With the top 40 outfielders for 2020 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 be to go this route. This way when I say someone finished 30th and I ranked them 23rd in the preseason, it carries more weight than Willians Astudillo. Anyway, here’s the top 40 outfielders for 2020 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
21. Dominic Smith – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
22. Kole Calhoun – As I’ve been saying in various ways, if you won your league in a 60-game season, congrats, but that’s not a full congratulations, because shizz was so goofy, and one hot month turned Kole into fire and your fantasy team lucked into a top 22 outfielder, when he would’ve been a 60-80th ranked outfielder if the season continued. Though, don’t take that completely the wrong way, Calhoun is a 30+ homer guy. But also a .225 hitter, which kinda ruins things a little. It’s not like he’s a cheap Juan Soto. Don’t call him Kola Calhoun. Preseason Rank #86, 2020 Projections: 23/10/26/.222/1 in 173, Final Numbers: 35/16/40/.226/1 in 190 ABs
23. Charlie Blackmon – You in August, “Chazz Noir can’t not not not not hit .400 this year!!! Ugh, I can’t not not not believe it!!!” You at the end of the season, “Welp, that didn’t happen.” Was so funny all the proraters out there saying how poorly Noir would have to hit to hit as low as .300, meaning there was no way he would do it, and then he went ahead and did it. “Leave the prorating to me.” That’s Mr. Prorater. Preseason Rank #19, 2020 Projections: 39/10/29/.288/1 in 211 ABs, Final Numbers: 31/6/42/.303/2 in 221 ABs
24. George Springer – Ya know what’s interesting to no one but me? Stop trying to guess, you wouldn’t know, it’s only interesting to me. What’s interesting to me is that I tend to be lower on the Astros hitters than most, but always higher on Springer. Told you it was only interesting to me. His numbers look fairly normal until your eyes pop out of your skull seeing his Launch Angle. It went from 10.4 to 18.4, and, of course, his fly balls went way up, literally. That’s a good way to hit .260 instead of .280. Preseason Rank #9, 2020 Projections: 40/11/31/.281/2 in 204 ABs, Final Numbers: 37/14/32/.265/1 in 189 ABs
25. Luis Robert – Welp, pretty much nailed his ranking and projections. I’d take a bow, but my sciatica. Here’s a secret recipe for success in fantasy baseball: If a hitter has power and speed, he can only be so bad. Of course, there’s exceptions to every rule, and Byron Buxton has discovered just about every exception. He’s the Magellan of exceptions. Preseason Rank #24, 2020 Projections: 29/8/22/.248/9 in 190 ABs, Final Numbers: 33/11/31/.233/9 in 227 ABs
26. Kyle Lewis – You can say I did a doodie with Lewis’s preseason ranking and projections, and you might not be wrong, but I also told everyone to draft and/or pick him up during the shutdown. I was off him in January, when the original rankings were borne, but I was a very early convert like the world’s 2nd clown. Everyone knows the coolest guy in history has to be the second clown ever. The dude who looked at the first ever clown and said, “This rules. I want what that guy has.” That’s me, the world’s 2nd clown. Preseason Rank #125, 2020 Projections: 15/4/14/.234/1 in 114 ABs, Final Numbers: 37/11/28/.262/5 in 206 ABs
27. Cavan Biggio – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
28. Cody Bellinger – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
29. Adam Duvall – He’s like a poor man’s Kole. I will call him, Soot. Think about it, if Kole Calhoun happened to have a great month and ended up in the top 40 OF, what was Adam Duvall? A great two weeks? Okay. Whatever, but c’mon. (It was kind of a great two games.) Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 34/16/33/.237 in 190 ABs
30. Andrew McCutchen – Was like the polar opposite of Kole Calhoun. South Pole Calhoun? Okay, I’ll stop that now. But it’s true. McCutchen didn’t have any huge weeks or months, he was just decent for eight weeks. On a more specific note, McCutchen, Bryce and Hoskins’s Launch Angle are out of control. Are they trying to hit nothing but homers in Philly? Maybe they were inspired by their bullpen. Preseason Rank #49, 2020 Projections: 31/9/25/.257/1 in 187 ABs, Final Numbers: 32/10/34/.253/4 in 217 ABs
31. Kevin Pillar – Goes back to what I was saying in the Lou Bob blurb. Power/speed = Can’t go too wrong. Unfortunately for Pillar, he’s got severe limitations. One might say Pillar is the statute of limitations. Preseason Rank #63, 2020 Projections: 23/7/24/.264/4 in 180 ABs, Final Numbers: 34/6/26/.288/5 in 208 ABs
32. Nick Castellanos – The Greek God of Hard Contact severely struggled with strikeouts this year, and it tanked his average. What’s bizarre (subjectively), he swung at less pitches in and out of the strike zone. The pitches he did swing at, he missed more, but when making contact, he hit balls harder. Seems kinda fluky, like Monday’s fish special at his mom’s diner. Preseason Rank #28, 2020 Projections: 33/9/30/.277/1 in 225 ABs, Final Numbers: 37/14/34/.225 in 218 ABs
33. Jurickson Profar – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
34. Chris Taylor – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
35. Dylan Moore – Already went over him in the top 20 shortstops for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
36. Jackie Bradley Jr. – If you were to list all the names on this top 40, and say to me, “Pick out the one name that isn’t really in the top 40,” I’d pick out Jackie Bradley Jr., then you’d say, “It was a trick question, all the names are correct,” then I’d say, “Why are you bothering me with trick questions?” And you’d say, “Because I am your daddy,” as you shrugged. Preseason Rank #103, 2020 Projections: 13/4/14/.231/1 in 104 ABs, Final Numbers: 32/7/22/.283/5 in 191 ABs
37. Brian Anderson – Already went over him in the top 20 3rd basemen for 2020 fantasy baseball recap.
38. Alex Verdugo – Similar to JBJ, in that if you were to say, “Which guy made the top 40 outfielders: Ian Happ or Verdugo?” I would’ve guessed the wrong one. By the way, this is a good reminder that just because a team’s pitching is the cat’s vomit, it doesn’t mean their hitting is bad. Not to make this about next year, but I bet no one is *that* interested in Verdugo. He was a top 40 outfielder, so, yeah, they should be. Preseason Rank #56, 2020 Projections: 29/6/21/.291/2 in 168 ABs, Final Numbers: 36/6/15/.308/4 in 201 ABs
39. Alex Dickerson – True story alert! I looked at the rankings on the Player Rater multiple times to make sure I wasn’t seeing Alex Verdugo, and thinking I saw Alex Dickerson. True does not mean interesting. Preseason Rank #135, 2020 Projections: 19/4/20/.268/1 in 161 ABs, Final Numbers: 28/10/27/.298 in 151 ABs
40. Franmil Reyes – Guys like Franmil were really hurt by the shortened season. A guy like Alex Dickerson would’ve petered out and hit 15 HRs on the season, and be lost to the commons, but a guy like Franmil could’ve hit five-seven homers per month and had 40 homers, and a top 15 OF season. Also, just sucks that he’ll never have age 24 season. At least I don’t think he will, but after 2020, I guess nothing’s off the table. Preseason Rank #33, 2020 Projections: 27/14/33/.271 in 201 ABs, Final Numbers: 27/9/34/.275 in 211 ABs
