Fantasy Baseball 2018 Rankings: Outfield

The outfield is always one of my favorite positions to build on draft day. Our top two tiers bring us a bevy of powerful options with a few 20/20 candidates sprinkled in.

Top Tier Bargains

J.D. Martinez put up some silly numbers in 2017, blasting 45 home runs and driving in 104 over just 119 games. Since his 2014 breakthrough, Martinez has posted an elite .300/.362/.574 line, with his failure to crack more than 125 games more than once over that span being the only blemish on his record. Quite frankly, Martinez does not need 150 games to return you massive roto value and at this point, I have to approach him much like I do Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton — bet on the talent, hope for the health. the difference between Martinez, Harper and Stanton? J.D. is just might slip to you in round three.

When looking at the second tier,  both Yoenis Cespedes (ADP: 67) and Yasiel Puig (ADP: 109) have the potential to turn massive profit based on past performances and since kicking off drafts a few weeks ago,have ended up on a majority of my teams. Cespedes injury trouble early on certainly will give some pause, so this is certainly one to keep an eye on for updates.

Puig very quietly slashed .263/.346/.487 to go along with 28 home runs and 15 swipes. If he can stay comfortable closer to the top of the Dodgers potent lineup, we’ve got top-10 upside regularly available outside of pick 100 overall.

Thanks, but No Thanks

Billy Hamilton and his sub-.300 OBP are unlikely to find their way onto any of my squads. In this era flush with power, it’s difficult to sacrifice an outfield spot to someone who will likely hurt your average and deliver single digit home runs. There are enough 25/10 bats in this league to make up the steals elsewhere while you are not hurting yourself in other places.

Deep Thoughts

Steven Souza sits outside of the top-50 in terms of outfield ADP and is one of those 25/10 options that can be scooped up in the mid-rounds of drafts. Adam Eaton gives you just enough of everything and is hitting in a fantasy friendly spot atop the Nationals lineup. Whenever Michael Conforto (ADP: 191) gets back on the field, he’s going to mash. Matt Kemp put together a very productive season in 2017 adn while the Dodgers don’t appear to have a starter’s share of at-bats for him, the veteran appears motivated to re-emerge with his old team… I’m buying late. Hunter Pence bottomed out with a .701 OPS over 134 games last year, but even with that performance, he’s averaged 20 home runs and 8 steals per 162 games over the past four seasons. The speed is going, but a healthy pence can provide some counting stats on the cheap.

Outfield Draft Rankings 2018