Dynasty League Positional Rankings: Top 120 Outfielders

To read the previous articles in this series, click below:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Shortstops
• Third Basemen

The Primer:
Because dynasty league rankings are relatively league-dependent, I set up parameters for ranking the players below (and the ones who will follow at other positions). The list here presupposes a 16-team standard dynasty format, where there are no contracts/salaries, players can be kept forever and owners have minor league farm systems in which to hoard prospects. So feel free to adjust this as necessary for your individual league, whether it’s moving non-elite prospects without 2014 ETA’s down if you don’t have separate farm teams or moving lower-risk, lower-reward players up in deeper mixed or -only formats.

Outfield is a monster of a position to rank. Unfortunately, it’s no longer a monster position as far as depth at the major-league level. You have the superstars at the top, but as you may be noticing as you do mock and real drafts this pre-season, if you wait too long to fill those last two outfield spots, you’re going to be at more of a disadvantage than five years ago. And the reason why makes sense—with major league teams focusing more on defense, fewer first basemen are parading around the grass aimlessly. The minor leagues, however, could see a good wave of talent coming up at the position over the next two seasons—led by two of the top three fantasy prospects in the minors. The next wave is less impressive, but only by comparison. And the influx of young talent at the major league level, even in the form of players who haven’t quite lived up to expectations yet, is heartening to say the least. And as a disclaimer, you won’t see players who are outfield eligible and have been ranked at other positions on this list. This is purely fresh blood. Dig in.

And now, your top 120 outfielders in dynasty formats:

• 1) Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

YOU’RE THE BEST! AROUND! NOTHING’S GONNA EVER KEEP YOU DOWN. YOU’RE THE BEST! AROUND! NOTHING’S GONNA EVER KEEP YOU DOWN.

• 2) Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
• 3) Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 4) Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
• 5) Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
• 6) Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

If you own one of these guys, you’re happy. But if you own Harper, you’re double happy. Stanton may have had some injuries recently, but he’s still not turning 25 until after the 2014 season is over and he’s going to hit 50 homers one of these years. Braun may not steal as many bases from here on out, but he’s still an elite hitter even with reduced impact there.

• 7) Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
• 8) Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves
• 9) Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
• 10) Jacoby Ellsbury, New York Yankees
• 11) Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
• 12) Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves
• 13) Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers

These are all guys you could call your best outfielder, even though they’re not as elite as the first grouping. Jones should really be in a tier by himself, but this isn’t “Being John Malkovich.” Ellsbury is a better value in redraft leagues because his steals are going to decline in the near future—even though he’s still pretty elite now. Heyward over Puig may surprise some, but it’s more of a vote of confidence in Heyward, who I still believe in as a top-shelf fantasy outfielder long-term.

• 14) Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
• 15) Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays
• 16) Oscar Taveras, St Louis Cardinals

The young guns are here. If Taveras was going to start the season in the majors, he’d be first in this group of three. He is going to hit and hit a lot. We all know the upside that Buxton has, but Myers’ has the least ceiling in this group. He gets this spot because he’s done it already at the major-league level.

• 17) Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

You could rank Kemp anywhere on this list and it would look wrong. I really hope he moves past these injuries because he’s one of my favorite players to watch.

• 18) Matt Holliday, St Louis Cardinals
• 19) Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds
• 20) Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
• 21) Shin-Soo Choo, Texas Rangers
• 22) Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 23) Alex Rios, Texas Rangers
• 24) Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
• 25) Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics
• 26) Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins
• 27) Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
• 28) Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals

This tier is so superfluous that you could make an argument for these players in nearly any order. You can’t beat the consistency of Holliday and Pence, but the Reds’ speedster splits them up with his potential league-changing speed. The most important take away from this tier is not to forget how good Christian Yelich can be. He has the potential to be a .300 hitter with good pop and speed. I’ll still gamble on Bautista for another year or two in redraft formats, but he’s 33 years old, and I’m thinking he won’t get less injury prone.

• 29) George Springer, Houston Astros
• 30) Desmond Jennings, Tampa Bay Rays
• 31) Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 32) Josh Hamilton, Los Angeles Angels
• 33) Domonic Brown, Philadephia Phillies
• 34) Carlos Beltran, New York Yankees
• 35) Oswaldo Arcia, Minnesota Twins
• 36) Clint Frazier, Cleveland Indians
• 37) Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers
• 38) Curtis Granderson, New York Mets
• 39) Leonys Martin, Texas Rangers
• 40) Adam Eaton, Chicago White Sox
• 41) Shane Victorino, Boston Red Sox
• 42) Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers

This group is sprinkled with power/speed guys that have disappointed recently (Jennings and Jackson), prospects with big upside (Springer, Polanco, Frazier) and some former high-impact players (Hamilton, Beltran, Granderson). The guys who could be had at somewhat of a discount here based on their initial non-stardom are Arcia and Eaton—both of whom could be top-25 outfielders in relatively short order.

• 43) Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
• 44) Carl Crawford, Los Angeles Dodgers
• 45) Norichika Aoki, Kansas City Royals
• 46) David Dahl, Colorado Rockies
• 47) Colby Rasmus, Toronto Blue Jays
• 47B) Dexter Fowler
• 48) B.J. Upton, Atlanta Braves
• 49) Coco Crisp, Oakland Athletics
• 50) Jorge Soler, Chicago Cubs
• 51) Josh Reddick, Oakland Athletics
• 52) Alfonso Soriano, New York Yankees
• 53) Will Venable, San Diego Padres
• 54) Nelson Cruz, Free Agent
• 55) Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
• 56) Michael Bourn, Cleveland Indians

If you’re looking for a ton of prospects, you’re probably going to be disappointed here. And the big reason for that is the relative shallowness of the position at the major-league level. Crawford would be ranked higher if he weren’t so brittle at this point—when he’s on the field, he’s been the type of hitter he was in Tampa, just with a lot less speed. B.J. Upton and Josh Reddick are looking to bounce back from tough years in 2013, and to an extent I think both can do it. I also do not think Ethier will be a fourth outfielder forever.

• 57) Raimel Tapia, Colorado Rockies
• 58) Albert Almora, Chicago Cubs
• 59) Brett Gardner, New York Yankees
• 60) Avisail Garcia, Chicago White Sox
• 61) Khris Davis, Milwaukee Brewers
• 62) Ben Revere, Philadelphia Phillies
• 63) Jake Marisnick, Miami Marlins
• 64) Brian Goodwin, Washington Nationals
• 65) Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals
• 66) Aaron Hicks, Minnesota Twins
• 67) Michael Choice, Texas Rangers
• 68) Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians
• 69) Junior Lake, Chicago Cubs

And here are some of the riskier players. I still am a fan of both Goodwin and Cain, but they’ll have to show more in 2014 to get back to previous heights in dynasty leagues. Also, beware of post-hype guys like Choice, Hicks, and Marisnick—they all have real upside that shouldn’t be discounted because they haven’t set the world on fire yet.

• 70) Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks
• 71) Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins
• 72) Torii Hunter, Detroit Tigers
• 73) Mason Williams, New York Yankees
• 74) Kole Calhoun, Los Angeles Angels
• 75) Marcell Ozuna, Miami Marlins
• 76) Hunter Renfroe, San Diego Padres
• 77) Jackie Bradley Jr., Boston Red Sox
• 78) Rymer Liriano, San Diego Padres
• 79) Josh Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 80) Austin Meadows, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 81) Dayan Viciedo, Chicago White Sox
• 82) Carlos Quentin, San Diego Padres
• 83) Stephen Piscotty, St Louis Cardinals
• 84) Daniel Nava, Boston Red Sox
• 85) Ryan Ludwick, Cincinnati Reds
• 86) Nate Schierholtz, Chicago Cubs
• 87) Tyler Austin, New York Yankees
• 88) Nick Williams, Texas Rangers

I don’t understand the intensity of some of the Kole Calhoun love. He’s a decent player, but a near 20/20 candidate he is not. Ozuna gets overlooked in Miami, but he showed a stronger than expected contact level in the majors and will get the first half of the 2014 season to show he belongs in their outfield long-term. Bell and Renfroe are players who could make nice jumps in 2014 and both have significant fantasy upside.

• 87) Anthony Gose, Toronto Blue Jays
• 88) Chris Young, New York Mets
• 89) Corey Dickerson, Colorado Rockies
• 90) Jorge Bonifacio, Kansas City Royals
• 91) Michael Saunders, Seattle Mariners
• 92) Bubba Starling, Kansas City Royals
• 93) Cameron Maybin, San Diego Padres
• 94) Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays
• 95) Matt Joyce, Tampa Bay Rays
• 96) Delino DeShields Jr, Houston Astros
• 97) Peter Bourjos, St Louis Cardinals
• 98) Marlon Byrd, Philadelphia Phillies
• 99) Domingo Santana, Houston Astros
• 100) Kyle Parker, Colorado Rockies
• 101) Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants
• 102) Eric Young Jr, New York Mets
• 103) A.J. Pollock, Arizona Diamondbacks
• 104) Cesar Puello, New York Mets
• 105) Michael Morse, San Francisco Giants
• 106) Denard Span, Washington Nationals
• 107) Drew Stubbs, Colorado Rockies
• 108) Lewis Brinson, Texas Rangers
• 109) Henry Urrutia, Baltimore Orioles
• 110) Robbie Grossman, Houston Astros
• 111) Justin Ruggiano, Chicago Cubs
• 112) Raul Ibanez, Los Angeles Angels
• 113) Jose Tabata, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 114) Jon Jay, St Louis Cardinals
• 115) Alex Presley, Minnesota Twins
• 116) Rajai Davis, Detroit Tigers
• 117) Reymond Fuentes, San Diego Padres
• 118) Billy McKinney, Oakland Athletics
• 119) Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
• 120) Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Yes, I actually went 120 players deep. Gose is another name not to forget about—if he could figure out how to get on base, the speed could be fun to own. Dickerson, Parker, Stubbs, and Blackmon all benefit from the potential playing time in Colorado, but unfortunately only one of them will likely get it (barring an injury). I’m not a believer in Urrutia’s power, as I think he’ll be severely lacking in the category. I’m as amazed as you are that I ranked a 93-year-old Raul Ibanez on this list, but it’s the right thing to do. I don’t need a discrimination suit on my hands here.