The top 80 outfielders for 2021 fantasy baseball will fall in the overall range of near 225 overall and later. This is your late 4th outfielder and 5th outfielder range, or 6th outfielder for utility spot, or 7th outfielder if you’re trying to draft so many outfielders that everyone in your league is like, “Who invited the giant dope with seven outfielders and zero corner men?” Here’s Steamer’s 2021 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2021 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. All projections included here are mine, and where I see tiers starting and stopping are included. Anyway, here’s the top 80 outfielders for 2021 fantasy baseball:
NOTE: All 2021 fantasy baseball projections are based on a 162-game season, and will be until we hear definitively there will be less games.
NOTE II: 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 III: Free agents outside the top 100 are not yet written up or projected. They are approximately ranked, obviously subject to change.
PREVIOUS OUTFIELDERS AT: TOP 60 OUTFIELDERS FOR 2021 FANTASY BASEBALL
61. Hunter Renfroe – This tier started in the top 60 outfielders for 2021 fantasy baseball. This tier ends at McCutchen. I called this tier, “Hey, I grew up right by that strip club in The Wrestler!.” As for Renfroe, here’s what I said when he signed with the Red Sox, “Ping, ping, ping. That isn’t you transported into a video game. You’re still in the human world, though more concerned with the fantasy. Hey, one love. Me too. Ping, ping, ping is pi** missiles hit by Renfroe off the Green Monster called Ping Missiles from this point forward. That park is gonna push Renfroe’s BABIP up, maybe to .300, which would have him getting close to a .255 average, and pair that with his easy 27-homer power, and Renfroe could be a sneaky 4th to 5th outfielder who produces like a 2nd or 3rd.” And that’s me quoting me! Oh, and yes, I couldn’t resist putting Margot and Renfroe next to each other in the rankings. They’re forever joined. 2021 Projections: 58/27/71/.246/4 in 431 ABs
62. A.J. Pollock – He’s been remarkably consistent for everything good and bad. Hey, Pollock, how about you only repeat the good stuff? Last year, he went 16/2/.276 in 55 games, and if teams played another 100 games, he would’ve went 6/5/.260, because he’s always a 22/7 guy, whether it’s in 200 ABs or 400 ABs. It’s uncanny, which is how Pollock says he likes his peaches. Get ’em out of that can! 2021 Projections: 58/22/67/.262/7 in 424 ABs
63. Aaron Hicks – Was gonna say I was concerned Hicks became a .225 hitter in the last few years, but then I looked at his career average after 708 games. Any guesses? I can almost guarantee you you’re guessing too high. Or maybe I’m the only one who thought Hicks was a .260 hitter. Am I? Don’t answer like you know what everyone’s thinking! How presumptive of you! Like you presuming Hicks was a .260 hitter. How could you? *intern whispers in ear* I was the one thinking that? Oh. Anyway, Hicks is a career .235 hitter. Thankfully, he walks just about every fifth at-bat. 2021 Projections: 81/22/56/.228/11 in 441 ABs
64. Joc Pederson – Signed with the Cubs. Not specifically about Joc, but the Cubs team doesn’t look that bad. Dot dot dot. If you imagine Yu Darvish still in rotation or them trading him for real bats like Cronenworth or Myers or even Profar, who wasn’t signed with the Padres at the time of the trade, but I’m saying a hypothetical so who cares? That kinda makes me furious, but breathe in, breathe out, got a machinehead! Any hoo! Pederson goes to the Cubs and becomes exactly what he is everywhere else he will ever play, a righty killer, which I say knowing he hit .179 vs. righties last year. 2021 Projections: 69/28/71/.233/3 in 417 ABs
65. Mark Canha – Another name for this tier obviously could’ve been, “Vets who could go variations of 22/5/oof.” 2021 Projections: 71/23/83/.246/6 in 437 ABs
66. Bryan Reynolds – Have an itch on your melon and want a head scratcher? Why do the Pirates continue to put Adam Frazier at leadoff when they clearly have a far superior guy for that role in Bryan Reynolds (Kevin Newman would likely even be better)? You’re not thinking on that hard enough on the head-scratching if you haven’t unearthed some dandruff. 2021 Projections: 68/20/74/.274/4 in 502 ABs
67. Andrew McCutchen – I did a spit take when I saw Steamer gave him 26/9/.246 in 534 ABs. That would be his 2nd highest homer total since 2013, and he needed a healthy 157 games in 2015 to pass nine steals. Not to mention, he’s never hit as low as .246 in a full season, so, yeah, I have no idea. For a guy with 7,000 career plate appearances, they’re expecting a surprise. 2021 Projections: 73/17/54/.257/7 in 442 ABs
68. Franchy Cordero – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Varsho. I call this tier, “Superbole.” Dictionary defines hyperbole as exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken seriously. Superb is defined as excellent. These guys have a chance to be superb or that might be hyperbole. Hmm, maybe that is just hyperbole. Never the hoo! Superbole! This tier isn’t about the projections each guy brings as much as the upside. For those keeping track, this is the last 12-team mixed league tier, which means some of the guys in this tier won’t even be drafted. As for Franchy, here’s my Franchy Cordero sleeper. I wrote it while saying my ABCs backwards. My CBAs? Wait, is that what a Collective Bargaining Agreement is? UPDATE: Traded to the Red Sox. In the background, I hear Kehlani singing, all this love is toxic…You a damn drug, you’re toxic… Franchy was already a love drug that I couldn’t stop — see my Franchy Cordero sleeper — Damn right, we take turns bein’ wrong…Toxic…Now Franchy going around that Pesky Pole like Cardi B. Going up against the Green Monster with those glorious Franchy flies. Give me all the Franchy shares! Oh, and he still might platoon, but I did up his projections a tad, due to the Wall. 2021 Projections: 61/19/68/.259/12 in 421 ABs
69. Sam Hilliard – We all know Bud Black absolutely loves to play the worst possible guy when another exciting player is available, so pen Ian Desmond in for 550 ABs and give Hilliard an over/under of 12 for number of times Bud Black says to him, “Can you throw batting practice? Wait, you’re not the first base coach? You’re a player on the team? Hmm…” 2021 Projections: 58/24/66/.241/8 in 411 ABs
70. Josh Naylor – I almost wrote a sleeper post on Naylor, and, if more of you played in deeper leagues, I might’ve. Most people play in 12-team or shallower leagues. It’s just the way it is. Don’t hate the messenger, especially when the messenger is so handsome. Naylor is in a great spot to succeed. For years, Cleveland has been desperately trying to forfeit their seasons. Unfortch, their pitching keeps making them better than they should be or seem to want to be. So, Naylor’s playing time is seemingly locked up. If Naylor had an ounce of speed, I would’ve easily wrote the sleeper post on him, and ranked him about forty spots higher. A best-case-scenario upside of 30/2/.280 doesn’t bread the chicken cutlets like a 30/10/.280 would. 2021 Projections: 71/23/67/.272/1 in 506 ABs
71. Cristian Pache – Already gave you my Cristian Pache fantasy. It was shocked at how much Byron Allen was worth. 2021 Projections: 51/14/54/.244/11 in 461 ABs
72. Tyler O’Neill – Without checking, I believe O’Neill has now been in the sexy-barely-5th-outfielder-in-12-team-leagues tier for multiple years in a row. Usually you get one year and you move up or down, but you rarely pull off the never-ending promise of a better tomorrow without delivering anything, unless you’re a politician. Grey’s woke! 2021 Projections: 56/21/64/.249/5 in 408 ABs
73. Jurickson Profar – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
74. Alex Kirilloff – Already gave you my Alex Kirilloff fantasy. It never did figure out if there was one or two Ls or Fs in his last name. UPDATE: Optioned to the alternate training site. Wow, those Twins are cheap! I also said the previous while watching an episode of Botched. I’ve had Kirilloff down for 332 ABs, so, yeah, I didn’t change anything. You’re gonna have to stash him for a few weeks, if you want to draft him. 2021 Projections: 44/15/46/.267/4 in 332 ABs
75. Avisail Garcia – Two players, near each other in the rankings, are in no way similar, but one has more speed and one has more average. One player is Aaron Hicks and one is Avisail Garcia. The moral of this parable is anyone can be compared to anyone. The only thing that can possibly stop Avisail is a vaccine being administered by Prince Fielder. UPDATE: With signing of JBJ, I gave Avisail a haircut. Like Prince Fielder’s wife did after they moved from the shower to the vanity. 2021 Projections: 53/20/64/.248/6 in 447 ABs
76. Enrique Hernandez – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
77. Mauricio Dubon – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
78. Daulton Varsho – Already went over him in the top 20 catchers for 2021 fantasy baseball.
79. David Peralta – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the top 100 outfielders for 2021 fantasy baseball. I call this tier, “Tom Berenger.” This tier named after a guy who you always forget was in Platoon. That’s this tier, are these guys in a platoon? Hmm, maybe. As for Peralta, I don’t know why I’ve loved David Peralta for five years straight, more than any other player, but let’s not psychoanalyze me, ‘kay? I don’t even particularly like guys who are average-first. Wonder if it’s because I think being average is the worst thing you can do. Hey, I didn’t say I couldn’t psychoanalyze myself. 2021 Projections: 47/16/54/.287/3 in 387 ABs
80. Myles Straw – He has a sneaky underrated awesome name to get in a lot of fights. Someone to Myles, “Hey, what’s up?” Myles, “It’s Straw. Not hay.” …and it’s on as they wrestle each other to the ground. Ah, to get back to the days when you could just wrestle strangers to the ground without worrying about catching a plague. Any hoo! Member the days when I’d have a whole SAGNOF tier? Was, I think, two years ago when I had the last one. There’s just not enough SAGNOF guys to require it right now. Straw would’ve fit right in if it were still around. Hey, when you’re right, you’re right. “It’s Straw!” 2021 Projections: 46/2/41/.264/29 in 370 ABs
Continue on to the TOP 100 OUTFIELDERS FOR 2021 FANTASY BASEBALL
