Fantasy Baseball 2011: Keeper Leagues' Top 30 Outfielders

Outfield may be the toughest position to rank for keeper league owners, because the rules play such a huge impact on how we view certain players. 

If you can keep someone indefinitely, how much better does someone like Jason Heyward appear?  If we are talking about only two or three years, it’s tough to bypass established players for uncertainty, isn’t it? 

Keep that in mind when looking at these rankings:

1. Ryan Braun – Milwaukee Brewers
2. Carlos Gonzalez – Colorado Rockies
3. Carl Crawford – Boston Red Sox
4. Matt Kemp – Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Matt Holliday – St. Louis Cardinals
6. Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates
7. Josh Hamilton – Texas Rangers
8. Jay Bruce – Cincinnati Reds
9. Alex Rios – Chicago White Sox
10. Justin Upton – Arizona Diamondbacks
11. Jason Heyward – Atlanta Braves
12. Mike Stanton – Florida Marlins
13. Colby Rasmus – St. Louis Cardinals
14. Andre Ethier – Los Angeles Dodgers
15. Hunter Pence – Houston Astros
16. Shin-Soo Choo – Cleveland Indians
17. Nelson Cruz – Texas Rangers
18. Jacoby Ellsbury – Boston Red Sox
19. Jose Bautista – Toronto Blue Jays
20. B.J. Upton – Tampa Bay Rays
21. Jayson Werth – Washington Nationals
22. Ichiro Suzuki – Seattle Mariners
23. Curtis Granderson – New York Yankees
24. Chris Young – Arizona Diamondbacks
25. Brett Gardner – New York Yankees
26. Shane Victorino – Philadelphia Phillies
27. Adam Jones – Baltimore Orioles
28. Nick Markakis – Baltimore Orioles
29. Ben Zobrist – Tampa Bay Rays
30. Delmon Young – Minnesota Twins

Thoughts:

Some people may want to see “CarGo” ranked in the top spot for keeper leagues, but I have him second in the regular rankings and there is no reason to make a change here.  It’s not like Braun is an old veteran, just two years older than Gonzalez (27-years old vs. 25-years old).

It’s not that Andrew McCutchen is 24-years old that moves him up in these rankings.  It’s that I would project him out to soon become one of the elite players in the game.  There is too much potential upside not to consider him just a shade below the elite in the outfield.  In fact, it could probably be debated to move McCutchen even further up your draft board.

Jason Heyward has the potential to be among the elite outfielders in the game, but did he show enough in 2010 to push him into the Top 10?  I’m not so sure about that.  Depending on your format and how long you can keep him really would ultimately help establish his value in your league.

Keeper league…Non-keeper league…The threat of injury continues to hurt Nelson Cruz from what could be.

How many people show the type of power potential that Mike Stanton does?  I love him in keeper formats, as he has the potential to be an absolute beast.  He has to be considered one of the best keepers, depending on your league rules.  However, as long as you have him locked in for at least another year or two, it’s hard to go wrong.

Thinking past just 2011 certainly helps Brett Gardner, doesn’t it?  While he’s a good play in ’11, thinking about the potential of him hitting atop the Yankees lineup and scoring 110+ runs routinely has to be appealing (and now we learned that it may actually be a reality in 2011).  Throw in 40+ stolen bases and it’s hard not to like him in keeper formats.

Outfield is a deeper position, stocked with potential young superstars.  It makes it difficult to include players like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Domonick Brown and Desmond Jennings, though all could become fixtures on this type of list as soon as 2012.  Consider them all great selections, but they should be considered reserves on draft day.

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Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 30 Outfielders
• Top 30 Starting Pitchers
• Top 15 Closers

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