Ramirez is fourth among active outfielders with 129 career assists. with only his head and one arm free.The . The tattoo was earned, as Mondesi had one of the strongest arms in baseball in the 1990s. What follows is a ranking of the Top 10 left fielders in baseball. 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). Craig Counsell, Brewers. Realmuto, C, PhilliesKey stat: 46.7 percent caught stealing rate in 2019. The guy who seemed to be in complete control of his plate appearances in his dominant seasons suddenly looked incredibly confused. 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. One of the most exciting defensive plays in baseball occurs when there is going to be a play at the plate. He also has a career-high 16 steals in 18 attempts and provides Gold Glove-caliber defense. Soto, in my opinion, has that. His career OPS is 1.000, exactly. The two-time Gold Glove winner had five seasons in which he had more than 10 assists. 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. All three of those guys could finish in the top 10 in NL Cy Young voting, but the staff goes deeper than that trio. Laureanos arm is best known for the throw mentioned above, which resulted in a double play after he caught a fly ball hit by Justin Upton at Angel Stadium. A former Gold Glove winner in left field, he is a roughly average defender in center field. Few players have joined an organization under more challenging circumstances than Verdugo faced when he went to the Red Sox. However, the slugger has missed nearly a full seasons worth of games (142) over the past three years due to an assortment of injuries, which is something for fantasy managers to keep in mind. 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. The home run he stole from Freddie Freeman in the NLCS, his leap perfectly timed. One important stipulation: Each player could only be selected for one of the five tools. Thursday, it's outfielders -- the top 10 left fielders, center fielders and right fielders. 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. 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With the Astros first pick the 2021 draft, they took a prospect who fell right in their laps. To qualify for inclusion, a player had to have at least 200 plate appearances. 17. "He's a hitting outlier," Votto responded. 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. Yelich is 29 years old. Previous picks: Jeff McNeil (hit), Gary Snchez (power), Tim Locastro (run), Victor Robles (defense), Javier Bez, SS, CubsKey stat: Five assists over 90 mph in 2019. Those are qualities the. Welcome to Bleacher Report's final positional rankings of the 2021 MLB season! 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. 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. he Boston Red Sox outfield exceeded expectations in 2021. At 321 feet, it was the longest on-the-fly throw for an outfield assist tracked by Statcast (since 2015). Honorable Mention: Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. It's partially controllable. Kaline, also known as Mr. Tiger, made his major league debut at age 18. In five-and-two-thirds career innings, Colavito only gave up one hit. 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. In the 60-game season, Bellinger hit .239 and was moved down in the lineup to the No. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and accurate through Monday's games. He looks ready for a huge breakout season, after another year of offensive maturation. There just isn't another divisional outfield duo that comes very close. 15 throws) with an average arm strength of 88.4 mph on max-effort throws -- a.k.a. O'Neill won a Gold Glove last season, but he hit only .173 with a 70 OPS+ and 0.9 WAR in 50 games, tallying just 12 extra-base hits in 157 plate appearances. 2023 MLB Top 30 Prospects; Rankings; Players; Draft; Store; . The 26-year-old made notable strides at the plate in 2020, posting the best chase rate (14.1%, second lowest in MLB), walk rate (15.6%), hard-hit rate (43.2%) and barrel rate (12.5%) of his career. Arozarena is coming off a postseason for the ages, on top of a strong finish in the regular season. Even at age 36, Ichiro was consistently able to throw out runners trying to take an extra base. Along with the 89 games he played in the outfield, he also spent time at second base (46), shortstop (23) and third base (11). Ken Griffey Jr. may have been the greatest player in baseball history had injuries not plagued him during his career. In addition to the fact that he ran the fastest ever-recorded 40-meter time at the NFL combine (4.08 seconds), the two-sport star had one of the best arms in baseball history. 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 well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No. But that represents the bulk of the 26-year-olds big league experience. 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. Previous picks: DJ LeMahieu (hit), Aaron Judge (power), Ronald Acua Jr. (run), Matt Chapman (defense). That notably excluded Mike Trout (146 PA). But his range of skills at this stage of his baseball life is so extraordinary -- the defense, the baserunning -- that Bellinger is still a great player even when he's not swinging great. Judges 12.5 AB/HR rate ranks fourth among players with 50-plus homers since the beginning of 2017. This is a pretty straight forward category. A 2021 20th-round pick . Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers; Eddie Rosario, free agent; Andrew Benintendi, Boston Red Sox; Robbie Grossman, Detroit Tigers; Clint Frazier, New York Yankees. The 26-year-old had 32 doubles, 20 home runs, 20 steals and 94 runs scored, and he was a Gold Glove finalist in left field. This prevented the Orioles from scoring that inning and the Pirates would go on to win the World Series. Through Williams's age 21 year -- two seasons -- he had 203 walks, 54 homers and an OPS of 1.041 in 293 games. Ramirez has never won a Gold Glove and he is thought of more for his offensive prowess than his defensive abilities. He also improved dramatically on defense, recording +2 Outs Above Average after finishing at -13 in just 53 games in the field in 2019, so his glove is no longer a reason to keep him out of the lineup. Here's everything we know, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies, From bubble struggles to NCAA seed improvement, why these final weekend games matter, Foden's return to form helps mask De Bruyne's troubles, Nelson sends Arsenal into euphoria with last-gasp winner over Bournemouth. If Stanton stays on the field in 2021, his production could swing many fantasy leagues. If you don't have coaching that can support that, then the player needs to be very stubborn with his thinking, which, in my opinion, requires a strong independence. Brewers: The Crew has the Central's best outfield, led by Christian Yelich in right field and Lorenzo Cain in center. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. 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. Slowed by a variety of injuries in 2020, Bryant returned healthy and productive this year. 5. Crow-Armstrong soaking in first Spring Training with Cubs. His OPS+ is 176 -- a standard surpassed by only four players: Babe Ruth (206), Ted Williams (191), Barry Bonds (182) and Lou Gehrig (179). . 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. The speedy Straw was an everyday player for the first time in 2021, first replacing George Springer in center field in Houston before the Astros traded him to Cleveland at the deadline. But the best of the best can fire lasers directly at their targets, from any position. In his first 303 games in the big leagues, he has a .380 OBP and an .859 OPS. Who Are the Best Outfield Arms in MLB? Honorable Mention: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays. Shortstops with the highest max arm strength, 2022 1. Free shipping for many products! He has taken to the outfield and his plus-plus arm shuts down running games. 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. Other choices were more complicated, particularly by the question of who might be more suited to be ranked among the designated hitters. He hit .310/.383/.458 with 42 extra-base hits and 47 steals in 52 attempts to lead the majors. 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. Giants Sign Carlos Correa to 13-Year, $350 Million Deal Dansby Swanson's Market Is Heating Up Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox In per-game DRS among all MLB. 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? Pitchers are on the other end of Soto's will, as well. These guys. Trent Grisham, San Diego Padres 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. 10. Not just mine, but any site's rankings of outfielders will not be . Regardless of who the Rays plug into the pen, they continue to find success. Cobb is also remembered for his feisty attitude and his aggressive playing style. Through all the excess options, it becomes even more important to find the top values and to not settle for "good enough" production. Teel is an excellent athlete with a strong arm, and has a good swing with excellent hand acceleration, but he had some bad BABIP luck last year and hit just .276/.402/.439, a drop from his strong . 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. 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. Castellanos and Blackmon, meanwhile, faded dramatically after blazing starts. With club control through the 2025 season, he is a long-term building block for the O's. News. Geraldo Perdomo (D-backs): 96.7 mph 3. The Yankees re-signed Brett Gardner, but they may finally give Frazier a chance to play every day. Jackson is known most for his alleged participation in the Black Sox Scandal and the fact that he was banned from baseball by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis following the 1920 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. 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 . In the third season of his massive 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, there was no question that Bryce Harper lived up to his salary. In 2015, Marte had a 16-1 number (A-DP) as part of perhaps baseball's best fielding outfield. Tabbed as the 58th-best outfield prospect nationally (D1Baseball). Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays You can't go wrong taking him in the top five, either. There was a lot of debate during the truncated season why Yelich struggled so much -- and there's no disputing that his troubles were acute, something more than a slump. 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. His shoulder first began giving him problems in . With free agency looming after the 2022 season, another performance like that would set him up for a huge payday next winter. Then theres Stanton, who might be the biggest boom-or-bust pick in fantasy. He also once again took home Gold Glove honors in a 6.3 WAR season. 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. 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). 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. Pete Crow-Armstrong named among top OF prospects in MLB 38M ago / by James Neveau Cubs hicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has been turning heads with his skills both at the plate and on defense, and a new ranking lands him among the best outfield prospects in the game. It's not like swinging hard and hitting a ball 115 mph. 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. The 21-year-old had 23 homers and 20 steals in the Minors in 2019, but thats the only full Minor League season hes played, and the left adductor muscle strain he suffered in his fourth Cactus League game spoiled any chance he had of cracking the Mariners Opening Day roster. He might just be entering his throwing prime, making this the perfect time to claim his golden arm for my superplayer. $0.99 MLB Tonight: Outfield Arm. He's not just an MVP-caliber hitter; he has one of the strongest outfield arms in the league. Each writer provided anywhere from 80-100+ outfielders so we could create our consensus top-80. 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. NHL trade deadline: Winners and losers, including the Bruins, Devils and Bruce Boudreau? Springer has been one of the most productive outfielders in the game over the past five years, and he has joined up with a Blue Jays team that averaged 5.03 runs per game in 2020. Even though Meusel played just 11 seasons, he still recorded 157 outfield assists. The third tier is filled with enticing players, but its also rife with uncertainty. Tatis, of course, was a sensation in just about every way as a rookie in 2019, and his throwing ability was no exception. But that seemed to be more about a rookie being overly aggressive than anything else. His swing rate on all pitches dipped to 35% (in '20), which ranked 141st among 142 qualified hitters. Kelenic had a rough rookie year for. In addition to his impressive offensive numbers, Cobb also thrilled fans with his arm. An intercostal strain limited Winker to only one game after Aug. 15. Honorable Mentions: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. Vote for who you think are the best MLB outfielders currently playing in the league today . Despite his 2020 postseason heroics, Arozarena entered the 2021 season with rookie eligibility, and he wound up leading all rookies with 4.1 WAR. The outfield will be the foundation of many fantasy teams in 2021. Statcast Statistics Player Batting 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | All 3. Bonds had a strong throwing arm even before he began to bulk up. 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. 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. 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. In the short 2020 season, he had more walks (49) than strikeouts (43). We are simply looking for which team has the most productive unit this season. 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. But with several intriguing free-agent outfielders available this winter, Chaim Bloom and Co. could look to add some depth at the position. A good spring could get the 29-year-old on the 40-man roster. Simply speaking, Mantiply has become the epitome of control. The damage he did in the playoffs and World Series, against some of the best pitchers in the world, was absolutely staggering. Speaker is the MLB record holder for most career outfield assists with 449. Seven of the first 15 players in MLB.com's player rankings are outfielders, including four of the top five. As another player the Arizona Diamondbacks gave away, Adam Eaton continually shows himself to be a gritty . MLB fans were up in arms on Friday afternoon because of an absurd shift used during a Spring Training game. In the third season of a five-year, $60 million contract, Pollock enjoyed his best season in a Dodgers uniform, hitting .297/.355/.536 for a 137 OPS+ with 27 doubles, 21 home runs and 69 RBI. 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. With George Springer, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert all missing considerable time and Cody Bellinger struggling through a down year, the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers narrowly missed the cut for the title of MLB's best outfield unit in 2021. 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. They've responded with an MLB-best 3.05 ERA. 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. However, he was also a 4.2 WAR player at the time of the trade. Mike Yastrzemski, San Francisco Giants. That leaves the Cincinnati Reds as the pick. 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. For your basic .520/.647/1.160 slash line. The Venezuela native surged three levels in his age-18 season, showing off plus power and 70-grade speed on his way to becoming the No. Hitting with discipline is something you elect to do. Scott Pianowski continues his tiered positional rankings by examining the outfield landscape for 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. 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). Starling Marte made a unique bit of history in 2021, becoming the first player in MLB history with at least 20 stolen bases in both leagues in the same season. 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. Runners will not even try to advance extra bases when the ball is in Ichiro's hands. 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. 20. The Mariners sent pitchers Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, Anthony Swarzak and outfielder Jay Bruce to Seattle for infielder Robinson Cano and pitcher Edwin Diaz. Free agency, trade talk, offseason news . At age 19, Kaline recorded 16 of his career 170 outfield assists. His arm was so powerful, that while pitching for his mill league, Jackson once broke a catchers arm and was subsequently moved to the outfield because no one wanted to catch for him. 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. 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. I want my superplayer to own a cannon and have shown time and time again that he can be accurate with it. The 29-year-old opted out of the final two years of his contract shortly after the World Series concluded. Meusel threw strikes to any base from the outfield". In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. Its certainly not about skill, and combined with Simmons fundamentals and defensive savvy, look out. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2021 Topps Series One Baseball MONTE HARRISON Rookie Base #126 Miami Marlins RC at the best online prices at eBay! There's no doubting that the Chicago Cubs farm system is vastly improved from where it was in 2021. T. Alex Verdugo, Kik Hernandez, and Hunter Renfroe were Boston's primary outfielders last season.