Yesterday Corey Hart, who I initially ranked 20th among outfielders, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee. While there is a chance he could be ready for the start of the season, it is far from a guarantee. The potential for missed time has to drop him, at least a few starts. We’ll find out where he lands later this afternoon when I post our #21-40 rankings, but let’s see how the Top 20 now stands:
- Jose Bautista – Toronto Blue Jays
- Matt Kemp – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Ryan Braun – Milwaukee Brewers
- Justin Upton – Arizona Diamondbacks
- Carlos Gonzalez – Colorado Rockies
- Jacoby Ellsbury – Boston Red Sox
- Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates
- Matt Holliday – St. Louis Cardinals
- Josh Hamilton – Texas Rangers
- Giancarlo Stanton – Miami Marlins
- Curtis Granderson – New York Yankees
- Hunter Pence – Philadelphia Phillies
- Jay Bruce – Cincinnati Reds
- Ben Zobrist – Tampa Bay Rays
- Michael Bourn – Atlanta Braves
- Alex Gordon – Kansas City Royals
- Adam Jones – Baltimore Orioles
- Shin-Soo Choo – Cleveland Indians
- Desmond Jennings – Tampa Bay Rays
- Shane Victorino – Philadelphia Phillies
Thoughts:
- Shane Victorino wasn’t very far behind Hart to begin with, so with the risk of Hart missing at least a week or two, it is very easy to suggest drafting Victorino in his place. Granted, it is a bit of a drop-off in the power department, but Victorino should provide 25-30 SB. If it is power that you are looking for, Mike Morse would also be a candidate for that spot.
- Is there really a major difference from Andrew McCutchen down to around Hunter Pence? It wouldn’t be surprising to see any one of those players emerge as the best outfielder of that group (or even potentially leap frog Ellsbury into the Top 6). Feel free to shuffle them around if you feel strongly about any one of them.
- Michael Bourn is a player that fits a very specific role for fantasy owners. It’s obvious that he isn’t going to help you in the power department, but he can almost single-handedly win stolen bases for you. If you have ample power elsewhere, he is a player that makes a lot of sense for owners.
- Don’t get distracted by the 10 HR Jennings hit in 2011 for the Rays, because that is not his game at all. As long as you go in expecting something around 12 HR and 35 SB, than you are not going to be disappointed.
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Make sure to check out all of our 2012 rankings:
- Catchers
- First Basemen
- Second Basemen
- Third Basemen
- Shortstops
- Outfielders: 21-40
- Starting Pitchers: 1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60
- Closers
No BJ Upton?
His average keeps him out of the Top 20 for me, as it really suppresses his value. I have him at #26.
BJ Upton aka Talent’s Brother
HOLY SH#T!!!!!
I was just offered Andrew McCutchen, Gian Stanton and Neftali Feliz for Justin Upton….. in a 10-Team Roto Keeper League
Now my OF is Cutch, Stanton, Holliday, Bourn… PANTS TENT!
Considering the position is not as deep as it once was, that’s a HR! As good as Upton is, that’s too much talent to pass up.
Can you keep guys indefinitely?
Yea we can keep them indefinitely…
Current roster:
C- Santana
1B – Fielder
2B – Espinosa (looking to improve on this)
3B – Wright
SS – Castro
OFx3 – Stanton, McCutch, Holliday
UTx2 – Bourn, Goldschmidt
SP – Hamels, Carpenter, Feliz, Ervin Santana, Wandy, E-Jackson
RP – Rivera, Capps, Thornton, Motte, Guerra, Betancourt
You honestly don’t see Jason Heyward as a Top 40 OF? Really? Oversight or does his one injury-marred year (which still wasn’t horrible statistically) send him into the depths of unmentionable?
bobbo – My opinion of Heyward has probably been one of the hottest debates we’ve had here on the site thus far this spring. I posted a full article on him, which you can see at:
http://rotoprofessor.com/baseball/?p=12717
It’s not the injury that scares me, it’s the fact that he hits too many groundballs. He has a groundball rate of close to 55% over his first two seasons. Over the past three years there are only two people who have posted a 50%+ GB% and still hit at least 20 HR – Hunter Pence & Hanley Ramirez
It’s my fear that he is not going to give you anything in power, especially when he will likely hit 6th or 7th in the order.