The good news is the top 20 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball are better than the top 20 3rd basemen. The unfortunate news is, if you had a five-outfielder league, you need at least 60 of these guys, and by the time we get through 40 in our next post, we will have already run dry of solid outfielders. Outfield isn’t shallow, but I wouldn’t say it’s deep either. This end-of-the-year ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked them in the preseason. Anyway, here’s the top 20 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Ronald Acuña Jr. – I haven’t fully come to terms that Tildaddy just had the best fantasy season ever, according to our Historical Player Rater. At one point, I even said to myself something like, “Well, that Historical Player Rater is from 1903 to present, so there might’ve been some season in the 1890s by someone named, like, Bugs “Limey” O’Steed, who had a 70-homer, 70-steal season, but the homers were 20-foot dribblers that no fielders would touch because Limey had scurvy and they thought it was contagious.” Sadly, Limey doesn’t pass the sniff test and I missed on Acuña in all of my leagues, but I also didn’t have the 1st pick anywhere, so small but important distinction. Preseason Rank #5, 2023 Projections: 96/26/68/.277/30 in 509 ABs, Final Numbers: 149/41/106/.337/73 in 643 ABs
2. Mookie Betts – Already went over in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball recap.
3. Corbin Carroll – Superlatives fail, so let me just point out he had a 8.8% walk rate as a rookie. That’s pretty solid, fellers and five fellas. If he can stay healthy (please, Mr. Shoulder), he could go 40/70/.330. So, no more of this, “The best year ever won’t ever be topped.” Did I just jinx him? Oh hells yeah! Preseason Rank #16, 2023 Projections: 81/21/71/.271/27 in 527 ABs, Final Numbers: 116/25/76/.285/54 in 565 ABs
4. Julio Rodriguez – He had a down year, supposedly. Hitters right now are so insane. Ugh, I love baseball! Good time to be alive. The best pitchers are like, “Meh, what’s he got, a 3.50+ ERA?” The best hitters are nuts! Preseason Rank #1, 2023 Projections: 104/32/81/.281/33 in 577 ABs, Final Numbers: 102/32/103/.275/37 and 654 ABs
5. Kyle Tucker – Since Mr. H2H is the most chalk player week-in and week-out, it’s fair to talk about how chalk the rankings were this year. For the outfielders? Yes, but just about all positions, except starters. Once again, hitters are more predictable. It’s always like this, but this became more so than any year I can remember (I can remember back to 2019). Sure, maybe there’s some differences like Lane Thomas, Ozuna and J. Lowe, but, for the most part, I called most of these, and I wasn’t the only one. There’s not many surprises here, which again reaffirms to punt top starters, and go hitters early and often. Preseason Rank #4, 2023 Projections: 91/31/105/.272/20 in 553 ABs, Final Numbers: 97/29/112/.284/30 in 574 ABs
6. Juan Soto – Another supposed down year where he just, ya know, barely snuck into a 35/12/.275 season. Shucks, poor, Sexy Dr. Pepper. Incredibly, I think Soto’s actually become underrated. I don’t know how that’s happened. I blame Biden. Preseason Rank #7, 2023 Projections: 91/34/102/.287/7 in 518 ABs, Final Numbers: 97/35/109/.275/12 in 568 ABs
7. Cody Bellinger – Already went over in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball recap.
8. Adolis Garcia – I love him, everyone knows this. If I’m being real, I’m a little worried he only stole nine bags. The wild thing is he could steal 25+ bags next year or five. Steals and saves both represented in SAGNOF, and they’re equally impossible to project. Preseason Rank #13, 2023 Projections: 81/30/96/.248/24 in 591 ABs, Final Numbers: 108/39/107/.245/9 in 555 ABs
9. Luis Robert Jr. – So, my ranking was pretty close on LouBob, but I am a LouBoob on how badly I missed on him. I figured he’d never stay healthy and everything the White Sox touched turned to crap. So, the last part is kinda true, but was way off on the first part. Never would’ve envisioned a year like LouBob’s for him. If I’m being honest, I would’ve said to sell him at the end of every month he stayed healthy, so it would’ve been like five straight months of Ls. It’s okay, out of the top 20 outfielders, I was only really off on two, and only LouBob was even a possible draft pick. (Acuña was the other.) Preseason Rank #15, 2023 Projections: 71/16/68/.279/15 in 454 ABs, Final Numbers: 90/38/80/.264/20 in 546 ABs
10. Lane Thomas – Unlike LouBob, I liked Lane Thomas, drafted Lane Thomas, had some worries he couldn’t keep it up at the All-Star Break, and wrote a sleeper post for Thomas last year. So, yeah, his ranking and projections were off, but I got the general gist right. The General Gist is also my high school band’s name. You might remember our single, Thereabouts. Preseason Rank #52, 2023 Projections: 77/19/49/.237/10 in 505 ABs, Final Numbers: 101/28/86/.268/20 in 628 ABs
11. Christian Yelich – If you would’ve said, Yelich and Bellinger are going to be next to each other in drafts, and they’d both return top 20 outfielder stats, but one was much better, would you have said Cody? I’m not sure I would’ve. (Which is a coy way of saying I wouldn’t have.) Preseason Rank #22, 2023 Projections: 104/17/63/.257/16 in 571 ABs, Final Numbers: 106/19/76/.278/28 in 550 ABs
12. Marcell Ozuna – Braves’ lineup was so stacked, and they got held by the Phils’ rotation. So funny. Did you hear fans were complaining someone leaked that Arcia mockingly said “atta boy” about Bryce Harper’s base running miscue, and that woke up Bryce? Like “atta boy” is some kind Popeye’s spinach. Fans are hilarious. Not like us very serious fantasy baseballers. Any hoo! Ozuna was the fifth best hitter in the lineup and was incredibly solid. Imagine if someone had told him “atta boy.” Preseason Rank #85, 2023 Projections: 51/20/56/.218/3 in 415 ABs, Final Numbers: 84/40/100/.274 in 530 ABs
13. Nick Castellanos – I take dubs were they might seem to be Ls, but I will admit to not expecting the Greek God of Hard Contact, Nick Castellanos, to ever hit for power again. He seemed so lost, but, alas, homeboy was found. He even had a career high in steals. I know, everyone did, but he had five-ish steal speed before this year, and more than doubled it. Preseason Rank #47, 2023 Projections: 64/15/71/.259/3 in 538 ABs, Final Numbers: 79/29/106/.272/11 in 626 ABs
14. Fernando Tatis Jr. – Already went over in the top 20 shortstops for 2023 fantasy baseball recap.
15. Josh Lowe – I’m convinced that if Kevin Cash gave Brujan 466 ABs, he would’ve had Lowe’s stats, and, next year, he might and Lowe could get 150 ABs. Rays hitters are like the Dodgers pitchers. They just show up and are great. Preseason Rank #144, 2023 Projections: 28/7/23/.246/7 in 217 ABs, Final Numbers: 71/20/83/.292/32 in 466 ABs
16. Kyle Schwarber – Kinda beyond the point with Schwarber, and not the first thing people talk about with him, but look at how he had ten steals last year, and zero this year and tell me there’s a rhyme or reason to projecting steals. Preseason Rank #14, 2023 Projections: 81/41/97/.223/7 in 557 ABs, Final Numbers: 108/47/104/.197 in 585 ABs
17. Randy Arozarena – Okay! Broken record here, but rules changes and The Rice Bowl loses eight steals on his total year over year? Why? This is important, because the better we project steals the better we all are. I’m being serious. Preseason Rank #12, 2023 Projections: 83/20/89/.260/30 in 579 ABs, Final Numbers: 95/23/83/.254/22 in 551 ABs
18. Yordan Alvarez – One of these years Captain Woo Cubano is going to get 575 ABs and have a 50+ homer season. I want to be in so bad when it happens, because it could easily become a 70-homer season if Rob Manfred rolls out the bouncy balls for his final month. Preseason Rank #3, 2023 Projections: 93/43/112/.304/1 in 531 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/31/97/.293 in 410 ABs
19. Aaron Judge – Don’t be injured during your prime, while being the best hitter in baseball, that’s all I ask. Is that too much? Maybe for a guy who is seven-foot, two-inches. Why do mountains get hurt so much? I sound like a folk song at a Greta Thunberg protest. Preseason Rank #2, 2023 Projections: 109/41/102/.283/10 in 548 ABs, Final Numbers: 79/37/75/.267/3 in 367 ABs
20. Spencer Steer – Already went over in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball recap.
