Ranking the projected starting left fielders in the American League in 2019

After finishing as the runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year in 2017, Benintendi followed up with a solid season last year. In 148 games, the 24-year-old hit .290 with 16 homers, 41 doubles, 103 runs, and 21 steals. He has finished with 11 outfield assists in both of the last two years to lead all major league left fielders.

Despite seeing action in the last 12 major league seasons, Upton is still just 31 years old. In 145 games last year, he batted .257 with 30 home runs. It was the third straight season and fourth time in his career that he has reached the 30-homer threshold. He has been named an All-Star four times and won a Silver Slugger on three occasions.

Pham was superb for Tampa Bay in the 39 games he played for them last year after being acquired from the Cardinals. Altogether with the two teams, he played in 137 games finishing with a .275 average, 21 home runs, 18 doubles, 15 steals, and 102 runs. He hit .343 during his time with the Rays. Pham has plenty of experience in center field as well.

The 31-year-old Brantley joins the Astros after spending his first 10 MLB seasons with Cleveland. It was a nice season for him in 2018 as he hit .309 with 17 home runs, 36 doubles, and 12 steals in 143 games. He was able to stay relatively healthy compared to the two previous seasons when he combine to only appear in 101 games. Brantley rates as fairly average in the field according to defensive metrics.`

Getting ready to enter his fifth MLB season, the 27-year-old Rosario continues to put up above-average production at the plate. In 138 games in 2018, he hit .288 while clubbing 24 home runs and 31 doubles. Those are very similar numbers to the .290, 27, and 33 he had respectively in 2017. He led the league for most errors in the outfield last year with nine.

It's mostly feast or famine with Gallo who hit more homers (40) than singles (38) last year while striking out a ghastly 207 times. His batting average was ugly at .206, but he also walked 74 times allowing his on-base percentage to at least be somewhat respectable at .312. The 25-year-old has hit 81 long balls over the last two seasons. Gallo grades as an average outfielder on defense.

Not counting his first year in 2008 when he made just 141 plate appearances, Gardner posted his lowest average (.236) and OPS (.690) of his career in 2018. In 140 games, he also totaled 12 home runs, 20 doubles, and 16 stolen bases. The 35-year-old remains excellent in the field even as age is creeping up on him.

Turning 27 on March 18, Mancini is entering his third season as a regular with Baltimore. His batting average fell 51 points last year to .242 after it was an impressive .293 in 2017 (finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting that year). He appeared in 156 games in 2018 and connected on 24 home runs and 23 doubles. His defense in the outfield leaves a lot to be desired.

After a surprising 30-homer season with the Brewers in 2017, Santana's numbers dropped precipitously last year as he lost his job as a regular. Appearing in 85 games, the 26-year-old ended the year with a .265 average, just five home runs, and 14 doubles. If he does play left field for Seattle, it will be the first time he has made an appearance there since the 2016 season.

Gordon doesn't come close to resembling the player who earned three straight trips to the All-Star Game from 2013-15. Last year, he finished up with a .245 average, 13 homers, 24 doubles, and 12 stolen bases. His offensive season in 2018 was actually better for the most part than the previous two years. Despite the regression on offense, the 35-year-old Gordon remains excellent in the field winning his sixth Gold Glove last year.

Goodrum started at six different positions last year for Detroit but is expected to start the season at third base. He ended up playing 131 games in 2018 finishing with a .245 average, 16 home runs, 29 doubles, and 12 steals. He entered last season with just 18 career plate appearances with the Twins, all of which came in 2017. Goodrum turns 27 on February 28.

Grossman is expected to man left field for Oakland after spending the last three seasons with the Twins. In 129 games last year, the 29-year-old batted .273 with five home runs and 27 doubles. The homer total dipped from the 20 he hit when combining 2016 and 2017. Expect Grossman to be utilized as a designated hitter at times as he has never performed very well in the field.

Palka finished last year with a fifth-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting. The 27-year-old got a late start to the majors as 2018 was his first taste of big-league action. He played in 124 games and batted .250 with 27 home runs, the same amount he has in 155 Triple-A games. He has little range in the field and will likely spend time as designated hitter when Eloy Jimenez is called up which CBS Sports reports should happen early on in the season.

After the first 39 plate appearances of his big-league career in 2017, Allen saw 291 last year. Turning 26 on March 15, he ended up with a .257 average, two home runs, 11 doubles, and 21 steals. He has converted 157-199 (78.9 percent) of his stolen base tries in the minor leagues. With his speed, he should cover a lot of ground in the outfield although he hasn't yet graded all that well on defense.

Included in the deal that sent J.A. Happ to the Yankees last July, the 24-year-old McKinney played a total of 38 games last year (36 of those coming with Toronto). He went 30-119 (.252) with six homers and seven doubles. McKineey has played in 131 Triple-A games owning a .258 average with 26 home runs.