His swing rate on all pitches dipped to 35% (in '20), which ranked 141st among 142 qualified hitters. The MLB Tonight panel breaks . Welcome to Bleacher Report's final positional rankings of the 2021 MLB season! J.T. Regardless of who the Rays plug into the pen, they continue to find success. The eight-time Gold Glove winner even managed to throw out 11 base runners from left field at age 39. Honorable Mention: Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. Wil Myers, San Diego Padres; Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros; Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies; Nicholas Castellanos, Cincinnati Reds, Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's best outfielders, NBA investigating after Morant shows gun in video, QB Young 5-10 1/8, 204 pounds at NFL combine, Horns' Robinson: Versatility worthy of early pick, Edey leads Wooden finalists; Bama's Miller off list, Chase Elliott out indefinitely after tibia surgery, Jays' Guerrero to miss WBC with inflamed knee, Sources: Patriots tell QB Hoyer he's being cut, Ledecky sees 9-year win streak in U.S. snapped, Inside the long-awaited return of Jon Jones and his quest for heavyweight glory, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? 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. His contact rate was easily the worst of his career, and his swing rate was way down. Nate Eaton is making a case for sticking on . 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. Honorable Mentions: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants. MLB fans were up in arms on Friday afternoon because of an absurd shift used during a Spring Training game. A good spring could get the 29-year-old on the 40-man roster. And yes, by the end of the World Series, he did find his best swing, enough to put a punctuation mark on the Dodgers' championship with an eighth-inning home run in Game 6. 4. Having to play the field regularly could hinder his production, but the fact that he led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs while hitting .338/.431/.636 last season cant be ignored. 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. But at the least, we know the potential is there. 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. He even threw a ball 100.8 mph on April 21, though it didnt result in an assist. Mookie is one of the best defensive right-fielders of all time. After back-to-back 20-plus-homer seasons in 2018 and 2019, Teoscar Hernandez showcased a more well-rounded offensive game last year, hitting .289/.340/.579 for a 146 OPS+ in 50 games to finish 11th in AL MVP voting and win a Silver Slugger Award. 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. He hit .264/.367/.487 with 29 doubles, 23 home runs and 10 steals, which, coupled with his usual standout defense in right field, was enough for him to finish fourth in WAR on a stacked Dodgers roster. Best Outfield Arm. To qualify for inclusion, a player had to have at least 200 plate appearances. Cobb's 392 outfield assists are second all-time. Catch up on the 2021 MLB Player Rankings series:Catchers,First Basemen,Second Basemen, Third Basemen,Shortstops. Dave Roberts, Dodgers. Brewers: The Crew has the Central's best outfield, led by Christian Yelich in right field and Lorenzo Cain in center. Robert may have the higher ceiling of the two, but he also has the lower floor. Mays is in the discussion for the greatest player of all-time. Ichiro has the strongest and most powerful arm of any outfielder in the major leagues today. Stars and depth help the Dodgers dominate both NL competition and Best Tools voting. Throughout the year, we released monthly updates to our position-by-position power rankings, selecting the top 10 players at each spot. Despite playing only eight seasons, Jackson managed to rack up 49 assists. 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. 1 guy is pretty obvious, through the compilation of thought from folks around the industry. 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's already ranked pitchers and infielders, and he will follow these with the top 10 teams on Friday. The 23-year-old had more walks (145) than strikeouts (93) on his way to an MLB-best .465 on-base percentage. In 2015, Marte had a 16-1 number (A-DP) as part of perhaps baseball's best fielding outfield. 3. Thursday, it's outfielders -- the top 10 left fielders, center fielders and right fielders. 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. I like that he didn't change teams, and he retains the buoyancy of the New York lineup and park . 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. Part I: Hit toolPart II: Power toolPart III: Run toolPart IV: Fielding tool. 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. Outfielder Jump Leaderboard Current: Outfielder Jump 2022 Minimum Attempts (Q) Update Download CSV Jump is calculated only on plays that are Two Stars or harder, meaning with a 90% Catch Probability or lower. 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. 1 spot. Red Sox. A big part of any draft kit are the rankings, and we're continuing our staff consensus rankings for 2021 with our fantasy baseball outfield rankings. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? If Stanton stays on the field in 2021, his production could swing many fantasy leagues. 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. 4 overall prospect. The 27-year-old also has a perfect 99 reaction time rating, 86 arm strength, and 81 arm accuracy. Below you'll find the consensus rankings that eight of our MLB writers were involved in. Honorable Mention: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays. 8. 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. Need more power? While Bo Jackson's greatest accomplishment might be the fact that he is the greatest video game character ever, it is not the only thing that Bo is known for. A 2021 20th-round pick . He also led the field with an average pop time of just 1.88 seconds on throws from home to second, and recorded eight of the 10 fastest caught stealing throws across MLB. 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. Past production and future expectations played no part in deciding the order. There has been industry speculation that he was still dealing with the aftereffect of the fractured right kneecap he suffered at the end of the 2019 season. Hot Stove Tracker Starting Lineups Transactions . And I'm talking about strong arms, not merely accurate ones. His throwing abilities were recognized by Bill James, as Guerrero was noted to have the best arm of the 1990s. A.J. Runners were afraid to take the extra base when these outfielders had the ball in their hands. 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. 9. He earned a starting nod in the All-Star Game, and he deserves a ton of credit for the job he did protecting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. out of the cleanup spot in the Toronto lineup. 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. The Mariners sent pitchers Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, Anthony Swarzak and outfielder Jay Bruce to Seattle for infielder Robinson Cano and pitcher Edwin Diaz. This situation happens when an outfielder can make a great throw to try to nail the runner that is heading home. He could seemingly throw out any runner trying to pick up an extra base. Other good MLB outfielders right now include Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, J. D. Martinez, and Aaron Judge. Walker was known for his abilities at the plate, but he also had a gun for an arm. How Does Carlos Correa's Deal Impact Dansby Swanson's Market? 1. That success has come despite myriad injuries and significant roster turnover. That Betts is the best right fielder in the game is assumed. His 5.7 WAR was second on the AL West champions roster, behind only Carlos Correa. He also once again took home Gold Glove honors in a 6.3 WAR season. 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. I think we'll see him hunt early in counts against next season.". His defensive metrics in center field (14 DRS, 12.1 UZR) helped him post a career-best 4.9 WAR season. He was ranked the 40th-best free agent this offseason, per Giants Baseball Insider's rankings. Homegrown players Steven Duggar and Austin Slater have also seen semi-regular time in the outfield, though Duggar was recently optioned to Triple-A now that Bryant can provide corner outfield depth as well. Runners will not even try to advance extra bases when the ball is in Ichiro's hands. Myles Straw, Houston Astros/Cleveland Guardians. Crow-Armstrong soaking in first Spring Training with Cubs. 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. Even at age 36, Ichiro was consistently able to throw out runners trying to take an extra base. Through all the excess options, it becomes even more important to find the top values and to not settle for "good enough" production. Dylan Carlson, Cardinals (TOP 250 Rank: 11) Key Fantasy Skill (s): Power, OBP Roadblock: Tyler O'Neill, Lane Thomas (Threat Level: MEDIUM) ETA: 2021 Need to Know: Carlson had a rough MLB. Those being Eric Cross, Chris Clegg, Mick Ciallela, Justin Johnson, Jorge Montanez, David Mendelson . 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. Lagares easily has the most rARM per 1,000 innings over the last three seasons. Youth. The 27-year-old already has career-highs in OPS+ (109), hits (126), doubles (29), home runs (25) and RBI (75). ESPN's Buster Olney leads the discussion of the latest news and notes around baseball with the game's top analysts. 7. 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. Juan Soto hit .348/.525/.639 after the All-Star break. Nothing less should be expected from a man who was nicknamed "Muscles". but if he regresses to 2017 or 2021 levels no one should complain. In a Houston Astros lineup loaded with star power, Kyle Tucker was arguably the team's most productive hitter in 2021. 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. All of the sudden, the ball is at the base, and a runner who thought he had it made is out. No other infielder came close to matching his average arm strength on Statcast-measured throws. The so-called five-tool player is a special breed, as those who truly rate above average in each category are extremely rare. March 1, 2023. 2021 Topps series 1,Rookie Monte Harrison #126 Miami marlins outfield baseball. 20. . 8. The Yankees re-signed Brett Gardner, but they may finally give Frazier a chance to play every day. Barfield would consistently throw strikes from right field to home plate. 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. 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. Nearly every player on this list has been an All-Star, and all the rest have a chance to make their first Midsummer Classic this season. Let's marvel at the all-around game that is Mookie Betts. 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. His strong defensive play definitely helped make up for the fact that he had a low OPS. With club control through the 2025 season, he is a long-term building block for the O's. He had an average max-effort arm strength of 94.1 mph, seventh-fastest among MLB outfielders (min. He immediately impressed both his manager and scouts with his impressive throwing arm. He's not just an MVP-caliber hitter; he has one of the strongest outfield arms in the league. The corner outfield spots are going to be packed with talent in 2023. Oneil Cruz (Pirates): 97.9 mph 2. 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. 14. 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. Soto, in my opinion, has that. Despite his defensive limitations, he should be able to find a more lucrative deal this winter. He has also done a solid job handling the staff with a 3.87 ERA behind the plate. Joey Votto travels with Ted Williams' book "The Science of Hitting" and has built a Hall of Fame rsum based on a lot of the principles that Williams espoused -- like not doing the pitcher a favor by chasing pitches out of the strike zone. But Verdugo ingratiated himself with teammates and staff with his passion and play, and he seemed to earn the early respect of socially distant Red Sox fans. 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. The 26-year-old finished the season as a 6.0 WAR player, earning a spot among the Gold Glove finalists in center field on top of his excellent offensive numbers. Here are the players who just missed the cut, listed alphabetically: 25. 10. 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. It's not all about arm strength, of course. One of the most exciting defensive plays in baseball occurs when there is going to be a play at the plate. 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. Play Ball Youth Baseball & Softball. 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. The ultra-versatile Taylor was an All-Star for the first time in 2021, posting a 110 OPS+ with 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 73 RBI, 92 runs scored and 13 steals in 148 games. Furillo once threw pitcher Mel Queen out by two feet on a ball that was hit to right field and that everyone believed to be a single. The quick reaction and retreat and leap before taking extra bases away from Brandon Lowe in Game 4 of the World Series. 22). Luis Robert is one of the best prospects in baseball and he's set to take over in center. 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. With the unique 2020 season behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the hot stove season.
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