Here are my rankings for projected starting American League right fielders. As a subjective list, many of the players (particularly toward the middle) can be considered almost interchangeable as to where they are ranked.

To see my rankings for American League center fielders, click here. For National League, click here.

1. Aaron Judge - New York Yankees

  • 2017 stats: 678 PA, .284 BA, 1.049 OPS, 52 HR, 24 2B, 3 3B, 114 RBIs, 128 R, 9 SB

Judge's incredible 2017 saw him take home American League Rookie of the Year honors and finish as runner-up to Jose Altuve for American League MVP.

He led the league in home runs (also set a new rookie record), runs, and walks. He also led the league with 208 strikeouts, a number he will likely need to cut down in order to maintain near a .284 Batting Average.

2. Mookie Betts - Boston Red Sox

  • 2017 stats: 712 PA, .264 BA, .803 OPS, 24 HR, 46 2B, 2 3B, 102 RBIs, 101 R, 26 SB

Betts won a Gold Glove for the second straight year in 2017 and finished sixth in American League MVP voting (finished second in 2016). While still having an excellent offensive season, his stats took a nosedive from the .318 batting average, .897 OPS, and 31 homers he finished with in 2016. His 77 walks last year though easily surpassed his previous career-high of 49.

3. Josh Reddick - Houston Astros

  • 2017 stats: 540 PA, .314 BA, .847 OPS, 13 HR, 34 2B, 4 3B, 82 RBIs, 77 R, 7 SB

In what was his ninth season, Reddick posted career-bests in batting average, on-base percentage (.363), slugging percentage (.484), and doubles last year. While it doesn't look like he will ever hit 32 homers again like he did in 2012, he has increased his batting average in four straight seasons.

4. Mitch Haniger - Seattle Mariners

  • 2017 stats: 410 PA, .282 BA, .843 OPS, 16 HR, 25 2B, 2 3B, 47 RBIs, 58 R, 5 SB

Haniger got a late start to his career as he is 27 years old, and last season was his first full one. An excellent hitter in the minors in both 2015 and 2016, he continued to do the same with the Mariners in 2017.

A 30 double, 20 homer season could be in the cards this season with more playing time.

5. Avisail Garcia - Chicago White Sox

  • 2017 stats: 561 PA, .330 BA, .885 OPS, 18 HR, 27 2B, 5 3B, 80 RBIs, 75 R, 5 SB

After hitting .250 with the White Sox from 2014-16, Garcia seemingly came out of nowhere to finish last year second in the American League in batting average. Another season like 2017 will definitely have the 26-year-old climbing up this list.

6. Lonnie Chisenhall - Cleveland Indians

  • 2017 stats: 270 PA, .288 BA, .881 OPS, 12 HR, 17 2B, 1 3B, 53 RBIs, 34 R, 2 SB

The 29-year-old Chisenhall was well on his way to a career-year in 2017, but unfortunately, a calf injury shelved him for half the season.

He ended the year with an .881 OPS which is 111 points higher than any of his other six seasons. He also walked 25 times, two more than both 2015 and 2016 despite much fewer plate appearances.

7. Carlos Gomez - Tampa Bay Rays

  • 2017 stats: 426 PA, .255 BA, .802 OPS, 17 HR, 23 2B, 1 3B, 51 RBIs, 51 R, 13 SB

Gomez may never reach his levels of 2013-14 when he was elite offensively and defensively, but he had a nice bounce-back season in 2017. He finished with an .802 OPS after combining for just a .703 in 2015-16. With Kevin Kiermaier fully entrenched in center, he will move over to right field with the Rays.

8. Max Kepler - Minnesota Twins

  • 2017 stats: 568 PA, .243 BA, .737 OPS, 19 HR, 32 2B, 2 3B, 69 RBIs, 67 R, 6 SB

Kepler has had similar offensive years in both of his two full seasons.

He hit for a much higher batting average in the minors so the Twins believe the 25-year-old can soon replicate that in the majors. Defensive metrics say that he fields at an above-average level in right field.

9. Kole Calhoun - Los Angeles Angels

  • 2017 stats: 654 PA, .244 BA, .725 OPS, 19 HR, 23 2B, 2 3B, 71 RBIs, 77 R, 5 SB

While Calhoun walked a career-high 71 times in 2017, he also had his worst batting average in any season. Appearing in about 150 games a year since 2014, he has averaged 26 doubles and 20 home runs over the past four seasons.

10. Nomar Mazara - Texas Rangers

  • 2017 stats: 616 PA, .253 BA, .745 OPS, 20 HR, 30 2B, 2 3B, 101 RBIs, 64 R, 2 SB

Mazara has hit 20 home runs in each of his first two seasons.

Last year, he was light years better at home with a .298 batting average and .851 OPS compared to .206 and .636 respectively in away games. He made six errors in the outfield in 2017 (three in both left and right field) and rates as well-below average according to metrics.

11. Nick Castellanos - Detroit Tigers

  • 2017 stats: 665 PA, .272 BA, .811 OPS, 26 HR, 36 2B, 10 3B, 101 RBIs, 73 R, 4 SB

Castellanos provided a strong offensive season with 72 extra-base hits and over 100 RBIs for a bad Tigers team in 2017. He has seen his home run total increase each of the last four years. He was never a very good defensive third baseman so he moves to right field where he made 20 starts last year.

12. Stephen Piscotty - Oakland Athletics

  • 2017 stats: 401 PA, .235 BA, .708 OPS, 9 HR, 16 2B, 1 3B, 39 RBIs, 40 R, 3 SB

2017 was a major disappointment for Piscotty, and now he will look to regain his previous success with the Athletics. In his first two seasons of 2015-16, he owned a .282 batting average and .815 OPS. Those numbers dwindled down to .235 and .708 respectively last season.

13. Randal Grichuk - Toronto Blue Jays

  • 2017 stats: 442 PA, .238 BA, .758 OPS, 22 HR, 25 2B, 3 3B, 59 RBIs, 53 R, 6 SB

Since hitting .276 with an .877 OPS in his first extended time in 2015, Grichuk has seen his numbers decline to .239 and .764 respectively over the ensuing two seasons. While he has hit 54 doubles and 46 homers the past two years, he has only walked 54 times compared to 274 strikeouts.

14. Colby Rasmus - Baltimore Orioles

  • 2017 stats: 129 PA, .281 BA, .896 OPS, 9 HR, 7 2B, 1 3B, 23 RBIs, 17 R, 1 SB

On pace for the best offensive season of his nine-year career, Rasmus left the Rays after just 39 appearances in 2017 for personal reasons. A solid defensive outfielder, he averaged 21 home runs from 2012-16.

15. Paulo Orlando - Kansas City Royals

  • 2017 stats: 90 PA, .198 BA, .527 OPS, 2 HR, 3 2B, 0 3B, 6 RBIs, 9 R, 1 SB

An excellent contributor in 2016 when he hit .304 with 14 stolen bases, Orlando made a minimal impact with the Royals last season. He did hit .306 in 42 minor league games though so Kansas City can expect some improvement with more playing time.
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