As we count down the days to Christmas, so too do we count down the days toward the end of the 2024 Top Keepers series. This is the second-to-last entry as the focus falls on the center fielders with the right fielders coming up next week.
Before we get to the center fielders, if you need to catch up on the articles about previous positions, below are links to each one:
- Keeper relief pitchers
- Keeper starting pitchers
- Keeper catchers
- Keeper first basemen
- Keeper second basemen
- Keeper shortstops
- Keeper third basemen
- Keeper left fielders
There is a lot of depth when it comes to the center field position. When it comes to a host of players in the lower tiers, if you are in a dynasty league, they are players I’d love to have and stash, especially in deep leagues. There are players who I rank in Tier 5 and Tier 6 who should actually be contributors next season, something I can’t say was the case for other positions.
TIER 7
*Age as of April 1, 2024
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | Jasson Dominguez | NYY | 21 |
| 59 | Dylan Carlson | Stl | 25 |
| 58 | Harrison Bader | NYY | 29 |
| 57 | Alex Call | Was | 29 |
| 56 | Will Brennan | Cle | 26 |
| 55 | Manuel Margot | TB | 29 |
| 54 | Byron Buxton | Min | 30 |
| 53 | Jackson Chourio | Mil | 20 |
| 52 | Luis Matos | SF | 22 |
| 51 | Colton Cowser | Bal | 24 |
These Are Not Dynasty Rankings, So…
…Players such as Jasson Dominguez are not ranked in the top tiers. Dominguez exploded onto the scene last year for the Yankees, hitting four homers, driving in seven runs and stealing a base in eight games. But where is he going to play? As of now, left field is for Alex Verdugo. Aaron Judge is going to be in center field and Juan Soto over in right. That moves Giancarlo Stanton to DH. How is Dominguez going to get ABs?
The second player who falls into this group is Jackson Chourio. In dynasty rankings, he is much higher up. But he has yet to see a single pitch on the major league level. The only reason why I included him is the fact the Brewers just threw a lot of money at him, making it apparent they believe he can be their everyday center fielder. He has done everything possible in the minors. But with no major league experience and trying to shoehorn him into the various rules keeper leagues have, I have him ranked in this tier.
But if you are building a team from the ground up, Chourio would be a nice player to build around.
The Non-Center Fielder
Byron Buxton is not eligible to start the season as a center field in most fantasy leagues because he didn’t play a single inning at the position this past season. But I’m not going to rank the top designated hitters and there is the chance that Buxton plays in the field this season – so here he is.
As the Twins’ designated hitter, when healthy, Buxton hit 17 homers and drove in 42 with nine steals in 85 games. But the problem with Buxton is the yearly injury he suffers. It is impossible to count on him to stay healthy, so I can’t rank him higher than this tier. If we pretend he has center field eligibility, then Buxton is a Tier 3 player.
Cowser Time?
Colton Cowser got a taste of the big leagues last season, appearing in 26 games for the Orioles, with eight starts coming in center field (with five in left and four in right). The Orioles already have depth in the outfield and Cedric Mullins in center. But Cowser is a top 100 prospect and could push for more playing time somewhere in the outfield.
TIER 6
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Austin Slater | SF | 31 |
| 49 | Jose Azocar | SD | 27 |
| 48 | Michael A. Taylor | Min | 33 |
| 47 | Joey Wiemer | Mil | 25 |
| 46 | Victor Robles | Was | 26 |
| 45 | Trent Grisham | SD | 27 |
| 44 | Drew Waters | KC | 25 |
| 43 | Kyle Isbel | KC | 27 |
| 42 | Mike Tauchman | ChC | 33 |
| 41 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | ChC | 22 |
Unknown Future
Michael A. Taylor had a nice season with the Twins in 2023, hitting 21 homers, stealing 13 bases and driving in 51 runs in only 355 at-bats. The home runs were a career high. But Taylor’s future is unknown as he is a free agent. Not knowing what his role is or where he will be in 2024 and the fact he will be 33 knocks him down into this tier.
Who’s In Center?
It looks like Kyle Isbel will be the center fielder for the Royals in 2024 with Drew Waters in right field. But that is not set in stone and we could see Waters claim the job in center. There isn’t much of a difference between the two players at the plate. Waters had a slash line of .228/.300/.377 while Isbel slashed .240/.282/.380. In 98 games Waters scored 40 runs and hit eights homers, drove in 32 and swiped 16 bases. In 91 games, Isbel scored 45 runs and went 5-34-7 in homers, RBI and steals.
If one player has a fantasy edge, it could be Waters as he qualifies as both a center fielder and right fielder while Isbel only qualifies as a center fielder.
Who’s In Center, Part II
With Cody Bellinger now a free agent, there is an opening in center field. The veteran competing for the job is Mike Tauchman. The youngster is rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong. Tauchman appeared in 108 games for the Cubs this past season and slashed .252/.363/.377 with eight homers, 48 RBI and seven steals. Crow-Armstrong appeared in 13 games for Chicago and was hitless in 14 at-bats. Then there is Christopher Morel, but we will get to him later.
Crow-Armstrong is one of the game’s top prospects and is coming off a .283/.365/.511 season in the minors with 20 homers, 82 RBI and 37 steals in 107 games. He will be given every chance to be the everyday center fielder, but if your league has keeper limitations, I can think of other players to take at this position unless you are rebuilding.
TIER 5
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Sal Frelick | Mil | 23 |
| 39 | Myles Straw | Cle | 29 |
| 38 | Mickey Moniak | LAA | 25 |
| 37 | Brenton Doyle | Col | 25 |
| 36 | Johan Rojas | Phi | 23 |
| 35 | Kevin Kiermaier | Tor | 33 |
| 34 | Wilyer Abreu | Bos | 24 |
| 33 | Jake Meyers | Hou | 27 |
| 32 | Mauricio Dubon | Hou | 29 |
| 31 | Parker Meadows | Det | 24 |
What’s His Role?
If Chourio is indeed the center fielder for the Brewers in 2024, then Sal Frelick will be competing for the job in right field. Frelick started quickly for the Brewers when recalled from the minors in July but leveled off during August and September to finish the season with three homers, 24 RBI and seven steals in 57 games with a .246/.341/.351 slash line. Frelick didn’t hit the ball particularly hard (83.3 EV) or find the barrel too often (2.5 Barrel%), but he doesn’t strike out much (16.6% rate) and has a good eye, compiling a 12.6% walk rate.
Speed Over Power
Myles Straw and Johan Rojas do one thing well – steal bases. Straw finished the year with 20 steals in 26 attempts while Rojas had 14 steals in 15 attempts in 59 games. Both players are not going to give you a lot of home runs as Straw had one all of last season and Rojas had two, though he has shown some pop in the minors.
Straw will be the starting center fielder for Cleveland, that is his advantage over Rojas and why he is a depth option as a center fielder. Rojas may or not be the starter in center for the Phillies. But in his 149 at-bats, he slashed .302/.342/.430 after slashing .306/.361/.484 in Double-A with nine homers and 30 steals. If he earns the starting job, he is sneaky keeper to have.
The Two Astros
During the Winter Meetings, Houston GM Dana Brown said the plan is for Jake Meyers patrol center field with Chas McCormick getting the bulk of playing time in left field (and Yordan Alvarez getting most of his ABs as the DH). Meyers has shown flashes of talent at the plate. In 309 at-bats, he hit 10 homers this past season and stole five bases and his 162-game average is 13 homers and 58 RBI. But his career slash line is .235/.296/.379.
Should Meyers falter, Mauricio Dubon could be alternative in center if McCormick stays in left. Dubon, who can play all over the field, slashed .278/.309/.411 with 10 homers, 46 RBI and seven steals in 2023. The fact that he qualifies at multiple positions makes him a decent keeper for depth purposes.
TIER 4
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Willi Castro | Min | 26 |
| 29 | Alek Thomas | Ari | 23 |
| 28 | Mike Yastrzemski | SF | 33 |
| 27 | Lars Nootbaar | Stl | 26 |
| 26 | Esteury Ruiz | Oak | 25 |
| 25 | Nick Senzel | Cin | 28 |
| 24 | Jose Siri | TB | 28 |
| 23 | Adam Duvall | Bos | 35 |
| 22 | Leody Taveras | Tex | 25 |
| 21 | Cedric Mullins | Bal | 29 |
Liking Him More Than I Should?
For some reason, I love Alek Thomas. Not on the level of my Yordan Alvarez or Dante Bichette man-crush, but I like Thomas. The problem is he hasn’t come close to earning that adulation. His 2023 season was a tale of three spurts, and two of them weren’t great.
In April and May, he slashed .195/.252/.327 with two homers, 10 RBI and three steals. In June and July, he was good as he slashed .283/.296/.491 with four homers, nine RBI and two steals. Then he struggled again down the stretch. In August and September he slashed .219/.272/.329 with three homers, 20 RBI and four steals. I think Thomas will figure out how to be more consistent at the plate, but the leash for him to do is getting shorter and shorter.
Speed, Speed and More Speed
Esteury Ruiz is ranked as high as he is because of one reason – 67 steals, ranking second in MLB. Ruiz is not a complete hack at the plate as he slashed .254/.309/.345 and added five homers and 47 RBI. But the reason he is valuable is those steals.
Rebound Season
I don’t think Cedric Mullins is going to reach 30 homers like he did in 2021. That was an anomaly. However, he posted back-to-back 30-steal seasons from 2021 to 2022. Mullins fell short of the numbers he posted in previous seasons as he hit 15 homers with 74 RBI and 19 steals in 116 games and his slash line fell to .233/.305/.416.
What I expect from Mullins is 30 to 35 steals, 15 to 20 homers and a slash line of .257/.323/.429, and I think he should reach that next season.
TIER 3
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Luke Raley | TB | 29 |
| 19 | Riley Greene | Det | 23 |
| 18 | Brandon Nimmo | NYM | 31 |
| 17 | Brandon Marsh | Phi | 26 |
| 16 | Christopher Morel | ChC | 24 |
| 15 | TJ Friedl | Cin | 28 |
| 14 | Chas McCormick | Hou | 28 |
| 13 | Jarren Duran | Bos | 27 |
| 12 | James Outman | LAD | 26 |
| 11 | Jack Suwinski | Pit | 25 |
Breakout Candidate
I think Riley Greene is primed to be one of the players in this tier to be knocking on the Top 10 by the end of next season, maybe 2025. His numbers weren’t overly eye-popping this past season as he slashed .288/.349/.447 with 11 homers, 37 RBI and seven steals in 99 games. But he ranked in the 74th percentile or greater in the following categories: xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, EV, Barrel %, Hard-Hit %, and Sweet-Spot %.
Greene is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing right elbow, and the injury cost him all of September. But he should be good to go on Opening Day and he will hit his stride in 2024. For more on Greene, Grey featured him as a 2024 sleeper that you can read here.
A Man with No Position
Christopher Morel can play a number of positions in the field, but he can’t play any of them very well. Because of that, he will likely receive the majority of at-bats at DH for the Cubs. But that is fine with me as long as he maintains eligibility at a few positions for future seasons.
At the plate, Morel is a great keeper. In 107 games and 388 at-bats, he hit 26 homers and drove in 70 runs while slashing .247/.313/.508. He ranked in the 85th percentile in xSLG (.489) and ranked 91st or better in EV (92.1 mph), Barrel % (15.9) and Hard-Hit % (50.0). In other words, he hits the ball hard and he can hit it far.
The Quiet Red
The Cincinnati Reds have a lot of players who are making fantasy owners drool. But one player who shouldn’t be overlooked is TJ Friedl. Given a chance to be the main center fielder in ’23, Friedl slashed .279/.352/.467 with 73 runs scored, 18 home runs, 66 RBI and 27 steals. All of those numbers ranked in the top 20 among the 70 center fielders I looked at.
He doesn’t wow anyone with his EV, Barrel % or Hard-Hit %, but he doesn’t strike out much and he is an above average baserunner, allowing him to rack up the steals and take the extra base to get into scoring position.
Ahoy There!
Not too many Pirates players get ranked this high, outside of Oneil Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes. But Suwinski is quietly one of the better hitting center fielders. He isn’t going to deliver a great slash line as it was .224/.339/.454 last season. But that was an improvement on the .202/.298/.411 slash line he had in 2022.
What Suwinski brings is power and speed to your fantasy team. He hit 26 homers with 74 RBI and 13 steals in 144 games last season. While he strikes out a lot (32.2 strikeout rate), he ranked in the 94th percentile in walk rate (14%) and Barrel % (15.7).
TIER 2
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | Mia | 26 |
| 9 | Lane Thomas | Was | 28 |
| 8 | Cody Bellinger | ChC | 28 |
| 7 | Michael Harris II | Atl | 23 |
| 6 | Josh Lowe | TB | 26 |
Please, Stay Healthy!
It would be really nice to see what Jazz Chisholm Jr. could do if he ever played a full season. He came close in 2021 when he played in 124 games. But he appeared in only 60 games in 2022 and 97 last season. When on the field, Chisholm can be one of the more exciting players to watch thanks to his power-speed combo. He hit 14 homers and stole 12 bases in 2022 and upped those numbers to 19 and 22 last year.
His 162-game average is 90 runs scored, 28 home runs, 83 RBI and 32 steals. If Chisholm can play a full season in 2024, I fully expect him to come close to those numbers, which easily makes him a Top 10 center fielder.
A Nationals Keeper!
Lane Thomas is one of the few keepers from the Washington Nationals. Traded by St. Louis to the Nationals during the 2021 season, Thomas has come into his own in D.C. In his first full season with the club he slashed .241/.301/.404 with 62 runs scored, 17 homers, 52 RBI and eight steals.
This past season he improved across the board, slashing .268/.315/.468 while ranking in the top 10 among center fielders with 101 runs scored, 28 homers, 86 RBI and 20 steals. If you have been overlooking Thomas, stop doing so.
Which Cody is the Real Cody?
Cody Bellinger has finished in the Top 10 of MVP voting three times during his career, including winning the award in 2019. Four times he has hit 25 or more homers in a season, five times he has reached double-digit steals and three times he has driven in 97 or more runs. But he is also the same player who the Dodgers gave up on after a three-year stretch of diminishing returns on the field from 2020-22.
In 2021 he posted an OPS+ of only 44 when he slashed .165/.240/.302 with 10 homers and 36 RBI. He was slightly better in 2022 as he slashed .210/.265/.389 with 19 homers and 68 RBI. Away from Los Angeles, it appears Bellinger figured things out last season in Chicago and is ready to cash in for a nice payday from whoever signs him this offseason. I’m betting that he can come close to the same numbers he posted this season (.307/.356/.525 95-26-97-20), which is why he comes in at No. 8 in these rankings.
No Need to Worry
I was not happy with Michael Harris II through the first two months of the season – not because I am a Braves fan, but because he was killing my fantasy teams. Through the first two months of the 2023 campaign, Harris was slashing .174/.260/.266 with 12 runs scored, two homers, eight RBI and five steals. He also had a 23.6% strikeout rate.
But Harris finally turned things around in June and played at the level I expected of him the rest of the season. From June through the rest of the year, Harris slashed .326/.352/.535. In 104 games he scored 64 runs, hit 16 homers, drove in 49 runs and stole 15 bases. His strikeout rate also dropped to 17.3%. This is the type of production I expect from Harris for all of 2024 and beyond.
A Ray of Sunshine
Josh Lowe was given a 52-game audition by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022 and it did not go very well as Lowe slashed .221/.284/.343 with two homers, 13 RBI and three steals. But the real Josh Lowe showed up in 2023. In 135 games, Lowe hit 20 homers with 83 RBI and 32 steals (in 35 attempts) while slashing .292/.335/.500.
There is no reason to believe that Lowe is going to regress next season.
TIER 1
| RANK | TEAM | 2023 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Mike Trout | LAA | 32 |
| 4 | Luis Robert Jr. | CWS | 26 |
| 3 | Corbin Carroll | Ari | 23 |
| 2 | Julio Rodríguez | Sea | 23 |
| 1 | Aaron Judge | NYY | 31 |
Pick a Player, Any Player
The Tier 1 group of players are head and shoulders better than the players in any other tier. This was an easy group to put together. How they are ranked really doesn’t matter because if you have one (or more) of these players on your team, you are a happy person.
But everyone likes lists, and lists require numbers. So within this group I ranked the players as you see above. But these five players can nearly be in any order.
Trout at No. 5? What?
When healthy, Mike Trout is the second-best player in baseball (sorry, but he is behind former teammate Shohei Ohtani). There isn’t anything Trout can’t do on the field. If you look at his 2023 percentile rankings, he is ranked in the 84th percentile or higher in nearly every category except Whiff % and K %. Trout’s 162-game average is 120 runs scored, 40 homers, 102 RBI and 22 steals and a .301/.412/.582 slash line.
But the problem is Trout is never on the field for 162 games. He can barely reach 120 games due to the injuries he suffers every year. And entering his age 32 season, he isn’t getting younger, so will he suddenly stop getting hurt every year? If you think Trout can play 140 games, then he is the top center fielder. But considering his history, I have him at No. 5.
Finally Healthy
Like Trout, Luis Robert Jr. has had a tough time staying healthy during his career. He appeared in only 68 games in 2021 and 98 in 2022. But finally, to the joy of fantasy players across the world, Roberts played a full season in 2023, appearing in 145 games.
All he did was slam 38 home runs and drive in 80 while stealing 20 bases and slash .264/.315/.542. His career slugging percentage is .500, so that .542 mark is not a one-time number. Yes, he can improve his strikeout and walk rates (28.9% and 5.0% last year), but he has speed and power – two of the big things you look for in fantasy players.
The Top Three
In last week’s 2024 Top Keepers – Left Fielders post, Corbin Carroll was ranked third behind Yordan Alvarez and Juan Soto. And once again, he comes in third in the center field rankings.
Carroll is coming off a great rookie season, hitting 25 homers with 76 RBI, 54 steals, and 116 runs scored to go with a slash line of .285/.362/.506. Those are great numbers. But better than Julio Rodriguez and Aaron Judge? Carroll’s real value is his speed. Those steals are hard to ignore. Carroll will duplicate these numbers again in 2024, but I want to see him do it before I rank him ahead of Rodriguez or Judge.
Rodriguez won the 2022 ROY award and finished seventh in the MVP voting after slashing .284/.345/.509 with 84 runs scored, 28 homers, 75 RBI and 25 steals in 132 games. So what did he do for an encore? Well, he finished fourth in the MVP voting as he scored 102 runs, hit 32 homers, drove in 103 and stole 37 bases while slashing .275/.333/.485. And those numbers were posted despite “struggling” the first three months of the season.
From April through June, Rodriguez slashed .238/.302/.407 with 47 runs scored, 13 homers, 42 RBI and 18 steals in 78 games. But Rodriguez hit another gear from July through the rest of the season. In 77 games, he slashed .312/.364/.561 and scored 55 runs with 19 dingers, 61 RBI and 19 steals. Rodriguez is the type of player you build your fantasy team around.
All Rise for the Judge
Judge was having another MVP level season before running into a fence at Dodger Stadium and suffering an injury that forced him to miss most of June and July. In the 106 games that Judge did play, all he did was hit 37 homers and drive in 75 while slashing .267/.406/.613. Since his first full season in 2017, Judge has never slugged lower than .528 and his OPS has never been lower than .891.
He is not going to steal bases like Carroll or Rodriguez, but those two are not going to deliver the home runs and RBIs that Judge does. If needed, you can find speed from other players. But you can’t find too many players that match the power numbers Judge delivers.
Come Back Next Week
Thanks for reading and come back next week for the final edition of the 2024 Top Keepers as the right fielders will be in the spotlight. Then will come my Dynasty Rankings, starting in January with No. 300 and counting down toward the start of the season.
