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. 8. He racked up 4.7 WAR despite missing 35 games early in the season with a fractured rib. Kolten Wong -- Best Defensive Second Baseman (NL) Francisco Lindor -- Best Defensive Shortstop (AL/NL) Bob Melvin -- Best Manager (AL) Below are the 2021 winners, followed by voting results. Hernandez was signed as a super-utility . Will draft 15-20 pick. 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. 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. Utley's UZR/150 has been at least 8.0 in nine of his 10 seasons as a regular in the big leagues. PART - Positioning, Balls hit in air, Range, and Throwing for Infielders; Range & Positioning on balls hit in air for Outfielders. 7. Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's . Kaline was known for his perfect throwing from and his ability to catch and throw. The greatest player of this era turns 30 in 2021. 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. Rather than ranking individual players, we set out to name the best multi-player units in baseball. Mondesi has a tattoo of a cannon shooting out a baseball on his right arm. Davis looking to get back on track this spring. In 2019, it was all about arm strength for Laureano. 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. 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. But Ozuna is valued for his bat, for his advanced understanding of how pitchers will try to work against him. In a Houston Astros lineup loaded with star power, Kyle Tucker was arguably the team's most productive hitter in 2021. March 1, 2023 5:25 pm ET. He hit .310/.383/.458 with 42 extra-base hits and 47 steals in 52 attempts to lead the majors. Since there are three times as many outfielders as there are other positions on the diamond, it made sense to tack an honorable mention list of 25 guys onto our top 25 list. Ramirez is fourth among active outfielders with 129 career assists. . 2y Buster Olney. The 33-year-old figures to be a hot commodity on the free-agent market this winter. The well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No. The identity of the No. Edmonds had phenomenal range while he was younger, and there are many instances in which he scaled the outfield wall to retrieve would-be home runs. 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. 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. An intercostal strain limited Winker to only one game after Aug. 15. Now the #20 prospect in the Yankees' organization, Hardman posted a 109 wRC+ across High-A and Double-A last season with 22 HRs in 111 games, but his over 30% K% is alarming for his projectability long-term. This is the 14th highest total of all-time. Anyone paying attention to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 knew Bryan Reynolds was capable of the type of season he put together in 2021. 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. Base runners in the National League feared the arm of Roberto Clemente. He also played a solid defensive center field in a 5.7 WAR season. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? Steven Duggar-OF-San Francisco Giants-Bats Left-Age 27 It might be tough to pry Duggar from the winning Giants, but he is a very good defensive center fielder with speed. He's played at that level, and sometime this season, he'll surpass 1,000 runs for his career, and move beyond 1,500 hits. Guerrero currently ranks fifth on the active list for outfield assists. Harper hit .338/.476/.713 with 20 home runs after the All-Star break, doing his part to help a Phillies team that tried in vain to chase down a postseason berth. His career OPS is 1.000, exactly. Realmuto, C, PhilliesKey stat: 46.7 percent caught stealing rate in 2019. He failed to maintain a red-hot start in his first season with the team, but he put together the best year of his career in 2021, hitting .309/.362/.576 for a 136 OPS+ with 38 doubles, 34 home runs and 100 RBI for a career-high 3.2 WAR. Runners were hesitant to try to take an extra base when the ball was hit to right in Coors Field between 1995 and 2003. 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. Previous picks: Anthony Rendon (hit), Mike Trout (power), Byron Buxton (run), Simmons (defense), Ramn Laureano, CF, AsKey stat: 321-foot assist on Aug. 11, 2018. But imagine him with this cannon attached to his shoulder. 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. Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers; Eddie Rosario, free agent; Andrew Benintendi, Boston Red Sox; Robbie Grossman, Detroit Tigers; Clint Frazier, New York Yankees. Mays is in the discussion for the greatest player of all-time. Luis Mieses OF (Prev. Buxton debuted for the Twins in 2015, and since then has become one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. Yes, Gallo hit .160 with a 38.6 percent strikeout rate after the Rangers traded him to the Yankees. What follows is a ranking of the Top 10 left fielders in baseball. Few players have joined an organization under more challenging circumstances than Verdugo faced when he went to the Red Sox. The 27-year-old already has career-highs in OPS+ (109), hits (126), doubles (29), home runs (25) and RBI (75). The MLB Tonight panel breaks . He struggling terribly against off-speed pitches -- in 2018, Yelich batted .302 against breaking balls; last year, .191. 14. Acuna was squarely among the NL MVP front-runners when he suffered a season-ending torn ACL on July 10. Mookie is one of the best defensive right-fielders of all time. 7. 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. Follow @RickWeinerBR Just Missed the Cut 1 of 42 Barry Bonds Shin-Soo Choo Mike Hershberger Andruw Jones. Verdugo batted .308 for the Red Sox, his energy sometimes feeling like life support for a franchise going through one of the worst seasons in its history. ESPN's Buster Olney leads the discussion of the latest news and notes around baseball with the game's top analysts. Baseball Savant. 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. T. Alex Verdugo, Kik Hernandez, and Hunter Renfroe were Boston's primary outfielders last season. The organization's top four prospects, including all three Top 100 representatives, play the outfield, headlined by 2022 breakout star Jackson Chourio. Tatis, of course, was a sensation in just about every way as a rookie in 2019, and his throwing ability was no exception. He has 19 homers in 63 postseason games, and only three players have more: Manny Ramirez (29), Bernie Williams (22) and Derek Jeter (20). Yelich and Bellinger, the National League MVP Award winners in 2018 and '19, respectively, turned in disappointing campaigns a season ago, but were expecting big things from both in '21. Honorable Mention:Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals. $0.99 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. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. His defensive abilities were rewarded as he received 10 Gold Gloves over the course of his career. He was ranked the 40th-best free agent this offseason, per Giants Baseball Insider's rankings. (Worth noting: Second on that list was DJ LeMahieu, who had a 92.9% in-zone contact rate, then Anthony Rendon and Tommy La Stella tied at 91.2% each.)". I can promise you with 100 percent certainty that my fantasy baseball outfield rankings for 2021 will not be 100 percent right. The 29-year-old hit .309/.429/.615 to lead the majors in OPS+ (179). Kaline, also known as Mr. Tiger, made his major league debut at age 18. Starling Marte, Miami Marlins Scott Pianowski continues his tiered positional rankings by examining the outfield landscape for 2023 fantasy baseball drafts. Cobb is widely regarded as one of the best baseball players in the history of the game. 10. You could argue that so long as his arm is healthy, there's none more valuable. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball, Alonso says Aston 'living a dream,' eyes podium. Sits in the Top Ten of draft. With Merv Retterman on third base, Robinson knocked the ball more than 300 feet deep in center field. He hit .281 with an .800 OPS after the All-Star break, and he capped off the season by winning his first Gold Glove. In total, he made 10 throws of 95-plus mph last season and had three throws of 300 feet or more. Rob Neyer ranked him as our best right fielder in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups (pre-Bautista). But despite all of that offensive imperfection, the lasting impression Betts left behind is that of the closest thing you can have to a perfect player in a sport filled with moments of failure. The 27-year-old became the first 30/30 player in Orioles history, hitting .291/.360/.518 with 37 doubles, 30 home runs and 30 steals while finishing fourth in the league in hits (175), sixth in total bases (312) and 10th in OPS+ (135). Let's get right into it. Each writer provided anywhere from 80-100+ outfielders so we could create our consensus top-80. Youth. Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs/San Francisco Giants. Despite missing almost all of September with a hairline fracture in his left thumb, Bez tied for third in Defensive Runs Saved (26) and placed second among all players in Outs Above Average (+19). Mays' throwing arm deserves more recognition as he was he had the second strongest arm of any outfielder in the 1960s. C Through all the excess options, it becomes even more important to find the top values and to not settle for "good enough" production. Its certainly not about skill, and combined with Simmons fundamentals and defensive savvy, look out. Despite only having played 15 seasons, Abreu is second on the active list for outfield assists with 132. More MLB videos How Does Carlos Correa Fit on the Giants? 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. Martinez started cold and never recovered last season, and Meadows was never right after dealing with COVID-19 in July. He even threw a ball 100.8 mph on April 21, though it didnt result in an assist. He hit .328/.376/.624 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 32 homers, 92 RBI, 108 runs and 36 steals across three . Its not as if my defense pick, Andrelton Simmons, has a poor arm. The Red Sox acquired him at the deadline, and he finished with a 148 OPS+ and 32 home runs in 113 games, posting a .266/.374/.554 line that represented career highs across the board.