2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview - Outfield Rankings 1

Introduction  - Catchers  - First Basemen  - Second Basemen  
Third Basemen  - Shortstops  - Outfielders 1  - Outfielders 2  
Starting Pitchers 1  - Starting Pitchers 2

#1 Carl Crawford
Crawford has been a fantasy stud his entire career, contributing in every category. Now, he gets to play in Fenway Park for a full season? Serious MVP candidate right here.

#2 Carlos Gonzalez
Cargo is out to prove that last year wasn't a fluke. He put up MVP-like numbers last year, so it'll be hard to replicate them but he should do just fine and easily be a top 3 fantasy outfielder.

#3 Matt Kemp
Kemp struggled for a lot of last year after being a first round pick in most drafts. Most guys have him lower than I do, but I still really like Kemp. He's a 5-tool guy who is still at an age where he can improve.

#4 Ryan Braun
Braun just keeps putting up numbers. His ISO dropped off a little bit last year but his averages stayed solid despite a slight drop in LD%. You know what you're getting with Braun, and he should have another excellent season in 2011.

#5 Josh Hamilton
The AL MVP had a ridiculous .390 BABIP last year, don't expect that average to be anywhere near what it was last year. The power numbers were also extremely high. Expect Hamilton to take a pretty serious stride backwards this year, but still remain a top 5 outfielder, and easily worthy of a top 2 round draft pick.

#6 Matt Holliday
Holliday is another really solid outfielder that you can count on to contribute in big ways. Last year he had a .331 BABIP which was amazingly 17 points below his career average. He hits the ball hard, and out of the ballpark a lot. He should be one of the top guys in RBI chances this year, and he could be a very nice pick late in the 2nd or early in the 3rd round.

#7 Nelson Cruz
Cruz burst onto the scene a couple of seasons ago and hasn't let up since. Last year he hit .318, a pretty unexpected number. The increased line drive percentage is encouraging to see and everything else remained near average. Cruz is for real, a very good, possibly undervalued option.

#8 Justin Upton
Upton had his struggles in 2010 despite having a .345 BABIP. He continued to hit line drives at a good rate, and it's possible that playing in Arizona hurt his power numbers. He's a 5-tool guy that should get better every year for the next 3-4 seasons. Upton has a higher ceilings than almost anybody, so he could be an extremely good selection in rounds 3-5.

#9 Andrew McCutchen
McCutchen is another 5-tool guy that doesn't make his living off of any one category. He'll get you good batting average, some power, a good amount of runs and RBI, and steal a bunch of bases. He's not spectacular in any category (aside from possibly stolen bases), but he'll contribute in all of them, making him a great guy to have on your team.

#10 Shin-Soo Choo
Choo remained pretty consistent throughout the year in 2010 despite a terrible team around him. He hit .300 with 22 home runs. He'll still you a few bags and contribute in a lot of different ways. The ceiling isn't as high as McCutchen or Upton, but he'll be a good player this year.

#11 Jayson Werth
Werth got an absurd amount of money from the Nationals this season, and he has some lofty expectations to live up to. I don't know if what he did in 2010 - 27 home runs and a .296 batting average - is going to be enough to satisfy Nationals fans. He's going to have to step up, and his .352 BABIP and 17.5 LD% tells me he won't.

#12 Ichiro Suzuki
Not much has to be said about Ichiro. He'll hit over .310, steal bases, and score a bunch of runs. He won't hit for power or get many RBI, but he can help a team in a big way in the categories he succeeds in.

#13 Andre Ethier
Ethier showed some serious power in 2009 when he hit 31 home runs for the Dodgers. He took a small step backwards last year with only 23 homers and 82 RBI. His batting average has always been good right around .290, and that's a plus for any fantasy team. It's not always easy to hit home runs playing in Dodger Stadium, but Ethier is a guy that has enough power to put up another 30 HR season no matter where he's playing. He'll hit for good average and the power upside is enough to making him a #2 outfielder on your team.

#14 Jason Heyward
Heyward was another huge story of the 2010 MLB season. He made the team out of spring training and played pretty well all season long. He batted .277 with 18 home runs and stole 11 bases. Those numbers are really impressive for a rookie. He sees the ball incredibly well out of the pitchers hand and has all the makings to become a superstar in this league. You often see this kind of player mage huge strides in his first 2 or 3 seasons, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Heyward have a monster year. He could be a #1 outfielder for the draft price of a #2.

#15 Jay Bruce
Bruce was one of the top prospects in the game a few years ago, but he hadn't done too much in the big leagues to make anyone excited about him until last year. In 2010 Bruce hit 25 home runs with a career high .281 batting average. He also had an on base percentage of .353, which is a good sign for a younger player. The Reds scored a ton of runs last year and if that trend keeps going, Bruce will have a ton of RBI opportunities. He had a pretty high BABIP last year but his LD% went up as well, so I think that last year was the real deal and you can expect a repeat performance from Bruce.

#16 B.J. Upton
Another former top prospect, Upton has been pretty disappointing in the fantasy game in his career. He has not batted over .250 since 2008, and last year's .237 average was especially discouraging. He had that batting average despite a .304 BABIP, which in fairness was 30 points lower than his career average. He has a little bit of power, hitting 18 bombs last year with a 24 homer season under his belt (2007). Upton is a high upside guy, but you'll draft him for his speed. He has stolen 40+ bases the last 3 years and shouldn't have too much of a problem doing it again this year. Draft him for the steals and cross your fingers that he realizes some of his potential in other categories. If he does, he'll be a steal.

#17 Jose Bautista
We talked about Bautista in the 3rd base post already, but you might more likely to draft him as an outfielder. Bautista had a monster last year and led the major leagues in home runs. It's not often that you have the returning home run champ being ranked #17 at his own position, but I really think Bautista's season was a fluke. He had a ridiculous 21.7% HR/FB ratio, and his ISO was also ridiculously high. I expect both of those numbers to drop significantly and Bautista to fall back into the 20's or possibly 30's for home runs. He won't hit for good average or steal bases either, so I don't think he's a great option for fantasy. He'll be drafted too high this year because of his season last year, so I'd avoid him.

#18 Alex Rios
Rios had a pretty average season last year. His LD% dropped last year and his HR/FB rose, which could mean he was lucky to hit his 21 home runs. His .284 batting average is good but not great, and he stole a pretty solid 34 bases. Rios is good in all categories, not great in everything, but he's a good candidate to start taking steps backwards at the age of 30.

#19 Hunter Pence
Pence has had 3 consecutive 25-homer seasons. He's also hit exactly .282 the last 2 years. His numbers were right on pace with his career averages across the board, so there's no reason to think that another .280, 25 HR season isn't on the way.

#20 Chris Young
Young has always been drafted for his ability to contribute in different categories. Last year he hit 27 home runs with a .257 batting average while stealing 28 bases. All of those stats were well above his career averages, which could have been predicted as he entered his prime years at ages 27-30. Young should be a really solid contributor across the board this year. Don't expect 30 homers and a .280 batting average, but he'll help your team and you can get him at a pretty good spot in the draft.