Top 35 Fantasy Baseball Outfielders for 2010: Take Three

As we continue to update our rankings (based on the projections in the 2010 Rotoprofessor Draft Guide), let’s turn our attention to the outfield.  It’s surprisingly not quite as deep of a position as you’d think, especially for those in five outfielder formats.  Let’s take a look at how things currently stand and who you should be targeting on draft day:

1. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
2. Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Matt Holliday - St. Louis Cardinals
4. Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Rays
5. Jacoby Ellsbury - Boston Red Sox
6. Grady Sizemore - Cleveland Indians
7. Justin Upton - Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Jason Bay - New York Mets
9. Nick Markakis - Baltimore Orioles
10. Adam Lind - Toronto Blue Jats
11. Andre Ethier - Los Angeles Dodgers
12. Bobby Abreu - Los Angeles Angels
13. Carlos Lee - Houston Astros
14. Ben Zobrist - Tampa Bay Rays
15. Curtis Granderson - New York Yankees
16. Shin-Soo Choo - Cleveland Indians
17. Carlos Quentin - Chicago White Sox
18. Ichiro Suzuki - Seattle Mariners
19. Adam Dunn - Washington Nationals
20. Jayson Werth - Philadelphia Phillies
21. Hunter Pence - Houston Astros
22. Nelson Cruz - Texas Rangers
23. Raul Ibanez - Philadelphia Phillies
24. Manny Ramirez - Los Angeles Dodgers
25. Denard Span - Minnesota Twins
26. Josh Hamilton - Texas Rangers
27. Shane Victorino - Philadelphia
28. Johnny Damon - Free Agent
29. Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles
30. Jay Bruce - Cincinnati Reds
31. Nate McLouth - Atlanta Braves
32. Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
33. Alex Rios - Chicago White Sox
34. Franklin Gutierrez - Seattle Mariners
35. Ryan Ludwick - St. Louis Cardinals

Thoughts

• Is there any way you would consider taking Matt Kemp over Ryan Braun?  I don’t see it, though apparently some do.  To see my reasoning, you can click here .
• As the number four outfielder on my draft board, I don’t view Carl Crawford as a first round pick.  You can see why by clicking here .
• Don’t reach too high for Grady Sizemore.  While I have him slotted in the sixth spot, there is also a lot of risk hanging over him.  Besides coming off an injury shortened ‘09, he doesn’t offer much average upside and expecting 30+ home runs again would be a mistake.  He’s a top option and a No. 1 outfielder, but proceed carefully.
• Justin Upton has as much upside as anyone in the game, but at 22-years old there is no guarantee that he is able to put it all together in ‘10.  Still, even if he simply matches his ‘09 production (.300, 26 HR, 86 RBI, 84 R, 20 SB), who’s going to complain?  He’s a great option in all formats, but keep your expectations tempered.
• We know what Markakis is at this point, but is that such a bad thing?  Why do people devalue him because we know he’s going to hit around .300 with 20+ HR and go 90/90?  It just doesn’t make sense to me.
• Even moving into the new Yankees Stadium, I think Curtis Granderson’s 30 HR may be his ceiling, considering he hit 49.3 percent of his hits in the air in ‘09.  A decrease there will help to offset the advantage he gets from his new surroundings.
• Everyone loves Ichiro, but he’s no longer the top outfielder that he once was.  For my reasoning why, click here .
• For as good as Jayson Werth is, make sure you don’t overvalue him.  He’s going in the third round in fantasy drafts, despite not producing a certainty in the average department.  He’s got good power and solid speed, but when you strikeout over 27 percent of the time, your going to need a lot of luck to put up a solid average, decreasing his value.  For more details on him, click here .
• If Manny Ramirez stays healthy and on the field, he has the potential to produce significantly better than his No. 24 ranking.  Since 2006 he’s had over 500 at-bats in just one season (552 in ‘08), so it makes it tough to expect.
• Johnny Damon’s value will be fully determined once he signs a contract.  I wouldn’t expect him to move up much in the rankings, but he certainly has the potential to fall a few spots.
• It may seem off to have Franklin Gutierrez ranked this high, but he should be considered a very good sleeper for ‘10.  He has the potential to be a 20/20 option and he will likely hit in the middle of the Mariners lineup.  Don’t draft him as the 34th outfielder off the board, but that’s the type of production you very likely could get.

What are your thoughts on the rankings?  Who’s too high?  Too low?  Who was the biggest omission?

Make sure to order your copy of the Rotoprofessor 2010 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, selling for just $5, by clicking here .

Make sure to check out our other early rankings:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Third Basemen
• Shortstops
• Designated Hitters
• Starting Pitchers
• Closers

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