So does Mookie Betts, who finished second for NL MVP in 2020. Lets marvel at the all-around game that is Mookie Betts. 1 at 1B? Whether you opt to go that route or decide to wait to fill out your outfield corps, this tier-by-tier breakdown can help. 2020: 113 (67th) When he came up in 2020, we saw glimpses of greatness. . Soto came up as a 19-year-old rookie in 2018, and hes second in wRC+ since 2018 behind Mike Trout. Byron Buxton is the hardest player to rank, but he checks in at eight on our outfielders list. 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. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Do we really need to say much beyond the name? The 21-year-old earned an All-Star selection, won Silver Slugger honors, finished seventh in AL MVP voting, and easily took home the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Robles remains a question mark, so the late-season emergence of Thomas gives them some insurance in . Joc Pederson, San Francisco Giants. Fantasy basketball: How concerning is LeBron James' injury? Closing out the first tier is a pair of ascending stars in Tucker and Robert, both of whom made major strides last season. you may be asking. In 2020 he shot up as one of the best players in the league. Per Langs, in a note last summer: "From 2019 to 2020, he had a huge drop-off in swing rate (45.2% to 34.6%), which was the largest in MLB. 1/MLB No. Then there are Yelich and Bellinger, the NL MVP Award winners in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Expect him to be one of the faces of baseball for the next decade-plus and a strong contender for the No. 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. 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. Langeliers, Marlins shortstop Nasim Nunez, Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia also received second-team nods in 2021. Soto is represented by Scott Boras, who almost always takes his clients into free agency. Youll see stats such asWAR,OAA,fWAR,DRS, etc. RotoWire provides millions of annual users with the latest fantasy sports, daily fantasy sports, and sports betting news, information, tools, and more. However, Yelich hit .189 against sliders and curveballs in 2021, after batting .191 against those pitches in 2020. "How come Kiermaier isn't higher?" 1/MLB No. All types of analysis went into these rankings. Signed to a four-year, $79 million deal during the offseason, Schwarber slugged an NL-leading 46 home runs in his first season with the Phillies. WILSON womens 12.5" Softball Glove, White/Black, 12.5 US. He'll hit the open market at 26, probably with some of the best numbers we've ever seen for a position player. The 20 Best Defensive Outfielders in Recent MLB History. Isolates the pitcher's contribution to limiting the opposition's run game. As Sarah Langs noted, Yelich's underlying data suggests that he's still hitting the ball hard -- but there are other issues. In the center of the defense is newly acquired outfielder Hunter Renfroe. Hes frankly unbelievable, but the problem is his availability. He has batted .300 or better in four consecutive seasons, pushing his career average to .298. Robert, 24, missed more than three months after tearing his right hip flexor, but he put up a .338 average with 13 homers and six steals in 68 games, while cutting his strikeout rate from 32.2% as a rookie to 20.6%. There were three players with an OPS over .900 and a K-rate under 16% last year: Vlad Jr, Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker. The defensive stats will reflect their time solely at shortstop. No matter how bad Bellinger looks now, the exec said, he has too much talent for the Dodgers to not bet on the young slugger to figure out something -- and, on top of that, Bellinger will not be a total loss because he can bear so much value as a baserunner and a defender. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. +9 Christian Yelich, Marlins Louisville Slugger 2022 Xeno Fastpitch Glove Series# Kicking off the list is one of the record-breaking five Gold Glovers of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. Well, they gave up one of their jewels when they ceded Avisail Garcia to the Miami Marlins this season. 2021 Stats: 151 G, .313/.465/.534, .999 OPS, 163 wRC+, 29 HR, 95 RBI, 9 SB, 22.2% BB, 14.2% K, 6.6 fWAR, 4 DRS, 5 OAA. He has a 140 career wRC+ and 105 home runs in 395 games. Underneath the deep disappointment that the 2021 Mets represented, Nimmo had an excellent season, posting a .401 on-base percentage. He even slid over the centerfield during the playoffs and looked very sound out there. 2/MLB No. No player in this tier hit more homers last season than Haniger, who returned from a lengthy absence to record 39 dingers, 100 RBIs and 110 runs scored. The Nationals superstar is on a Hall of Fame trajectory -- his career 160 OPS+ is the fourth highest any modern-era (since 1900) player has recorded through his age-22 season (min. Mookie Betts RF | Dodgers . Shortstop: Dansby Swanson, Braves+21 Outs Above Average. 25. While offensive stat lines have been highlighted more often and offensive players are given more plaudits, you cannot underestimate the value of defense. The former Gold Glover made his triumphant return to Boston and has been a bastion in defense sporting a UZR of 3.7. 2B: Vidal Brujn, Rays (No. He won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in the season in which Wander Franco made his debut, which is saying something. 27. When healthy, Judge has done nothing but mash. Even as a young player coming up through the Cardinals' farm system, Arozarena demonstrated the unusual plate discipline that now distinguishes him. Turning down a $230 million extension from the Yankees before Opening Day, Aaron Judge is betting on the league viewing him as a top-five outfielder in free agency and by every metric, he is. 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. February 28, 2023. plate appearances for the BA, OBP, SLG or OPS title that year. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as indicates the player had fewer than the required number of at bats or Buxton is guaranteed to make at least $100 million, but that number will grow if he can stay on the field and trigger some incentive clauses. Arozarena leads off Tier 3 after following up his history-making performance in the 2020 postseason with an AL Rookie of the Year Award-winning season. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. The only issue with Betts is he did drop a bit last year offensively due to a hip injury, and he doesnt look all the way healthy yet. +6 Angel Pagan, Giants 99: 3. Another year, another pile of accolades for Mookie Betts who won his fifth Silver Slugger, sixth Gold Glove and made his sixth trip to the All-Star Game in the third season of a 12-year, $365 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mookie Betts is the sixth-best outfielder in baseball, and it feels wrong to rank him this low, but wait until you see the top five. The FC Barcelona and Spain legend, Sergio Busquets is considered one of the greatest Defensive Midfielders of all time. Outfielders make up 11 of the first 29 players (including seven of the first 19) in MLB.coms Top 800 fantasy rankings for 2022. Remember when we talked about the Brewers' defense earlier? He just stopped swinging as often, and that seemed to hurt him. The 31-year-old hit .283/.369/.630 for a 178 OPS+ while slugging 40 home runs in just 499 plate appearances, and his 6.3 WAR still ranked sixth among all American League players. The slugger, better known for his offense, is just as brilliant in defense, as he sports a UZR of 2.5. The best outfield gloves help the players in the outfield position, popularly known as the last line of defense, to catch the ball that comes with great force and from a great height. With enhanced command of the strike zone, Trout generated a slash line of .333/.466/.624 in his first 36 games and then didn't play again. as Active Spin. The ultimate wild card in this tier is Kelenic, who slashed .151/.236/.272 in his first 259 plate appearances a year ago after coming to the Majors amid considerable hype. A ** by the stat's value @ JimCallisMLB. Or write about sports? +20 Hamilton, Reds We give an extra bump to elite defense, and well dock a player if the defense is well-below average. Jim Callis. Like Mike Trout, his trajectory in some of the most important markers could not be more clear. +6 Steven Souza Jr., Rays. How to Identify It: Simply put, good defenders look like naturals. Defensive Stats 1 shortstop by a wide margin over Francisco Lindor and Nico Hoerner (+13 OAA each). He finished fifth in fWAR among all American League players last season. How far, in feet, a fielder or runner has traveled on a His +27 OAA was No. Jump is a Statcast metric that shows which players have 27 prospect in the Cleveland organization would finish as one of the 10 best outfielders in baseball? He tied with Bryan Reynolds for most fWAR among center fielders last season -- while playing 39 fewer games than Reynolds. Pederson's 2022 campaign with the San Francisco Giants has been one of the best of his career. 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week, How to watch PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational on ESPN+, Disputed loan at center of Commanders probe, Everything you need to know about F1's 2023 season, F1 season preview: Who's hot and who's not, LIVE Transfer Talk: Gvardiol, Bellingham named Real Madrid's top transfer targets. List of the Best Outfielders on MLB The Show 22. It'd be like Superman vs. Batman: The Yankees, chasing Soto as they move into the last years of Giancarlo Stanton's contract and as Aaron Judge edges into his mid-30s, frothing at the possible addition of a left-handed-hitting superstar for Yankee Stadium against the Mets, fronted by the richest owner in baseball, Steve Cohen, who, in three years, may or may not have reached his goal of winning a championship. 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. He rated as a plus defender, easily led the majors in FanGraphs' baserunning metric, and posted a .383 on-base percentage. Since there are three times as many outfielders as there are other positions on the diamond, it made sense to add an honorable mention list of 25 guys onto our top 25 list. He could be an impact player on a contending team. Best-case scenario for 2023: Duvall puts together another 30+ homer, 100+ RBI season while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field. Full coverage , FAQ: Everything you need to know about MLB's lockout . Mookie is one of the best defensive right-fielders of all time. Acua is a better right fielder, throws better, runs better, but Soto's dominance as a hitter is so unusual that his offense could more than offset any flaws in other parts of his play. He hit 11 home runs and stole nine bases in just 56 games, but he only had a .738 OPS. 2021 Stats: 140 G, .294/.359/.557, .917 OPS, 147 wRC+, 30 HR, 92 RBI, 14 SB, 9.3% BB, 15.9% K, 4.8 fWAR, 2 DRS, 1 OAA. He has crazy potential in Coors Field, but the former MVP has had a fantastic career so far. He could be vying with Trout at the top of this list next year. 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. The best defender will naturally react to the ball off the bat, making the correct movement and using the correct . Lets make one thing clear -- with the depth of the position, you can build a competitive fantasy outfield without spending big on elite options. 2022 stats: .336/.449/.559, 21 HR, 89 RBI (121 games with Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball league) Defensive Stat Glossary. Catcher: Travis d'Arnaud, Braves+10 framing runs. +9 Jake Marisnick, Astros. When hes right, hes one of the best players in the game. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. For my money, the most underrated player in the league. 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. Ronald Acua Jr. CF | Braves . Runs saved by middle infielders based on their conversion rates as both the lead man and pivot man on double play opportunities. As such, this article will take a look at five of the best defensive midfielders currently in the Premier League as of November 2022. Our complete All-Defense first team includes five Top 100 Prospects (end-of-2021-season rankings in parentheses): C: Adley Rutschman, Orioles (No. Third base: Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pirates+18 Outs Above Average. Harper finished third in fWAR, first in wRC+, hit .309 with 35 HR, and even stole 13 bases. 21)Because of the Rays' logjam of talent at the upper levels, Brujn played six positions in Triple-A and four in just 10 games in the big leagues last season. 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