Outfielders to Target for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

We (me) have gone over the catchers sleepers, 1st basemen sleepers, 2nd basemen sleepers, shortstops sleepers, and 3rd basemen sleepers, because I have to do everything around here! Look at me, throwing shade like a beach umbrella! That makes sense…if you don’t think about it! That’s what I want my bumper sticker to say, “That makes sense….if you don’t think about it.” Okay, so this post is all the outfielders that are being drafted after 200 overall that elicit uber-sexy feelings. There’s guys like Jake McCarthy and Taylor Ward that I would draft everywhere, and wrote fantasy baseball sleepers for them, but they’re going before 200 overall, so not presented here. Uh, except for here here. Now, this is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Canada) supplement to the top 100 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball. All Steamer hitter projections and all 2023 fantasy baseball rankings have been updated. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2023 projections.  Anyway, here’s some outfielders to target for 2023 fantasy baseball:

Oswaldo Cabrera (Yahoo 293, NFBC 345, ESPN 300) Universally, I was the high man on Oswaldo Cabrera. It was not even close. I was either way overrating him in my Oswaldo Cabrera sleeper or I was the only one properly ranking him. Then, the preseason happened, and I worried the Yanks wouldn’t play him, so I lowered him in my top 500. I still love him, but I’m worried the Yankees don’t love him as much as me. See, I can love a guy to the moon and back, as someone in their eighties might say, but if the team doesn’t love him, then it doesn’t matter. Why did I love him: Triple-A isn’t the majors, but he just went 13/11 in 56 games in AAA. In Double-A, he went 24/20/.256 in a full season. He just turned 24 years old. Every time I start to get pumped, I remember I don’t know what the Yankees are doing with Aaron Hicks. Is it too late to turn him into glue? Is he too stale for Elmer’s Glue? That is what I’m asking. Sorry, I’m on the phone with Elmer’s Glue and Siri is typing this. Siri, please stop, you’ll have your chance below, Jose. Thank you. So, Cabrera could get 140+ games, but it might only happen if Hicks gets benched, or more likely injured. I’m betting one of those two scenarios does happen, and you can draft him later, and I would. Right now with the Bader oblique injury, Cabrera does have a starting job, but Bader will return by the end of April (he was lowered in the top 60 outfielders, by the by).

Lane Thomas (Yahoo 256, ESPN 256, NFBC 295) When a guy’s ADP at NFBC is higher than his ranks at ESPN and Yahoo, it’s a unicorn. Unicorns always interest me. How did it occur in nature? Does it fart rainbows? I don’t know, but on this episode of Ancient Aliens, we find out! Lane Thomas was a guy I wrote a sleeper post on last year, and, can I get a woof, because he sure did disappoint! A seemingly fast guy, who doesn’t run, can’t get a high BABIP because he hits everything in the air roughly 245 feet and walks, but with a bad average. He’s the one true outcome guy, The Unicorn again, but in a different way. He’s got more unicorn traits than horns. At the end of the day, 18/10/.240 has some value, just not as much as I thought last year, but more than drafters at NFBC are giving him credit.

Wil Myers (Yahoo 275, ESPN 272, NFBC 234) For what it’s Foxworthy, when you’re excited about Wil Myers, you just might be stupid! No, not true. I am actually excited about Wil Myers and I can almost spell genius without a spellchecker, so who’s the dumb one? Okay, gonna give it to you nice and simple like Minnie Pearl would’ve wanted it, any hitters in Cincy are interesting. Going from Foxworthy to Minnie Pearl as we’re recently sponsored by Hee Haw.

Alex Kirilloff (Yahoo 301, ESPN unranked, NFBC 338) On one hand, he was once pegged as a future 30-homer hitter. On the other hand, ugh, do we have to put anything on the other hand? See, that’s his bad wrist. Picking him is hoping his wrist is finally better. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not, but there’s no maybes about how cheap it’ll cost to find out.

Jarred Kelenic (Yahoo 300, ESPN unranked, NFBC 306) Kinda fitting that Kelenic is in here with Myers and Kirilloff. All three were pegged as great prospects. Ya know that song, “An ant can’t lift a rubber tree plant, but he’s got high hopes?” These guys are the ants that got crushed by those rubber tree plants. “Homey, you sure you wanna lift a rubber tree plant?” “Yeah, man, I can do it.” *crushed immediately* Do I still have any hope for Kelenic? Not really, no, but the price to find out is cheaper than any rubber tree plants.

Jorge Soler (Yahoo 248, ESPN 279, NFBC 276) Wanna hear how susceptible I am to stupid narratives? I did a search for Soler, before potentially drafting him (you should do that with every player you consider in a slow draft), and it said Soler was in a contract year so he was about to have his last big year of his career. That made sense to me, when looking at players in the 350 overall range. You gotta grasp onto anything that late in a draft. It’s like, “He struck out, but it was on three pitches in the zone?” Okay, tell me more.

Esteury Ruiz (Yahoo 289, ESPN 258, NFBC 258) You ever see the movie, The River Runs Through It? Yeah, that’s about Esteury Ruiz. It’s about how he can steal 50+bags. Assuming he doesn’t hit .180. It stars him and Meryl Streep. Good flick, if being honest.

Mike Yastrzemski (Yahoo 336, ESPN 296, NFBC 428) Wanna hear something funny that is only funny to me? I spelled Yastrzemski correctly, but originally wrote his name as Mark. Look at the giant brain on this guy! As mentioned in the top 80 outfielders that recalls a blurb in top 60 outfielders, that is important to remember, everyday guys like Carl’s Jr. Jr. will be valuable, they just might not be exciting.

Edward Olivares (Yahoo 314, ESPN unranked, NFBC 383) Already gave you an Edward Olivares sleeper. There’s about 700 words there about why he should be everyone’s late target. One thing not mentioned there, that I will add now, he has to be good this year. Hey, no presh, but Dayton Moore wasted all of Olivares’s chances. Hit or relocate to Korea. That’s it. Also, another thing I didn’t mention, you know how if you lip synch “olive juice” it looks like “I love you?” Well, that’s me but lip synching Olivares.

Dylan Carlson (Yahoo 315, ESPN unranked, NFBC 363) I’ve covered my Trapper Keeper with aluminum foil and am directing all shine at Jordan Walker. I’m allowed one guy per team. It’s the law. I can’t aim my shine on any other Cards players, but, if I were, Carlson was on everyone’s radar last year and won’t be 25 for another eight months. In 2021, he had a 18-homer season and he had 12-steal speed, supposedly, that he hadn’t shown. Or shone to keep going with the metaphor. Will Carlson bounce back at 24? It would be one of the least shocking developments this year. Could he simply lose his starting job? Yes, that’s an option too.

Jose Siri (Yahoo 311, ESPN unranked, NFBC 373) Dare you to draft Siri and Alexa Kirilloff and call your team, “AI Look At This Team!” Your team won’t be good, but I will enjoy that. Think of me. Truly believe Siri could hit 20 homers and steal 25 bags, but he also might hit .185. Worth the upside flyer, but asking Siri to carry your team and she might respond, “Sorry, Grey, there are no team carriers in your neighborhood.”

Kerry Carpenter (Yahoo unranked, ESPN unranked, NFBC 493) Please welcome to the stage, Kerry Carpenter, singing her and her brother’s song, We’ve Only Just Begun (Our Career). Mr. Prorater, if he were allowed to comment on players with less than 40 games in their pro career, would tell you Carpenter Only Just Begun His Career with a home run every fifth game through a month. He also had 30 homers in the minors in the other five months last year. And hit .331 in Triple-A. Oh, and is not being drafted at all.

Oscar Colas (Yahoo 312, ESPN unranked, NFBC 307) Between me closing that parenthesis and writing this, I moved Oscar Colas up in my top 80 outfielders, and top 500, because I had a heart-to-heart with myself, and realized I was too low on him. ACKSUALLY, I was perfectly right on him. I had him ranked around 77th for outfielders back in December, but then I worried that he might get sent down to start the year, so I lowered him, and screwed over myself from drafting him everywhere for the last three months. Should’ve trusted the White Sox and avoided getting cold feet. …and a pun from off the top rope!