The quarter of the 2013 baseball season has passed us by and where taking this time to look back and reflect on some studs and duds in the early season by re-ranking each and every position for the rest of the season. In the weeks, we are going to go through position-by-position and highlight some of the biggest movers as well as update our tiered rankings at each spot. The rankings are can be considered a cheat sheet of shorts for if you were drafting today for the rest of the season. Early returns are certainly considered, but we are focused on what these guys will do and not necessarily what he have done. The prime utility of this tiered list will most likely be for making waiver wire and trade decisions, and while the players in each tier are arranged in the order that we’d prefer them, they are essentially equal values when considering the trade market.
A quick look a the stats if the outfield position reveals four tiers of guys that we are comfortable relying on day-in and day-out in a standard mixed league. After tier four, there is a bit of a drop-off to round out the top-60and though many of the players in tier five could make the jump into our range of trusted assets, we’d prefer to have them in a bench role for now.
Tier One
1. Mike Trout
Now that’s May like it! .308/.410/.662 slash with 6 homers and 4 steals in 18 May games.
2. Ryan Braun
3. Carlos Gonzalez
NL leader in runs scored with 36 to go along with 10 HR and 8 steals… very nice!
4. Justin Upton
Just two home runs in May after a torrid April.
5. Matt Kemp
Shoulder injury appears to be impacting early-season power. Still, he homered yesterday and should heat up with the weather.
6. Andrew McCutchen
7. Bryce Harper
I’m not ashamed to admit when I’m wrong and it’s starting to look like I was way off on Harper this year. I expected good numbers, but he has been great. He hits, he runs, he plays great D and at 21-years old he’s got an awesome 13.6 BB% .
Tier Two
8. Yoenis Cespedes
Through 161 MLB games: .275-91-31-103-17. Ignore the low BA and buy-low on this 5-category producer.
9. Matt Holliday
If there is a more consistent and underrated top-10 outfield I haven’t met him. The power and average will return soon.
10. Shin-Soo Choo
Moving to Great American Ballpark has worked well with Choo’s power stroke, looks like a lock for 20/20.
11. Jose Bautista
Nine home runs despite a .244 average, Joey Bats will be just fine.
12. Jacoby Ellsbury
He’s making solid contact (12.0K%), walking (7.7BB%) and running (13 steals) – .273 BABIP can be blamed for some of the .241 average.
13. Allen Craig
Plenty of run production so far… the power will come.
14. Adam Jones
2012 was not a fluke.
15. Alex Rios
Breaking that ever-other-year pattern. When Rios is good, he’s really good!
16. Ben Zobrist
Getting on-base and producing runs, just need that power and speed to kick in,
17. Jason Heyward
18. Austin Jackson
Hamstring injuries have a way of lingering… love the talent when healthy though.
19. Giancarlo Stanton
See above.
Tier Three
20. Jay Bruce
21. Alex Gordon
Power and speed may never return to 2011 levels, but .343/.373/.531 slash line is very nice.
22. Carl Crawford
Is this the Carl of old? Current 162-game pace: .298-103-20-44-32.
23. Starling Marte
Betting against a .300 batting average, but 20 HR and 30 SB is within reach for 2013’s breakout outfielder.
24. Martin Prado
Signs of life in May–.269 average–but overall game is still lagging.
25. B.J. Upton
Upside is enticing but he must be benched in the short term
26. Shane Victorino
Bounce-back effort in Beantown has been hampered by nagging injury issues.
27. Michael Bourn
Plenty of upside batting atop the revamped Indians lineup.
28. Desmond Jennings
29. Chris Davis
30. Angel Pagan
31. Nelson Cruz
Cruz is back with 11 homers and 33 RBI through 44 games. now lets see if he can avoid the DL…
32. Hunter Pence
He’s not the flashiest .270-90-20-90-10 bat on the market, but you can take those numbers to the bank.
33. Curtis Granderson
34. Carlos Gomez
Question the .405 BABIP all you want, I’ll buy the 19 HR and 37 steals CarGo Jr. put up in 2012.
35. Jayson Werth
Setback with the hamstring injury has him out until early-June at least
36. Mike Morse
37. Nick Swisher
38. Brett Gardner
39. Josh Hamilton
Perhaps if he played all 162 games vs. the Astros, he’d be a top-30 outfielder.
40. Nate McLouth
In 93 games with the Orioles, McLouth has 10 home runs and 25 steals.
Tier Four
41. Josh Willingham
42. Dexter Fowler
Not as good as you saw in April. Not as bad as you’ve seen in May.
43. Melky Cabrera
The Melk-Man is heating up with a .350 average and 8 runs scored in his past 10 games.
44. Coco Crisp
Though the power and speed is legit, injuries will always keep Coco down.
45. Carlos Beltran
Not buying the 40-homer pace after last season’s second half fade.
46. Norichika Aoki
47. Corey Hart
Took batting practice Monday while working his way back from a knee injury.
48. Michael Saunders
49. Mark Trumbo
Let me know when Trumbo puts it together for a full season.
50. Lorenzo Cain
Tier Five
51. Domonic Brown
Things are clicking early for the former top prospect with 8 homers in first 44 games in 2013.
52. Andre Ethier
53. Alejandro De Aza
54. Gerardo Parra
Not much pop to speak of, but there is some speed here and he just keeps hitting.
55. Justin Ruggiano
Low batting average aside, Ruggiano is on pace for a 20/20 season.
56. Carlos Quentin
57. Nick Markakis
58. Dayan Viciedo
Sizzling .400/.500/.600 slash line in 11 games since returning from the DL.
59. Torii Hunter
60. Juan Pierre
The ageless JP keep on hitting and keeps on stealing. He should finish near the top of the NL steals leader-board.