Even by Oakland Athletics standards, Mark Canha hasn't had much of a national profile as he's played second fiddle to stars like Matt Chapman and Matt Olson in recent years. He hit four home runs last year and that's not going to be anomaly given his incredibly low hard-hit rate. His bat is solid, not necessarily elite, and if he was only outfield eligible, he'd probably be a fifth outfielder or high-end bench piece. He'll almost certainly bat in the lower third of the lineup with Toronto, as he likely would have with the Rockies anyway, and his probable increase in runs scored should be canceled out by his likely drop in batting average (his xBA has been in the .250s in each of the last three seasons). His contact rate improved to 85% last year, and he sprays hits to both sides of the diamond. Taylor had an excellent season, hitting 20 homers and stealing 13 bases while playing all over the diamond as usual. In the five non-COVID years that he's been on the Twins' Opening Day roster, Buxton has averaged 81.6 games played and 271.2 at-bats. He should still provide a solid batting average, but aspirations of 30 HR and 90 RBI now seem far-fetched. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. Happ should be a starter for the Cubs, of course, but with the addition of Seiya Suzuki and with Clint Frazier on board, Chicago may be a little less patient with his slumps. In ranking the best of the best, we did our usual thing in considering players' recent track records. He rarely walks and so his runs scored total will never help you, but he's fine as a cheap outfield bat that always gets overlooked in fantasy. We'll begin with some honorable mentions and then dive right into the top 10. The 29-year-old picked the perfect year to enter free agency, coming off a 2021 campaign with a .576 SLG% and a .938 OPS. giolito rhp westlake Reyes crushes the ball and has the potential to become one of MLB's elite power hitters. Statcast numbers show that he's still one of the games top sluggers, and he should have better luck in RBIs and runs than he had last season, when he had 97 and 64, respectively. More specifically, only teammate Freddie Freeman was better at crushing fastballs. Even if Meadows's overall numbers are passable, it seems unlikely that a team like the Rays are going to let a player who is merely an average defender continue to keep an everyday job when he's virtually useless against left-handed throwers. Canha's chase rate is on a downward trajectory, and it shows in the narrowing gap between his walk and strikeout percentages. Looks slightly overpriced at a third-round ADP. Stanton doesn't run, but he holds his own in batting average. He hit 38 home runs and had a 1.073 OPS, and he has a career .315 batting average and .985 OPS in the NPS. He popped 27 homers last year and although his batting average has been in the .220s each of the last two years, his expected batting average has been closer to the high .240s. Speed kills. The Rangers have a much-improved lineup and perhaps Garcia will improve in his second year, but unless he drastically changes his approach, his numbers are going to have a hard cap on them. Sanchez hits the ball hard and does so consistently, so he has a ton of power upside. Between the regular season and his record-setting postseason, he played in 43 games and hit .333/.406/.745 with 17 home runs. If not, then he'll likely bat in the lower third of the order and lose much of his value. That isn't a platoon mirage, as his OPS against righties (.887) is 40 points higher than his OPS against lefties (.847). Default = Experts with most recent updates. The second-to-last-thing you want to do is grab a player hoping for a bounce-back season and bang your head on a desk every night as he continues his affair with the Mendoza line. He hasn't turned into the superstar we thought he was going to become, but he's still got power and will still knock in runs, and now he'll be doing his mashing at Coors Field. Kirilloff probably won't hurt you in batting average and he'll hit about 20 home runs, but players like that are a dime a dozen in redraft leagues. Guys with recurring muscle injuries scare me. - then he should be in for perhaps his best season to date. His line drive rate has been steadily dropping over the last few seasons, and he hit only two home runs last season from July 1 on. Kepler can fill in for you, just don't rely on him as a starter. If Betts slides to 8, 9, 10 in the first round, snatch him up. Mainly courtesy of his excellent hit tool, he could mount a run at the American League Rookie of the Year. Worse, what if it wasn't? Take about 5-7 off your projections for both numbers and you probably won't be disappointed. Edman doesn't take many walks, but that's a minor nit to pick. Do you like rolling the dice on potential superstars who can't stay upright? There's no huge analysis that needs to be done here - Father Time is undefeated, and the old Blackmon isn't coming back. That's going to significantly cut into Rosario's counting stats and depress his value. Still, some caution is warranted. The peripherals suggest that O'Neill's power is legit, however. Reports are that Betts is healthy and ready to resume his spot amongst the game's elite. His hard hit rate and exit velocity fell off a cliff (his 29.8% hard contact rate was one of the worst in baseball). Whether that manifests itself in his first year remains to be seen, but there are few players with similar upside going at his ADP. If Schwarber can hold the gains he saw last year - being more selective, hitting more line drives, etc. Expect a similar line to last year. Last year's 37% hit rate fueled a .274 batting average that may not be sustainable. His numbers and underlying metrics suggest that he's a slightly above-average MLB player, though it's worth remembering that he's just 23 years old and there's certainly potential for more. Lowe has also struggled against lefties throughout his career. If he has 2B eligibility in your league, he's even more valuable. But as long as he keeps crushing the ball, whatever issues he might have in the field will be of little consequence to Atlanta. Jimenez ruptured a pectoral tendon in a spring training game and didn't come back until July 26. If he stays relatively healthy, Stanton is probably going to contend for the home run crown. He's added power, too, and he batted .306 over 61 games last year. We know what Grichuk is by now - he's gonna make elite contact with the ball a ton, but he's not at all selective, so he holds himself back by swinging at bad pitches. Renfroe has always had power but put it all together last year for Boston and became one of their most reliable and dependable bats.He cut his strikeout rate to just 22.7% and although he was still much better against lefties, he made major gains against righties such that he went far beyond potentially being placed in a platoon situation. travieso rhp archbishop And Reyes is only DH-eligible in most leagues. The last thing you want to do is pass on a former MVP who can be had in the middle rounds because his draft stock is plummeting. It appears as of now that Conforto guessed wrong when he turned down a long-term offer from the Mets and the qualifying offer, as he finds himself in an awkward limbo without a team well into the spring. Edman stole 30 bases last year, tying for fourth in MLB. That's a startable player in fantasy, but not one you should reach for in drafts. Thanks for playing FantasyPros Jeopardy. As evidenced by the 98th-percentile hard-hit rate that he had in 2020, the 6'4", 235-pound Jimenez can definitely make noise when he connects. There are some warning signs here, however. As fantasy managers know, prospect growth is not linear, so Adell's mediocre performance in the majors to this point shouldn't give you much pause. It's hard not to love a guy who sprints to first base after a walk, especially when he walks 14% of the time, one of the best rates in baseball. He'll likely see at-bats from several positions this year, as he plays outfield, first base, and DH, and it's likely that an advanced college bat such as his will take a step forward this year. There's probably more to be had in the stolen base department, as Grisham ranks in the 91st percentile in sprint speed. He hasn't played more than 140 games in a season since 2016, and a calf injury last year limited him to just 117 at-bats. Regardless, Jimenez has been one of baseball's best hitters since things clicked for him in August 2019 and he began an 82-game run in which he's slashed .319/.355/.604 with 23 home runs. Soler isn't and won't be a star, but he's a useful fourth outfielder in mixed leagues. He'll still play his home games in an extreme hitter-friendly environment, and he'll see a major upgrade in his surrounding lineup. Once he ends up in the No 3 or No. A fractured wrist has changed the draft calculus on Tatis Jr., who might be out for as long as three months. Don't overpay. Bader has always been known as a defensive outfielder, but his offensive game picked up last year. His upside first came into focus while he was in the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 2019. Mr. Kepler's expected stats suggest he got pretty unlucky last year, as they looked a lot like his 2019 season where he hit 38 home runs and batted .252. He was a 20-20 guy as recently as 2019, so omitting him from the top 10 was a tough call. The way you regard Yelich depends on what type of fantasy manager you are. Merrifield has been a terrific value for years, but it's possible he'll be slightly overpriced in 2022 drafts. There's room for more, as Tucker played 140 games and was typically slotted in the bottom half of the Astros' batting order. Canha had an interesting 2021 season, as he saw his average continue to trend down but randomly stole 12 bases with Oakland. Nimmo will lead off again this year for the Mets, and given his elite OBP (.393 career), he should score plenty of runs. Trout once stole 49 bases, but that was a long time ago, and the SBs might not come back now that he's in his 30s. He'll bat cleanup in a stacked Blue Jays lineup and should get ample opportunities to drive in runs. What he should do now is work on makingmore frequent contact, drawingmore walks and upping his launch angle so he doesn't hit so many ground balls. His sub-.200 batting average is just basically what Gallo is going to bring to the table unless he changes his approach or gets lucky, though the fact that he hit ground balls at an elevated clip didn't help much. But, he didn't. But the knee issues are enough of a reason to look elsewhere when you're considering a late-round outfielder. Though he put up an impressive .298/.371/.576 slash line last season,it helped that his 52 games played yielded only 12 plate appearances against left-handers. Soto's HR numbers will be huge, but his R and RBI numbers will take a big hit. Marte terrifies me. Last year, he slashed just .198/.270/.293 against them. But his 117 games played last year represented his most since 2015, and given that he's already dealing with general soreness in the spring, it's highly unlikely that he'll surpass that number in his age-34 season. Kirilloff had a poor 2021 season, ultimately succumbing to wrist surgery to fix an injury that has reportedly bothered him off and on for a few years at this point. If there's a catch here, it's that Brantley isseemingly past his defensive prime. His batting average plummeted to just .224 (and his .222 xBA, one of the worst in the league, showed that number was earned), as pitchers continued their trends of throwing him fewer and fewer fastballs and more off-speed offerings.He performed terribly against non-fastballs last year, which led to a ridiculously low .254 BABIP, which was way out of character for him. The bigger problem this year is that the Twins' lineup likely won't be strong, and his counting stats will take a hit. That is, he emphasizes making contact and finding the holes in the defense. The five-category star is a set-it-and-forget-it roster heavyweight. You're in great shape if somehow your third outfielder. This former uber-prospect didn't disappoint in his first full MLB season, delivering the goods in five categories. 5 spot in a lineup surrounded by stars, he'll put up top-50 numbers. "It's a deep drive to left field by Castellanos" has become baseball's best meme, which overshadows the fact that Castellanos has been one of baseball's most underrated power bats over the last half decade. Think of a poor man's version of Michael Brantley in his prime and that's what Verdugo will give you, and that's plenty valuable for fantasy. Soto is one of the best hitters in baseball. Suzuki signed with the Cubs this offseason, and will come over from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp after dominating last year in Japan. But your best-case scenario is a 20-15 line with a batting average that hurts. His expected batting average (.257) and slugging percentage (.436) lagged significantly behind his actual numbers, but his 114.8 MPH maximum exit velocity was in the top six percent of MLB and suggests his power is real. And although his power numbers have declined, a move to Great American Ball Park should likely add a few home runs to his ledger this year. But what are the chances he'll play 150 or more games? Haniger's strikeout rate has gone through the roof, and his on-base percentage has plummeted. He looked almost identical to the disappointing but absolutely usable version of himself that he showed in 2019, and his underlying rates were nearly identical. Lewis is dealing with knee issues and likely won't be ready for Opening Day. In 2019, Meadows slashed .275/.316/.521 against southpaws. Whether Canha is particularly good at any position is a good question, but it's to his credit that left field isn't the only position at which he can hold his own. Projecting players coming over from Japan is fraught with difficulties, but the general consensus is that Suzuki has 30-homer power with the ability to hit for average and steal double-digit bases. But coming off a gruesome mid-summer ACL tear, he's likely to miss most of April and possibly some of May, and Acuna is unlikely to wreak havoc on the basepaths for the first couple months. With Washington Nationals wunderkind Juan Soto now inright field, left field is missing one of its brightest stars from recent seasons. So even if the small sample size over which all this occurred can't be ignored, neither can his realistic upside as an All-Star-caliber regular for 2021. At an advancing age, there's always reason to be concerned that he'll fall off a cliff, but nothing in his profile suggests that is imminent. Get a season of reasonably good health out of Buxton and you're likely to run a profit, probably a big one. His batting average won't help you and he offers nothing in the stolen base category. He also led the National League in RBI and was one of the leaders in max exit velocity. McNeil's 2019 power outburst looks like a total anomaly, as he hit just seven home runs last year. Key 2020 Stats:39 G, 160 PA, 8 HR, 3 SB, .267 AVG, .394 OBP, .511 SLG, 149 OPS+. Blackmon is in obvious decline as he enters his age-35 season. Walsh was outstanding in his rookie year, blasting 29 home runs and batting .277. At one point, he was a lock for at least 29 home runs, well over 100 runs, and double-digit steals with a .300 batting average. Power is his calling card, and Alvarez didn't disappoint in that department last year, mashing 33 HRs with 104 RBI. On the plus side, he did swipe 10 bases, the first time he had reached double digits in that category in his career. Buy him at his 2021 numbers and understand there's plenty of room for growth. Very little about his underlying batted ball data and overall metrics were different - he just stayed healthy and became an everyday player. There's a lot of risk here, particularly with Stanton now well into his 30s, but the lengthy injury history almost guarantees a discount in drafts. But there just wasn't much to get excited about. O'Neill is only 26, so it's possible he'll turn in a season that ends up much better than his ADP. But if he falls, snatch him up. 1 player at season's end. The catch, though, is that his OPS against lefties was 424 points higher than it was against righties. He doesn't have a ton of power or speed, but a fully healthy Nimmo should give you close to a 15-10 season with a plus batting average and contribution in the runs scored categories. There's legitimate 30-30 potential here, and it's not hard to imagine Robert producing a 40 HR season at cozy Guaranteed Rate Field. But that's a huge "if," obviously. Statcast absolutely loves Hernandez, even backing up the SB breakout by putting him in the 85th percentile for sprint speed. Stanton enjoyed two relatively healthy seasons in 2018-2019, played 41 combined games in 2019-2020, and managed to play 139 games last year with only one stay on the DL for a quad issue. But as we saw with Kris Bryant, it's hard to properly assess a player's fantasy value until we know his landing spot and, in Conforto's case, when he's going to sign.In a vacuum, however, Conforto can be a third or fourth outfielder for your fantasy team, someone who is capable of contributing in all five categories, though likely not excelling at any. No, I'm a California resident looking for the California Consumer Privacy Act form. Bell had a horrid .464 OPS in April, likely because his timing was off after missing time because of a COVID-19 diagnosis. Still only 28, Buxton has upside galore, but the risk level here is enormous. After winning a Gold Glove in 2020, all he has to do now is establish some consistency at the plate. You'll have to pay more for him than his numbers suggest you should, be he's got the type of upside that should make the price worth it. He's a lock to bat .300 and he'll generally offer decent runs and RBI totals batting in a strong Houston lineup. It wasn't perfect - he walked only 5.3% of the time and his hard-hit rate and exit velocity were mediocre. But think Adolis Garcia without the speed - someone who will at times look unstoppable and go on major runs, but other times will frustrate you with his lack of consistency. Altogether, Arozarena had the same exit velocity as Eloy Jimenez and a better hard-hit rate than Juan Soto, not to mention sprint speed in the 93rd percentile. Kelenic's season was shaping up to be an all-time disaster for a prospect, but a fairly strong final month, during which he hit seven homers and slashed .248/.331/.524, salvaged things a bit. The city of Baltimore hasn't seen such an unexpectedly high HR total since Brady Anderson smacked 50 homers in 1996. With the addition of Trevor Story, he'll likely be the everyday center fielder, but he'll retain his second base eligibility from last year, further strengthening his value. There's little upside with Tapia, but he won't hurt you, so he's a decent bench option if you're light on steals. You could do a lot worse than O'Neil as your second outfielder. If he does that again, he can probably approach 20 homers for a second straight season, but considering his mediocre sprint speed (68th percentile), it would be surprising if he reached 20 steals. 24 prospect, meanwhile, is already penciled in for a job as Minnesota's everyday left fielder. But, it's worth being cautious before you head into the season assuming he'll bounce back. If you're in the latter category, Yelich is probably on your do-not-draft list. Meet the new Jesse Winker, who's not the same as the old Jesse Winker. It should tell you all you need to know about Gallo that he hit 38 home runs and scored 90 runs last season and baseball fans and fantasy players view his year as a disaster. Ever since his 2019 breakout that had all of us wondering if we'd be better off with Marte or Ozzie Albies (lol, what were we thinking? Rosario re-signed with the Braves after coming over mid-season last year from Clevelan. His walk percentage and strikeout rate largely returned to their pre-2020 levels, and he got better and better as the season went along. Now Arozarena's superstar potential is clear to even the average baseball fan after what he did with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020. Varsho has bounced around from catcher to the outfield so far in his major league career, but he is penned in as the everyday center fielder in 2022. Even if he was a finalist for a Gold Glove in 2020, Gurriel still needs to convince outs above average and defensive runs saved that he's actually a good defender in left field. As the 2021 Major League Baseball season creeps ever closer, so do we to the end of our rankings of the top players at every position. The thing is that Myers' strikeout rate rose to 28.2%, but that's a number he can live with if he continued to make the quality of contact we're used to seeing from him. Pollock's issue has never been about his talent, and his career might be viewed differently if he could have stayed healthy. He ranked in the top 10% of the league in barrel rate, average and maximum exit velocity, hard-hit rate, walk percentage, and wOBA. Joc Pederson and Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals. He's just 26 years old so, of course, there's upside for more. Because of injuries and sporadic opportunities, Dominic Smith mustered just a 79 OPS+ over 105 games for the New York Mets in 2017 and 2018. There's obvious potential with Conforto, who hit at least 27 home runs for three straight seasons, gets on base at an above-average clip, and is just entering his age-29 season. After batting .213 and hitting only seven HRs in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, Martinez batted .286 last year with 28 HRs, 99 RBI and 92 runs. Mullins played the 2020 season with an undiagnosed case of Crohn's disease, which may have prevented us from seeing the "real" Cedric Mullins. He had a healthy .277 batting average in 2021 and has a career mark of .290, so the power doesn't come at the expense of BA. The adjustment hit Garcia hard, as he slashed just .211/.256/.370 in the second half, though he stole seven bases over the final month of the season to cushion the blow. His exit velocities suggest that he won't match last year's HR total. He signed a four-year deal with Miami and, given the park dimensions and lack of lineup protection, that's obviously not the best place for him to end up. Ahh, the Juan Soto conundrum. Rojas chipped in last year, but he didn't quite meet expectations placed on him after a strong spring. On the heels of the foot injury that he suffered late in 2020, it seemed like the Chicago White Sox might proceed with Eloy Jimenez as their everyday DH. His .256 batting average was his best (other than 2020) since 2016, and he offered 25 combined home runs and steals. There are better places to invest your draft capital. He still batted just .180 on the year and struck out 28.1% of the time, but there's reason to believe he can put his year in the rear view mirror and start fresh. His 64% contact rate last year suggests there's worrisome BA downside here. Springer has consistently posted batting averages in the .260s or higher during his career, and he'll steal a handful of bases for you. Gurriel cut his strikeout rate to a career-best 18.9%, but that's pretty much where the good news ends. If you're in an OBP league, Canha's value increases greatly, as his walk rate hasn't been lower than 12.3% in any of the last three seasons. In 2021, Lowe became a full-time player for the first time in his career and responded with 39 HRs, 99 RBI and 97 runs. A full repeat of his 2021 numbers might be a stretch, but Hernandez should be able to come close. With a stronger Mariners lineup batting behind him, Kelenic should be someone to target in fantasy drafts given his potential and strong close to the 2021 season. The key phrase there is "fully healthy," because Nimmo's 92 games played last year were the second most of his career. His .333 BA in the abbreviated 2020 season was a mirage, but Mountcastle's power is legit, with a .232 ISO in 2021 and home runs on 20% of his flyballs. He reached a career-high in home runs, runs scored, and stolen bases, and he kept his walk rate in the double digits. Now, you simply can't consider taking him within the first seven rounds. Arizona is likely to give him more rest this season with the goal of keeping him on the field. There's a little bit of power here, too. Now that we've covered all four infield spots (see here, here, here and here), we're headed to left field for the first stop on our tour around the outfield. But for this year, he's more of a middling outfield filler. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. On the plus side, Yelich remained decidedly dangerous when he did make contact. That's a low flyball rate for a power hitter, and yet it's the highest of Reyes's four-year career. and "Never heard of him" types. The power peripherals are outstanding - he's in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity, maximum exit velocity and hard hit percentage. . He also does well to focushis swings on the inner half of the strike zone, which helps amplify his left-of-center power. You're bound to get an injury discount on Trout, and with good reason - the risk of continued health problems is very real. He won't wow you in any category but given his position flexibility and placement in the best lineup in baseball, Taylor is an ideal player for any fantasy team who should offer similar numbers to last year. His skills have not declined much, and his 19% strikeout rate last year represented his best since 2017. Buy him as a 30-homer bat but take at least 10 to 20 points off his batting average from last year. Tucker might just be scratching the surface of his talents. And while he didn't hit for much power last year, his exit velocity and launch angle were fine. Gallo basically did what he always did - he struck out a ton (34.6%), walked more than anyone not named Juan Soto (18%) and left the yard often. Vaughn's rookie season was a little unfair, as he was thrust into the outfield despite little experience there when Eloy Jimenez suffered a serious injury in the spring. He played through back and hip injuries last year that limited his effectiveness. In any other year, Acuna, Jr. is an easy top-five pick. He doesn't have a ton of pop or speed, though he'll at least chip in with home runs and steals, and because he'll bat near the top of the Red Sox lineup, should be an asset in runs scored. Myers couldn't sustain the many gains he made in the shortened 2020 season, but he didn't fall off a cliff entirely. The biggest issue at this point is the extreme weakness of the Guardians' lineup, which is projected to be one of the worst in baseball. Health is always a concern, and he doesn't run much, but the power skills should age well as this 6-7, 282-pound brute enters his 30s. If you're covered in power, he's a fine pick, but don't have any dreams of a home run surge now or anytime in the future. His usual reliable batting average bottomed out to just .251 as he played through injury, but most of his underlying metrics looked strong. fine last year. His success largely came early in the season, as he blasted 11 home runs in May with a .312 batting average before, as most fantasy managers expected, pitchers adjusted. But the options to help your batting average and generally contribute everywhere are few and far between, so Rosario should be no worse than a high-end bench player for your team. Key 2020 Stats:57 G, 224 PA, 11 HR, 3 SB, .308 AVG, .348 OBP, .534 SLG,138 OPS+. It's not clear if his numbers last year were just a blip or the start of a steep decline, but you shouldn't be relying on him as a starter for now. Because he's one of onlynine guyswith at least a 150 OPS+ over at least 300 plate appearances since 2019, nowit's not a stretch to call Smith one of MLB'sbest hitters. Consistency. Reyes could lead the AL in homers if he makes launch-angle adjustments, but let someone else chase that dream. Soler's 48-homer season isn't ever going to repeat itself, but he doesn't need it to in order to provide fantasy value. Kelenic has an advanced approach, and could pretty easily put up a 20-20 season without batting an eye if everything breaks right. Until he signs, you should drop him a good 10 spots from where you would otherwise have him, but he's not going to sit out the entire season, so don't let him fall too far in drafts. But the bottom line is that a 25-10 season is very much in reach, and he's a fine later-round selection who can fill in as a fourth outfielder. His 15 home runs in 127 games as a rookie showed his potential, but his 21.5% strikeout rate was a bit higher than projected.