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

The #1 rated prospect by Baseball America heading into 2018, Acuna Jr. did not disappoint en route to winning National League Rookie of the Year. Now just 21 years old, he batted .293 with 26 homers, 26 doubles, and 16 stolen bases in 111 games. He also finished 12th in National League MVP voting. Acuna Jr. clearly has the athleticism to become more of an asset in the field.

Soto had one of the best season ever by a teenager during his rookie year of 2018, as he just turned 20 on October 25. He played 116 games and batted .292, walked 79 times, and had a .923 OPS. Soto also clubbed 22 home runs and 25 doubles. He was called up after just 122 career games in the minors where he batted .362. The defense could use some work for the 2018 National League Rookie of the Year runner-up, but that is somewhat expected for someone who was playing as a teenager.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network was the first to report Harper's mega-deal of 13 years, $330 million on Thursday. The 26-year-old Harper played in 159 games last year and hit .249 with 34 homers, 34 doubles, and 13 stolen bases. Philadelphia is likely hoping for more seasons like 2015 when he showed his full potential and was named National League MVP. Harper graded out poorly as a right fielder in 2018 and it is not yet clear whether him or Andrew McCutchen will man left field.

After a stellar 2017 season with the Marlins that saw him win a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, things didn't go quite as well for the 28-year-old Ozuna in his first year with St. Louis. In 148 games, he went on to hit .280 with 23 home runs and 16 doubles. His OPS dipped 166 points from .924 in 2017 to .758 in 2018. It was the third straight year though and fourth time in the last five seasons that he has hammered at least 23 homers.

Peralta won his first Silver Slugger in 2018 easily setting a new career-best with 30 home runs (previous best was 17). The 31-year-old played in 146 games and also hit .293 with 25 doubles. The .293 average equals his career mark. He grades out as a mostly-average defensive outfielder.

The 29-year-old Dickerson earned his first Gold Glove in 2018 in what was also his first season with Pittsburgh. He was an asset on offense as well hitting an even .300 with 13 home runs and 35 doubles last year in 135 games. It was the third time in the last five years that Dickerson has hit at least .300 (albeit the first two times coming when he played his home games at Coors Field as a member of the Rockies).

Multiple disabled list trips (now known as the injured list) caused Myers to appear in only 83 games in 2018. Now 28 years old, he went on to hit .253 to go along with 11 homers, 25 doubles, and 13 stolen bases. He combined for 58 home runs and 48 steals in 2016-17 when he was relatively healthy. The versatile Myers started at four different positions last year, 30 of which came in left field.

Long seen as one of Colorado's top prospects, Dahl should finally get the opportunity to play every day in the big leagues. He played in 77 games for the Rockies last year hitting .273 with 16 home runs and 11 doubles. This comes off a 2017 season that saw him not appear in the majors due to injury. The 24-year-old has appeared at all three outfield positions for Colorado, but he has mostly played left field.

Getting ready to enter his fifth season as a regular outfielder for the Dodgers, Peterson hit a career-best .248 last year. In 148 games, the 26-year-old also clubbed 25 home runs and 27 doubles. It was the third time in his career that he has hit at least 25 long balls. After spending the majority of his career in center field, he began transitioning to left last year and should mostly play there after the signing of A.J. Pollock.

Turning 26 on March 5, Schwarber hasn't quite performed like the hype around him suggests. While he hit 26 homers last year (and 30 in 2017), he also batted just .238 (an atrocious .211 in 2017). He did walk 78 times last year giving him a more than respectable .356 on-base percentage. Outfield can remain an adventure for him although he's not the major liability that he previously was.

The 35-year-old Braun is no longer the hitter that was a perennial All-Star, but he can still produce. The 2011 National League MVP played 125 games last year and accumulated a .254 average with 20 homers, 25 doubles, and 11 stolen bases. While the .782 OPS he posted is still above league-average, it was the second-worst of his 12-year career. He's not a Gold Glover in the outfield, but he doesn't hurt his team out there either.

Winker struggled in right field last year, but perhaps a switch to left after the acquisition of Yasiel Puig will help. The 25-year-old Winker already shows excellent plate discipline with more walks (49) than strikeouts (46) in 2018. In 89 games, he hit .299 with seven homers and 16 doubles.

The Mets outfield picture isn't exactly clear, but McNeil should have a good chance of seeing regular time due to his hitting last year. After finally reaching the majors last year, he played in 63 games and batted .329 with three homers, 11 doubles, and seven steals. He struck out just 24 times in 248 plate appearances. McNeil turns 27 on April 8.

While Granderson was signed to a minor league deal, he seems to have the inside track at the starting left field position for a Miami team not expected to contend. He played in 123 games for the Blue Jays and Brewers in 2018 and had a .242 average to go along with 13 homers and 22 doubles. Turning 38 on March 16, he still shows the ability to draw walks and ended with a .351 on-base percentage last year.

The Giants' outfield doesn't strike much fear into opponents right now which is why they tried hard to sign Bryce Harper. For now, the 28-year-old Williamson seems like the favorite to start Opening Day in left field. He has appeared in action during each of the last four seasons for San Francisco but has only totaled 120 games played and 339 plate appearances. He is a career .222 hitter with 13 homers.