In the 2009 fantasy baseball rankings, we already went over 2009’s top 40 outfielders. But like Jacques Cousteau once may have said to his underachieving son, “That’s not deep enough.” There’s more outfielders to draft than there’s members of the Wu-Tang Clan, so we take it to the top 60 outfielders for 2009 fantasy baseball. If you think there’s no value to be found this deep in the position, ask someone who owned Nate McLouth, Jacoby Ellsbury or Milton Bradley last year. Anyway, here’s the top 60 outfielders for 2009 fantasy baseball:
41. Jayson Werth – This is the first tier. This tier goes from here to Juan Pierre. I call this tier, “Guys I like, but they have caveats.” As for Werth, will he still be… *pinkie to mouth* Worthwhile? He should be. In Citizen’s Bank, Werth should be good for at least 17 HRs and he can chuck in 17 steals, as well. The one caveat is he might hit .260. 2009 Projections: 95/17/70/.270/17
42. Coco Crisp – Well, hello, Mr. Cereal. I already went over Coco Crisp for 2009 fantasy. 2009 Projections: 90/12/60/.280/25
43. Xavier Nady – 2008 was a career year. Nady could go 25/90 in 2009. He’s not hitting .300 again. 2009 Projections: 80/24/90/.275
44. Conor Jackson – His 2009 projections can be found at the top 20 1st basemen for 2009 post.
45. Fred Lewis – With the bunions behind him (no, “bunions behind him” is not a euphemism for hemorrhoids), he’s ready to be valuable in 2009. 2009 Projections: 95/12/50/.270/25
46. Andre Ethier – In the top 4o outfielders post, someone asked where was Ethier. I said, “Ethier hit 7 home runs in August and .462 in September, two insane months that don’t look like they’re going to be easily repeated.” And that’s me quoting me! 2009 Projections: 80/17/75/.290/5
47. Mark DeRosa – DeRosa’s projections are in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2009 post.
48. Justin Upton – He’s very young still, but check this out. To get you further jazzed, he led the majors with the longest average home run at 417 feet, according to “The Bill James Handbook.” 2009 Projections: 70/20/70/.260/7 but there’s lots of upside from those numbers.
49. Nelson Cruz – Went over him in a fantasy sleeper post. 2009 Projections: 75/25/90/.270/10
50. Adam Jones – Could be a younger, slightly riskier Coco Crisp. Speaking of Coco Crisp, someone has the munchies! 2009 Projections: 75/15/60/.275/12
51. Shin-Soo Choo – Let’s call him a less stoned, more Korean Adam Jones. 2009 Projections: 70/16/70/.280/11
52. Rick Ankiel – Not sure how the Cards outfield is going to shake out, but at some point, someone’s going to have to make room for Colby Rasmus. 2009 Projections: 70/22/85/.260
53. Denard Span – I not-so-secretly hope Span fails miserably for Gomez’s sake. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you’re Span kin — I said, spanking — hehe), I think Span’s here to stay, even in the Twins overcrowded outfield. His batting eye was impeccable last year. 2009 Projections: 90/8/60/.285/20
54. Juan Pierre – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here to Taveras. I call this tier, “SAGNOF.” 2009 Projections: Steals
55. Willy Taveras – I have two words for you…. Actually, that was six words to get to the two words so eight words… Well, technically, now I’m up to twenty-one words. Anyway, Dusty Baker, that was the original two words. Baker’s going to bat Taveras lead-off and let him run like crazy. He might just get 80 Steals and 60 Runs. 2009 Projections: Lotsa steals.
56. Mike Cameron – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here to Kubel. I call this tier, “The Forgetten Vets.” If Mike Cameron and Adam Dunn were invited to a pinata party, we can guarantee one of two outcomes: no candy or a whole lotta candy. 2009 Projections: 70/22/75/.245/18
57. Nick Swisher – Swisher’s 2009 projections can be found at the top 20 1st basemen for 2009 post.
58. Hideki Matsui – I almost put Eric Byrnes here, but he’s old and he relied on speed. Matsui will prolly get 400 ABs this year and produce solid numbers for a deep league. 2009 Projections: 70/18/80/.285
59. Randy Winn – As is the case with this tier, these guys offer little upside. Winn is the epitome of that. 2009 Projections: 80/12/60/.290/17
60. David DeJesus – You have Kelly Johnson and the dealer is showing David DeJesus. That’s a push. 2009 Projections: 70/12/75/.290/12
61. Jason Kubel – I just couldn’t resist adding one more name. Some people may look at Kubel and say yawnstipating, I look at him and I say not that far from Jermaine Dye’s numbers. 2009 Projections: 80/20/80/.280
After the top 60 outfielders for 2009 fantasy baseball, there’s a lot of names, but here’s two that stand out:
Jeff Francoeur – There’s certain guys you can grab late to look for upside-slash-a bounce back year, Frenchy ain’t one of them. I wouldn’t draft him with your team. 2009 Projections: 65/18/70/.260
Elijah Dukes – The location is the car. The scene is Dukes and Milledge carpooling to work. Did you bring quarters for the toll? I thought you got some when you bought that BK Broiler. Those are MY quarters! Screech to the side of the road. 2009 Projections: 75/20/70/.265/15 (<–not as optimistic as you might think)
