Ranking the 15 projected starting American League center fielders

Never mind just best AL center fielder, Trout has long been known by many as the best player in the game. He won his third AL MVP in 2019 (also finished runner-up four times) as he finished with career-highs in slugging percentage (.645) and homers (45). He also led the AL in on-base percentage for the fourth-straight year and OPS for the third-straight. He’s yet to win a Gold Glove, but he’s an above-average defensive center fielder as well.

Springer made his third-straight All-Star team and finished seventh in AL MVP voting in 2019. In 122 games, he hit .292, posted a .974 OPS, and connected on 39 home runs. The 2017 World Series MVP did commit a single error in center field last year.

The 31-year-old Merrifield was a first-time All-Star in 2019. He led the AL in hits (206) and triples (10) while also batting .302 with 16 home runs, 41 doubles, and an .811 OPS. He has made just 43 career starts in center field but hasn’t looked out of place there.

The 25-year-old Laureano was superb for Oakland in 2019, his first full season in the big leagues. In 123 games, he hit .288 with an .860 OPS, 24 homers, 29 doubles, and 13 steals. If he can improve on a subpar walk-to-strikeout ratio (27-to-123 last year), he’d become even more valuable.

Turning 36 on August 24 of last year, Gardner finished the season with career-bests in home runs (28), RBIs (74), and OPS (.829). He has also appeared in at least 140 games in each of the last seven seasons. He’s played nearly twice as much in left field as in center, but he’s always been a steadying figure in the outfield regardless of where he’s positioned.

The 26-year-old Buxton is arguably one of the best defensive players in the sport. The reason he’s not higher on the list is because he hadn’t been available enough (has played just 115 games over the past two seasons). The second overall pick in 2012 has improved a great deal at the plate, but Minnesota just wants him to be able to take the field more often.

The third-ranked prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com, Robert had a phenomenal year in the minors last year. The 22-year-old hit for a .328 batting average along with 32 homers, 92 RBIs, 108 runs, and 36 stolen bases in 122 games (combined in A+, AAA, and AAA). He can be counted on to track down any ball hit near his vicinity.

Santana’s career could be described as fairly nondescript entering last year as he appeared in 364 games without making much noise from 2014-18. He broke out for Texas in 2019 though hitting .283 with an .857 OPS, 28 homers, and 21 stolen bases. While he’s listed at center field, expect him to be moved all around the diamond (started at every position except catcher and pitcher last year).

The 25-year-old Mercado finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting last year. Over 482 plate appearances, he batted .269 with 15 homers, 25 doubles, and 15 steals. He doesn’t waste too many at bats with a low strikeout rate and possesses a strong arm in center field.

Much like Buxton, Kiermaier provides highlight-reel defense (won his third Gold Glove in 2019), but he often misses games with injury. Unlike Buxton, his offense has been getting worse. In the past two years, he owns a subpar .228 batting average and .280 on-base percentage.

A Gold Glove winner in 2018, Bradley Jr. has been unable to reproduce his 2016 All-Star season at the plate. Finishing with a .267 batting average and .835 OPS that season, those numbers have fallen to .234 and .727 respectively since 2017.

Don’t let the 31 homers he hit last year fool you, it wasn’t a great offensive season for Grichuk. He has always possessed warts at the plate (low walks, high strikeouts, low batting average) and that continued in 2019 as he hit .232 with 35 walks and 163 strikeouts. He’s split his career in center and right field, and he hasn’t been very good at either.

The 24-year-old Hays has 75 plate appearances with Baltimore last season and was productive (.309 batting average, .947 OPS). After a fabulous year in the minors in 2017, he didn’t nearly hit as well the following two years. In his brief time in the majors, he’s already shown he can excite the crowd with spectacular catches in center field.

Smith led the majors with his 46 steals in 2019, but otherwise, his first season in Seattle was a major disappointment. After a very good offensive season with Tampa Bay in 2018, he finished last year with ugly numbers (.227 batting average, .635 OPS). After an awful start to the year in center field, he rebounded nicely and began to make tough plays look easy.

While Jones improved from what was a downright miserable 2018 season at the plate, defensive metrics soured on him a great deal from that same 2018 season (where he was seen as an elite center fielder). His improvements in 2019 on offense still left him below-average in the league (.235 batting average, .740 OPS).