I’ve been dreading this next stretch for a hot minute.
Well–not “dreading” dreading. That word doesn’t fit many contexts now the world is experiencing existential dread on a daily basis.
But the faux fear is realish enough that my point stands: infield feels like pretty solid ground for fantasy baseball purposes. Pretty much every league uses a catcher, shortstop and first, second and third basemen. Some use one catcher, some use middle and corner infielders, some use an IF spot, but the needs across leagues, and the depth of each position, are fairly standard.
Outfield and Pitcher feel like the dark arts. Snape describes them to Harry in book six, and Harry describes them to Dumbledore’s Army in book five, as a constantly shapeshifting, infinite battle for which there is no measure of readiness that reaches the level of being “prepared.”
You do the best you can and react when the world changes.
So that’s my task here, starting with the sequencing of the top 50 outfielders for 2021 dynasty baseball.
PS: This is a living document and an invitation to converse. I’m not set in stone on any of these, particularly not my Trout ranking, which feels a bit criminal but perhaps just (like Harry’s DA meetings). I will update and continue ranking outfielders until we’ve covered all the relevant paths to magic.
Rank | Player | Age | Team |
1 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | 22 | ATL |
2 | Christian Yelich | 28 | MIL |
3 | Mike Trout | 28 | LAA |
4 | Cody Bellinger | 24 | LAD |
5 | Juan Soto | 21 | WAS |
6 | Mookie Betts | 27 | LAD |
7 | Austin Meadows | 24 | TB |
8 | Luis Robert | 22 | CHW |
9 | Bryce Harper | 27 | PHI |
10 | Victor Robles | 22 | WAS |
11 | Eloy Jimenez | 23 | CHW |
12 | Jorge Soler | 28 | KC |
13 | Aaron Judge | 27 | NYY |
14 | Jo Adell | 21 | LAA |
15 | Starling Marte | 31 | ARI |
16 | JD Martinez | 32 | BOS |
17 | Joey Gallo | 26 | TEX |
18 | George Springer | 30 | HOU |
19 | CJ Abrams | 19 | SD |
20 | Julio Rodriguez | 19 | SEA |
21 | Giancarlo Stanton | 30 | NYY |
22 | Dylan Carlson | 21 | STL |
23 | Ramon Laureano | 25 | OAK |
24 | Jasson Dominguez | 17 | NYY |
25 | Michael Conforto | 27 | NYM |
26 | Byron Buxton | 26 | MIN |
27 | Kyle Tucker | 23 | HOU |
28 | Charlie Blackmon | 33 | COL |
29 | Kyle Schwarber | 27 | CHC |
30 | Oscar Mercado | 25 | CLE |
31 | Jarred Kelenic | 20 | SEA |
32 | Oneil Cruz | 21 | PIT |
33 | Kristian Robinson | 19 | ARI |
34 | Franmil Reyes | 24 | CLE |
35 | Bryan Reynolds | 25 | PIT |
36 | Tommy Pham | 32 | SD |
37 | Andrew Benintendi | 25 | BOS |
38 | Lourdes Gurriel | 26 | TOR |
39 | Eddie Rosario | 28 | MIN |
40 | Nick Castellanos | 28 | CIN |
41 | Marcell Ozuna | 29 | ATL |
42 | David Dahl | 26 | COL |
43 | Willie Calhoun | 25 | TEX |
44 | Trey Mancini | 28 | BAL |
45 | Michael Brantley | 32 | HOU |
46 | Trent Grisham | 23 | SD |
47 | Corbin Carroll | 19 | ARI |
48 | Max Kepler | 27 | MIN |
49 | Nick Senzel | 24 | CIN |
50 | Alex Verdugo | 23 | BOS |
Thanks for reading!
I’m @theprospectitch on Twitter.