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Something I will regret informing you about, but have chosen to anyway is last year’s top 60 outfielders were great, except, and here’s the regret: The upsidey ones. The top 60 outfielders you wanted to do more *cough* Jo Adell *cough* did not. The ones that you had no real high hopes for like Hunter Renfroe were totally respectable. Can we learn from that? Learneth, we might! Here’s Steamer’s 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 60 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball:
NOTE: All my rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.
NOTE II: Free agents are listed as just that and not yet projected. Once a guy signs, I will write out their blurb and add in projections, or remove them, if they sign in an unfavorable place. They are ranked currently where I think they might be if they sign on for a full-time job.
CLICK BACK TO THE TOP 40 OUTFIELDERS FOR 2023 FANTASY BASEBALL
41. Masataka Yoshida – This tier started in the top 40 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball. This tier goes until Verdugo. I called this tier, “Horseshoes and grenades.” As for Yoshida, here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Red Sox. The 29-year-old lefty outfielder has played since 2016 in Japan. His career stats: 135 homers, 21 steals, .326/.419/.538 in 3251 plate appearances. His high in Japan for any season is 29 homers, 8 steals and .351. Last year: 21/4/.335. Whatevs, he’s gonna hit .350 in Fenway just doinking the monster all day. His main attraction is his bat-to-ball skills, as he only struck out 41 times last year in 508 plate appearances. To do a quick, half-assed comp, think Bogaerts last year: 15/6/.307. Might be more like Starling Marte with next to no speed, so that’s 17/3/.290. Worth a fantasy number three outfielder pick, but it would be shocking to see a guy who hit 21 homers last year in Japan come here and hit 30+. He should slot in behind Verdugo at the top of the order, but I’ve been saying for years Verdugo should be at the top of the order, and Cora keeps batting Enrique there, so who knows. ” And that’s me quoting me! 2023 Projections: 81/16/66/.284/4 in 547 ABs
42. Alex Verdugo – Let me take a moment to say that I usually say players are interchangeable within the same tier. That gets amended the deeper you are in the positions. For unstints, at this point, these guys are interchangeable with guys in this tier, and any guys after. If you want a guy who’s good at counting stats and average, then Verdugo is the man. Call him Averago. Actually, I’m kinda surprised I never called him that before. Alex, you’re not bad, you’re just kinda Averago. Any hoo! If you need a guy with speed upside, then maybe you’ll skip to Lane Thomas, who hasn’t been ranked yet. Maybe if you need power and can platoon a guy out of the lineup vs. lefties and a real ringer in a fantasy football league, maybe Joc Pederson is more interesting. By this point, you’re looking at team needs more than, “Ooh, Grey ranked Verdugo before Manuel Margot so I can’t reach, even if I need steals.” No. Draft what you need. Also, Nimmo, Yoshida and Averago are all kind of the same, which is fine to discuss in the abstract, but back in the days on the boulevard of Linden, we used to kick routines and presence was fittin’. It was I with The Abstract, and for fantasy you pick and choose what you need, but why did the Red Sox acquire another Averago? They already had one. Call them Averago and Alreada. 2023 Projections: 86/13/59/.284/3 in 589 ABs
43. Joey Meneses – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until McNeil. I call this tier, “Forgiveness is overrated.” Yo, let me ask you a question, you ever divorce your wife then a few years later remarry her again? You ever watch someone key your car then say, “That’s all right, I’ve been meaning to take it to the body shop to get a ding donged out?” You ever have your foot stepped on and say, “Hey, look at you, you’re three inches taller while crunching my toes?” If yes to any of these, then you’re a better person than me. Don’t pat yourself on the back just yet. I used to spend hours when I was kid writing companies that their product was spoiled, demanding a refund. As a 10-year-old! My point: Lots of people are better than me. The overlooking that is going on with guys in this tier though? I can’t. Forgiveness is overrated, and you’re forgiving a lot by drafting guys here.
As for Meneses, already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball..
44. Riley Greene – To the people drafting Riley Greene, let’s ask them one question, “Are you completely ignoring last year?” Like is it willful or gleeful ignorance? Or something even more sinister? To recap as they say at your nearest Lids, in 93 games, he went 5/1/.253. Sure, he was supposed to be a 30/7/.300 hitter. Okay, let me ask you two follow-ups: Is Jarred Kelenic the top prospect in the game? And have you been in a coma for 24 months? Riley Greene’s 2.8 Launch Angle calls up Yelich’s Launch Angle and asks, “Can I be more like you?” On a side note, I cackled when I saw Riley Greene was penciled in as the Tigers’ three-hole hitter. 2023 Projections: 74/15/83/.272/7 in 559 ABs
45. Cody Bellinger – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Cubs.
“I’m signing with the Cubs? Like little bears?” pic.twitter.com/4DzNtAEZPb
— Razzball (@Razzball) December 6, 2022
Cody Bellinger is a big fan of picnics, so this is truly going to be a struggle for him. “Hey, are you my new teammate?” Cody Bellinger standing in the cereal aisle talking to a box of Teddy Grahams. “What position do you play?” Cody talking to a squeeze bottle of honey. Any hoo! As discussed in another blurb, Wrigley didn’t play as offensive as it usually is, but that feels like a small sample size thing. Wind will definitely be blowing out this year, because of Bellinger’s swings and misses. Got heeeeeeeem! Bellinger has a lot more issues than just whether or not the wind is blowing out. He turned a forearm bash, celebrating a home run, into a career-ruiner. There’s the glimmer that he can get it all back, but a change of scenario doesn’t make it so. Dodger Stadium is a great home run park; it just stopped being for Bellinger.” And that’s me quoting me! 2023 Projections: 66/21/73/.228/15 in 481 ABs
46. Mitch Haniger – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Giants. When Haniger was signing with the Giants, he was told they were pursuing two outfielders: Him and Judge. Now, he’s going to bat between J.D. Davis and Wilmer Flores, i.e., the Ghosts of Mets Past. Too bad Mets can’t get the Giants to take McCann. “Hey, that’s where’s where my balls were.” That’s Haniger referring to McCann. So, Haniger is a 10-homer, 25-homer or 40-homer guy, depending on which Haniger shows up. The safe bet is staying close to the median.” And that’s me–well, you know. 2023 Projections: 61/23/72/.241/1 in 482 ABs
47. Nick Castellanos – Besides:
Nick Castellanos hated the “A Drive Into Deep Left Field” meme so much he stopped hitting homers
— Razzball (@Razzball) July 12, 2022
I can’t account for the Greek God of Hard Contact becoming the Greek God of Crappy Contact in about six months of time. Oh! Wait a second! I think I figured something out, but I need someone to break into Nick’s mother’s diner. Look in their freezer and see if they started serving Israeli Diner Falafel. “Momma, Statcast says I’m most likely to hit into a double play. What happened to my hard contact? It’s not…your falafel…is it?” His mother smacks him across the head and says, “Try that hard contact!” So, Castellanos made such terrible contact last year that he didn’t even have a particularly bad Launch Angle or hit too many ground balls. He just had some of the worst contact anyone’s ever seen. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he hit 300 pop-ups to the shortstop. Just awful and if you’re anticipating a bounce back, then, ya know, tip of the cap, you turn the other cheek faster than me, and faster than Momma Castellanos’s smack. 2023 Projections: 64/15/71/.259/3 in 538 ABs
48. Jeff McNeil – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
49. Ramon Laureano – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Kelenic. I call this tier, “Back support.” You’re at 7-11, you start filling a 64-ounce Big Gulp, and about five minutes in, you start thinking, “Am I really going to drink all of this?” Then, five minutes later, you’re still filling up the drink cup, and you ask the lovely Punjabi man behind the counter, if he could help you carry the drink to the counter, and he says, “Back support in aisle three.” All of these guys are going to feel super fun when you draft them, but I hope by May you don’t throw your back out trying to carry them on your team. Yes, it’s early to be feeling less than confident in outfielders, but here we are. Don’t worry, outfielders get crazy/sexy/cool again later on in the top 80 outfielders, so don’t go chasing waterfalls.
As for Laureano, hey, just spitballing here, but what if each team got one guy who could do PEDs, then the fans have to guess who it is, and all the winners are placed into a drawing to win a new Dodge Ram. Think how fun that would be. “Tony Kemp hit 10 homers? Oh, he’s definitely on the juice.” Then watching as it turns out the 7-homer Shea Langeliers was on the juice. “Damn!” Any hoo! Laureano’s contact looks like Castellanos without the “picking them up and putting them down in the same spot” speed. Though, Castellanos stole seven bags last year to Ramon’s 11. That’s also the only thing Ramon’s turned to 11 in about three years, but he’s only 28. 2023 Projections: 56/14/59/.231/15 in 477 ABs
50. Seiya Suzuki – Was one of the guys who I was most curious about seeing their projections this year. Steamer is still named that because it’s steaming up the shower with its love for Seiya (26/10/.262 in only 541 ABs). As most of you know, we have a deal with Steamer, so I could reach out to them about why their projections are so optimistic for Seiya, but it’s more fun to guess. My guess what it sees in Seiya, and why we should be cautiously optimistic if he can stay on the field: His exit velocity is solid; sprint speed solid; launch angle solid, and plate discipline is, you guessed it, solid. Wrigley is excellent or awful for power, due to wind, but the thought is it will even itself out mostly in a positive way. Last year, it didn’t work out that way. Don’t think it’s a humidor thing, but maybe. I don’t know, tee be aitch. If Wrigley plays like it did historically, outside of last year, Seiya could see his homers go from 14 to 26 in only 150 more at-bats, but that feels optimistic. Taking their names away and assuming 135-145 games, Seiya and Kris Bryant’s projections look very similar to me. UPDATE: Docked a month due to his oblique injury. 2023 Projections: 67/19/48/.257/8 in 407 ABs
51. Harrison Bader – Trying to imagine a person who didn’t watch one second of the playoffs last year understanding anyone being excited for Harrison Bader. It’s a fair question. He stole 17 bags last year, and hit 16 homers the previous year. Even putting aside postseason, Bader down for a 17/17 season in a solid lineup isn’t an insane stretch. Now throw in that when he hit 16 homers in 2021, it was in a bad park and in only 103 games. Now throw in he stole 17 bags last year with a bad case of plantar fasciitis. 17/17 is within his sights like Wade Boggs. Let’s just give Bader a 25/25 season and move him to the top of the Yanks’ lineup, and he’s seeing better pitches, so he’s now a .280 hitter, and his defense has him playing 162 games, and 700 plate appearances and suddenly he’s going 140/25/100/.280/25. Wow, not bad, er, Bader! UPDATE: Will miss start of the season with an oblique strain. 2023 Projections: 53/13/51/.256/17 in 441 ABs
52. Lane Thomas – If I didn’t write a sleeper post for Lane Thomas last year, I might’ve wrote one for him this year. No one is allowed to get back-to-back years of sleepers. It’s called the Josh Rutledge Rule. Without looking up last year’s sleeper, what I’m guessing intrigued me was Thomas makes great contact, has power and speed. And that’s me guessing me! For some reason, his speed and contact don’t equal a good average, though. He doesn’t hit too many fly balls, but also makes some of the worst contact, so that’s likely why .290 BABIP even feels high for him. His 86 MPH exit velocity wouldn’t even get pulled over on some country roads. That’s the slow Lane. What’s a little weird is his max exit velocity isn’t bad. Usually if a guy can hit the ball hard once, he can more than once, but alas. 2023 Projections: 77/19/49/.237/10 in 505 ABs
53. Lars Nootbaar – Since the Cards are famous for creating players, it’s only appropriate that they went into a 7/11’s candy aisle and got an idea. “How about a guy who can hit 20 homers, steal seven bags, hit .250, get on base a lot so he could hit leadoff? Oh, and Swiss and dutch chocolate is for losers. This candy bar needs to made in The Lou, so get me some Missouri chocolate. What is Missouri chocolate? Whatever Willie McGee likes. Willie, please wave.” Willie McGee waves from the back corner of the conference room as the Cards create the now-famous Nootbaar. “This guy better also be able to stop Gobs. Whatever those are!” Seeing some helium on Nootbaar this year, and I have to say, “I don’t see it entirely.” More likely Gorman or someone replaces him. How’sever, this is pretty deep and if Nootbaar is still available I could see the flyer. Plus, I love peanut chew! 2023 Projections: 76/20/54/.254/7 in 464 ABs
54. Josh Naylor – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
55. Wil Myers – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
56. Brendan Donovan – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
57. Alex Kirilloff – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
58. Christopher Morel – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
59. Oscar Colas – See, my nickname for Juan Soto is Sexy Dr. Pepper, and that nickname had a baby and named it Oscar Colas–Hold on! Hearing that is not accurate. Colas is a Cuban raftee, who ripped up the minor leagues. Colas’s a big-time power bat who hit 23 homers in his first minor league season, where he basically was looking for a pitcher who could challenge him, and didn’t find it. He was already a professional baseball player in Nippon and Cuba, and no one could hold a candle to Colas there either. Hot Fanta, this guy is great! My guess is the White Sox will say they’re giving Colas every opportunity to win the starting outfield job, but he ends up down in the minors until June. Though, he could also break camp and be one of the huge sleepers going into the year with huge hype, as I see him as the type who will destroy pitching that doesn’t know how to attack him. UPDATE: With him breaking camp, he was moved up. 2023 Projections: 64/21/81/.231/12 in 476 ABs
60. Jarred Kelenic – Was doing my first draft of the year while writing this up, and the one thing that really stood out was the lack of outfielders. On the Player Rater, the 60th best outfielder last year was Mike Yastrzemski at 220 overall. So, think about that in relation to your 12-teamers. This is the end of your draft, basically. 12-teamers go to 288th pick overall, but anyone who’s played in the Razzball Commenter Leagues knows the last few outfielders on your team are pretty fluid, so you’re already kinda in the flyer section of the outfielder rankings. That doesn’t mean there won’t be good outfielders to draft after this, but the shallower the league, the looser your grasp. Speaking of loose grasps, does Kelenic have everyday playing time? Is he already relegated to a platoon bat? Can I sell his rookie cards in bulk now? He only hit .130 vs. lefties, but don’t worry he only hit .147 off righties. He did hit better in the 2nd half last year. His 1st half was .140 and his 2nd half was .143. This is the kinda draft flyer you make if you see him hitting well in Spring Training. 2023 Projections: 54/16/61/.197/10 in 391 ABs
CONTINUE ON TO THE TOP 80 OUTFIELDERS FOR 2023 FANTASY BASEBALL
