Fantasy Baseball, Left Fielders, Keepers

Welcome back to another week of the 2024 Top Keepers series. We’ve completed our journey around the infield, so now we head to the outfield.

This week the spotlight is on left fielders. It would be simpler to just rank all the outfielders in one big group. However, I am not a fan of leagues that just start outfielders. While there is not a big difference between left field and right field, there is a difference. And playing center field is a very different skillset compared to the corner outfield spots.

With that in mind and knowing there are plenty of leagues that start a left fielder, center fielder and right fielder, I have broken up the positions into three different rankings. But before we get to the top left field keepers, below are the positions that have been discussed previously:

As a reminder, I have a differentiation between a keeper ranking and a dynasty ranking. For these columns, I am taking into account the many different fantasy leagues you, the reader, are in. Some keeper leagues allow only five keepers, or 10 – some limited amount.

Meanwhile, many dynasty leagues are forever leagues while others have contracts, etc., that may limit the amount of time you control a player but not severely limit that control. More often than not, player control is longer in dynasty leagues than keeper leagues. I try to take that all into account for these keeper rankings, but usually give more weight to the short-term over the long-term value of a player.

TIER 7

*Age as of April 1, 2024

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
60	Michael Brantley	Hou	36
59	Corey Julks	Hou	28
58	Gabriel Arias	Cle	24
57	JJ Bleday	Oak	26
56	Everson Pereira	NYY	22
55	Alec Burleson	Stl	25
54	Jake Bauers	NYY	28
53	Tyler O’Neill	Stl	28
52	Austin Slater	SF	31
51	Oswaldo Cabrera	NYY	25

The Astros

If Michael Brantley can remain healthy in 2024, then he is a much better keeper than where he is ranked now. But he missed more than half of the 2002 campaign and most of last season before getting into 15 games with the Astros.

Corey Julks started well for the Astros last year before eventually being solved by opposing pitchers and eventually ending the season in Triple-A Sugar Land. But he still has value as he can play all three outfield positions, he has some pop and he can swipe a bag, recording 15 steals in 93 games.

The Cardinals

Alec Burleson and Tyler O’Neil may have played their final games in St. Louis as both are strong trade candidates this offseason. It wasn’t long ago that O’Neil was a slugging left fielder, but he has not come close to matching his 2021 season when he slashed .286/.352/.560 with 34 homers. But there is always the potential for a rebound with another team.

Burleson can play left and right field as well as first base. While he doesn’t hit for a lot of power, he does limit his strikeouts and could be a good player for depth purposes.

The Athletic

The one player who I can see moving up these rankings if they were done at the start of the 2024 season or a month into the season is JJ Bleday. That is a big if, but the former first round draft choice displayed some of the talent with the A’s last season that made him such a high draft choice.

In 82 games, he hit 10 homers and drove in 27 runs with five steals – so basically a pace of 20 homers, 54 RBI and 10 steals. His 3.3% home rate was slightly above the MLB average of 3.0%. His strength is his 13.3% career walk rate. However, Bleday slashed .195/.310/.355 for Oakland and must improve those numbers to have real value for a fantasy team.

TIER 6

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
50	David Peralta	LAD	36
49	Mark Canha	NYM	35
48	Edward Olivares	KC	28
47	Travis Jankowski	Tex	32
46	Robbie Grossman	Tex	34
45	Joey Gallo	Min	30
44	Seth Brown	Oak	31
43	Nick Senzel	Cin	28
42	Andrew Benintendi	CWS	29
41	Eddie Rosario	Atl	32

If these rankings were strictly dynasty rankings, then a lot of these players would be in Tier 7 and a host of Tier 7 players would be here. Most of the players in this tier have been around and you know what you are going to get from them.

But there are two players here who you should keep an eye on.

Brown and Senzel

Seth Brown was limited to 112 games and 343 at-bats this past season. When on the field, Brown provides power as he hit 14 dingers and drove in 52 runs and slugged .405. His 162-game average is 24 home runs and 74 RBI with a .440 slugging percentage. I may actually have him ranked a little low here as he can also play right field and first base. At 31, his best days are likely behind him and he has never been a good batting average/OBP player. However, he hits for power, which is something always sought in fantasy baseball.

With so much young talent, the Reds decided it was time to say goodbye to Senzel after the season by not tendering him a contract. But Senzel should compete for playing time at his future club as he still has talent. In 330 plate appearances last season, he hit 13 homers and drove in 42 runs. His true value is his versatility. Not only can Senzel play all three outfield positions, but he qualifies at third base and has experience at second base as well.

TIER 5

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
40	Mike Yastrzemski	SF	33
39	Randal Grichuk	LAA	32
38	Joc Pederson	SF	31
37	Dairon Blanco	KC	30
36	Michael Conforto	SF	31
35	Connor Joe	Pit	31
34	Taylor Ward	LAA	30
33	Tommy Pham	NYM	36
32	Stone Garrett	Was	28
31	Jake Fraley	Cin	28

No Spring Chickens

This group features a lot of older, more established players. That may not be exciting, but players in this group will serve as great depth or even be surprise contributors throughout the 2024 season. Most of them deliver some power as all but Dairon Blanco and Stone Garrett reached double digits in homers, and Garrett fell one dinger shy of reaching double digits.

Grichuk could be a sneaky keeper depending on where he plays next season and if you believe in the 2023 Rockies version of Grichuk and not the Angels version. With the Rockies he slashed .308/.365/.496 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI in 64 games. With the Angles, his power was there (eight homers, 17 RBI in 54 games) but the slash line fell to .216/.264/.412.

Dairon Blanco doesn’t offer the power the other players in this tier do, but in 69 games last season he stole 24 bases. Speed is his game as he stole 188 bags in 465 career minor league games, including 47 at Triple-A Omaha last season.

What to do with Fraley?

I’ve always liked Jake Fraley, and I have always been disappointed by the end of the season in Fraley because he can’t remain healthy and nail down a fulltime spot in the lineup. With Spencer Steer, TJ Friedle and Will Benson the early favorites to hold down the starting spots in the outfield for the Reds next year, Fraley will have to get his bats as the fourth outfielder and DH. But if he can reach 400 at-bats, he should be very productive.

In 111 games and 336 at-bats last season, he slashed .256/.339/.443 with 15 homers, 65 RBI and 21 steals. His 162-game average is 21 homers, 76 RBI and 22 steals. He is a good player. But the question about his playing time keeps him ranked outside the Top 30.

TIER 4

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
30	Luis Matos	SF	22
29	Jarred Kelenic	Sea	24
28	Steven Kwan	Cle	26
27	Bryan De La Cruz	Mia	27
26	Mickey Moniak	LAA	25
25	MJ Melendez	KC	25
24	Lars Nootbaar	Stl	26
23	Austin Hays	Bal	28
22	Jarren Duran	Bos	27
21	Brent Rooker	Oak	29

If These Were Dynasty Rankings…

…then Luis Matos would be ranked higher because of the upside he has. He doesn’t have tremendous power, but he could reach 10-13 homers in the majors while also stealing 15 or so bases. His strength is his bat skills as he has a career slash line of .299/.360/.478 in the minors and produced a .250/.319/.342 slash line in 76 games for the Giants this past season with only a 13% strikeout rate.

Bouncing Back in the South?

Jarred Kelenic has been on the radar of fantasy owners for years. But during his time with the Mariners, he just could not live up to the hype. Now that he is in Atlanta, it may be time to start buying stock in Kelenic again. He showed his skills with an amazing month of April with seven homers and 14 RBI in 26 games with a .308/.366/.615 slash line. But over the next 281 at-bats, he hit only four homers and slashed only .235/.314/.356.

But now that he is with the Braves, in a lineup surrounded by potent hitters, I think Kelenic will be relaxed and start to produce at a level many expected of him when he was one of baseball’s top prospects.

Sneaky Good Season

Mickey Moniak had a sneaky good season for the Angels in 2023. In 85 games, he hit 14 homers, drove in 45 and stole six bases while slashing .280/.307/.495. That batting average ranked seventh out of the 74 left fielders I looked at while his slugging percentage ranked eighth. His OPS of .802 ranked 17th and his OPS+ ranked 22nd. Who would have guessed? One warning sign, however, was his strikeout rate of 35% and his 2.8% walk rate this past season. Those must get better.

Moniak will only be 25 on Opening Day, so perhaps he has finally figured things out and become the productive hitter many hoped he would become after being the first overall pick by the Phillies in the 2016 draft.

Breakout Year

Brent Rooker teased fantasy owners to what he could provide in the power department in 2021 when he hit nine home runs in 58 games. After a lost season in 2022, Rooker slammed 30 home runs last year, ranking fourth among left fielders, while driving in 69 and slashing .246/.329/.488 (11th among left fielders).

He isn’t exactly young, but if you are looking for a power hitting left fielder for the next year or two, you could do a lot worse than Rooker.

TIER 3

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
20	Luke Raley	TB	29
19	Daulton Varsho	Tor	27
18	Will Benson	Cin	25
17	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	Ari	30
16	Matt Wallner	Min	26
15	Masataka Yoshida	Bos	30
14	Kerry Carpenter	Det	26
13	Chas McCormick	Hou	28
12	Ian Happ	ChC	29
11	Jordan Walker	Stl	21

Another Young Red

When the Reds acquired Will Benson from Cleveland ahead of the 2023 season, it was mostly overlooked by baseball fans. But after being recalled from the minors by the Reds, Benson performed well and should receive a lot of at-bats for Cincinnati in 2024. The left-handed hitter has good power and great speed. In 287 at-bats, he hit 11 homers and drove in 31 while stealing 19 bases in 22 attempts.

He does strike out a lot (31.3%) but he had a great walk rate (12.2%) and his average EV was 90.2 mph, nearly two mph above the MLB average. That exit velocity helped him slug .498, ranking seventh among left fielders. Playing in a hitter’s ballpark and in a lineup full of good, young hitters, Benson has the chance to put up really nice numbers for years to come.

Take This Twinkie

Like Benson, Matt Wallner did not get a full season of playing time in the majors. But in his 76 games with the Twins, all Wallner did was produce. In 213 at-bats he hit 14 homers, had 41 RBI and slashed .249/.370/.507. The OBP and slugging percentage ranked sixth and fifth, respectively, among left fielders. Wallner was way above average in Barrel% (18.8), EV (91.9 mph) and BB% (11.0). He did have a high strikeout rate at 31.5%, but if produces home runs, you can live with the strikeouts.

Surprising Season

When you think of Chas McCormick of the Houston Astros, you don’t immediately think of one of baseball’s top hitting outfielders. One reason for that is because Dusty Baker refused to put him into the lineup every day.

But when McCormick was in the lineup, he was a top-hitting outfielder. McCormick slashed .273/.353/.489 with 22 home runs, 70 RBI and 19 steals. Eligible at all three outfield spots, McCormick ranked in the top 15 among left fielders in homers (10th), RBI (14th), SB (9th), AVG (15th), OBP (15th) and SLG (10th). His .842 OPS ranked 8th as did his 130 OPS+. Those numbers really make him a top 10 outfielder, but with only one season like that under his belt, I’ve bumped him down to Tier 3.

But there is no reason to not have him as one of your keepers.

TIER 2

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
10	Evan Carter	Tex	21
9	Spencer Steer	Cin	26
8	Bryan Reynolds	Pit	29
7	Nolan Jones	Col	25
6	Kyle Schwarber	Phi	31

Walker vs. Carter

Jordan Walker just missed the cut of being in Tier 2 as I decided to put another youngster, Even Carter, at No. 10. Both are great keepers, and in dynasty rankings, they would be knocking on Tier 1. But Walker had only 117 games of major league experience and Carter has even less at 23 games in the regular season. Carter sits at No. 10 because he was amazing not just in September for the Texas Rangers, but throughout the postseason to help the Rangers win the World Series.

Walker hit 16 homers with 51 RBI while slashing .276/.342/.445 during his rookie season. His 10.2-degree launch angle was below the league average, so if he can improve that just a bit, his power numbers will really be nice going forward.

Carter joined the Rangers after Adolis Garcia injured his knee early in September. Once Carter was in the lineup, the Rangers couldn’t take him out. In 62 at-bats, he slashed .306/.413/.645 with five home runs, 12 RBI and three steals. In the postseason, Carter performed like a seasoned veteran, slashing .300/.417/.500 with one home run, six RBI and three steals in 17 games.

Solid Production Again

The average baseball fan may not know who Bryan Reynolds is, but true fantasy players know the value he brings to your team. Reynolds had yet another solid season for the Pirates, slashing .263/.333/.460 with 24 home runs, 84 RBI and 12 steals to go along with 85 runs scored. The runs scored, home runs and RBI all ranked in the top 8 among left fielders.

He may not be “exciting” and the hot name among left fielders, but he is going to give you the type of production that helps your team win fantasy titles.

Power and Speed

Nolan Jones could be at first base for the Rockies in 2024, but he will likely patrol the outfield in either left or right field. No matter where he plays, you want him in your lineup. Jones has power (20 homers in 367 ABs), speed (20 steals) and can hit (.297/.389/.542). His xwOBA, xSLG, Barrell% and BB% were in the 84th percentile or higher this year.

Despite playing in only 106 games, his homers and RBI both ranked in the top 20 and his steals ranked 8th among left fielders. Meanwhile, that slash line ranked in the top four in all three categories.

Home Run, Walk or Bust

I had a tough time trying to figure out where Kyle Schwarber should land in the rankings. On one hand, he is not a good “hitter” as he had a .197 batting average with a 29.9% strikeout rate. In 720 plate appearances he struck out 215 times. Those numbers don’t lead to a No. 6 ranking in anything.

But while Schwarber doesn’t hit for average, he has massive power and a great eye at the plate. He slugged 47 home runs and drove in 104 runs, ranking first and second among left fielders. He also scored 108 runs and, thanks to his 126 walks, he had an OBP of .343. Because of his power production, I had Schwarber land in this tier. If you can’t stomach a slash line of .197/.343/.474, then move him down your rankings. But no matter what, he is a keeper for at least next season.

TIER 1

RANK	PLAYER	2023 TEAM	AGE*
5	Christian Yelich	Mil	32
4	Randy Arozarena	TB	29
3	Corbin Carroll	Ari	23
2	Yordan Alvarez	Hou	26
1	Juan Soto	SD	25

The Steady “Old Men”

Christian Yelich and Randy Arozarena aren’t old when it comes to real life, but in this tier, they qualify as old.

Yelich will be 32 on Opening Day, but as a straight keeper, he deserves his spot in Tier 1. He doesn’t hit a lot of homers, but he is good for 20 or so every year while also scoring runs and driving in runs (106 RS and 76 RBI in 2023). He also still has speed as he swiped 28 bags last year and he will produce a solid slash line for you, as he did this past year (.278/.370/.447). The average and OBP both ranked in the top 8.

Arozarena had another good year for the Rays and, like Yelich, deserves his spot in Tier 1 as a straight keeper as you know what you are going to get from him. He hits for power (23 homers), drives in runs (83 RBI), steals bases (22 steals), scores runs (95) and won’t hurt you at the plate (.254/.364/.425)

The Top Three

Because this is a list and thus numbers are needed to be next to names, my rankings end with Corbin Carroll at No. 3, Yordan Alvarez at No. 2 and Juan Soto at No. 1. But they can really just be ranked 1A, 1B and 1C.

Carroll comes in third because he just finished his rookie season. It was a great rookie season, however – 25 homers, 76 RBI, 54 steals, and 116 runs scored. A slash line of .285/.362/.506. Those are great numbers. But even in a dynasty league, I am not sure I would take him ahead of Alvarez and Soto. That is because Carroll’s real value is his speed. Those steals are hard to ignore. But he does not compare to Alvarez and Soto in the power department and both of those hitters are equal to or better than Carroll when it comes to the slash line.

Alvarez’s 2023 numbers were hurt by the fact that he missed more than a month with an oblique strain. But when he is the in the batter’s box, there aren’t too many pitchers who want to face him. In 114 games, he slashed .293/.407/.583. Among left fielders with 100 plate appearances or more, Alvarez ranked 3rd, 2nd and 1st in those categories. He also hit 31 homers (3rd) and drove in 97 (3rd).

The only thing Alvarez doesn’t do is steal bases as he failed to steal a single bag in 2023. But the fact he is a .300 hitter with massive power, who cares if he doesn’t steal bases.

When you compare Alvarez to Soto, the two are very similar. Alvarez’s 162-game average is 109 runs scored, 43 homers, 128 RBI and one steal with a slash line of .295/.390/.588. For Soto, his 162-game average is 110 runs scored, 33 home runs, 100 RBI and 10 steals with a .284/.421/.524 slash line.

The reason Soto has the edge is he can steal bases and is actually one year younger than Alvarez and the fact that Soto will now be hitting in Yankee Stadium and taking aim at the short porch in right field 81 times a season. His swing in that stadium – that is scary.

Thanks, and Come Back Next Week

Well, our journey around the infield is now complete. Come back next week for the 2024 Top Keepers – Center Fielders edition.