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//  Saturday, July 31, 2010

Fantasy Baseball Preview: Outfielders Part 2

Saturday, March 6, 2010
Posted by John Shields

Alright, so I admit I made a boo-boo in my last piece. I can sit here honestly and say I truly have no idea on why or how I miscounted, but when choosing my top 10 fantasy outfielders, I somehow added one extra. So when you view this list, this is why there are 11 players on here, even though it was supposed to be a top 10. I will just count down from 11 to 1 and the rankings on my other Outfielders article will just pick up at 12. I apologize for this miscalculation and I will seek out the source of my error so it does not occur again. So here it is my “Top 10” Outfielders counting down from # 11:

11. Jason Bay – New York Mets (.267 AVG, 36 HR, 119 RBIs): Although Bay is moving to a more spacious ballpark in New York, there is little doubt that he will not continue to produce at the high rate he has been doing recently. He will most likely hit behind a healthy Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo which will provide him plenty of RBI chances this season. Look for the power numbers to dip a slight amount, but his RBI total to remain just about the same as it has been.

10. Jayson Werth – Philadelphia Phillies (.268 AVG, 36 HR, 99 RBIs): It seems that just a few years ago, Werth was sitting injured in a Dodgers’ organization from which he was released and signed with the Phillies. A lot has changed for the budding superstar. He is quickly becoming a household name and should demand a large pay raise at the end of his current contract. Aside from his average (.264 for his career), he fills the entire stat sheet with the capabilities of stealing 20 bases (which he did last year) which makes him even more valuable. He once again sits in a stacked Phillies lineup and this would lead one to believe that he will have another great season.

9. Ichiro Suzuki – Seattle Mariners (.352 AVG, 11 HR, 46 RBIs): I have read a few previews that have listen Ichiro as slowly on the decline.  To those writers, I say this; Ichiro’s amazing yearly numbers are numbers that only certain players dream of having. The fact that he is having them well into his mid 30s (as he is 36 right now) proves that he is still a quality ball player. He will give your fantasy team 200 plus hits and over 90 runs scored and at least 25 steals while keeping the average over .300. If this is a serious decline for Ichiro, I would love to see him at the top of his game.

8. Jacoby Ellsbury – Boston Red Soxs (.301 AVG, 8 HR, 60 RBI): Ellsbury’s greatest asset is indeed his speed as he stole a career high 70 bases last season. That alone would make him worthy of a very high draft pick. To go along with those steals, he also will hit about .300 and score close to, if not over, 100 runs thanks to Boston’s thunderous lineup. There is no reason to think that he will not repeat what he has done last year in this upcoming season. Draft high.

7. Andre Ethier – Los Angeles Dodgers (.272 AVG, 31 HR, 106 RBI): On the field, Eithier will probably the most valuable Dodgers’ outfielder this season. However in fantasy, he still trails teammate Matt Kemp. This doesn’t mean that Eithier will not produce great things in the fantasy realm this upcoming season.  Last season was just the beginning of stardom for the 27 year old budding superstar. He wont steal you many bases, but he will hit in the middle of a pretty impressive Dodger lineup and have continuous opportunities to drive in runs. Look for a big season out of this left hander.

6. Grady Sizemore – Cleveland Indians (.248 AVG, 18 HR, 64 RBI): One of the few 5-tool players out there, Sizemore played through an injury plagued season last year and still put up somewhat decent numbers. It is true his average is dipping, but with a full plate of health, there is no reason to think that it could not creep back up again this year. He has tremendous power, will knock in a large number of runs and is going to steal you a bunch of bases. Like I said, he is one of the few 5-tool players and should be drafted highly.

5. Matt Holliday – St. Louis Cardinals (.313 AVG, 24 HR, 109 RBIs): Holliday received an energy boost after his trade back to the National League in the middle of last season. Hitting behind the best player in the game, Albert Pujols, and in front of another quality slugger in Ryan Ludwick, should make it a very successful year for the Cardinals newest high paid superstar. He should be on the top of any draft board.

4. Carl Crawford – Tampa Bay Rays (.305 AVG, 15 HR, 68 RBI): What you see from Crawford is what you get; an above average batting average with a decent amount of home runs and RBIs with an overwhelming number of runs scored and stolen bases. Last season he set a career high in steals with 60 of them. His slugging and OBP also greatly increased from 2008 so there is no reason to believe he will not keep it up this season. Draft Crawford high.

3. Matt Kemp – Los Angeles Dodgers (.297 AVG, 26 HR, 101 RBI): Kemp, like Sizemore, is a member of the rare breed of 5-tool players. He has constantly hit for a high average, while showing he has serious power in his ability to hit 25 plus home runs last season. He also drove in over 100 and scored just under 100 runs last year, oh yea and he stole 34 bases to go along with all those other great numbers. I think after having said all this, I think there is little doubt that he should be pretty high on your draft board come draft day.

2. Justin Upton – Arizona Diamondbacks (.300 AVG, 26 HR, 86 RBI): It is hard to believe that Justin Upton was just 21 years old while producing these terrific numbers last season. He asserted himself as a serious 5 tool threat while adding 20 stolen bases last year. I think its safe to say this young star will only improve and will quickly become an elite player in the major leagues. I am looking for all his offensive stats to improve. Expect an average around .290, which hitting at least 25 home runs and driving in and scoring around 100 each. There is no doubt he could reach 25 steals so look out for that as well.

1. Ryan Braun – Milwaukie Brewers (.320 AVG, 32 HR, 114 RBIs): So who tops our list of fantasy outfielders? It is the young 26 year old from the Brewers, Ryan Braun. Braun has situated himself amongst the category of the elite players in the league pretty much since his first days in the big leagues. He has put together, superstar-caliber stats year after year and looks to continue doing so in the near future. Expect nothing less from him then from what he has given the last few seasons. Braun may just be the best outfielder in baseball both fantasy wise and in reality.

 

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