Chad’s 2024 Tiered Ottoneu Rankings: Outfield
As we move into draft season, I will be updating these rankings occasionally, when there is news to justify changes. The original rankings will stay at the bottom of the article to maintain my player notes. The original outfield rankings were posted 1/30 and the most recent update is 2/28.
Changelog:
2/26 – Moved Anthony Santander, Riley Greene, Ian Happ, and Wilyer Abreu down a tier to better balance salaries across ranked players. Moved TJ Friedl and Jesús Sánchez each down a tier based on re-evaluation of projections and past performance. Moved 13 players from the $1-$2 tier down to $0-$1 tier based on auction results to-date suggesting that better options may be available and those players can be left as FA depending who else is available (Michael Conforto, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Austin Hays, Luke Raley, Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Renfroe, Seth Brown, Ryan O’Hearn, Connor Joe, Jose Siri, Sean Bouchard, Adam Duvall, and Andrew Benintendi). Moved George Valera down a tier based on injury. Moved Jacob Marsee up a tier based on opportunity. Moved Kyle Stowers, Walker Jenkins, Max Clark, Dustin Harris, and Nick Senzel up a tier as all have been viable late-auction additions and should not be in the $0 tier. Added 15 players to the rankings as they now meet the criteria for being ranked: Josue De Paula, Samuel Zavala, Cooper Hummel, Victor Scott II, Jordan Beck, Miguel Bleis, Enrique Bradfield Jr., John Cruz, Johan Rojas, Dairon Blanco, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Dane Myers, Jared Young, Richie Palacios, and Nick Martini.
Updated Rankings:
Tiered OF Rankings for FanGraphs Points Scoring (2/28)
| Rank | Name | Position Eligibility | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | OF | $66+ |
| 2 | Juan Soto | OF | $55-$65 |
| 3 | Aaron Judge | OF | $55-$65 |
| 4 | Yordan Alvarez | OF | $45-$54 |
| 5 | Kyle Tucker | OF | $36-$44 |
| 6 | Julio Rodriguez | OF | $36-$44 |
| 7 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | OF | $36-$44 |
| 8 | Corbin Carroll | OF | $36-$44 |
| 9 | Kyle Schwarber | OF | $28-$35 |
| 10 | Mike Trout | OF | $28-$35 |
| 11 | Christian Yelich | OF | $21-$27 |
| 12 | Luis Robert Jr. | OF | $21-$27 |
| 13 | Bryan Reynolds | OF | $21-$27 |
| 14 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | $21-$27 |
| 15 | Brandon Nimmo | OF | $21-$27 |
| 16 | Nolan Jones | 1B/OF | $21-$27 |
| 17 | Seiya Suzuki | OF | $21-$27 |
| 18 | Randy Arozarena | OF | $15-$20 |
| 19 | Michael Harris II | OF | $15-$20 |
| 20 | Masataka Yoshida | OF | $15-$20 |
| 21 | Jorge Soler | OF | $15-$20 |
| 22 | Lars Nootbaar | OF | $15-$20 |
| 23 | Adolis García | OF | $15-$20 |
| 24 | Jordan Walker | OF | $15-$20 |
| 25 | George Springer | OF | $15-$20 |
| 26 | Anthony Santander | 1B/OF | $10-$14 |
| 27 | Riley Greene | OF | $10-$14 |
| 28 | Ian Happ | OF | $10-$14 |
| 29 | Evan Carter | OF | $10-$14 |
| 30 | Jackson Chourio | OF | $10-$14 |
| 31 | Wyatt Langford | OF | $10-$14 |
| 32 | Teoscar Hernandez | OF | $10-$14 |
| 33 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | OF | $10-$14 |
| 34 | Josh Lowe | OF | $10-$14 |
| 35 | Eloy Jimenez | OF | $10-$14 |
| 36 | Max Kepler | OF | $6-$9 |
| 37 | Kerry Carpenter | OF | $6-$9 |
| 38 | Jarren Duran | OF | $6-$9 |
| 39 | TJ Friedl | OF | $6-$9 |
| 40 | Steven Kwan | OF | $6-$9 |
| 41 | Lane Thomas | OF | $6-$9 |
| 42 | Nick Castellanos | OF | $6-$9 |
| 43 | Chas McCormick | OF | $6-$9 |
| 44 | Byron Buxton | Util | $6-$9 |
| 45 | Joc Pederson | OF | $6-$9 |
| 46 | Taylor Ward | OF | $6-$9 |
| 47 | Jack Suwinski | OF | $6-$9 |
| 48 | Jung Hoo Lee | Util | $6-$9 |
| 49 | Kris Bryant | 1B/OF | $6-$9 |
| 50 | LaMonte Wade Jr. | 1B/OF | $6-$9 |
| 51 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | OF | $6-$9 |
| 52 | Jake Fraley | OF | $6-$9 |
| 53 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | $6-$9 |
| 54 | Jarred Kelenic | OF | $6-$9 |
| 55 | Brent Rooker | OF | $3-$5 |
| 56 | Jasson Dominguez | OF | $3-$5 |
| 57 | Dylan Crews | OF | $3-$5 |
| 58 | Nelson Velazquez | OF | $3-$5 |
| 59 | James Outman | OF | $3-$5 |
| 60 | Bryan De La Cruz | OF | $3-$5 |
| 61 | Alex Verdugo | OF | $3-$5 |
| 62 | James Wood | OF | $3-$5 |
| 63 | Tyler O’Neill | OF | $3-$5 |
| 64 | Alex Kirilloff | 1B/OF | $3-$5 |
| 65 | Matt Wallner | OF | $3-$5 |
| 66 | Will Benson | OF | $3-$5 |
| 67 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | $1-$2 |
| 68 | Jesus Sanchez | OF | $1-$2 |
| 69 | Wilyer Abreu | OF | $1-$2 |
| 70 | Mark Canha | 1B/OF | $1-$2 |
| 71 | Chase DeLauter | OF | $1-$2 |
| 72 | Heston Kjerstad | 1B/OF | $1-$2 |
| 73 | Colton Cowser | OF | $1-$2 |
| 74 | Daulton Varsho | OF | $1-$2 |
| 75 | Hunter Goodman | 1B/OF | $1-$2 |
| 76 | Parker Meadows | OF | $1-$2 |
| 77 | Cedric Mullins | OF | $1-$2 |
| 78 | Mike Yastrzemski | OF | $1-$2 |
| 79 | Drew Gilbert | OF | $1-$2 |
| 80 | Tommy Pham | OF | $1-$2 |
| 81 | Roman Anthony | OF | $1-$2 |
| 82 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | OF | $1-$2 |
| 83 | Brandon Marsh | OF | $1-$2 |
| 84 | Emmanuel Rodriguez | OF | $1-$2 |
| 85 | Spencer Jones | OF | $1-$2 |
| 86 | Michael Conforto | OF | $0-$1 |
| 87 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | 3B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 88 | Austin Hays | OF | $0-$1 |
| 89 | Luke Raley | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 90 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | $0-$1 |
| 91 | Hunter Renfroe | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 92 | Seth Brown | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 93 | Ryan O’Hearn | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 94 | Connor Joe | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 95 | Joey Wiemer | OF | $0-$1 |
| 96 | Jose Siri | OF | $0-$1 |
| 97 | Sean Bouchard | OF | $0-$1 |
| 98 | Adam Duvall | OF | $0-$1 |
| 99 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | $0-$1 |
| 100 | Owen Caissie | OF | $0-$1 |
| 101 | Edward Olivares | OF | $0-$1 |
| 102 | Jason Heyward | OF | $0-$1 |
| 103 | Esteury Ruiz | OF | $0-$1 |
| 104 | Jonny Deluca | OF | $0-$1 |
| 105 | Andy Pages | OF | $0-$1 |
| 106 | Mitch Haniger | OF | $0-$1 |
| 107 | Trent Grisham | OF | $0-$1 |
| 108 | Alek Thomas | OF | $0-$1 |
| 109 | Oscar Colas | OF | $0-$1 |
| 110 | Sal Frelick | OF | $0-$1 |
| 111 | Mike Tauchman | OF | $0-$1 |
| 112 | Austin Slater | OF | $0-$1 |
| 113 | Trevor Larnach | OF | $0-$1 |
| 114 | Ramon Laureano | OF | $0-$1 |
| 115 | Harold Ramirez | OF | $0-$1 |
| 116 | Garrett Mitchell | OF | $0-$1 |
| 117 | Everson Pereira | OF | $0-$1 |
| 118 | Jakob Marsee | OF | $0-$1 |
| 119 | Joey Gallo | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 120 | Dylan Carlson | OF | $0-$1 |
| 121 | Alec Burleson | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 122 | Eddie Rosario | OF | $0-$1 |
| 123 | Starling Marte | OF | $0-$1 |
| 124 | DJ Stewart | OF | $0-$1 |
| 125 | Kyle Stowers | OF | $0-$1 |
| 126 | Walker Jenkins | Util | $0-$1 |
| 127 | Max Clark | OF | $0-$1 |
| 128 | Kevin Alcantara | OF | $0-$1 |
| 129 | Josue De Paula | OF | $0-$1 |
| 130 | Samuel Zavala | OF | $0-$1 |
| 131 | Dustin Harris | 1B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 132 | Patrick Wisdom | 1B/3B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 133 | Nick Senzel | 3B/OF | $0-$1 |
| 134 | George Valera | OF | $0 |
| 135 | Mickey Moniak | OF | $0 |
| 136 | Jo Adell | OF | $0 |
| 137 | Lawrence Butler | OF | $0 |
| 138 | Spencer Horwitz | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 139 | Juan Yepez | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 140 | Cooper Hummel | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 141 | Lazaro Montes | OF | $0 |
| 142 | Druw Jones | OF | $0 |
| 143 | Jonatan Clase | OF | $0 |
| 144 | Luis Matos | OF | $0 |
| 145 | Nick Pratto | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 146 | Corey Julks | OF | $0 |
| 147 | Alexander Canario | OF | $0 |
| 148 | Victor Scott II | OF | $0 |
| 149 | Dominic Canzone | OF | $0 |
| 150 | Brennen Davis | OF | $0 |
| 151 | Leody Taveras | OF | $0 |
| 152 | Aaron Hicks | OF | $0 |
| 153 | Kala’i Rosario | OF | $0 |
| 154 | Yanquiel Fernandez | OF | $0 |
| 155 | Matt Rudick | OF | $0 |
| 156 | Miguel Andujar | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 157 | Jordan Beck | OF | $0 |
| 158 | Keston Hiura | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 159 | Miguel Bleis | OF | $0 |
| 160 | Kevin Kiermaier | OF | $0 |
| 161 | Rece Hinds | OF | $0 |
| 162 | JJ Bleday | OF | $0 |
| 163 | Drew Waters | OF | $0 |
| 164 | Harrison Bader | OF | $0 |
| 165 | Enrique Bradfield Jr. | OF | $0 |
| 166 | Will Brennan | OF | $0 |
| 167 | John Cruz | OF | $0 |
| 168 | Tyler Nevin | 1B/3B/OF | $0 |
| 169 | Randal Grichuk | OF | $0 |
| 170 | Dominic Fletcher | OF | $0 |
| 171 | Johan Rojas | OF | $0 |
| 172 | Matt Vierling | 3B/OF | $0 |
| 173 | Oscar Gonzalez | OF | $0 |
| 174 | Stone Garrett | OF | $0 |
| 175 | Rob Refsnyder | OF | $0 |
| 176 | Jake McCarthy | OF | $0 |
| 177 | Trey Cabbage | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 178 | Dairon Blanco | OF | $0 |
| 179 | Jurickson Profar | OF | $0 |
| 180 | Pavin Smith | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 181 | Robert Hassell III | OF | $0 |
| 182 | Zac Veen | OF | $0 |
| 183 | Canaan Smith-Njigba | OF | $0 |
| 184 | Tyler Gentry | OF | $0 |
| 185 | Dane Myers | OF | $0 |
| 186 | Nathan Martorella | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 187 | Jimmy Herron | OF | $0 |
| 188 | Jared Young | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 189 | Manuel Margot | OF | $0 |
| 190 | Estevan Florial | OF | $0 |
| 191 | Richie Palacios | OF | $0 |
| 192 | Cody Milligan | OF | $0 |
| 193 | Victor Robles | OF | $0 |
| 194 | Jared Walsh | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 195 | Wil Myers | 1B/OF | $0 |
| 196 | Brian Anderson | 3B/OF | $0 |
| 197 | Austin Meadows | OF | $0 |
| 198 | Nick Martini | OF | $0 |
| 199 | Myles Straw | OF | $0 |
January Rankings and Notes:
OF is a conundrum. On the one hand, the absolute top of the draft board is one utility bat (Shohei Ohtani), one MI (Mookie Betts, who is also an OF) and four OF. The three of those four OF are 1-2-3 on my overall rankings at the moment. On the other, the $1-$2 tier here is mostly guys who are either not going to contribute this year or who I don’t really want on my roster. But if you want to fill 810 games at OF, you are either going hard after the top few tiers or filling things out with whoever you like best from that tier.
For my teams, I am mostly going for the former. This likely means I am overspending on OF – grabbing a $6-$9 OF for my last option instead of a $1-$2 option means taking $5-$8 out of the budget somewhere else. I’ve decided I am okay with that. It matches what I find myself doing in non-auctions with 5 OF – using more early picks on OF than I typically would to ensure that the backend of my OF isn’t a disaster.
That isn’t my favorite strategy but, for now, I think it is the best one.
For the methodology and notes on the rankings, please check out my intro column.
Tiered Outfield Rankings for FanGraphs Points Scoring
| Rank | Name | Position Eligibility | Tier | Column Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | OF | $66+ | I am not sure I have ever seen a case where the top projected player was SO FAR ahead of the rest of the field. Maybe prime Trout? |
| 2 | Juan Soto | OF | $55-$65 | He doesn’t hit a ton of fly balls or pull the ball all that often, so the short porch won’t help him as much as it would help others, but he’s a great bet for 150+ games played and he’s an elite hitter. |
| 3 | Aaron Judge | OF | $55-$65 | Promise me 150 games and he moves up to #2. |
| 4 | Yordan Alvarez | OF | $45-$54 | Similar to Judge, the expected lost time has an impact on his value. If Soto-Judge-Yordan all played 150+, Alvarez would still be 3rd, but he would be in their tier. |
| 5 | Kyle Tucker | OF | $36-$44 | He hits the ball hard enough that I feel like his HR/FB rate should be better. One year it’ll jump to like 20% and he’ll push up near 40 HR. |
| 6 | Julio Rodriguez | OF | $36-$44 | I thought he might make the leap to the upper tier, but it doesn’t look like that will happen. Not that this is a bad place to be. |
| 7 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | OF | $36-$44 | His performance last year has to give you some pause – he was in that $55+ group for a while, but I don’t think he finds his way back there and there is risk he doesn’t even get back to this. |
| 8 | Corbin Carroll | OF | $36-$44 | He could pass Tatis and maybe even Rodriguez in the early part of 2024. |
| 9 | Kyle Schwarber | OF | $28-$35 | He projects for around 40 HR and that still puts him in this tier and would be a bit of a disappointment given his last two years. |
| 10 | Mike Trout | OF | $28-$35 | Part of me thinks that the Angels luck is such that, now that Ohtani is gone, Trout will be healthy and put up a massive, MVP-caliber season again, while LAA wins 67 games. |
| 11 | Christian Yelich | OF | $21-$27 | Yelich has seen his exit velocities decline (they are still good) and has been hitting more ground balls again. That will limit his power upside, but it is working for him. He’s just more similar to Marlins Yelich than MVP Yelich. |
| 12 | Luis Robert Jr. | OF | $21-$27 | We always want to see guys strike out less, but there is a balance between making contact and making loud contact that needs to be struck, and maybe a few more K are okay for Robert. |
| 13 | Bryan Reynolds | OF | $21-$27 | If he ever found another power level, he would jump up these rankings, but I think that ship has sailed. |
| 14 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | $21-$27 | This time next year, he is more likely to be two tiers higher or two tiers lower than to be back here. |
| 15 | Brandon Nimmo | OF | $21-$27 | The projections feel low because they see him falling back to <20 HR, but his gain in FB-rate could sustain that power gain. |
| 16 | Nolan Jones | 1B/OF | $21-$27 | The .401 BABIP isn’t what concerns me (it will come down but likely still be high) as much as the potential for the K-rate to regress. Be he could absoutely move up a tier. |
| 17 | Seiya Suzuki | OF | $21-$27 | Along with Jones, he represents a tier-within-a-tier – guys who have very high ceiling but more risk than the players above them. |
| 18 | Randy Arozarena | OF | $15-$20 | His fantasy standing is higher than a lot of the guys a tier up because of his 5×5 value, but in this format he just misses that tier. |
| 19 | Michael Harris II | OF | $15-$20 | Very similar in some ways to Arozarena and I would flip them if Harris weren’t hitting 9th. |
| 20 | Masataka Yoshida | OF | $15-$20 | I am keeping some not-cheap Yoshida’s on the basis that he wore down and faded rather than the league catching up to him. |
| 21 | Jorge Soler | OF | $15-$20 | I wish he would land somewhere, but his power plays in any park. He’s just not bankable like some others. |
| 22 | Lars Nootbaar | OF | $15-$20 | There’s a $10 range among his projections and I am willing to pay near the top of that range. |
| 23 | Adolis García | OF | $15-$20 | In the Ottoneu mock drafts, he has been going over $19 on average, and I think there is a bit of a “fun” premium being paid because he’s Adolis. |
| 24 | Jordan Walker | OF | $15-$20 | I will probably overpay for him at some point because I think the breakout could be huge. This tier is more a “fair” price taking on some risk to get the upside. |
| 25 | George Springer | OF | $15-$20 | The market has corrected on Springer, but there are still more people willing to go above $20 than I would expect. |
| 26 | Anthony Santander | 1B/OF | $15-$20 | The changes at OPACY seem to have hurt everyone, but Santander has been fine. He’s a switch hitter, which helps, but even at home against LHP he has a 189 wRC+ since the fence was moved back. |
| 27 | Riley Greene | OF | $15-$20 | The combination of missing time and playing in Detroit allowed his breakout to fly a bit under the radar. |
| 28 | Ian Happ | OF | $15-$20 | For all the ups and downs, his 2023 is pretty consistent with his overall career line. That makes it the best bet for where he lands this year, but he is volatile. |
| 29 | Evan Carter | OF | $10-$14 | Goodness this is a weird tier. So much risk, so much upside, and stable but unspectacular Friedl. Carter is ahead of the next two on projections and a slight advtange in debuting last year, but long-term he might be third of these three. |
| 30 | Jackson Chourio | OF | $10-$14 | Chourio vs. Langford is a fun debate. I side Langford but I think he gets enough less playing time this year to nudge Chourio over the top. |
| 31 | Wyatt Langford | OF | $10-$14 | As a hitter, he brings everything to the table. |
| 32 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | OF | $10-$14 | The OBP won’t be great and might be bad. The SB aren’t super helpful, so the floor isn’t as high. And all the injuries. There is upside, but I am going to be cautious outside 5×5. |
| 33 | Teoscar Hernández | OF | $10-$14 | Not often does a landing spot move the needle a ton, but this is a perfect fit. Good power park, org that can maximize his value. Big fan. |
| 34 | Josh Lowe | OF | $10-$14 | He looked like he was toast mid-season, and instead bounced back in a big way. The future is bright. |
| 35 | TJ Friedl | OF | $10-$14 | Last season looks like a power breakout at first glance, but it was really just a playing time breakout. That barrel rate is really low, though, so there’s risk here. |
| 36 | Eloy Jiménez | OF | $10-$14 | I know some of the projections look closer to $20, but at some point I wonder if a guy is just too beat up to get back to what he is capable of. |
| 37 | Max Kepler | OF | $6-$9 | I had him lower down in this tier, but then I wrote the note “He was over 5.5 P/G as a starter this year” and realized that, yes he is volatile, but he could also be a top 20 OF pretty easily. |
| 38 | Steven Kwan | OF | $6-$9 | He should cheat for power more often, trying to guess and swing hard. If he gets a strike, he is good enough with the bat to fall behind and still put the ball in play. But he was well under 5 P/G last year. |
| 39 | LaMonte Wade Jr. | 1B/OF | $6-$9 | He was over 5.25 P/G as a starter last year. |
| 40 | Kerry Carpenter | OF | $6-$9 | I went back and forth on Carpenter and the next guy like 5 times. |
| 41 | Jarren Duran | OF | $6-$9 | He turned a corner last year and I think there is room for more power to push him even higher. |
| 42 | Lane Thomas | OF | $6-$9 | A high pull-rate helps him beat his xwOBA, but I still see some risk that makes me nervous. |
| 43 | Kris Bryant | 1B/OF | $6-$9 | Projections say $10-$13 and the market is telling me $4-$5. That is often a good place to find a buy low candidate. |
| 44 | Joc Pederson | OF | $6-$9 | Projections here are all over the place but he could push $10 in value. |
| 45 | Nick Castellanos | OF | $6-$9 | He’s been so up and down, and I am just no longer willing to chase the upside. |
| 46 | Jake Fraley | OF | $6-$9 | He can’t hit lefties but he can’t be benched against righties. |
| 47 | Chas McCormick | OF | $6-$9 | He seems like he should be a slap-hitting, glove-first OF, but he had a double-digit barrel rate and while his xwOBA was below his wOBA, it was still really good. |
| 48 | Byron Buxton | Util | $6-$9 | I don’t believe he can stay healthy and after last year I am not sure how good he will be even if he is healthy. |
| 49 | Taylor Ward | OF | $6-$9 | He projects in the mid-teens, but that feels high until you realize that it’s basically the average of his last three years. Maybe 2022 was just an outlier but if I can find out for <$10, I am in. |
| 50 | Jack Suwinski | OF | $6-$9 | The sum of his parts will be in this range, but if you can somehow predict the freezing cold streaks and the fiery hot streaks, you could do even better. |
| 51 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | $6-$9 | The obscene max EVs still exist, but he doesn’t get into them as much as he used to, even when he is on the field. |
| 52 | Jung Hoo Lee 이정후 | Util | $6-$9 | He looks a bit like a poor man’s Ha-Seong Kim 김하성, without MI eligibility, but the projections like him a lot more and I don’t trust my own analysis of KBO stats to override them. |
| 53 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | OF | $6-$9 | He just never consistently became the more explosive player I thought he might. |
| 54 | Brent Rooker | OF | $6-$9 | He was worth closer to double digits last year, but you don’t want to pay full price for that. |
| 55 | Jarred Kelenic | OF | $6-$9 | I wanted to put him in the $3-$5 tier, but I would rather have a $6 Kelenic, if Atlanta believes in him, than miss out when he goes for $5. |
| 56 | Jasson Domínguez | OF | $3-$5 | Shame that he isn’t healthy to start the year, because he looks like he is going to be fun. |
| 57 | Dylan Crews | OF | $3-$5 | A lot of hope that he will be up this year, but I am dubious. There’s no rush and holding his rookie eligibility until next year has value because of the draft pick compenstation for ROY voting. |
| 58 | Alex Kirilloff | 1B/OF | $3-$5 | He was better than I think people realize last year and while there is injury risk, I would rather take a shot at his upside than some of the safer, more boring players below him. |
| 59 | James Outman | OF | $3-$5 | His results were solid last year, but a lot of strikeouts and a very high BABIP leaves me wondering how sustainable it is. |
| 60 | Nelson Velázquez | OF | $3-$5 | He probably can’t keep up a 21% barrel rate, but he earned every bit of his performance last year. |
| 61 | Alex Verdugo | OF | $3-$5 | I am sure I am the low man on Verdugo, but I don’t really get the appeal. The volume is good. The rate of production is really bad. And depending which projection system you like, there is no guarantee he even belongs in the Yankees daily lineup. |
| 62 | James Wood | OF | $3-$5 | I am always a little nervous about tall hitters, especially when they show a propensity to K a lot. The power is huge, but he is still a year away and he feels risky to me. |
| 63 | Matt Wallner | OF | $3-$5 | The things I said about Wood apply here, but he did manage to put up an excellent debut season. The red flags do exist though. |
| 64 | Tyler O’Neill | OF | $3-$5 | Hard not to dream on that 2021 season when we all know it happened. |
| 65 | Jesús Sánchez | OF | $3-$5 | I wasn’t sure I really bought his 2023, but looking closer, it’s hard to find a reason to be down on him. Putting together better plate discipline and better contact quality. |
| 66 | Will Benson | OF | $3-$5 | He has shown an ability to adjust and bring his K down in the minors, which is enough to balance out my concern that if he takes a step back, he might never play. |
| 67 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | $3-$5 | As long as he keeps showing up to work at Coors, you can keep plugging him into your lineup in Coors. |
| 68 | Wilyer Abreu | OF | $3-$5 | He seemed to make big strides in his K-rate in AAA last year, and he needs to bring those to MLB before he is valued much higher than this. |
| 69 | Mark Canha | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | He isn’t a bad offensive player, but he lacks the power that players need to succeed in this format. |
| 70 | Bryan De La Cruz | OF | $1-$2 | If he only lived up to his xwOBA, things would be great, and if he only pulled the ball more, I think he would live up to his xwOBA. |
| 71 | Chase DeLauter | OF | $1-$2 | I am higher on Delauter than most, but I don’t expect to see him much this year, so his price stays down. |
| 72 | Heston Kjerstad | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | He doesn’t strike out much and makes hard contact, and that is a pretty good recipe for eventual success. |
| 73 | Colton Cowser | OF | $1-$2 | I might like him more than Kjerstad. I might not. It depends on the day and how I feel about unique last names vs. alliteration. |
| 74 | Hunter Goodman | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | Count on him in Coors; hope he can be used elsewhere. |
| 75 | Cedric Mullins | OF | $1-$2 | His performance the last two years has been so weak for this format, I am running out of willingness to keep giving him chances. |
| 76 | Mike Yastrzemski | OF | $1-$2 | Similar, but it has been three bad seasons. |
| 77 | Tommy Pham | OF | $1-$2 | It isn’t impossible for him to move up a tier, but until he has a role, I can’t justify going there. |
| 78 | Roman Anthony | OF | $1-$2 | More or less the same as Delauter (except I like Delauter better). |
| 79 | Luke Raley | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | I wanted to put him up a tier or two just to justify all the $5+ Raleys I have on my rosters, but goodness did he fall off and moving to Seattle won’t help. |
| 80 | Drew Gilbert | OF | $1-$2 | After the move to the Mets org, he showed more pop and more ability to get the ball in the air. He is probably not going to have much fantasy impact this year, but I am very high on the future. |
| 81 | Daulton Varsho | OF | $1-$2 | He finished strong and I think he is a bit forgotten, but losing that C doesn’t have to make him completely worthless if he can build on his August/September. |
| 82 | Parker Meadows | OF | $1-$2 | Meadows might be a better real life than fantasy guy – his bat is above average for a CF, but not for an Ottoneu OF. |
| 83 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | OF | $1-$2 | He’s a glove-first guy, but he can hit enough – IF he can keep the strikeouts in check – to have some value and a bit of upside. |
| 84 | Michael Conforto | OF | $1-$2 | There’s at least a chance it took a while for the shoulder to get healthy again and there are worse places to spend a couple bucks on upside. |
| 85 | Austin Hays | OF | $1-$2 | Looking at wOBA or P/G it looks like he bounced back. Looking closer, the his power is still way down and the rebound is off of BABIP. |
| 86 | Brandon Marsh | OF | $1-$2 | The BABIP will correct and the question is how much? But even with a relatively high BABIP he is probably just a $3-$4 player, and it’s risky to count on that. |
| 87 | Emmanuel Rodriguez | OF | $1-$2 | I know some people love him, but the high K-rates make me nervous and he is still not close to MLB. |
| 88 | Spencer Jones | OF | $1-$2 | Potential is super high. Amount of development needed is also pretty high. We might see him next year, but I would bet on 2026 being his first meaningful fantasy impact. |
| 89 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | $1-$2 | We talk a lot about pitchers aging by changing their approach, developing a new pitch, learning to pitch at lower velo, etc. Cutch has sorta done the hitter version of that, gracefully aging into a plate discipline and line drives kind of guy. |
| 90 | Hunter Renfroe | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | Fewer fly balls, lower exit velocity, fewer barrels. And his game relies on those things. But only a year removed from a strong season. |
| 91 | Seth Brown | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | There were still a decent number of barrels off his bat in a down 2023, but the upside is “useful” rather than “star” or even “guy you should start everyday.” |
| 92 | Justyn-Henry Malloy | 3B/OF | $1-$2 | All he does is hit everywhere he goes. But he needs to find a defensive home and the Tigers appear to be in no rush to get that done. |
| 93 | Ryan O’Hearn | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | He projects to be useful but not as good as last year, and I am buying those projections. |
| 94 | Connor Joe | 1B/OF | $1-$2 | Another example of a guy who left Coors without taking a major hit, but keep in mind he really needs to be platooned and sat vs. RHP. |
| 95 | Jose Siri | OF | $1-$2 | 25 HR is good. 25 HR with too many K, not enough walk, and too few hits is a recipe for still being below replacement level in Ottoneu. He avoids that fate, but only barely. |
| 96 | Sean Bouchard | OF | $1-$2 | It’s not totally clear to me where his PA come from, which is keeping me from fully buying in on his projections. Promise me a starting role, and I am pushing up to $5. |
| 97 | Adam Duvall | OF | $1-$2 | I just want to know where he will be and what his role will look like before taking the plunge. |
| 98 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | $1-$2 | I know the projections want me to believe he is a $7 player but I just cannot for the life of me figure out why they want me to think that. |
| 99 | Owen Caissie | OF | $0-$1 | It’s a 30 hit tool. But, 80 raw power? Except the hit tool is just a 30. Yeah, but the raw power is 80! He’s a guy to watch this year. |
| 100 | Edward Olivares | OF | $0-$1 | He appears to be in line for a small side platoon role and I am not sure he hits enough to justify a roster spot in that role. |
| 101 | Jason Heyward | OF | $0-$1 | Solid strong-side platoon bat, but he gets pulled for PH often enough that his P/G was still pretty weak. |
| 102 | Jonny DeLuca | OF | $0-$1 | The good: he puts the ball in play and has a bit of pop. The bad: RH bat on the Rays means he only starts vs. LHP and gets pulled when the other team goes to the pen. |
| 103 | Andy Pages | OF | $0-$1 | Decent chance he’s just buried in LA and that will keep me from getting too excited. |
| 104 | Mitch Haniger | OF | $0-$1 | I could see spending a buck in the hopes that a return to Seattle lifts his spirit and, with it, his wOBA. |
| 105 | Trevor Larnach | OF | $0-$1 | He was one of my favorite prospects, which has to leave you wondering why you have read more than 100 of these comments from me. |
| 106 | Alek Thomas | OF | $0-$1 | Uh, him too. |
| 107 | Oscar Colás | OF | $0-$1 | Last year didn’t go well and reports are that he will be getting every day reps in AAA rather than joining the big league roster, which makes him more of a watchlist guy for me. |
| 108 | Sal Frelick | OF | $0-$1 | Another guy with dollar figure projections that don’t align with his performance. Calculators are spitting out $5 or so and I’m not sure I even want to roster him. |
| 109 | Esteury Ruiz | OF | $0-$1 | It’s little more than a hope right now, but his September was great and the team seems to think he can get to another level and I kinda think it’s worth taking a shot. |
| 110 | Mike Tauchman | OF | $0-$1 | He’s probably a $2-$3 guy if he is playing, but I just don’t believe he holds the job over PCA. |
| 111 | Austin Slater | OF | $0-$1 | Still crushes lefties. |
| 112 | Ramón Laureano | OF | $0-$1 | It’s a run on lefty-killers! |
| 113 | Harold Ramírez | OF | $0-$1 | Small side platoon bat whose value is entirely caught up in BABIP. |
| 114 | Garrett Mitchell | OF | $0-$1 | His minor league track record suggests he might be able to lower the K-rate, but it’s far from a guarantee. |
| 115 | George Valera | OF | $0-$1 | He was once one of my favorite prospects, but the reason I don’t roster guys who are multiple years away is because there is too much to learn before they get to MLB. |
| 116 | Joey Wiemer | OF | $0-$1 | He almost has to hit more LD than he did last year, but will it be enough to matter? |
| 117 | Everson Pereira | OF | $0-$1 | The scouting grades on the power are good but you have to make contact before the contact can be loud. |
| 118 | Joey Gallo | 1B/OF | $0-$1 | The strikeouts have gotten just enough worse and the top end EV just enough lower that the balance no longer works. |
| 119 | Trent Grisham | OF | $0-$1 | Increased his walks, barrels and EV last year, which brought up his xwOBA, though his wOBA didn’t come with it. Wouldn’t be shocked if he has a solid season. |
| 120 | Dylan Carlson | OF | $0-$1 | There’s really nothing under the hood to make me think a breakout is coming. |
| 121 | Alec Burleson | 1B/OF | $0-$1 | Being a Cardinals OF prospect has not been a very successful career choice lately. |
| 122 | Eddie Rosario | OF | $0-$1 | He’ll land somewhere and he’ll be picked up by a bunch of fantasy managers just after a hot streak and dropped again the next week. |
| 123 | Starling Marte | OF | $0-$1 | He was never really built for FanGraphs Points and decline is likely setting in. |
| 124 | DJ Stewart | OF | $0-$1 | He suddenly looked like a stud last year, but I don’t think he has the batted ball quality to maintain that HR/FB rate. |
| 125 | Patrick Wisdom | 1B/3B/OF | $0-$1 | You would expect a guy with this much power to be over 5 P/G as a starter, but he’s just not a conventional Wisdom. |
| 126 | Kyle Stowers | OF | $0 | If he can make some plate discipline adjustments, he could be an interesting bat, but he probably requires a trade to find regular time. |
| 127 | Dustin Harris | 1B/OF | $0 | I feel like he might be a decent player but he is like the 83rd choice OF for Texas at the moment. |
| 128 | Nick Senzel | 3B/OF | $0 | If he can stay on the field, he’ll get one last shot. |
| 129 | Mickey Moniak | OF | $0 | Moniak wasn’t good last year and I don’t think he’ll be good this year, but he’s better than Adell and one of them has to play I guess. |
| 130 | Jo Adell | OF | $0 | He is out of options and that is about the only thing he has going for him at this point. |
| 131 | Lawrence Butler | OF | $0 | I get the power upside, but that feels like a future thing more than a right now thing. |
| 132 | Spencer Horwitz | 1B/OF | $0 | Underpowered 1B prospects trying to play the OF aren’t my jam. |
| 133 | Juan Yepez | 1B/OF | $0 | The Nats are turning into the land of misfit toys and Yepez is their latest addition (and one I will watch to see how he does). |
| 134 | Jonatan Clase | OF | $0 | His first look at the high minors wasn’t particularly impressive, other than the billion stolen bases. |
| 135 | Luis Matos | OF | $0 | A low-K, low-power OF who makes his MLB living by playing solid CF defense, not by hitting. |
| 136 | Nick Pratto | 1B/OF | $0 | In 527 MLB PA he has a .290 wOBA despite a .340 BABIP. A 38.7% K rate will do that to you. |
| 137 | Corey Julks | OF | $0 | I don’t believe in the bat and I get the sense the Astros don’t either. |
| 138 | Alexander Canario | OF | $0 | His 30-grade hit tool showed up in all it’s glory in his brief MLB cup of coffee. |
| 139 | Walker Jenkins | Util | $0 | Sky is the limit and we’ll find out if he reaches that limit in like 3 years. |
| 140 | Max Clark | OF | $0 | Sky just below Jenkins is the limit and we’ll find out if he reaches that limit in like 3 years. |
| 141 | Dominic Canzone | OF | $0 | There was talk the Mariners wanted Canzone to be the strong side of a platoon and then they traded for Luke Raley. |
| 142 | Brennen Davis | OF | $0 | Justin Vibber and I used to argue about Davis vs George Valera and we kinda both lost (though I lost less). |
| 143 | Leody Taveras | OF | $0 | His biggest fantasy impact may be being talented enough defensively to keep Wyatt Langford in AAA for a bit. |
| 144 | Kevin Alcántara | OF | $0 | He’s on my watchlist for later this year or maybe next off-season. |
| 145 | Druw Jones | OF | $0 | He’s still a top 100 guy on some lists and he’s still highly interesting. |
| 146 | Aaron Hicks | OF | $0 | As good as he was in Baltimore, he still struggled for this format. Want to bet on a healthy, better season? |
| 147 | Kala’i Rosario | OF | $0 | The power is fun but he’s not close and needs to improve his hit tool a decent amount. |
| 148 | Lazaro Montes | OF | $0 | You can dream on the power but you’ll be asleep for a long, long time. |
| 149 | Yanquiel Fernandez | OF | $0 | 70 grade power at Coors is fun, but he’s not ready yet and not a good enough prospect that I want to sit on him for too long. |
| 150 | Matt Rudick | OF | $0 | Succeeding in AA at 24 doesn’t get me too excited. |
| 151 | Jakob Marsee | OF | $0 | First extended look at high minors pitching will be telling. |
| 152 | Miguel Andujar | 1B/OF | $0 | He kinda hit just year so maybe he’s interesting? |
| 153 | Keston Hiura | 1B/OF | $0 | Are we still talking about Keston Hiura? |
| 154 | Kevin Kiermaier | OF | $0 | Kiermaier really wasn’t bad last year. He wasn’t exactly good or useful in this format, though. |
| 155 | Rece Hinds | OF | $0 | Big power potential but it’ll be hard to find PA with the Reds. |
| 156 | JJ Bleday | OF | $0 | Getting out of Miami didn’t help. |
| 157 | Drew Waters | OF | $0 | He’s not turning a corner. |
| 158 | Harrison Bader | OF | $0 | The Mets don’t really plan to use him daily in their lineup, right? |
| 159 | Will Brennan | OF | $0 | Guardians seemingly chose him over Nolan Jones and Will Benson. They are…uh…higher on this list. |
| 160 | Tyler Nevin | 1B/3B/OF | $0 | I can’t really figure out why the Orioles wanted him. |
| 161 | Randal Grichuk | OF | $0 | He really struggled away from Coors and now it’s unclear if he is going to have a regular role. |
| 162 | Dominic Fletcher | OF | $0 | He needs to find more power and I am not sure where it is coming from (or if he’ll even get a shot to find it against MLB pitching). |
| 163 | Matt Vierling | 3B/OF | $0 | He is going to start the year at 3B, it seems, but I doubt he ends it in the lineup. |
| 164 | Oscar Gonzalez | OF | $0 | We’ll always have SpongeBob and that one miraculous postseason. |
| 165 | Rob Refsnyder | OF | $0 | The track record suggests 2022 was a one time thing |
| 166 | Jake McCarthy | OF | $0 | Sometimes it pays to trust what the xwOBA is telling you. |
| 167 | Stone Garrett | OF | $0 | Small side platoon bat with a tenuous grasp on a job not set to be ready for Opening Day. |
| 168 | Trey Cabbage | 1B/OF | $0 | You want to believe the K-rate can’t stay THIS bad but his player page tells you it can. |
| 169 | Jurickson Profar | OF | $0 | He’s now 30 and I think we can say he won’t become the star everyone expected. |
| 170 | Pavin Smith | 1B/OF | $0 | We’re stuck in the middle of a bunch of guys you won’t roster and ranking then is really not easy. |
| 171 | Robert Hassell III | OF | $0 | He completely fell off the radar but if he starts to inch his way back, remember the pedigree. |
| 172 | Zac Veen | OF | $0 | Two atrocious seasons in AA and that is enough for me. |
| 173 | Tyler Gentry | OF | $0 | Not a super notable prospect in our world |
| 174 | Nathan Martorella | 1B/OF | $0 | At least he’s in an org with like 2 other total OF. |
| 175 | Jimmy Herron | OF | $0 | He’s 27 and hasn’t appeared in a FanGraphs article in almost 6 years. |
| 176 | Manuel Margot | OF | $0 | Wrong side of the platoon. |
| 177 | Estevan Florial | OF | $0 | He apparently made some adjustments late last year so I guess we just hope those stick? |
| 178 | Cody Milligan | OF | $0 | No pop and no path to playing time. |
| 179 | Victor Robles | OF | $0 | Even if you wanted to try to believe in the talent, lingering back issues aren’t a great thing. |
| 180 | Jared Walsh | 1B/OF | $0 | OF eligibility is probably the only reason he’s rostered enough to be on this list. |
| 181 | Wil Myers | 1B/OF | $0 | He’s older than I thought and to be honest his career has been better than I thought. |
| 182 | Brian Anderson | 3B/OF | $0 | Hasn’t had a productive Ottoneu season in years. |
| 183 | Austin Meadows | OF | $0 | I hope he’s doing well. |
| 184 | Myles Straw | OF | $0 | He’s not going to hit and if he does it’ll be in a way that does nothing for us here. |
A long-time fantasy baseball veteran and one of the creators of ottoneu, Chad Young's writes for RotoGraphs and PitcherList, and can be heard on the ottobot podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @chadyoung.
I came for the always helpful commentary, I stayed for the Wisdom jokes.