Updated Top 100 Outfielders Rankings, PCA Is The Goat Edition

We are somehow already a month into the 2025 season! It’s high time to update my top 100 outfielder rankings.

These are rankings from right now going forward. Well, almost right now, the stats I reference are as of Sunday. The rankings are based on a 15 team NFBC league, I’ll throw in the change from my original ranking next to everyone, but there are a ton of guys here that I didn’t rank to begin with. Some, like Jose Altuve and Cam Smith, have simply gained OF eligibility (I use the NFBC’s 10 game threshold.). Some have gotten starting gigs or simply outplayed my original estimates. One I totally forgot when I was ranking these guys (cough….Austin Hays….cough.) and has looked excellent. Some just got here because a bunch of my original guys either went down with injuries or got demoted. And that reminds me, I only ranked injured guys if we have some sense of their timeline. So, yes, on Ronald Acuna, who moved up simply because he now projects to miss only 10-15% of the remaining games. And no on Josh Lowe and Colton Cowser,  both of whom I liked when healthy, but I have no idea when they will return, and their value entirely depends on the league format in regards to roster size and IL treatment.

Long story short, if I had an NFBC draft today, this is how I would order them

1) Aaron Judge (unch)

2) Corbin Carroll (up 1)

3) Kyle Tucker (up 1)

4) Fernando Tatis Jr. (up 3)

5) Jackson Chourio (unch)

6) Juan Soto (down 4)

7) Wyatt Langford (up 4)

8) Jackson Merrill (up 2)

9 ) Julio Rodriguez (down 3)

10) Ronald Acuna Jr (up 10)

11) Mookie Betts (down 3)

12) Oneil Cruz (up 3)

13) Jazz Chisholm Jr. (down 1)

14) Yordan Alvarez (down 5)

15) James Wood (up 3)

16) Lawrence Butler (up 1)

17) Pete Crow-Armstrong (up 15)

18) Jarren Duran (down 5)

19) Seiya Suzuki (unch)

20) Michael Harris II (down 6)

 

About those risers

• PCA is clearly the big mover as he’s hitting .284 and is on pace for a 30 homer/60 steal campaign. One month in, his improvements look pretty real as he’s maintained his EV and Barrel% jump late in 2024 while getting his Whiff% down from 29.9% to 23.8%. His floor seemed like a Kevin Kiermeyer sort of great fielding CF with some useful Fantasy skills, but he’s playing basically like Corbin Carroll while on the best offense in MLB.
• I have total ONeil Cruz FOMO, someone seemed to reach for him in every draft I was in. It looks like that was the smart move
• Langford has played like a 5 category superstar when healthy. That’s really the only question: can he stay on the field?

Legends of the Fallers (or really, Falling Legends)

• I’m a Mets fan, and I also rostered a lot of Juan Soto. I do think he will be fine, he just has not done much of Fantasy value, other than scoring runs. That’s mostly because he still gets on base, and Pete Alonso hits behind him. I moved Soto down more because there was very little difference in the top guys anyway, and even at best, Soto provides very little speed
• Yordan has a skill erosion that is minor compared to the absolute implosion in his Fantasy production. He has an EV of 93.8 that’s actually a shade higher than normal, though his Barrel% of 11.3% is low. Like Soto, there’s no margin of error for a guy that does not run
• Sequels are never as good as the originals, and Michael Harris II has actually seen some erosion to the point where it feels like we’re watching Michael Harris VI or so, even though he’s still just 24. His SwStr% has declined to a career low 9.7%, but that’s no good when it results in a 36.1% HardHit% (27th percentile)

 

21) Teoscar Hernandez (down 5)
22) Jose Altuve (NA)
23) Brenton Doyle (down 1)
24) Randy Arozarena (up 11)
25) Tommy Edman (up 9)
26) Steven Kwan (up 10)
27) Mike Trout (unch)
28) Christian Yelich (down 5)
29 )Riley Greene (down 4)
30) Jung Hoo Lee (up 23)
31) Cedric Mullins (up 23)
32) Dylan Crews (down 4)
33) Bryan Reynolds (down 4)
34) Cody Bellinger (down 13)
35) Ian Happ (down 4)
36) Anthony Santander (down 12)
37) Luis Robert Jr. (down 12)
38) Kerry Carpenter (up 6)
39) Adolis Garcia (up 2)
40) Nick Castellanos (unch)

 

Rising Speed guys

• Jung Hoo Lee did have that “Steven Kwan but 50 picks cheaper’ sort of vibe, wish I drafted him in my bigger leagues. He could optimistically go 15-15 with a .300 avg. hitting near the top of a good lineup, and that’s super valuable
• Steven Kwan himself, of course,e was a great pick as well, basically Jung’s stats but better
• Most Orioles bats have disappointed early in 2024. Cedric Mullins is the huge exception as he’s off to a rousing .279/.421/.547 start with 6 homers and 5 steals. It’s tough to discount this at all when he’s literally done it for a full season in the not so distant past, and he’s still just 30 years old
• I mention Edman like every week, but he looks like my best reach anywhere, so I’ll keep humble bragging about it. He only has 1 steal, maybe because he has 8 bombs. His statcast page is a thing of beauty right now

Look out below

• I bought in a bit too much on Cody Bellinger fitting well at Yankee Stadium. Ouch, so far, he has a .255 wOBA
• The tariffs on Canada for “reasons” have clearly sapped Santander’s power. He dropped his bat speed a click, and yet his Whiff% and K% have gone up while his Barrel% and HardHit% have declined; that’s an awful combo

 

41) Taylor Ward (down 4)
42) Brandon Nimmo (down 3)
43) Heliot Ramos (up 4)
44) Jasson Dominguez (down 11)
45) Wilyer Abreu (up 28)
46) George Springer (up 9)
47) Lars Nootbaar (up 5)
48) Byron Buxton (up 13)
49) Brendan Donovan (up 18)
50) Chandler Simpson (NA)
51) Jo Adell (up 11)
52) Jorge Soler (down 2)
53) Sal Frelick (up 26)
54) TJ Friedl (up 3)
55) Austin Hays (NA)
56) Tyler O’Neill (down 11, now on IL)
57) Jesus Sanchez (down 6)
58) JJ Bleday (up 12)
59) Pavin Smith (up 25)
60) Andrew Benintendi (NA)

 

Omissions and other observations

• Again, I just forgot about Austin Hays, though he’s had a history as just a boring accumulator. That does have value batting 4th in a decent Reds lineup in an excellent hitter park, even assuming he’s ultimately a .260-ish hitter
• Benintendi was injured when I made the original list, but I would have had him lower than 60. He’s the rare bright spot in a hideous White Sox lineup
• Pavin Smith has really made me rethink my aversion to pure platoon bats with no fielding value that helps keep them in the lineup. He bats 3rd in a potent DBacks lineup and has absolutely mashed so far with a 20.5% Barrel% and 91.5 EV. Obviously, his .348 Avg. is not sustainable as he’s carrying a 30.2% Whiff% and 26.8% K% though he’s managing a 91st percentile LA-Sweet Spot%
• I overpaid in FAAB for Chandler Simpson in a few spots where my power was fine and my speed was awful, and my Avg. could use an asset. There’s no accurate way to rank him in a list like this, as he’s the ultimate Team Build play. If you have enough speed, stay far away, as he has zero power. There’s also an eventual playing time risk.
• Jo Adell has improved as an actual player, though with the Angels not running much, I’m not sure if/when it will carry over to Fantasy production. His K% is at a career low 26.6%, with 89.7 EV, 13.2% Barrel%, and .334 xwOBA’s all his best ever. He is unfortunately still hitting just .203 with 2 homers, 1 steal, and just 4 runs.
• I left Tyler O’Neil on the list even though he just went on the IL, as (for now) it looks like a short stay. Plus, he goes on the IL every season, so it was already part of his price. I dropped him more because he has done very little at the plate so far

 

61) Dylan Moore (up 23)
62) Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (down 2)
63) Jordan Walker (up 2)
64) Ceddanne Rafaela (down 6)
65) Cam Smith (NA)
66) Jordan Beck (up 29)
67) Michael Conforto (up 2)
68) Heston Kjerstad (up 15)
69) Spencer Steer (down 20)
70) Victor Scott II (up 16)
71) Alex Verdugo (NA)
72) Mike Yastrzemski (NA)
73) Trevor Larnach (up 16)
74) Kyle Stowers (NA)
75) Gavin Lux (NA)
76) Mickey Moniak (NA)
77) Kameron Misner (NA)
78) Alek Thomas (NA)
79) Harrison Bader (up 15)
80) Max Kepler (down 5)

Everybody’s Rising!

• OK, the lifts in this group are misleading, most of the risers have underwhelmed (I’m looking at you, Jordan Walker)
• The Orioles have finally let Heston Kjerstad play. Against Lefties even! He has not played all that well yet, though he has 7 Barrels in just 67 PAs and his xwOBA is .368, so perhaps he should be even higher
• Dylan Moore is eligible everywhere and has always had a ton of speed and reasonable power, but it came with a career .210 avg and irregular playing time. Well, he’s hitting .286 early on with 6 homers and  5 steals, has his K% down to 21.8% vs 29.5% in his career and he’s playing almost every day. I may REALLY have him too low if he can keep batting average above water
• Jordan Beck made the Rockies Opening Day roster and got sent down on April 6th with a .207 wOBA after just 23 PA’s. They brought him back up April 19th, and he’s hit 5 homers with a .617 wOBA in a week. I moved him way up, but he’s still carrying a massive 36% K% that did not improve upon his return. He will, of course, cool from this heater precisely when he gets FAAB-ed everywhere tonight, but he’s a good prospect and plays his home games at Coors, so he’s absolutely worth rostering 
• Alex Verdugo remains the most Alex Verdugo of Alex Verdugo’s. He provides the emptiest of batting average assets, but he will provide it batting leadoff against righties (for now, at least) in front of an excellent offense. He’s safe to ignore in shallow leagues but absolutely should get rostered in all “only’s” and 15’s
• Mike Yaz has hit.278/.400/.506 early on, and is getting some run at leadoff and vs. lefties
• A lot of this group is just guys who have simply worked their way into consistent playing time, like Bader, Moniak, and Thomas, and done OK so far. They are deep league bench streamers at best (play them when they have busy weeks, e.g.)

 

81) Alec Burleson (down 16)
82) Max Kepler (down 8)
83) Luke Raley (down 12)
84) Andy Pages (up 4)
85) Jake Fraley (up 16)
86) Johan Rojas (NA)
87) Jacob Young (down 19)
88) Daulton Varsho (up 78)
89) Roman Anthony (down 18)
90) Jake Meyers (NA)
91) Trent Grisham (NA)
92) Gavin Sheets (NA)
93) Ryan O’Hearn (NA)
94) Tommy Pham (down 1)
95) Alan Roden (NA)
96) Jeff McNeil (NA)
97) Jesse Winker (down 12)
98) Tyrone Taylor (NA)
99) Dane Myers (NA)
100) Miguel Vargas (NA)

 

Deep League Fodder Central

• Young is really a speed-only asset, and he has 2 steals so far with irregular starts
• Pages looked like he could get sent down, but had a hot hitting week. If he keeps it going, I would move him way up
• Burleson is a batting average asset who popped 21 homers in 2024 but has yet to hit one in 2025, or even barrel a ball, and he resides in a strict platoon at best. He looks headed off this list next month
• Roman Anthony will move up 30-50 spots if he gets the call, and he’s mashing in AAA, so he could force the Sox hand. Not sure who he comes in for, though, barring an injury. Cedanne is playing well enough to keep his roster spot, and Abreu has exploded. Anthony is likely rostered already virtually everywhere
• I tried to buy low on Miguel Vargas as I mentioned last month. Well, not “tried”, I did buy low. It did not work out at all. The White Sox gave him the opportunity, and he did next to nothing with it.