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Just about finishing up the hitting portion of the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings, to which I say, “I can’t feel my fingies.” The top 80 outfielders for 2023 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 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 80 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.
CONTINUE BACK TO TOP 60 OUTFIELDERS FOR 2023 FANTASY BASEBALL
61. Bryan De La Cruz – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Winker. I call this tier, “Karaokeing Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” In my iTunes, I have Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood covers by Santa Esmeralda, Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello and Nina Simone. They’re all great. That song has a great floor for being good. How’s your voice? Garbage? Figured. This tier is you singing Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood. It’s not great, but it’s a catchy song, and can only be so bad. This tier is safer than the previous tier. Higher floor. Oh, still prolly not great, but the downside isn’t as bad. In deeper leagues, it’s smarter to go with a safer tier than an upside tier, but that could even be a team decision. If you have a great three outfielders, you might want a little more upside with your 4th or 5th. If you have a tentative outfielder or two already, you might want a safer one.
As for De La Cruz, meany, meany, meany (Say what?). Hello, it’s the De La, troopin’ in with the Marlins, and this one’s about the POs. Wait, putouts? So, De La is from the Astros, and has that special brand of high contact, no real speed and very light power made famous by Michael Brantley. “Glad he didn’t say Milton Bradley.” That’s every person who’s ever come in contact with Milton Bradley. It’s the year 23 after 20, and Milton Bradley is still getting slandered! So, for a safe fourth outfielder in deeper leagues, you can give De La a call. Ring, ring, hey, how ya doing? Sorry you can’t get a better outfielder. Also, he’s mentioned in the video at the top of the page. 2023 Projections: 63/16/66/.271/5 in 477 ABs
62. Bryce Harper – Couple of things jumped out at me when I was ranking Bryce. That stupid freakin’ cat in my closet! Mr. Pickles! Stop jumping out at me! Also, it kinda shocked me how few games Harper played last year in the outfield. In a lot of leagues, he’s going to have utility-only eligibility, which sucks. I hate that. But — again with some stank like most buts — BUT! this late I’d be willing to take a flyer on a utility-only player. Flyer? Get it? Philly! No? Okay. Also, this draft pick is more about filling up your IL slot. Here’s what I said earlier this offseason, “Had Tommy John surgery and won’t return until the All-Star Break. *the world’s longest woof* He had to wait almost a month after the World Series to have surgery? By my calculations, that means almost a month of the season that he’s going to miss. You’d think the Phils or someone would’ve been like, “Hey, my main dude, maybe we get you into surgery like fifteen minutes after the last pitch of the World Series.” Such a bizarre set of circumstances. They knew he needed the surgery for the last six months! I don’t get it. For fantasy, I have to think this drops him at least forty spots in ADP, and takes at least three months of stats off his line, so subtract 45/20/50/.270/7 from whatever you thought you were getting, and, actually that means his projections will be close to that too, since he’s missing about 60% of the season.” And that’s me quoting me! That brings me to the other thing that jumped out at me. If you take those stats away from his line, you’re left with 50/16/50/.270/7, which is how I placed him in this tier. Bryce Harper in three months is the same as Bryan De La Cruz in six months. 2023 Projections: 47/16/54/.277/7 in 273 ABs
63. Joc Pederson – Can I be honest with you? This kinda goes to what I was saying in the Kelenic blurb in the top 60 outfielders. This tier is basically interchangeable with any other tier after it. The difference between the top five outfielders and, say, the 20th outfielder is huge, but the difference between the 60th outfielder and, say, the 100th outfielder isn’t really a difference as much as it’s a preference.
As for Pederson, he re-signed with the Giants this offseason. He must’ve lost his fantasy football league again. Damn, ain’t that a slap in the face. Joc is your standard platoon outfielder, who hits for power, and average last year (.274), but wouldn’t count on the latter. For you old heads out there, he’s also the best example for why you should never trust minor league steals, as Joc went 30/30 in Triple-A and now has 22 steals in his 1019 career games. 2023 Projections: 58/24/68/.249/4 in 412 ABs
64. Michael Conforto – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Giants. To refresh my memory about where Conforto’s been, I googled “Conforto injury history” and Google said, “How much time you got?” Which I think is kinda rude. So, I said as much to Google and then we got into a fight and now I can’t google nearby boba places and I’m so sad. Thanks a lot! The thought of the team, who claimed Correa wasn’t healthy enough, signing Conforto is just a little chef’s kiss. Just a little peck on the cheek. Gotta admit, Giants, your commitment to the bit isn’t very good. So, Conforto had shoulder surgery and missed all of 2022, that sounds great! In opposite world. Are we in opposite world? No? Hmm, bummer.” And that’s me quoting me! 2023 Projections: 51/17/59/.254 in 408 ABs
65. Jurickson Profar – Signed with the Rockies. Boy, the Rockies are simultaneously the most depressing team ever and hilarious and oddly interesting. They are their own special brand of bizarre. I’m pretty sure they just sign guys because they answer the question, “Do you believe in The Bible?” correctly. No joke, they are a very religious-run front office, which is interesting too, because watching the Rockies run their team and it really makes you ask if there’s a God. There’s so much value to be found in Coors, and they always go against the most exciting option. Yet, the guys who they do get, as boring as they are, they always get a boost, because: Coors. It truly is an enigma wrapped in a riddle surrounded by a very cheap draft beer. Profar shouldn’t be batting leadoff and everyday for anyone, but, well, enter the Rockies. 2023 Projections: 72/17/54/.252/7 in 541 ABs
66. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
67. Whit Merrifield – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
68. Trey Mancini – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball.
69. Andrew Benintendi – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the White Sox. Hold up, an actual outfielder playing outfield for the White Sox? No way! What is this voodoo you’re speaking of? Not sure yet where he’ll bat in the lineup, but I’d put him in the two-hole and take Turd Moncada, and put him around sixth or seventh. Benintendi is a much better real-life player than a fantasy one, but should fit nicely into that new brand of White Sox baseball, which is barely hit 15 homers, hit .280 and steal a large handful of bases. Like an Andre the Giant-sized hand.” And that’s me copying and pasting me! 2023 Projections: 86/14/56/.283/9 in 538 ABs
70. Charlie Blackmon – Chazz Noir riding a white stallion, bareback, but not as it’s usually meant. The horse is wearing a saddle, but Chazz is naked, aside from his 8-foot long beard. He stops, so the Coors humidor just barely covers his naughty bits, “Anyone want to take chance on a Zombino?” Chazz raises his two arms to mime a zombie. “I actually have three arms up at attention.” 2023 Projections: 69/17/81/.265/4 in 518 ABs
71. Jorge Soler – Could he be a late draft steal? Yes. Could he bounce back? Yes, yes! Even if he bounces back, will he be boring as crap and you’ll prolly drop him two weeks into the season because you’re eying some shiny, new toy on waivers? Yes, yes, yes! Soler’s in a place that the only thing stopping him from getting 550+ at-bats is his own health. Random “Adam Duvall hitting 38 homers” year? Absolutely possible for Soler. Just try holding onto Soler all through April when a random guy is breaking out on waivers. 2023 Projections: 62/24/74/.221 in 481 ABs
72 Mike Yastrzemski – Mentioned Carl’s Jr. Jr. way back in Kelenic blurb in the top 60 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball about how Carl’s Jr. Jr. was actually 220th overall on the Player Rater last year, and around that of the last outfielder on 12-teamers or the 60th best outfielder. What I didn’t mention was his stats were 73/17/57/.214/5 in 485 ABs. That’s the line of a outfielder who’s a 5th outfielder. That is impossible to hold in shallow leagues where you have five outfielders. It’s only valuable in retrospect. If you have five outfielders in 12-teamers, you should get better stats off waivers than that line. For deep leagues, it’s fine, and that’s also this tier. These guys will be impossible to hold in 12-teamers, but they’ll be fine in deeper leagues. 2023 Projections: 69/20/62/.226/6 in 504 ABs
73. Jesse Winker – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Went the other way in the Wong trade, i.e., they turned Winker to Wong. Boy, that escalated quickly. Ya know what it deescalated fast? Any opportunity Sal Frelick might have. My Sal Frelick fantasy looks basically washed already. May as well get one last clickbait in there. *pouring one out for Frelick, realizing I’m indoors and I just poured it out on my rug* Damn it! So, Winker on the Brewers, huh? Jesse Winker is the ultimate “We can fix him” player. Oh, they can’t fix him. If they couldn’t get Yelich to stop hitting a 50% ground ball rate or Keston Hiura to stop his 40% strikeout rate; they’re not fixing Winker. Nudge, Winker, nudge, nudge, pass.” And that’s me quoting me! 2023 Projections: 67/17/66/.266/1 in 431 ABs
74. Dylan Carlson – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the top 100 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball. I call this tier, “Rob Moore, you’re dead.” In the song, Poison by the triumvirate Bell Biv DeVoe, it’s best known for the line, “Never trust a big butt and a smile.” Excellent advice. But during the hook, in the background, you can almost make out Biv saying, “Rob Moore, you’re dead.” Or so was thought, before there were 16,000 song lyrics websites. Truly was a crazy time to be alive when you had no idea the lyrics for any song. The story went that an NFL player Rob Moore stole Biv’s girl, and Rob was in deep trouble because of it. Turned out Biv was really just saying, “Wrong move, you’re dead.” Well, that’s boring! “Rob Moore, you’re dead” is so much better. That’s this tier. These guys should be fun, as long as you don’t look too close, but they’ll prolly just end up boring. This is the upside tier. In deeper leagues, you’ll prolly want safer, but that depends on your team. The tier above and the tier below (in the top 100) will be safer.
As for Carlson, ya know what he needs, right? A trade to another team. Then he become the 30/12/.280 hitter he was supposed to be. Can’t believe he went 8/5/.236 last year in. Wait for it. Here it comes. You ready? In 128 games! This truly is a wing and a prayer tier. 2023 Projections: 63/12/57/.261/8 in 461 ABs
75. Edward Olivares – Already gave you my Edward Olivares sleeper. It was written while doing the Funky Chicken. Also, he’s in the video at the top of the page. 2023 Projections: 63/19/76/.272/16 in 476 ABs
76. Brandon Marsh – Love me some Marsh. I “Don’t Harsh My Marsh!” Says right here on my t-shirt. Whoa, I just realized a t-shirt is called a t-shirt because a shirt is in the shape of a T. But what is this Flashdance shirt called that I’m wearing that is hanging off my shoulder? Must be a slash shirt, because it hangs off me like \. Makes sense because I also made this shirt by slashing it with a knife. Damn, I look good. Sorry, I got high in honor of doing Marsh’s blurb, and I might’ve hit it too hard. So, I juggled Marsh around the rankings a little. I like him, but the Phils’ lineup is kinda stacked, so I don’t see Marsh getting a favorable lineup position, and he’s a 30% strikeout rate so far in his career, which isn’t going to make for a very positive average, but he does have some power and good speed. Definitely like the flyer. Whoa, I just realized it’s called a flyer because they’re easy to throw away. Also, he was in the video on the top of the page at the top 60 outfielders. 2023 Projections: 53/13/48/.240/14 in 387 ABs
77. Garrett Mitchell – He hit .311 last year. *covers mouth so you can’t hear me mumble* With a 41.2% strikeout rate. What’s that? .311 average? That’s awesome! He’s basically Tony Gwynn. Very cool stuff! He has 60-grade power and 70-grade speed, so your basic 50-homer, 60-steal guy. *covers mouth again* Who hit one homer in Triple-A. He did steal nine bags in Triple-A (only 20 games) and stole eight more bags in the majors (only 28 games), so the speed appears real. And the Brewers have 1.2 million outfielders to get playing time. It’s a flyer (off a deep cliff), but at least he has speed (in theory). All right, no more caveats (for now). 2023 Projections: 49/12/45/.226/18 in 371 ABs
78. Jose Siri – Steamer projections for Siri are 20/20/.241 in 120 games. There’s about as much a chance of that as using Siri on your phone and having it work. “Siri, please call XO’s Grill & Bar.” “Yes, Grey, texting your ex girl, Barb.” No! Siri, stop! True story: I once used Siri to call someone, I forget now who, and it accidentally called the Israeli consultant instead. That could’ve went bad real fast if I was ordering chicken with the “bomb sauce” from my local Nashville hot chicken place. The reason why Siri is in this tier is because of the less than 5% chance he does have a 20/20 season. The most unlikely thing isn’t the 20/20 either, it’s the 120 games played. 2023 Projections: 59/14/51/.226/14 in 412 ABs
79. Trent Grisham – He’s in this tier: The young crazy upside guy tier. Ah, yeah, Trent Grisham. Wait, was that sarcasm or no? I’ve confused myself. It sounds like sarcasm, because everything I say sounds like sarcasm, but Grisham did just turn 26. He feels like a guy who’s been around the block more times than the creepy guy in the minivan with candy. “I don’t want any M&M’s, but if you have peanut butter cups, I might go for a ride.” That’s me bartering with the creepy guy. Yo, peanut butter cups are so good. So, Grisham hit .184 last year, and that’s so hilariously bad, but his .231 BABIP says he was unlucky, though he did completely lose where the strike zone was. I’d be out if he’s not this cheap in drafts, but a 20/15 guy as a flyer with the thought you can drop him, if things go sideways and I don’t want no f***** Merlot! 2023 Projections: 62/18/57/.209/10 in 473 ABs
80. Manuel Margot – This tier was supposed to be upside, what am I doing?! I just got done doing this with Grisham! Oh, wait, Margot only just turned 28. Yeah, that’s not too old for him to regain his steals. *squinting at his steals* Okay, for him to actually have steals for the first time, but he’s fast. Supposedly. Look, it’s a flyer, like everyone in this tier. Margot’s always had good contact, speed, some power, and looks like 50 Cent. You can’t buy that for a dollar! (Actually half that.) 2023 Projections: 51/10/55/.267/12 in 456 ABs
CONTINUE ON TO THE TOP 100 OUTFIELDERS FOR 2023 FANTASY BASEBALL
