It’s time to shift our focus to my OF rankings with the infield all wrapped up, . Given the standard roto rosters outfield will always have the most players drafted so developing a good strategy to approach the position is especially important.
If you’ve checked out any of my other positional ranks this year you’ve noticed I’m trying out a new format. Instead of tiered commentary I’ve broken down my analysis into two sections; overall draft approach to the position and thoughts on individual players. Hope you enjoy the new setup and as always I’d love to hear your feedback.
Note: I’m using a combination of Yahoo and ESPN positional eligibility which cumulatively will be more lenient than some individual sites so a few players you see here may not actually be OF eligible in your league. Additionally, I’m including players who are expected to gain OF eligibility in-season.
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C | 1B | 2B| 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
| Player | Rank | League | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Trout | 1 | AL | Angels |
| Mookie Betts | 2 | AL | Red Sox |
| Kris Bryant | 3 | NL | Cubs |
| Bryce Harper | 4 | NL | Nationals |
| Charlie Blackmon | 5 | NL | Rockies |
| Trea Turner | 6 | NL | Nationals |
| Ryan Braun | 7 | NL | Brewers |
| Nelson Cruz | 8 | AL | Mariners |
| Starling Marte | 9 | NL | Pirates |
| George Springer | 10 | AL | Astros |
| A.J. Pollock | 11 | NL | D'backs |
| Carlos Gonzalez | 12 | NL | Rockies |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 13 | NL | Marlins |
| Andrew McCutchen | 14 | NL | Pirates |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 15 | NL | Mets |
| Justin Upton | 16 | AL | Tigers |
| Gregory Polanco | 17 | NL | Pirates |
| Christian Yelich | 18 | NL | Marlins |
| Khris Davis | 19 | AL | A's |
| Mark Trumbo | 20 | AL | Orioles |
| Kyle Schwarber | 21 | NL | Cubs |
| Matt Kemp | 22 | NL | Braves |
| Adam Jones | 23 | AL | Orioles |
| Jose Bautista | 24 | AL | Blue Jays |
| J.D. Martinez | 25 | AL | Tigers |
| Ian Desmond | 26 | NL | Rockies |
| Billy Hamilton | 27 | NL | Reds |
| Stephen Piscotty | 28 | NL | Cardinals |
| Jackie Bradley | 29 | AL | Red Sox |
| Lorenzo Cain | 30 | AL | Royals |
| Odubel Herrera | 31 | NL | Phillies |
| Adam Eaton | 32 | NL | Nationals |
| Miguel Sano | 33 | AL | Twins |
| Jose Ramirez | 34 | AL | Indians |
| Adam Duvall | 35 | NL | Reds |
| Kole Calhoun | 36 | AL | Angels |
| Andrew Benintendi | 37 | AL | Red Sox |
| Marcell Ozuna | 38 | NL | Marlins |
| Dexter Fowler | 39 | NL | Cardinals |
| Hunter Pence | 40 | NL | Giants |
| Wilson Contreras | 41 | NL | Cubs |
| Joc Pederson | 42 | NL | Dodgers |
| David Dahl | 43 | NL | Rockies |
| Eric Thames | 44 | NL | Brewers |
| Byron Buxton | 45 | AL | Twins |
| Carlos Gomez | 46 | AL | Astros |
| Nomar Mazara | 47 | AL | Rangers |
| Randal Grichuk | 48 | NL | Cardinals |
| Yasmany Tomas | 49 | NL | D'backs |
| Jay Bruce | 50 | NL | Mets |
| Carlos Beltran | 51 | AL | Astros |
| Michael Brantley | 52 | AL | Indians |
| Ben Zobrist | 53 | NL | Cubs |
| Keon Broxton | 54 | NL | Brewers |
| Ender Inciarte | 55 | NL | Braves |
| Jose Peraza | 56 | NL | Reds |
| Melky Cabrera | 57 | AL | White Sox |
| Yasiel Puig | 58 | NL | Dodgers |
| Kevin Kiermaier | 59 | AL | Rays |
| Curtis Granderson | 60 | NL | Mets |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 61 | AL | Yankees |
| Rajai Davis | 62 | AL | A's |
| Hunter Renfroe | 63 | NL | Padres |
| Domingo Santana | 64 | NL | Brewers |
| Matt Holliday | 65 | AL | Yankees |
| David Peralta | 66 | NL | D'backs |
| Max Kepler | 67 | AL | Twins |
| Corey Dickerson | 68 | AL | Rays |
| Jarrod Dyson | 69 | AL | Mariners |
| Brett Gardner | 70 | AL | Yankees |
| Jason Heyward | 71 | NL | Cubs |
| Michael Conforto | 72 | NL | Mets |
| Jorge Soler | 73 | AL | Royals |
| Mitch Haniger | 74 | AL | Mariners |
| Manuel Margot | 75 | NL | Padres |
| Josh Reddick | 76 | AL | Astros |
| Hernan Perez | 77 | NL | Brewers |
| Leonys Martin | 78 | AL | Mariners |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 79 | AL | Rangers |
| Kevin Pillar | 80 | AL | Blue Jays |
| Cameron Maybin | 81 | AL | Angels |
| Brandon Moss | 82 | AL | Royals |
| Scott Schebler | 83 | NL | Reds |
| Danny Valencia | 84 | AL | Mariners |
| Travis Jankowski | 85 | NL | Padres |
| Jayson Werth | 86 | NL | Nationals |
| Tyler Naquin | 87 | AL | Indians |
| Alex Gordon | 88 | AL | Royals |
| Denard Span | 89 | NL | Giants |
| Steven Souza | 90 | AL | Rays |
| Michael Saunders | 91 | NL | Phillies |
| Brandon Drury | 92 | NL | D'backs |
| Seth Smith | 93 | AL | Orioles |
| Nick Markakis | 94 | NL | Braves |
| Andrew Toles | 95 | NL | Dodgers |
| Roman Quinn | 96 | NL | Phillies |
| Howie Kendrick | 97 | NL | Phillies |
| Aaron Judge | 98 | AL | Yankees |
| Chris Owings | 99 | NL | D'backs |
| Gerardo Parra | 100 | NL | Rockies |
Positional Strategy
- It pays to grab a couple high-end options early.
- Don’t be afraid to draft a pair of top 20 outfielders in the first 4 or 5 rounds.
- I like the depth at several of the infield spots more so than OF so this is actually preferable to waiting on the position.
- Don’t be afraid to draft a pair of top 20 outfielders in the first 4 or 5 rounds.
- Don’t reach for unproven rookies.
- Their ADP has dropped some over the last few weeks, but I was never on board with drafting David Dahl or Andrew Benintendi as top 30 outfielders.
- Aside from incredibly small samples sizes, I find the lack of a single dominant skill makes projecting these players particularly difficult.
- Their ADP has dropped some over the last few weeks, but I was never on board with drafting David Dahl or Andrew Benintendi as top 30 outfielders.
- I almost always try to grab at least one of the high risk-high reward power/speed guys (Carlos Gomez, Byron Buxton, Keon Broxton, etc…).
- Roster construction has to be considered when you do this as all of these players have the potential to be huge batting average liabilities and in the case of Buxton and Broxton, lose playing time because of it.
- At the same time, I prefer the ability to kill two birds with one stone if you will rather than reaching twice for a combination of say Adam Duvall and Jarrod Dyson.
- Roster construction has to be considered when you do this as all of these players have the potential to be huge batting average liabilities and in the case of Buxton and Broxton, lose playing time because of it.
- Try to avoid relying on one-trick ponies for all your steals.
- Billy Hamilton might be an exception just because he’s such an outlier, but I’m not actively targeting guys like Travis Jankowski or Jarrod Dyson.
- While this is easier said than done, Kevin Kiermaier, Ender Inciarte and Leonys Martin are a few late round options who can provide steals without hurting you as much in the other categories.
- Billy Hamilton might be an exception just because he’s such an outlier, but I’m not actively targeting guys like Travis Jankowski or Jarrod Dyson.
Player Notes
- I’m not worried about Nelson Cruz’s age.
- It seems like people have been expecting a drop-off for the last three years and it just hasn’t happened
- Playing DH is helping him stay healthy and the Mariners may have one of the strongest lineups in the AL this season.
- I don’t expect to have many, if any shares of Starling Marte this season.
- Given the park and his poor plate discipline I don’t think he’s ever going to be more than a 12-15-homer guy and I need at least average power from my top outfielder.
- Don’t overlook Matt Kemp.
- He’s streaky, but Atlanta’s lineup really came together in the second half of last season and their new park is expected to be more power friendly.
- While I can’t rank him there yet, I can easily see Kemp performing similarly to Andrew McCutchen or Yoenis Cespedes and he’s coming at a 40 pick discount.
- He’s streaky, but Atlanta’s lineup really came together in the second half of last season and their new park is expected to be more power friendly.
- Matt Holliday and Corey Dickerson should provide great value late in drafts.
- Park and lineup are key for Holliday, add in the health benefit of playing DH and he’s a 20 homer 80 RBI guy going outside the top 240
- Going from Colorado to Tampa killed Dickerson’s average last season, but the counting numbers were still useful.
- He’s talented enough to make the necessary adjustments so I’d expect him to hit closer to .270 in 2017.
