These are some of the biggest names in the sport, and its going to be tempting to grab one or more of them in the early stages of your drafts. Your login session has expired. 2021 Stats: 61 G, .306/.358/.647, 1.005 OPS, 169 wRC+, 19 HR, 32 RBI, 9 SB, 5.1% BB, 24.4% K, 4.2 fWAR, 10 DRS, 7 OAA. as Active Spin. He filled up the stat sheet with 22 doubles, 25 home runs, 76 RBI, 89 runs scored and 14 steals while playing his usual solid defender in center field in a 4.0-WAR campaign. Here are the top 10 outfielders at each of the three spots, based on feedback from evaluators, as well as Hembekides and Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Betts isn't just the top right fielder here, he's also the third-best outfielder in our metric overall, a good reminder that he a superstar in every facet of the game. Second base: Jeff McNeil, Mets+8 Outs Above Average. The Cubs surprisingly held onto him at the trade deadline despite significant interest, and he now enters a contract year looking to build off his breakout performance. play. We have accounted for defensive and offensive production since 2019, with an emphasis on 2021. How much spin, in revolutions per minute, a pitch was Harper plays the position. player has saved over his peers. 25. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Robles remains a question mark, so the late-season emergence of Thomas gives them some insurance in . Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. He hit 25 bombs, stole 10 bases, and had a 123 wRC+ in 2021, and in 2022 hell be even better. Hayes was even better by Outs Above Average than NL Platinum Glove winner Nolan Arenado (Arenado was the second-best third baseman at +15), as well as Gold Glove finalist Ryan McMahon and Manny Machado (+9 each at third). pitch. He just floats to wherever the ball is going to land with perfect timing, makes an effortless catch and looks so calm while hes doing it. Hes a true five-tool player and has the potential to win an MVP one day. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. Ranking MLB's top 10 at each infield spot: Is Freeman No. Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA). Who, in 2016, did the best at hauling in the balls they needed to?Left field With that, he became just the second player in Astros history with a 30-homer, 25-steal season, joining Hall of Famer first baseman Jeff Bagwell who did it twice. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year heading into the 2022 season, Arozarena enjoyed his second straight 20/20 season, hitting .263/.327/.445 for a 124 OPS+ with 41 doubles, 20 home runs, 89 RBI and 32 steals. Hes frankly unbelievable, but the problem is his availability. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Pederson's 2022 campaign with the San Francisco Giants has been one of the best of his career. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. His wRC+: 2019: 161 (5th best) raw numbers and as a measurement against average. He has a UZR of 2.7 and a RngR of 2.2 this year. the fastest reactions and most direct routes in the Another outfield prospect the Cardinals traded away before he broke out, Garca had a 31-homer rookie season in 2021, but he was a more well-rounded offensive player this season. It is all thanks to stable pitching, batting, and defense. Since 2017, Springer ranks in the top 20% in baseball for max exit velocity, chase rate, barrel rate, sprint speed and expected slugging. 2B. Shortstop: Dansby Swanson, Braves+21 Outs Above Average. A prototypical right fielder with plus power and a strong throwing arm, Renfroe was productive once again playing for his fourth team in as many years. If it were an easy play that drops only 3 percent of the time, he'd get merely a +0.03 for it. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Jim Callis. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. His overall catch rate of 94 percent was the highest of any of our outfielders, it's true. His powerful arm is also an asset at third base, where he has soft hands and good range to both sides as well as coming in on slow grounders. The 30-year-old boasts a UZR of 2.9 and an RngR of 2.1. And while the . Hes one of the best base runners in the game, routinely putting up 20 steals and ranks fourth in BSR since 2017. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. He was one of only two qualified hitters with a strikeout rate below 10 percent, and he also won Gold Glove honors thanks to his brilliant defensive metrics (21 DRS, 8.4 UZR/150) in left field. Now we're talking, because these are exactly the names you'd expect to see on any list of baseball's best defenders. This statistic measures the run value to defense and tries to measure how many runs a player has saved or given up through their fielding prowess. The MLB awards Gold and Platinum Gloves for the year's best defensive players. There are also some useful multi-position players in this group, including Taylor (2B, 3B, SS, OF) and Varsho (C, OF). In 2020 he shot up as one of the best players in the league. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Please feel free to reach out onTwitterwith any questions. 98: 4. Both Mike Petriello and David Adler have written about the Blue Jays aggressive outfielding on MLB.com. 6)OF: Michael Siani, Reds (No. 0.2 SB att/Team Game (catchers), and #5 Declan Rice - West Ham United Declan Rice plays for West . d'Arnaud was the only NL catcher with double-digit runs saved from pitch framing, putting him ahead of Omar Narvez, Yadier Molina and Toms Nido. Right field. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? Judge is the king of holding runners to a single, rather than a double, on a ball hit against the wall. We will use some advanced baseball jargon in this article. He played three spots for Boston manager Alex Cora last year, but the bulk of his work was in center field -- and even before his blistering postseason performance, when he had 10 extra-base hits in 48 plate appearances against the Rays and Astros, Hernandez had already demonstrated he was worth more than the two-year, $14 million deal he got from the Red Sox. Kiermaier missed most of the 2022 season with a hip injury but has long been one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. Fantasy basketball: How concerning is LeBron James' injury? Pitchers. We suggest quickly reading about those stats at the links attached. Man United's FA Cup win proves Garnacho is a key player and Maguire must leave, NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Durant's return could rock the West. indicates the player had fewer than the required number of at bats or MLB Wins Above Replacement - 2022. 1B: Nick Pratto, Royals (No. We put a lot of focus on the bat and how we think theyll perform in 2022. 2019: 1.01 +8 Brett Gardner, Yankees The former Gold Glover made his triumphant return to Boston and has been a bastion in defense sporting a UZR of 3.7. 5)The best defensive outfielder in the 2020 Draft, Crow-Armstrong went 19th overall to the Mets and moved to the Cubs last summer in a trade for Javier Bez and Trevor Williams. 32 NFL players who could change teams this offseason, UFC 285's Shevchenko by the numbers: It all adds up to domination, 5 things to know as Antoine Davis is set to pass 'Pistol' Pete's scoring record, Sizing up the player of the year winners in all 32 Division I men's conferences. Springer could easily outperform this ranking if he avoids the injured list; he had 22 homers, 50 RBIs, 59 runs and a .907 OPS over 78 games in 2021, his first with the Blue Jays after signing a six-year, $150 million deal. It was a small sample, but he's put himself in a strong position to claim one of the starting outfield spots to begin the 2022 season. The next-closest catcher was the Rangers' Jonah Heim at +12 framing runs. So let's limit ourselves to only outfielders who had at least 100 chances and check out each of the three positions. 2022 stats: .336/.449/.559, 21 HR, 89 RBI (121 games with Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball league) He is sporting a UZR of 3.0 and an ARM of 2.8. The 25-year-old hit .298/.373/.400 with more walks (62) than strikeouts (60) while adding 89 runs scored and 19 steals. Catcher: Travis d'Arnaud, Braves+10 framing runs. Major League-best 54% of borderline pitches, even better by Outs Above Average than NL Platinum Glove winner Nolan Arenado, best defender of the big four free-agent shortstops, 17 plays with a catch probability of 50% or lower. Just like the regular-season rankings, past production and future expectations played no part in deciding the orderthis is simply a rundown of the best and brightest of 2022. The kid on the cover of Sports Illustrated has somehow lived up to the massive pressure bestowed upon him, resulting now in two MVPs, Rookie of the Year, and six All-Star appearances, and hes only 29 years old. LF. +10 Peter Bourjos, Phillies (now with Rays) Well, they gave up one of their jewels when they ceded Avisail Garcia to the Miami Marlins this season. Hes on a historic pace at just 24 years old. In this series, youll find our rankings for the best players at each position in Major League Baseball. Of course he does. Nine players in Tier 4 have at least one 30-homer season in the Majors -- Meadows (2019), Gallo (2017-18, 2021), Renfroe (2019, 2021), Conforto (2019), Adolis Garca (2021), Soler (2019), Ozuna (2017), Rosario (2019) and Duvall (2016-17, 2021). Luis Robert checks in at number 10, but a full season from him could be closer to the top five, and maybe even an MVP. In 2021, a hip injury limited him to just 68 games, but the man hit .338 with a .945 OPS and 13 bombs. The 30-year-old posted a 126 OPS+ with 29 home runs and 72 RBI, and he had 11 outfield assists in a career-high 2.7-WAR season. window.". Here are the top 10 outfielders at each of the three spots, based on feedback from evaluators, as well as Hembekides and Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Tucker is a strong defender as well, posting seven outs above average in the corners. Trevino got called strikes on a Major League-best 54% of borderline pitches. Lets make one thing clear -- with the depth of the position, you can build a competitive fantasy outfield without spending big on elite options. We present them here for purely educational purposes. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as Worst-case scenario for 2023: Duvall's age begins to show and he can't hold up as an everyday center fielder. An All-Star and Gold Glove winner for the first time, Happ hit .271/.342/.440 for a 119 OPS+ with 42 doubles, 17 home runs, 72 RBI, 72 runs scored and 4.4 WAR in 158 games. 2 spot in the lineup between NL batting title winner Jeff McNeil and the one-two punch of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Walker's +33 OAA since 2019 are by far the best at the position, with Matt Olson (+12) and Paul Goldschmidt (+11) next. 1 prospect in baseball with the Red Sox in 2017, Benintendi never quite lived up to expectations in Boston, but he has set himself up for a nice free agency payday after a strong 2022 season. Few rookies in recent memory have had a greater impact on the culture of their team than Julio Rodrguez, who played a pivotal role in helping the Seattle Mariners reach the postseason for the first time since Ichiro Suzuki's rookie season in 2001. He made six five-star catches, more than any other outfielder. Mullins didn't quite match the out-of-nowhere 30/30 season he put together in 2021, but he was still one of the game's better everyday center fielders. Season: WAR: Aaron Judge: 1. Soon enough, that will include running direction and proximity to the wall, too.Right away, we've had some fun with this, showing how unbelievableBilly Hamilton is, why Kevin Kiermaier was worth his big contract extension, why the Twins' outfield should be a lot better in 2017 than it was in '16, and which outfields did the best overall at making highlight plays. This tier also includes a handful of high-risk, high-reward players, arguably none more tantalizing than Buxton. An All-Star for the second time, he posted a 144 OPS+ and led the Giants with 23 home runs, and that earned him a qualifying offer which he accepted. His combination of plus speed and quality reads and routes allows him to cover plenty of ground in center, and he also owns solid arm strength. Outfielders make up 11 of the first 29 players (including seven of the first 19) in MLB.coms Top 800 fantasy rankings for 2022. These are the best fielders in the American League and National League at every position according to Statcast's defensive metrics. 2 prospect in baseball when the season began, he lived up to the hype and then some by hitting .284/.345/.509 with 25 doubles, 28 home runs, 75 RBI, 84 runs scored and 25 steals in 132 games. He made 17 plays with a catch probability of 50% or lower, more than any other outfielder, including five five-star catches (25% catch probability or lower). And his defense is always great -- he won his first Gold Glove in 2021. While offensive stat lines have been highlighted more often and offensive players are given more plaudits, you cannot underestimate the value of defense. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Full coverage , FAQ: Everything you need to know about MLB's lockout . Andrew Benintendi, Kansas City Royals/New York Yankees. Can the Lions fix their defense? Kris Bryant - Colorado Rockies. And while that's a long way off, it's not hard to envision what might be the first legitimate bidding war between the two New York teams. Betts isn't just the top right fielder here, he's also the third-best outfielder in our metric overall, a good reminder that he a superstar in every facet of the . How much time, in seconds, it takes a runner to get from His plus-plus speed gives him more range than most at the keystone, and his solid arm strength stands out as well. 13)OF: Johan Rojas, Phillies (No. Runs saved by middle infielders based on their conversion rates as both the lead man and pivot man on double play opportunities. For LF, CF, RF fielding stats, we Its just that simple. The Guardians rookie won the Gold Glove Award in the AL and deservedly so, as his +9 OAA was the best among all left fielders. 2021: 48 (223rd among 224 players with at least 350 PA). Acuna Jr is still out recovering from the knee injury, but he should return in the next few weeks. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. He hit over .300 with a 130 wRC+ in his first year in 2019, had a bad 2020, but was incredible in 2021 with a 142 wRC+. Let's pick the Statcast All-Defense Teams for 2022. 1 spot in 2023? 2021: 0.69. Given that, it's easy enough to accumulate all the balls over the course of a season and give a player a simple plus/minus score, which accounts for plays made above average, relative to that position, rather than all outfielders. He swung at 29.7% of first pitches in '19, 13.4% in '20 and 22.5% in '21, so not fully back there.". He was especially good at plays going to his left, with half of his OAA coming from those. reported to spring camp saying the hip feels "great. Expect him to be one of the faces of baseball for the next decade-plus and a strong contender for the No. His emergence has been crucial for the Astros in weathering the departure of George Springer (and, moving forward, the likely exit of Carlos Correa). One of the most well-rounded players in the sport, Kyle Tucker continued his rise as a bona fide superstar for the Houston Astros in 2022. Then, two more bonuses can be had by redeeming the DraftKings promo code for a generous welcome offer, before signing up for the ever-popular FanDuel Sportsbook by using the FanDuel promo code. If he can just stay on the field, hell be in the best player in baseball discussion, I really believe it. MLB Advanced Media, LP. In a down season by his own lofty standards, Juan Soto was still one of the most productive offensive players in the game. When hes right, hes one of the best players in the game. He has crazy potential in Coors Field, but the former MVP has had a fantastic career so far. Escape Velocity takes the average of a player's batted ball velocities subtracted from 88. 25. +18 Ender Inciarte, Braves Top 100 Outfielders. Now it's time to finalize those rankings while expanding the list to the 25 best at each position. Tucker is a future MVP winner, its just a matter of time. 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