In 2019, it was all about arm strength for Laureano. But with several intriguing free-agent outfielders available this winter, Chaim Bloom and Co. could look to add some depth at the position. Bill James had him as the 67th best right fielder in major league history and said he had. 8. Tatis, of course, was a sensation in just about every way as a rookie in 2019, and his throwing ability was no exception. Which outfielder has the strongest arm 2021? Something that jumped out to Giants staffers last year was Yastrzemski's fearlessness in two-strike counts: After the count reached no balls and two strikes, he hit .222; after the count was 1-2, his OPS was 1.033. . There is no shortage of articles ranking MLB players by position, league, age, production or something else entirely. The sport needs to have him back on the postseason stage in the next few years. (Worth noting: Second on that list was DJ LeMahieu, who had a 92.9% in-zone contact rate, then Anthony Rendon and Tommy La Stella tied at 91.2% each.)". He hit .281 with an .800 OPS after the All-Star break, and he capped off the season by winning his first Gold Glove. Red Sox. The best player at the position was Ronald Acuna (.280 with 127 runs, 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 37 steals . Or his 92 mph rocket from right to nail Stephen Strasburg at first base and preserve a Hyun-Jin Ryu no-hit bid on May 12. He hit the walk-off home run in the NL Wild Card Game and had a three-homer game in Game 5 of the NLCS. Nate Eaton is making a case for sticking on . Verdugo batted .308 for the Red Sox, his energy sometimes feeling like life support for a franchise going through one of the worst seasons in its history. He had nine assists in 2022. . He is an OBP machine, a mini-Votto. Santander is locked into an everyday role with the Orioles, and he has produced 31 homers with 91 RBIs and an .807 OPS in 130 games over the past two years. Anyone paying attention to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 knew Bryan Reynolds was capable of the type of season he put together in 2021. Other good MLB outfielders right now include Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, J. D. Martinez, and Aaron Judge. My guess, after talking with folks who know him: Yelich was among the players affected by how dramatically the COVID-19 protocol changed processes. The so-called five-tool player is a special breed, as those who truly rate above average in each category are extremely rare. But at the least, we know the potential is there. The writers involved are Eric Cross, Chris Clegg, Mick Ciallela, Justin Dunbar, Ryan Kirksey, Nic Civale, Logan Kritzeck, and Matt Heckman. In an empty Fenway Park on Aug. 7, Verdugo had a big day -- two home runs, both over the Green Monster, for the left-handed-hitting Verdugo, and then he took a home run away from Travis Shaw in the ninth inning. It's fitting that Smoltz, Maddux, and Tom Glavine came back-to-back-to-back on this list, because for over a decade . And it would be a crime not to grab Bellinger in this five-tools exercise somewhere. As a rail-thin rookie, Bonds managed to accumulate 10 assists. MLB Tonight: Outfield Arm. If you don't have coaching that can support that, then the player needs to be very stubborn with his thinking, which, in my opinion, requires a strong independence. Honorable Mention: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants. Tier 2: Kyle Tucker, Luis Robert, Aaron Judge, George Springer, Marcell Ozuna, Starling Marte, Whit Merrifield. You could argue that so long as his arm is healthy, there's none more valuable. Between a breakout 2021 campaign and 2022, the journeyman reliever dropped his strong 9.6% walk rate to a miniscule 2.5%, good for best in the league. Like with many of the other top outfielders on this list, runners knew not to try for extra bases when the ball was anywhere near Barfield's hands. Shortstops with the highest max arm strength, 2022 1. Cobb is also remembered for his feisty attitude and his aggressive playing style. The eight-time Gold Glove winner was finally inducted into Cooperstown in 2010. While his .286 on-base percentage and 31.2 percent strikeout rate leave something to be desired, he was a stellar defender (16 DRS, 11.8 UZR/150) to go along with his power production in a 3.8 WAR season. Non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs at the start of last offseason, Schwarber signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Nationals. Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide, The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. Part I: Hit toolPart II: Power toolPart III: Run toolPart IV: Fielding tool. Whether it's unleashing the ball from deep in the outfield, across the infield or behind the plate, it can make the seemingly impossible happen. Even though Meusel played just 11 seasons, he still recorded 157 outfield assists. He . Mancini is back after missing 2020 because of Stage 3 colon cancer. Starling Marte, Miami Marlins Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels definitely ranks in the top 10 outfielders, along with Mookie Betts and Charlie Blackmon. A catch made high against the right field wall to take extra bases away from Ozuna. Soto, in my opinion, has that. O'Neill finished with a 150 OPS+ and 34 home runs while hitting alongside Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in the middle of the lineup. Bobby Abreu has had one of the strongest and most accurate arms in baseball in recent years. Sometimes he looked like he was guessing wrong over and over and over, with the befuddlement covering his face as he walked away from the plate. 2021:Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection as an outfielder Started 58 of 59 games played in centerfield Batted .262 (53-for-202) with nine home runs and 33 RBI Scored 35 runs and walked 26 times Swiped 9 of 13 bases (69.2 percent) Even with all of those free passes and teams pitching around him, he still managed 20 doubles, 29 home runs and 95 RBI. February 24, 2023. Two seasons into his 13-year deal with the Phillies, his production has been excellent -- a .385 on-base percentage, an OPS+ of 134, 139 runs in 215 games. He immediately impressed both his manager and scouts with his impressive throwing arm. Hot Stove Tracker Starting Lineups Transactions . 2. The 29-year-old hit .309/.429/.615 to lead the majors in OPS+ (179). Mar 22, 2021. On the back of plus-plus speed, Kiermaier shows off tremendous instincts for the position. Homegrown players Steven Duggar and Austin Slater have also seen semi-regular time in the outfield, though Duggar was recently optioned to Triple-A now that Bryant can provide corner outfield depth as well. In the third season of a five-year, $60 million contract, Pollock enjoyed his best season in a Dodgers uniform, hitting .297/.355/.536 for a 137 OPS+ with 27 doubles, 21 home runs and 69 RBI. He could seemingly throw out any runner trying to pick up an extra base. As another player the Arizona Diamondbacks gave away, Adam Eaton continually shows himself to be a gritty . But that represents the bulk of the 26-year-olds big league experience. 20. Outfielder Jump Leaderboard Current: Outfielder Jump 2022 Minimum Attempts (Q) Update Download CSV Jump is calculated only on plays that are Two Stars or harder, meaning with a 90% Catch Probability or lower. September 10, 2021 | 00:05:48. . With three more home runs from Albies, the 2021 Braves will become only the second team in MLB history to have all four primary infielders tally 25 home runs, per ESPN Stats & Information's Jared Berson, joining the 2008 Florida Marlins. Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers; Eddie Rosario, free agent; Andrew Benintendi, Boston Red Sox; Robbie Grossman, Detroit Tigers; Clint Frazier, New York Yankees. Teel is an excellent athlete with a strong arm, and has a good swing with excellent hand acceleration, but he had some bad BABIP luck last year and hit just .276/.402/.439, a drop from his strong . The 28-year-old hit .291 with 35 homers, 97 RBIs, 106 runs and an .899 OPS the last time we saw him. But Verdugo ingratiated himself with teammates and staff with his passion and play, and he seemed to earn the early respect of socially distant Red Sox fans. Few players have joined an organization under more challenging circumstances than Verdugo faced when he went to the Red Sox. The regimented preparation that had worked for Yelich in the past was simply not available to him, and he may have suffered for it. Seven of the first 15 players in MLB.com's player rankings are outfielders, including four of the top five. He was ranked the 40th-best free agent this offseason, per Giants Baseball Insider's rankings. Most everyone reading this article is probably asking themselves who Glenn Gorbous is. The San Francisco Giants have had 16 different players tally at least 100 plate appearances this season, and that group does not count prized deadline pickup Kris Bryant. Previous picks: Jeff McNeil (hit), Gary Snchez (power), Tim Locastro (run), Victor Robles (defense), Javier Bez, SS, CubsKey stat: Five assists over 90 mph in 2019. Wilmer Flores (358 PA, 102 OPS+, 15 HR, 44 RBI), LaMonte Wade Jr. (249 PA, 123 OPS+, 16 HR, 41 RBI) and Darin Ruf (230 PA, 151 OPS+, 14 HR, 33 RBI)have all been extremely productive in utility roles. He batted just .169 against right-handed pitchers, with a .345 slugging percentage. Adam Eaton, Chicago White Sox, Right field, 11, (14-3) Adam Eaton of the Chicago White Sox makes a run for it | Ezra Shaw/Getty Images. Simply speaking, Mantiply has become the epitome of control. You might not realize just how strong his arm is, though, because the focus tends to be on his hitting first, then his running, then his defense. It must be noted here that Tatis did have an issue with throwing miscues that drove down his overall defensive value. In Game 6 of the 1971 World Series, Clemente showed off this arm on a fly ball hit by Frank Robinson. He's already ranked pitchers and infielders, and he will follow these with the top 10 teams on Friday. He did it across 72 games and 322 plate appearances on a Washington Nationals team that was floundering at the bottom of the NL East standings. He was also a terrific defender in right field (11 DRS), and he proved capable of handling center field in a pinch. I can promise you with 100 percent certainty that my fantasy baseball outfield rankings for 2021 will not be 100 percent right. Williams loved to talk hitting, and through the last years of his life, he developed friendships with the likes of Tony Gwynn. Minimum 800 innings 6. Seven of the first 15 players in MLB.com's player rankings are outfielders, including four of the top five. PART - Positioning, Balls hit in air, Range, and Throwing for Infielders; Range & Positioning on balls hit in air for Outfielders. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the majors with a 2.90 starters' ERA, but injuries and off-the-field issues have thinned their rotation considerably. But Bellinger is one of only three outfielders with a tracked throw over 101 mph last season -- Hunter Renfroe and Aristides Aquino are the others -- and that wasn't the first time he hit triple-digit velo on a throw from the outfield (he also did it once during the 2018 postseason). Through Williams's age 21 year -- two seasons -- he had 203 walks, 54 homers and an OPS of 1.041 in 293 games. It's possible that Merrifield will move back to the infield if Nicky Lopez struggles in his effort to establish himself as the Royals' second baseman. Here are the players who just missed the cut, listed alphabetically: 25. Nearly every player on this list has been an All-Star, and all the rest have a chance to make their first Midsummer Classic this season. with only his head and one arm free.The . As the anchor of the Dodgers' package for Betts, Verdugo was the centerpiece in perhaps the most unpopular Boston baseball deal since Babe Ruth was shipped off to the Yankees, and he joined the Red Sox with a well-publicized reputation as a less-than-ideal teammate. Despite only having played 15 seasons, Abreu is second on the active list for outfield assists with 132. Speaker is the MLB record holder for most career outfield assists with 449. Need more power? After a slow start, reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman is once posting elite numbers. he Boston Red Sox outfield exceeded expectations in 2021. The 29-year-old proved that performance was sustainable over a full season this year, logging a 133 OPS+ while hitting .296/.346/.524 with 29 doubles, 32 home runs and 116 RBI. In the short 2020 season, he had more walks (49) than strikeouts (43). But his range of skills at this stage of his baseball life is so extraordinary -- the defense, the baserunning -- that Bellinger is still a great player even when he's not swinging great. 22). Let's meet the 40 players who had the best outfield arms in the history of the game. When he's locked in and at his best, they reported, he's consistently pulling the ball, driving it, and this is not what Betts was doing. "I'll take a guess that there hasn't been enough impetus for young players to be patient only until recently. He also had the two fastest-tracked infield assists to first base -- reaching 94 mph -- and was responsible for about half of the 92-plus mph assists from all infielders. T. Alex Verdugo, Kik Hernandez, and Hunter Renfroe were Boston's primary outfielders last season. You need to do it all to be an MVP these days. Ichiro has won a Gold Glove all 10 years that he has been in the major leagues. Throughout the year, we released monthly updates to our position-by-position power rankings, selecting the top 10 players at each spot. Edmonds had phenomenal range while he was younger, and there are many instances in which he scaled the outfield wall to retrieve would-be home runs. This will likely be the most questioned name on this list. 15 throws) with an average arm strength of 88.4 mph on max-effort throws -- a.k.a. Larry Walker is considered one of the best Rockies ever in the team's short existence. Mantle earned one Gold Glove in his career and threw out 117 base runners from the outfield. He has 19 homers in 63 postseason games, and only three players have more: Manny Ramirez (29), Bernie Williams (22) and Derek Jeter (20). Yelich was the 2018 NL MVP and runner-up in the MVP voting last year. The Venezuela native surged three levels in his age-18 season, showing off plus power and 70-grade speed on his way to becoming the No. Cobb's 392 outfield assists are second all-time. Sits in the Top Ten of draft. Speaker also holds the unique record for most unassisted double plays by an outfielder with six. He is widely seen as defensively challenged and although he is just 30, his future is clearly going to be at DH. The ultra-versatile Taylor was an All-Star for the first time in 2021, posting a 110 OPS+ with 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 73 RBI, 92 runs scored and 13 steals in 148 games. Share. J.T. . In his first 303 games in the big leagues, he has a .380 OBP and an .859 OPS. In his 10 years, Valentine did manage to win one Gold Glove and he recorded 85 assists. He also once again took home Gold Glove honors in a 6.3 WAR season. Will draft 15-20 pick. With George Springer, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert all missing considerable time and Cody Bellinger struggling through a down year, the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers narrowly missed the cut for the title of MLB's best outfield unit in 2021. Thursday, it's outfielders -- the top 10 left fielders, center fielders and right fielders. Castellanos and Blackmon, meanwhile, faded dramatically after blazing starts. His throwing abilities were recognized by Bill James, as Guerrero was noted to have the best arm of the 1990s. The goal is to decide which team has the best catchers, infielders, outfielders, bench, starting pitchers and relief pitchers. 6 spot. Frelick also climbed three levels in his first full season, and the 2021 first . Other choices were more complicated, particularly by the question of who might be more suited to be ranked among the designated hitters. Among players with at least 200 plate appearances last season, the 23-year-old had the fourth-highest chase rate, the third-highest whiff rate and the sixth-highest strikeout rate, making him a high-risk, high-reward pick in the early rounds. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? "There are so many factors that go into it, and I don't want to speak for Soto, but there are certainly some habits you have to develop and reinforce when you are young. He racked up 4.7 WAR despite missing 35 games early in the season with a fractured rib. 8 prospect in the game. The lefty bat can play both first base and outfield, and has even filled in a third base. The 24-year-old led the team in OPS+ (147) while hitting .294/.359/.557 with 37 doubles, 30 home runs, 92 RBI and 14 steals in what was essentially his first full season in the majors, aside from last year's shortened slate. His nickname is Laser Ramn, so you already knew hed have to make this list. According to Bill James' Baseball Abstract, Valentine had the best arm in baseball in the 1970's. On top of his offensive production, he is also one of the game's best pitch framers, and the pitching staff has a 3.61 ERA when he's in the crouch. Its certainly not about skill, and combined with Simmons fundamentals and defensive savvy, look out. Rob Neyer ranked him as our best right fielder in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups (pre-Bautista). He was hitting .283/.394/.596 with 19 doubles, 24 home runs and 17 steals through 82 games at the time of the injury, good for a 3.6 WAR season. 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Outfielders Rankings, Consensus Preseason Rankings for OF | FantasyPros 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Expert Consensus Ranking (32 of 36 Experts) - Feb 28, 2023 Pick. The best arms tend to have lower rates because they get run on less, though Clemente is barely in the top 70 all time and IIRC Vlad doesn't even crack the top 200 Though I guess my point agrees with you, he wasn't great but he wasn't awful 2 Buzzed27 San Francisco Giants 5 yr. ago Not sure what you're talking about exactly. Bez was responsible for five of the 31 tracked assists of at least 90 mph by infielders last season, the second most in MLB, and his average arm strength on max-effort throws (88.3 mph) was the third best among infielders. 6. Springer has been one of the most productive outfielders in the game over the past five years, and he has joined up with a Blue Jays team that averaged 5.03 runs per game in 2020. But imagine him with this cannon attached to his shoulder. The question that resonated at the end of October is about the best position player on the planet -- Betts, or Mike Trout? At age 19, Kaline recorded 16 of his career 170 outfield assists. 2. Gorbous is the answer to the trivia question: "Who has the longest throw in baseball history"? The well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No.