the unique record for most unassisted double plays by an outfielder with six. 6 spot. Speaker is the MLB record holder for most career outfield assists with 449. He scored 15 runs in 18 postseason games, reminded everyone that he's the best baserunner in the game -- and then there was his defense, with layer upon layer of highlights. What follows is a ranking of the Top 10 left fielders in baseball. 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. His 26 home runs trail only Salvador Perez among all backstops. Jarren Duran Brings New Swing to Spring | FanGraphs Baseball 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. Castellanos and Blackmon, meanwhile, faded dramatically after blazing starts. It's possible Ozuna will sign with an NL team and play left field most of the time. Ichiro has won a Gold Glove all 10 years that he has been in the major leagues. 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. But imagine him with this cannon attached to his shoulder. Share. 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Outfielders Rankings, Consensus Preseason Mondesi has a tattoo of a cannon shooting out a baseball on his right arm. Honorable Mention: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays. His middling defense (-6 DRS, -4.8 UZR/150) and the time he missed kept him from ranking any higher. 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. 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 . Bryson Worrell - Baseball - East Carolina University Athletics Myles Straw, Houston Astros/Cleveland Guardians. A.J. To qualify for inclusion, a player had to have at least 200 plate appearances. 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. In 2015, Marte had a 16-1 number (A-DP) as part of perhaps baseball's best fielding outfield. They've responded with an MLB-best 3.05 ERA. Meusel threw strikes to any base from the outfield". His defensive metrics in center field (14 DRS, 12.1 UZR) helped him post a career-best 4.9 WAR season. Top 10 MLB Outfielders for 2022 | Just Baseball But given his offensive production and impact at the top of the lineup, that's more than enough to make him an extremely valuable all-around player. 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. All told, he hit .333 with 17 homers and a 1.158 OPS over 43 games in 2020. February 26, 2023. 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. Previous picks: DJ LeMahieu (hit), Aaron Judge (power), Ronald Acua Jr. (run), Matt Chapman (defense). With the Astros first pick the 2021 draft, they took a prospect who fell right in their laps. Bonds had a strong throwing arm even before he began to bulk up. Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Count on these outfielders to shine The goal is to decide which team has the best catchers, infielders, outfielders, bench, starting pitchers and relief pitchers. Quinn said, "Meusel's arm was the best I ever saw. In Game 6 of the 1971 World Series, Clemente showed off this arm on a fly ball hit by Frank Robinson. The 10 greatest outfield arms in Texas Rangers' history - Nolan Writin' Meusel is another player on this list gaining recognition from Bill James as having the strongest outfield arm in the majors during his playing years (1920s). 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. We're going to try something a little different. The 27-year-old also has a perfect 99 reaction time rating, 86 arm strength, and 81 arm accuracy. What is particularly impressive about Mantiply, though, is that literally every single . Stadium MLB insider Russell Dorsey breaks down who the top five outfield arms in MLB are. The 27-year-old already has career-highs in OPS+ (109), hits (126), doubles (29), home runs (25) and RBI (75). 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. He struggled in 2020, with his slugging percentage (.312) matching his on-base percentage. Chicago Cubs Top Prospects | Just Baseball 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. He went three rounds without hitting a home run, and had one extra-base hit in the seven-game National League Championship Series against the Braves. Here are this years top fantasy outfielders, broken down into tiers. Despite his great arm, Gorbous only managed to play three seasons in the major leagues. 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. Pete Crow-Armstrong 'best defender' among outfield prospects - NBC With Merv Retterman on third base, Robinson knocked the ball more than 300 feet deep in center field. Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's best outfielders - ESPN.com has him drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Martinez started cold and never recovered last season, and Meadows was never right after dealing with COVID-19 in July. Bellinger could be a great pick for any tool -- hit, power, speed, glove or arm. he Boston Red Sox outfield exceeded expectations in 2021. 2. 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. 14. 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. Still two years away from arbitration, he will be a cornerstone player for the cost-conscious Rays. In 2019, it was all about arm strength for Laureano. Before he retired in the middle the 2010 season, Junior was the active leader in outfield assists with 154. 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. 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. 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. Since the start of 2019, all of Duran's time in the outfield has been played exclusively at center, a position probably best suited for his elite speed and average to below-average arm. As a matter of fact, the consensus top two outfielders Mike Trout and Mookie Betts also are considered the two best overall players in MLB. He racked up 4.7 WAR despite missing 35 games early in the season with a fractured rib. The 29-year-old hit .309/.429/.615 to lead the majors in OPS+ (179). Statcast Statistics Player Batting 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | All Why the Twins' outfield defense could be baseball's best Kyle Schwarber, Washington Nationals/Boston Red Sox. Cobb is widely regarded as one of the best baseball players in the history of the game. 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. The Yankees re-signed Brett Gardner, but they may finally give Frazier a chance to play every day. 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. He even threw a ball 100.8 mph on April 21, though it didnt result in an assist. He also quietly held his own in right field (3 DRS, 2.0 UZR/150) after posting negative defensive metrics in left field previously, and his 7.1 WAR led all outfielders and ranked fifth among all players in 2021. It simply looks at outfield arm strength. Regardless of who the Rays plug into the pen, they continue to find success. The Mariners sent pitchers Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, Anthony Swarzak and outfielder Jay Bruce to Seattle for infielder Robinson Cano and pitcher Edwin Diaz. Rather than ranking individual players, we set out to name the best multi-player units in baseball. 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. Major League Baseball is loaded with talent in 2021, and the outfield is where you'll find some of the game's biggest stars. ESPN's Paul Hembekides sent this along: "I think his issues in 2020 stem from a lack of confidence -- he just stopped swinging. Among players with at least 200 plate appearances last season, the 23-year-old had the fourth-highest chase rate, the third-highest whiff rate and the sixth-highest strikeout rate, making him a high-risk, high-reward pick in the early rounds. Two seasons into his 13-year deal with the Phillies, his production has been excellent -- a .385 on-base percentage, an OPS+ of 134, 139 runs in 215 games. 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.