To see the rankings for projected starting American League left fielders, click here. For National League, click here.
To see the rankings for projected starting American League center fielders, click here.
1. Charlie Blackmon - Colorado Rockies
- 2017 stats: 725 PA, .331 BA, 1.000 OPS, 37 HR, 35 2B, 14 3B, 104 RBI, 137 R, 14 SB
Blackmon’s incredible 2017 season saw him win a batting title, win a Silver Slugger for the second straight year, and finish fifth in National League MVP voting. Besides batting average, he also led the league in runs, triples, and hits (213).
He does take advantage of playing his home games at Coors Field where he hit .391 with an insane 1.239 OPS last year.
2. Lorenzo Cain - Milwaukee Brewers
- 2017 stats: 645 PA, .300 BA, .803 OPS, 15 HR, 27 2B, 5 3B, 49 RBI, 86 R, 26 SB
Cain rejoins a Brewers team he started his career with in 2010. He hit at least .300 for the third time in four years in 2017. He also showed more patience at the plate last season as his 54 walks easily surpassed his previous career-high of 37.
3. Starling Marte - Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2017 stats: 339 PA, .275 BA, .712 OPS, 7 HR, 7 2B, 2 3B, 31 RBI, 48 R, 24 SB
Marte was suspended 80 games last year for violating baseball’s wellness policy, and he didn’t enjoy the same success at the plate as he did in his previous four seasons.
From 2013-16, he compiled a .292 batting average and .797 OPS. A Gold Glove winner in 2015 and 2016, he will make the full-time move to center after previously being blocked there at times by Andrew McCutchen.
4. Ender Inciarte - Atlanta Braves
- 2017 stats: 718 PA, .304 BA, .759 OPS, 11 HR, 27 2B, 5 3B, 57 RBI, 93 R, 22 SB
Inciarte has won a Gold Glove in both of his seasons with the Braves.
After hitting a combined 13 home runs in his first three seasons, he showed a little more power in hitting 11 in 2017.
5. Tommy Pham - St. Louis Cardinals
- 2017 stats: 530 PA, .306 BA, .931 OPS, 23 HR, 22 2B, 2 3B, 73 RBI, 95 R, 27 SB
Pham was a wonderful surprise for the Cardinals in 2017 as he finished 11th in National League MVP voting.
Prior to last year, he hit .245 in 318 at bats from 2014-16. While some regression is expected, he should remain an integral piece for the Cardinals’ success in 2018.
6. A.J. Pollock - Arizona Diamondbacks
- 2017 stats: 466 PA, .266 BA, .801 OPS, 14 HR, 33 2B, 6 3B, 49 RBI, 73 R, 20 SB
After hitting .311 in 2014-15, Pollock has seen his batting average decrease to .264 over the last two years (played in just 12 games in 2016). In a healthy season, he can once again approach the 20 homers and 39 steals he had in 2015. He possesses excellent range in the field and won a Gold Glove in 2015.
7. Chris Taylor - Los Angeles Dodgers
- 2017 stats: 568 PA, .288 BA, .850 OPS, 21 HR, 34 2B, 5 3B, 72 RBI, 85 R, 17 SB
Much like Pham with St.
Louis, Taylor seemingly came out of nowhere to enjoy a marvelous season in 2017 which included being named the NLCS MVP. He had totaled just 318 career plate appearances from 2014-16 where he hit just .234 with one homer.
8. Manuel Margot - San Diego Padres
- 2017 stats: 529 PA, .263 BA, .721 OPS, 13 HR, 18 2B, 7 3B, 39 RBI, 53 R, 17 SB
The 23-year-old Margot finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2017. He was the 24th-ranked prospect according to Baseball America prior to last season. His strikeout to walk ratio was much better in the minors than the 3:1 he had in San Diego last year.
9. Michael Conforto - New York Mets
- 2017 stats: 440 PA, .279 BA, .939 OPS, 27 HR, 20 2B, 1 3B, 68 RBI, 72 R, 2 SB
Conforto is hopeful to return by mid-April as he is recovering from shoulder surgery.
After major struggles at the dish in 2016, he became a legitimate hitter for pitchers to fear last season belting 27 home runs in 109 games. With Yoenis Cespedes in left and Jay Bruce in right, he will get most of his playing time out in center.
10. Odubel Herrera - Philadelphia Phillies
- 2017 stats: 563 PA, .281 BA, .778 OPS, 14 HR, 42 2B, 3 3B, 56 RBI, 67 R, 8 SB
Herrera was third in the National League in doubles last year, but otherwise his numbers were a bit down from 2016. One of the most glaring differences were his 31 walks in 2017 which was less than half of the 63 he had in the season prior. The other was that he had less than one-third of the 25 stolen bases he accomplished in 2016.
11. Billy Hamilton - Cincinnati Reds
- 2017 stats: 633 PA, .247 BA, .634 OPS, 4 HR, 17 2B, 11 3B, 38 RBI, 85 R, 59 SB
Perhaps the fastest man in baseball, Hamilton has stolen 230 bases over the last four seasons. Despite his blazing speed, he is somewhat of a low average hitter as his .247 batting average last year is right along the lines of his career mark of .248. He won't provide anything in the power category, but his speed allows him to track down seemingly unreachable balls in the outfield.
12. Lewis Brinson - Miami Marlins
2017 stats: 55 PA, .106 BA, .513 OPS, 2 HR, 0 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB
While Brinson’s brief first exposure in the majors didn’t make much of a mark, he raked during his time at AAA in 2017.
In 76 games, he hit for a .331 batting average with 13 home runs, 22 doubles, and 11 stolen bases. He is the 18th-ranked prospect according to Baseball America heading into the season.
13. Michael Taylor - Washington Nationals
- 2017 stats: 432 PA, .271 BA, .806 OPS, 19 HR, 23 2B, 3 3B, 53 RBI, 55 R, 17 SB
Turning 26 on Monday, Taylor easily had his best season last year. In his first three seasons from 2014-16, he owned just a .228 batting average and .644 OPS. He has made only two errors during his entire MLB tenure in the outfield.
14. Albert Almora - Chicago Cubs
- 2017 stats: 323 PA, .298 BA, .782 OPS, 8 HR, 18 2B, 1 3B, 46 RBI, 39 R, 1 SB
Heading into last season, Almora was the 64th-ranked prospect according to Baseball America.
Turning 24 on April 16, he hit much better after the All-Star break in 2017 as he batted .326 with an .850 OPS in 135 plate appearances. The Cubs would like to see him become a more patient hitter (19 walks last year). Ian Happ is also likely to see plenty of action in center.
15. Austin Jackson - San Francisco Giants
- 2017 stats: 318 PA, .318 BA, .869 OPS, 7 HR, 19 2B, 3 3B, 35 RBI, 46 R, 3 SB
Jackson finished 2017 with career-highs in both batting average and OPS. Now 31 years old, he doesn’t possess the basestealing speed he did when he entered the league but still came up with a strong offensive season after a few subpar ones.
