Top 25 Fantasy Outfielders for 2010: An Early Look

Let’s keep the rankings rolling, taking a look at the Top 25 outfielders for 2010.  There is certainly going to be a lot of movement throughout this list as the off-season progresses, as there could be some significant free agent moves, as well as more information coming out about those who had their 2009 seasons marred by injuries.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look (keep in mind that these are extremely early and are going to be fluid throughout the off-season):

1. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
2. Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Rays
3. Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Grady Sizemore - Cleveland Indians
5. Justin Upton - Arizona Diamondbacks
6. Carlos Beltran - New York Mets
7. Jacoby Ellsbury - Boston Red Sox
8. Manny Ramirez - Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Jason Bay - Boston Red Sox
10. Adam Lind - Toronto Blue Jays
11. Matt Holliday - St. Louis Cardinals
12. Andre Ethier - Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Nick Markakis - Baltimore Orioles
14. Carlos Lee - Houston Astros
15. Josh Hamilton - Texas Rangers
16. Adam Dunn - Washington Nationals
17. Jayson Werth - Philadelphia Phillies
18. Ichiro Suzuki - Seattle Mariners
19. Carlos Granderson - Detroit Tigers
20. Carlos Quentin - Chicago White Sox
21. Nelson Cruz - Texas Rangers
22. Ben Zobrist - Tampa Bay Rays
23. Hunter Pence - Houston Astros
24. Bobby Abreu - Los Angeles Angels
25. Shane Victorino - Philadelphia Phillies

Thoughts:

• Carl Crawford or Matt Kemp? Just who is the No. 2 outfielder is certainly a big question at this point and one that we will be looking into.
• I may not be high on Grady Sizemore, but we all know he is significantly better than his injury-plagued stats showed. I’d look for him to have a solid bounce-back campaign in 2010.
• Justin Upton’s huge season (.300, 26 HR, 20 SB) came despite hitting just .250 with 2 HR and 1 SB in April. What happens if he comes out of the chute hitting well? We could find out in 2010 and he will rise quickly up draft boards. Could he rise too much? It’s possible, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if I’m recommending to pass over him and grab a Beltran or Markakis a round or two later.
• A potential to steal 60+ bases is just not something you can get from very many players. In fact, the number of players who could steal that many bases, as well as be productive in other areas, can be counted on one hand. Jacoby Ellsbury brings with him an incredible package. He stole 70 bases. He hit .300. He has the potential to score well over 100 runs. He’s certainly among the best outfielders in the game.
• Adam Lind had a tremendous season, hitting 35 HR, but is it repeatable? He had just a 36.8% flyball rate, so his home runs came courtesy of a 19.8% HR/FB rate. That was 13th in the league, something we will take a close look at in the off-season to determine if it is something he could replicate in 2010.
• Where will Matt Holliday and Jason Bay land in 2010? That will ultimately determine where they belong on this list.
• Would you rather own Carlos Lee or Josh Hamilton? In Lee, we know exactly what we are going to get. In Hamilton, the jury is really still out after injuries hampered him in 2009. It’s going to be a tough question we will try to answer.
• We all know that Carlos Quentin struggled with injury in 2009, but homering four times in the last week certainly left fantasy owners with a good taste in their mouths. While duplicating his 2008 statistics is unlikely, he is going to be a great bounce-back candidate in 2010.

What are your thoughts on the early rankings?  Who is too high?  Who is too low?  Who was omitted who shouldn’t have been?

Previous Early Rankings:
Catchers
First Baseman
Second Baseman
Third Baseman
Shortstops

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