Ranking the 15 projected starting National League left fielders

A year after finishing as runner-up to Ronald Acuna Jr. for NL Rookie of the Year, Soto finished ninth in NL MVP voting in 2019. Unbelievably just 21 years old, last year he hit .282 with a .949 OPS, 34 home runs, 110 RBIs, and 110 runs. He also connected on three more homers in Washington’s thrilling seven-game World Series victory over the Astros.

Turning 32 on March 8, Pham is heading into his first season with San Diego. While he hasn’t quite reached the heights he did in 2017 (when he finished 11th in NL MVP voting while with the Cardinals), he’s still been very good with a .274 batting average, .824 OPS, 42 homers, and 40 steals over the last two seasons. He’s made just one error in 259 career stats at left field.

It was a successful first year in the big leagues for Reynolds in 2019 as he finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He finished seventh in the NL with a .314 batting average and eighth with 37 doubles. He also posted an excellent .880 OPS. He performed admirably at all three outfield positions as well.

A year after winning his first Silver Slugger in 2018, Peralta won his first Gold Glove last season. While he’s one of the few players who regressed in the power department last year (30 homers in 2018, 12 in 2019), he still finished with an .806 OPS.

After a breakout 2017 season with the Marlins, Ozuna did not quite reach the same heights with the Cardinals in the following two years. Not that he was bad though, as in those two seasons, he hit .263 with 52 home runs. He won a Gold Glove in 2017 and remains a reliable glove in the outfield.

Edman could start the year at a few positions, but Fangraphs lists him at left field. The 24-year-old had an excellent rookie season in 2019 as he hit .304 with 11 home runs and 15 steals over 92 games. The switch-hitter put up strong numbers at both sides of the plate. He

Pederson is on the Dodgers for now as a trade with the Angels fell through. He’s always struggled against left-handed pitching, but he had a career-best 36 homers, 74 RBIs, and 83 runs in 2019.

While Schwarber will never be known as a Gold Glove-caliber outfielder, he has become quite valuable at bat. Last season, he hit .250 with 38 homers (tied for seventh in NL) and an .871 OPS. While the .250 batting average may not stand out, it was just two years prior that he hit .211 and was sent down to AAA for a brief time.

The 2013 NL MVP, McCutchen was limited to just 59 games in his first season with the Phillies last year due to a torn ACL. While he’s not quite the player he was in his prime (now 33 years old), he possesses a great eye at the plate. His injury-shortened season ended a streak of eight straight years with at least 20 homers.

While he was limited to just 78 games with the Pirates and Phillies last year, Dickerson once again had a good season with the bat. He hit .308 with a stellar .906 OPS. Dickerson averaged about 61 extra-base hits per year from 2016-18. A Gold Glove winner in 2018, he showed major regression in the field last year.

While 2017 may have been a fluke for Garcia when he hit .330, he rebounded nicely after a disappointing 2018. Last season, he hit .282 with 20 home runs and a .796 OPS with the Rays. He’s spent the majority of his career in right field, but is expected to move to left due to Christian Yelich firmly implanted in his former position.

If Hilliard hits like he did over his 77-at bat stunt in the majors (seven homers, 1.006 OPS), then he’ll shoot up this list. Turning 26 on February 21, he hit 35 home runs in 500 at bats in AAA along with 22 steals, so it’s not unreasonable to believe that he can have a successful year at the plate. He can play all three outfield positions well for Colorado.

If this was just based on offense, Davis would be higher. Unfortunately for him, he’s one of the worst defenders in the league whether in left field or third base. This spot would go to Yoenis Cespedes who missed all of last season with injury. According to SNY.tv, he has begun working out on the field, but there is no timetable for his return.

Winker didn’t take a step forward as was expected from the 334 plate appearances he had in 2018 with Cincinnati (had more walks than strikeouts while batting .299). He walked less, struck out more, and hit .269 with 16 homers. He did improve in the field somewhat from 2018 though, but there is still plenty of room for him to grow.

After missing both 2017 and 2018 with injuries, Dickerson made it back to the big leagues in 2019. In 68 games (with the Padres and Giants), he hit .276 with six home runs, 13 doubles, and an .820 OPS.