Top 25 outfielders: 2009

Vladimir Guerrero, Ichiro Suzuki, Manny Ramirez in their prime.
Ryan Braun, Carlos Lee, Ichiro Suzuki right now.
Notice a trend? Those are great outfields. Take a wild guess who has owned those guys? Yes, The Greatness. In yet another installment of TheBaseballStars draft advice, you will be receiving the know-how from the bona fide pro. A lot of fantasy experts will tell you to stay away from outfield and grab the harder to fill infield positions.
Screw them.
Get a good outfield. It is a one-stop shop for every stat you need. It is the only place you can a plethora of .300 hitters with 30 to 40 homers with a 100 runs and RBIs thrown in. Want speed? Then this is the best source to get them. Take a look at those two outfield groups above and respect the balance. Get a troika like that and you are way ahead of the curve for offense.

The Jon

• 1. Matt Holliday
• 2. Ryan Braun
  3. Carlos Lee
  4. Manny Ramirez
  5. Josh Hamilton
  6. Grady Sizemore
  7. Carlos Beltran
  8. Ichiro
  9. Alfonso Soriano
  10. Nick Markakis
  11. Vladimir Guerrero
  12. Adam Dunn
  13. Carlos Quentin
  14. Matt Kemp
  15. Alex Rios
  16. Jason Bay
  17. Curtis Granderson
  18. BJ Upton
  19. Nate McLouth
  20. Alex Rios
  21. Bobby Abreu
  22. Magglio Ordonez
  23. Shane Victorino
  24. Carl Crawford
  25. Ryan Ludwick

Comments: This sucks. This is the first time since the inception of The Greatness Era where The Jon can’t say Vlad is the No. 1 outfielder. Not only was he the No. 1 outfielder last season, he is now No. 11 overall. The Jon’s favorite player can’t even crack the top 10. Yeah Vlad is getting old like two years in year, but where is this guy at when he he comes to the crossroads? He is starting to break down, but The Jon still thinks he has a productive season left in him. With Torii Hunter and Abreu anchored around him and with table setters of Chone Figgins and Gary Matthews Jr. in front, Vlad is surrounded by one of the best hitters in his career. Yeah look at those names … they suck. And Vlad still had 27 homers, 80 runs, 90 RBI and hit .300 … with a bad lineup sans Abreu.
Holliday is the No. 1 overall outfielder no matter what the hypeboys tell you. He is the only guy that can have a .340 average with 200 hits, 30 to 35 homers and 100 runs and RBI. His 25 homers and 88 RBI look bad, but he played in 139 games last season. He is one of the few Rockies players that could play past the whole Coors Field myth. He is in a good spot with Oakland, so chill.
Braun leads the group of Manny and Carlos Lee, that throw together seasons of high homers, RBI and runs. Anything else is gravy. If Lee didn’t get hurt last season when he went down with 100 RBI, he would be solid at the No. 2 spot.
Newspaperman gets all excited when he talks to The Jon, hence his misquotations. The latest mistake was saying The Jon would put Ichiro as a top 3 outfielder. Yeah. If your league counts hits and plays week head-to-head matchups, Ichiro is a No. 3 outfielder. Most people don’t, so he is in the lower top 10.
This season sees a changing of the guard for outfielders. Gone are the veterans that could hit .300 with 25 to 30 homers. They have been replaced by a bunch of young guys claiming five-tool production. With the exception of Quentin who is trying to break into the Braun/Manny/Lee group, you can take your pick between McClouth, Kemp, Rios and BJ Upton. The Jon personally likes Rios and Kemp. So pick them.
Dunn, Ludwick and Quentin are your power options and as always ….

Carl Crawford sucks.

Newspaperman

• 1. Ryan Braun
• 2. Grady Sizemore
  3. Matt Holliday
  4. Manny Ramirez
  5. Josh Hamilton
  6. Carlos Beltran
  7. Carlos Lee
  8. Alfonso Soriano
  9. Jason Bay
  10. Nick Markakis
  11. Nate McLouth
  12. BJ Upton
  13. Carlos Quentin
  14. Matt Kemp
  15. Jermaine Dye
  16. Ichiro
  17. Bobby Abreu
  18. Vlad Guerrero
  19. Adam Dunn
  20. Jacoby Ellsbury
  21. Alex Rios
  22. Magglio Ordonez
  23. Shane Victorino
  24. Carl Crawford
  25. Ryan Ludwick

Comments: Let’s all take a moment to welcome the leader of the pack, Mr. Ryan Braun. In less than three seasons he has gone from a prospect at the hot corner to the best fantasy outfielder. His raw power makes him the most dangerous hitters of this bunch. I’m uncertain if those stolen bases will hold up, and I think his on-base percentage could be much better, but that’s nit-picking. I’m afraid to see what he’ll do once he starts adding some muscle; he’s still thin as a rail. And this compliment comes from a guy who traded him away in a keeper league.
Braun is followed in the top tier by only Grady Sizemore, who is a perennial 30-30 candidate. I’m not going to go player by player, but there are a few I’d like to note:
Holliday: Don’t count on those 20 steals again; I don’t really know if his other numbers will suffer in Oakland. If anything the lineup around him is better …
Markakis: If you’re league counts On-Base Percentage, I’d suggest over paying for Markakis. He’s a solid stat contributor and that OBP is awesome.
Quentin: Some of you are going to draft him as a top 7 outfielder, not I. Some “experts” have Quentin projected for 40-plus homers, I’m not going there. He’s good, but not great (yet). No way he’s better than Carlos Lee at this point.
Kemp: He’s certainly the sexy outfielder pick for this season. The hype surrounding Kemp and Quentin reminds me of the hype that boosted Curtis Granderson’s value last year. Keep that in mind when valuing these two.
Ichiro: The Jon and I had a discussion about Ichiro and we agree he is undervalued. TJ thinks he’s still top 3 though …
Victorino: Man, the hype machine is in full-effect. If he’s anything more than you’re No. 3 outfielder, you’ve got issues. Another guy who reminds me of Granderson. Don’t pay for the post season performance.
Crawford: It looks like this guy’s fantasay value has finally fallen to a point of respectability. He’s a good player, just not the leader of your outfield.