With the top 40 outfielders for 2017 fantasy baseball, we’ve finished all the hitter recaps. We meaning me, but I’ll include you. No, that’s not a cue to try to hold my hand. Why are you now patting my butt? Don’t muss my hair! The pitching recap will begin next. You can hardly wait. No, you! To recap, the end of the season rankings are based on our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. I felt the easiest way to keep it objective would to go this route. This way when I say someone finished 30th and I ranked them 23rd in the preseason, it carries more weight like a non-vegan Bill Clinton. Anyway, here’s the top 40 outfielders for 2017 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
21. Andrew Benintendi – Was pretty high on Benintendi coming into the year. Not quite as high as Prospector Ralph who rolled up magazine covers of Benintendi and smoked them. There’s some legitimate concerns about Benintendi looking at his ground balls vs. fly balls and Hard Contact. He looks more like a 40-double guy than a 30-homer one, but it’s hard to be that against a guy sitting in the middle of the Red Sox lineup with 20 steals. Preseason Rank #27, 2017 Projections: 79/16/68/.303/19, Final Numbers: 84/20/90/.271/20
22. Trea Turner – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
23. Billy Hamilton – Pretty much nailed Hamilton’s projections which has me concerned about my ranking. 60 steals, as projected, should’ve been more like 25th outfielder in the preseason vs. 35th. As they say, this is a teachable moment. Those that say that sound like know-it-alls. Ooh, teachable moments, blah blah burp, shut up! Preseason Rank #35, 2017 Projections: 75/4/40/.253/60, Final Numbers: 85/4/38/.247/59
24. Scooter Gennett – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
25. Brett Gardner – One recurring thing you’re going to see with this top 40, 31 to 35-year-olds were not as done done as we thought. They were well done. Not bad well done, but good well done. Like your ketchup-covered Trump steak. Preseason Rank #81, 2017 Projections: 72/10/37/.255/15, Final Numbers: 96/21/63/.264/23
26. Lorenzo Cain – See what I said 1/18th of inch above, or five inches if talking to a girl. Cain…Sugar! looked all but dead coming out of 2016 (9 HRs, 14 SBs), but he had a season matching his best. By the way, at some point a few years ago, Ned Yost decided Cain…Sugar! was his three-hole hitter and has resisted the urge to second guess himself similarly to–Well, every major league manager resists the urge to second guess themselves. As a group, major league managers are a very resolute group, for better or worse (mostly worse). Preseason Rank #50, 2017 Projections: 83/14/79/.285/20, Final Numbers: 86/15/49/.300/26
27. Ender Inciarte – As someone who owned Ender in one league from about the 2nd week of the season until the end, so almost-beginner to Ender, he’s exactly the kind of guy that gets dropped early and should be owned all year. He’s not going to hit 5 HRs in a week or steal 10 bags in a month to ever really excite you, but a leadoff man who plays 150+ games and hits .300 with 20-steal speed is going to be valuable on the year. Preseason Rank #41, 2017 Projections: 92/7/39/.297/21, Final Numbers: 93/11/57/.304/22
28. Jay Bruce – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen.
29. Eddie Rosario – I’m going to blame a lack of confidence on his playing time for why I was so low on him in the preseason, because I’m fully on Rosario now. I’ve bought in. I am convinced. There is no questions parrying me over the fence away from him. Okay, you get the point. I’m sold. Preseason Rank #118, 2017 Projections: 49/11/53/.264/7, Final Numbers: 79/27/78/.290/9
30. Shin-Soo Choo – For the first time in a few years when someone said “God bless you” after someone said Shin-Soo Choo, they weren’t simply saying it because they thought you sneezed. Preseason Rank #76, 2017 Projections: 75/16/48/.264/7, Final Numbers: 96/22/78/.261/12
31. Avisail Garcia – His BABIP was .392, i.e., the top BABIP in the league for qualified hitters, i.e., ludicrously high for him, I before E except in Teixeira, Avisail was lucky he didn’t have yet another yawnstipating year. Preseason Rank #83, 2017 Projections: 54/15/67/.251/6, Final Numbers: 75/18/80/.330/5
32. Adam Duvall – In the preseason, I compared Duvall to Khris Davis. Now, I will say correctamundo. Preseason Rank #24, 2017 Projections: 74/34/92/.244/5, Final Numbers: 78/31/99/.249/5
33. Nicholas Castellanos – Went over him in the top 20 3rd basemen.
34. Steven Souza – Fun with BABIP! Souza had a .302 BABIP and still only hit .239 with a 29% strikeout rate. If he could hit .270, he’d be in the Justin Upton range. In other words, a Souza isn’t just fun for Band Camp. Preseason Rank #93, 2017 Projections: 57/16/54/.227/10, Final Numbers: 78/30/78/.239/16
35. Yasiel Puig – As you’ll hear me say (a lot) on the podcast (between cackles), most players have a range. Like I’ll say something like, “Lorenzo Cain’s home run power is 12-17 and his steals are 23-28.” Usually about three to five is a range. With Yasiel, he could hit anywhere from 15 HRs to 40, and steal anywhere from five to 25. No one, not even Puig, has any clue what he’s going to do. Sometimes, after Puig’s already done it, he still doesn’t know what he’s done. Preseason Rank #56, 2017 Projections: 65/18/71/.277/7, Final Numbers: 72/28/74/.263/15
36. Willson Contreras – Went over him in the top 20 catchers.
37. Joey Gallo – Went over him in the top 20 1st basemen.
38. Josh Reddick – Don’t look at his projections or end of the season stats yet. I projected him for 17 HRs and seven steals. Yet, he was a top 40 outfielder, so he must’ve beat those numbers by a lot, right? A’la Maxwell Smart, would you believe he hit less homers and had exactly seven steals? If Reddick would’ve hit 8th in the lineup all year instead of 2nd, he’d about the 70th best outfielder. Preseason Rank #79, 2017 Projections: 59/17/68/.269/7, Final Numbers: 77/13/82/.314/7
39. Adam Jones – Came pretty close on Jones’ projections, but was way off on his ranking. I think I know why. Cause you’re stupid. Shut up, Random Italicized Voice. Because I favor guys that have solid floors, and one thing Jones has is that. Not exactly gonna be a M.C. Escher-designed house with Jones’ foundation, but it will be sturdy. Preseason Rank #22, 2017 Projections: 92/27/78/.268/3, Final Numbers: 82/26/73/.285/2
40. Corey Dickerson – 2nd half wasn’t kind to Dickerson — 10 HRs, .241 vs. 17 HRs, .312. So which is he? 1st half slugger, 2nd half slug. Hey, a slug like a fake escargot. Yeah, leaning heavily on him being the 2nd half escarfaux. Preseason Rank #87, 2017 Projections: 49/22/58/.250/4, Final Numbers: 84/27/62/.282/4
