Thanksgiving is behind us, which means two things – the Holiday season is in full swing, and the 2025 Top Dynasty Keepers for 2025 series is in the home stretch.
This week we focus on center fielders, leaving only right fielders and true designated hitters remaining.
For me, the center field position ranks only behind the shortstops when it comes to talent and depth. If you are starting a team from scratch, my first pick is coming from either the shortstop or center field position. This is a position where I am counting on young players to build my team around.
Of the 50 players ranked below, only six of them are 30 or older and a total of 18 ranked players are 25-year-old or younger.
So this is a position that give you a key player for the next half decade or longer.
Just Missing the Cut
Michael Siani stole 20 bases in 124 games for the Cardinals, but that speed is his only real asset as he slashed .228/.285/.285 and had a 27.5% strikeout rate as a player who is a contact hitter.
One season after finishing third in the ROY voting, James Outman crashed and burned this past season, slashing .147/.256/.265 with four home runs in 53 games and 136 at-bats. If you think he can bounce back, then he is a great buy-low candidate in 2025.
Kevin Pillar (36) and Michael A. Taylor (34) are both backups at best at this point in their careers. However, both players stole 12 bases last year and had more than 250 at-bats. If an emergency occurs to your entire outfield and you need a warm body, you could do worse than Pillar and Taylor.
Top Prospects
- Walker Jenkin, Minnesota
- Roman Anthony, Boston
- Max Clark, Detroit
- Emmanuel Rodriguez, Minnesota
- Chase DeLauter, Cleveland
Tier 5
| RANK | PLAYER | 2024 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Austin Martin | MIN | 26 |
| 49 | Joey Loperfido | TOR | 25 |
| 48 | Tyler Freeman | CLE | 25 |
| 47 | Victor Scott II | STL | 24 |
| 46 | Stuart Fairchild | CIN | 29 |
| 45 | Johan Rojas | PHI | 24 |
| 44 | Jack Suwinski | PIT | 26 |
| 43 | Tommy Edman | LAD | 29 |
| 42 | Blake Perkins | MIL | 28 |
| 41 | Will Benson | CIN | 26 |
Worth A Look
Joey Loperfido and Austin Martin appeared in the left fielder rankings. Below is what I said about them:
Joey Loperfido shot through the Astros system thanks to his powerful bat and was part of the trade between the Blue Jays and Astros that sent Yusei Kikuchi to Houston at the trade deadline. Loperfido can play left and center field and hit 52 homers in 290 career minor league games to go with 69 steals. But he had issues with strikeouts and that has carried over to his brief MLB career as he had a 36.3% strikeout rate this past season with a 5% walk rate.
Austin Martin was the fifth player selected overall in the 2020 draft by the Blue Jays and is a former top 100 prospect. But so far, he has not been able to live up to the hype that surrounded him. In 280 minor league games he has hit only 15 homers to go with a .261/.397/.363 slash line. Now a member of the Twins, Martin slashed .253/.318/.352 in 93 games to go with seven steals. But he hit only one homer, but he can play second, left and center field. Versatility is bonus when it comes to players ranked in this tier.
Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II entered the 2024 season as a top 100 prospect got a taste of the big leagues last season as he appeared in 53 games with 145 at-bats. Scott struggled with the Cards as he slashed .179/.219/.283. Scott’s value comes from his legs. In 244 career minor league games he has 137 steals. In college, he stole 62 bases in 121 games. Scott swiped five bags with St. Louis, so if you are looking for cheap steals, Scott is worth a look.
Intriguing Talents or Just Teasing Us?
From 2022-23, Jack Suwinski combined to hit 45 homers in 250 games for the Pirates with a .436 slugging percentage. But he also had a .215 batting average and 31.6% strikeout rate. The 2024 season was one to forget for Suwinski as he slashed .182/.264/.324 with nine homers in 88 games. He can play all three outfield spots, so if he can bounce back, he can be a decent depth player with pop and some speed.
Like Suwinski, Will Benson has some intriguing talent as he has decent power and speed. It looked like he figured things out in 2023 when he slashed .275/.365/.498 with 11 homers and 19 steals in 108 games. But this past year saw that slash line drop to .187/.274/.376 in 128 games, though he did hit 14 homers and steal 16 bags. But he had a 39.7% strikeout rate and for his career it is 35.5%. He’s not a starter, but in super deep leagues, he can offer something off the bench.
Tier 4
| RANK | PLAYER | 2024 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Harrison Bader | NYM | 30 |
| 39 | Mickey Moniak | LAA | 26 |
| 38 | Kyle Isbel | KC | 28 |
| 37 | Jake Meyers | HOU | 28 |
| 36 | Matt Vierling | DET | 28 |
| 35 | TJ Friedl | CIN | 29 |
| 34 | Garrett Mitchell | MIL | 26 |
| 33 | Chas McCormick | NYM | 29 |
| 32 | Jose Siri | TB | 29 |
| 31 | Luis Robert Jr. | CWS | 27 |
An Up and Down Season
Jake Meyers had a very interesting season for the Houston Astros. The good news is he set career highs across the board when it came to games (148), runs scored (51), home runs (13), RBI (61) and stolen bases (11). That is a decent season. But he also slashed .219/.286/.360. The average was a career low and the OBP and SLG were his second lowest outputs of his four-year career.
Meyers is a great defensive center fielder, but his inconsistent bat will drive fantasy owners nuts. And his second half numbers don’t really inspire confidence. After slashing .242/.312/.424 during the first half with 10 homers and 40 RBI, he slumped to .188/.252/.274 with three homers and 21 RBI in the second half.
Can He Stay Healthy
TJ Friedl has a 162-game average of 21 homers, 78 RBI and 23 steals with a .256/.332/.434 slash line during his four-year career. The problem is Friedl never plays in 162 games. Since debuting in 2021, playing in 14 games for the Reds, he has played in 72, 138 and 85 games the past three years. In 2023, when he appeared in those 138 games, he hit 18 homers, drove in 66 runs and stole 27 bases.
But this past year he was limited to 85 games, and while he hit 13 homers and drove in 55 runs, he slashed .226/.310/.380. If you need a center fielder, Friedl is a solid player to have on your team if you think he will play 130-plus games. But at 29, there are some younger players I would target first who have the same or better upside as Friedl.
How the Mighty Have Fallen
Luis Robert Jr. was once a top young player in the game, but now it is hard to have any trust in him. He finished second in the 2020 ROY voting when he hit 11 homers and drove in 31 runs in 56 games. But he then played in only 68 games in 2021 and 98 in 2022, though he was productive as in those 166 games he slashed .307/.344/.485 with 25 homers, 99 RBI and 17 steals.
The 2023 season finally saw Robert play a full year as he appeared in 145 games and hit 38 homers with 80 RBI and 20 steals while slashing .264/.315/.542. But then came 2024. Robert again got hurt, appeared in only 100 games, and slashed .224/.278/.379 with 14 homers, 35 RBI and 23 steals. He shows that he still has speed, but his strikeout rate has increased from 19.2% in 2022 to 28.9% in 2023 to 33.2% this past year.
At this point my hopes for Robert are dim. You are certainly welcome to take a chance on him as he is a buy low player, but I will go after other players at this point.
Tier 3
| RANK | PLAYER | 2024 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Leody Taveras | TEX | 26 |
| 29 | Jacob Young | WAS | 25 |
| 28 | Jarred Kelenic | ATL | 25 |
| 27 | Daulton Varsho | TOR | 28 |
| 26 | Victor Robles | SEA | 27 |
| 25 | Andy Pages | LAD | 24 |
| 24 | Cody Bellinger | CHI | 29 |
| 23 | Jung Hoo Lee | SF | 26 |
| 22 | Cedric Mullins | BAL | 30 |
| 21 | JJ Bleday | OAK | 27 |
He Is Who He Is
When the Seattle Mariners traded Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to the Mets back in 2018, one of the key players they got back in the trade was Jarred Kelenic. But the hype that Kelenic has produced and the actual output have never been equal. In three seasons and 252 games with the Mariners, Kelenic slashed .204/.283/.373 and averaged 84 games, 11 homers, 36 RBI and eight steals.
Traded to the Bravers ahead of the 2024 season, Kelenic appeared in a career high 131 games and slashed .231/.286/.393 with 15 homers, 45 RBI and seven steals. At this point, I think we have seen the ceiling from Kelenic. Since he can play both left and center field and provides some power, he has some value. But I would not count on him to suddenly turn into a 20 homer, 80 RBI player.
A Lost Season
One of the biggest additions the San Francisco Giants made ahead of the 2024 season was signing Jung Hoo Lee. Expected to provide a spark to the team’s offense, Lee’s season was derailed in May when he crashed into the wall and separated his shoulder and missed the rest of the season. All the Giants got from Lee was 37 games, two home runs, eight RBI and a .262/.310/.331 slash line.
During his career in Korea, Lee posted a career slash line of .340/.407/.491 with 65 homers in 884 games. He could be an excellent hitter for the Giants, but until I see him perform in more than 37 games, I am not ready to promote him to Tier 2.
Finding His Footing
JJ Bleday was the fourth overall selection in the 2019 Draft by the Miami Marlins and is a former top 100 prospect. But he never fully reached his potential with the Marlins and was eventually traded to the Athletics for A.J. Puk. Bleday’s first season in Oakland wasn’t anything to write home about, but given a chance to play every day in 2024 allowed Bleday to relax and just play ball. He finished the year with 20 homers and 60 RBI while slashing .243/.324/.437. I think there is room for improvement in the power department and he could be sneaky good in 2025 and beyond.
Tier 2
| RANK | PLAYER | 2024 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Brandon Nimmo | NYM | 32 |
| 19 | Byron Buxton | MIN | 31 |
| 18 | Ceddanne Rafaela | BOS | 24 |
| 17 | Lane Thomas | CLE | 29 |
| 16 | Jake McCarthy | ARI | 27 |
| 15 | Mike Trout | LAA | 33 |
| 14 | Heliot Ramos | SF | 25 |
| 13 | Brenton Doyle | COL | 26 |
| 12 | Riley Greene | DET | 24 |
| 11 | Parker Meadows | DET | 25 |
Never On The Field
Byron Buxton is a very good baseball player. He has a career OPS+ of 110 and in five of the last six seasons he has produced an OPS+ of 115 or higher. But the problem with Buxton is he is always hurt. The 102 games he appeared in this past season are the most since he appeared in 140 games in 2017. In his 102 games this year he hit 18 homers and drove in 56 runs. His 162-game average is 28 homers and 74 RBI.
The talent is undeniable. But so, too, is his history of being injured. If you think Buxton is going to remain healthy over the next three or so years, then move him up in the rankings. But I am not counting on that.
The second player who is seemingly never on the field is Mike Trout. When healthy he is one of the best players in the game. But since playing in 134 games in 2019 and then in 53 of the 60 games played in 2020, Trout has appeared in 53, 36, 119, 82 and 29 games. You know his numbers when he plays are more than good enough to make him a Tier 1 player, even at the age of 33 next season. But do you trust him to actually play in 130 games or more? I don’t. And that is why I ranked him 15th.
Sneaky Good Season
People outside of Colorado may not know who Brenton Doyle is. But you should know he is a solid player and should continue to provide solid numbers. Doyle debuted in 2023, appearing in 126 games for the Rockies and hitting 10 homers with 48 RBI and 22 steals while slashing .203/.250/.343. The everyday center fielder this past year, Doyle improved his slash line to .260/.317/.446 and added 23 homers, 82 RBI and 30 steals. Among center fielders he ranked 5th in home runs, 10th in RBI and 5th in stolen bases.
Those are obviously good enough numbers to make him a Tier 1 center fielder. But I think Doyle is at his ceiling while those ranked ahead of him are capable of producing better numbers consistently for a longer period. But if you are looking for a good center fielder after the top players are off the board, Doyle would be a solid selection.
A Pair of Tigers
Putting Riley Greene and Parker Meadows is kind of cheating since both cannot play center field at the same time. Greene currently qualifies as a center fielder thanks to the fact Meadows missed time due to a stint in the minors and then on the IL. But a healthy Meadows pushes Greene to a corner outfield spot. But I would bet that Greene still gets time in center field in 2025 and subsequent years when Meadows is not in the lineup, so here are both Greene and Meadows.
If it has not become obvious, I like Greene (who I ranked as the 5th overall left fielder) a lot. Greene finally had his breakout season in 2024 as he slashed .262/.348/.479 with 24 homers and 82 RBI in 137 games. Since debuting in 2022, Green’s OPS+ has gone from 97 to 119 to 133 this season. He may not reach 30 homers during his career, but he gets on base at a .350 clip and provides a solid, steady bat in your lineup.
As for Meadows, Grey wrote about him as a 2025 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper. In 119 career MLB games, Meadows has 12 homes, 58 RBI and 17 steals. That equates to 16 homers, 56 RBI and 23 steals over 162 games. Meadows should increase his power numbers, even playing in Detroit, and the steals will continue to pile up as well to make him a 20-20 man. Some may think I may be a little aggressive with Meadows’ ranking, but I’m all aboard the Meadows train.
Tier 1
| RANK | PLAYER | 2024 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Michael Harris II | ATL | 24 |
| 9 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | CHI | 23 |
| 8 | Colton Cowser | BAL | 25 |
| 7 | Oneill Cruz | PIT | 26 |
| 6 | Jarren Duran | BOS | 28 |
| 5 | Corbin Carroll | ARI | 24 |
| 4 | Wyatt Langford | TEX | 23 |
| 3 | Julio Rodriguez | SEA | 24 |
| 2 | Jackson Merrill | SD | 21 |
| 1 | Aaron Judge | NYY | 32 |
The Group of Five
Harris and Crow Armstrong
This tier kind of falls into three groupings – five really good players, four outstanding players, and one who is just out of this world. Michael Harris II, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Colton Cowser, Oneill Cruz and Jarren Duran fall into the five really good players.
Michael Harris has been unable to stay on the field for a complete season, appearing in 114, 138 and 110 games in each of the last three seasons. But when he is healthy, he has the ability to hit for power, steal bases and help your slash line. For his career he is a .285/.325/.469 hitter with a 162-game average of 24 homers, 76 RBI and 22 steals. Despite a somewhat down year at the plate, his xBA ranked in the 94th percentile and his Hard Hit% ranked in the 82nd percentile.
Crow-Armstrong has not produced the numbers the other players in this grouping have, but I think it is only a matter of time before he does. As a rookie with the Cubs he slashed .237/.286/.384 with 10 homers, 47 RBI and 27 steals in 123 games. His power-speed combo is too good to pass up. As a 21-year-old in 2023 playing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, Crow-Armstrong had 20 homers, 82 RBI and 37 steals in 107 games while slashing .283/.365/.511. He may not have as much power as some of the players in this group, but the steals he will provide will make up for the fewer homers.
Cowser, Cruz and Duran
Cowser had an excellent rookie campaign for the Orioles, finishing second in the AL ROY voting after hitting 24 homers, driving in 69 runs and stealing nine bases while slashing .242/.321/.447. Cowser has outstanding power and I think what he did this past season is his floor and the power should increase over the next few years.
Meanwhile, Cruz is now appearing as a Tier 1 player for the second time as he was ranked as my No. 10 shortstop. Cruz is not a good defensive shortstop, leading the Pirates to give him a look in center field. Will he remain in center field? Why not. Jack Suwinski hasn’t been able to take hold of the spot and allowing Cruz to play center field all season may allow him to worry about hitting and less about making an error in the field at shortstop.
But no matter where Cruz plays, he is going to hit for power and steal bases. His 162-game average is 27 homers, 91 RBI and 23 steals. In 146 games this season those numbers were 21-76-22. There is no reason to think he is not going to at least match those numbers for years to come.
Duran, who ranked third in my left fielders rankings, is simply an outstanding athlete who can put up a very nice slash line, hit for power, rack up RBI, steal bases and score runs. The increase in home runs from eight to 21 from 2023 to 2024 is not a fluke and his speed is real as he stole 24 bases in 2023. Duran should reach 20 homers and 30 steals again, and who doesn’t want that kind of production on their team?
Four Aces
Trying to choose between Corbin Carroll, Wyatt Langford, Julio Rodriguez and Jackson Merrill is nearly impossible. They are all under the age of 25. They were all top prospects. They all have power and speed and the ability to hit for average. At one point I had all of these players ranked second, third, fourth and fifth.
I settled on Carroll at fifth because he is likely closer to his ceiling than the other three players. But if he is close to his ceiling, that still makes him a great center fielder. After winning the ROY in 2023, Carroll fell off a little at the plate with a .231/.322/.428 slash line this past year with 22 homers, 74 RBI and 35 steals. But after a sluggish first half, Carroll found his groove in the second half of the season for the Diamondbacks, slashing .259/.351/.568 with 17 homers, 42 RBI and 17 steals in 64 games.
Langford sneaks in ahead of Carroll because I like his power potential a bit more than Carroll’s. Langford isn’t going to deliver the same amount of steals as Carroll, but over the next few years I see Langford hitting with more power, leading to more RBI. Langford offered a glimpse of what he can do in September when he slashed .300/.386/.610 with eight homers, 20 RBI and seven steals in 26 games for the Rangers.
Rodriguez and Merrill are basically a coin flip between being ranked second or third. Rodriguez lost the coin flip in large part to the fact that Merrill is only 21 and simply lived up to the hype that surrounded him entering the season.
Rodriguez struggled to match the numbers he put up his first two seasons in Seattle, slashing .273/.325/.409 with 20 homers, 68 RBI and 24 steals. But as soon as people started to doubt him, he turned his season around in the second half as he slashed .285/.337/.482. He had a monster September as he hit seven homers, drove in 22 runs and stole six bases while slashing .328/.349/.546. There shouldn’t be any questions about Rodriguez and his talent.
Merrill is coming off an outstanding rookie season as he finished second in the NL ROY voting to Paul Skenes and was ninth overall in the MVP voting. All Merrill did was appear in 156 games for the Padres and hit 24 homers, drive in 90 runs and steal 16 bases while slashing .292/.326/.500. He also had only a 17% strikeout rate. And his consistency was simply amazing. The only month he hit below .279 was July, when he “struggled” to the tune of .259/.278/.412 with one homer and 12 RBI.
All he did after that was hit .303 in August and .309 in September with a combined 11 homers and 36 RBI in 50 games. In the second half of the season, coving 61 games, he slashed .314/.349/.596 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI.
Cream of the Crop
Aaron Judge will be 33 for most of next season. You know what I think of that? I don’t care. Will he be a center fielder beyond 2025? Maybe not. But if you are in a league that starts only “outfielders,” then where Judge plays doesn’t matter. And if you are in a league that does break down the outfield into left, center and right and Judge moves to right field or DH in the next two to five years, who cares? Worry about a replacement at that position then and enjoy having one of the most feared bats in baseball being on your team.
Since his age 30 season in 2022, all Judge has done the last three years is average 140 games and slash .304/.433/.674 with 52 homers, 117 RBI and 10 steals. His 162-game average during that span is 60 homers and 135 RBI. His OPS the last three seasons has been 1.111, 1.019 and 1.159. There are no signs of Judge slowing down at the plate, so I am not afraid of the fact he is creeping closer to 35 than being closer to 30.
If you are truly trying to build a team of players under 25 with great upside, then go ahead and move Judge down to fifth in these rankings and go for one of the young bucks out there. But sometimes a player defies the ageing process, and right now it looks like Judge is one of those players.
Come Back Next Week
Thanks for reading and come back next week for the top 50 right fielders. A bonus ranking of the top DHs will be included.
Previous Rankings
Top 50 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Relievers
Top 100 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Starting Pitchers
Top 40 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Catchers
Top 50 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – First Basemen
Top 50 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Second Basemen
Top 50 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Shortstops
Top 50 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Third Basemen
Top 50 Dynasty Keepers for 2025 – Left Fielders
