A member over at Minor League Ball posted a fanpost asking to rank some young outfielder for fantasy purposes, so I decided to take a stab at ranking the outfielders for him.
Fantasy Baseball: Ranking Some Young Outfielders
Here is his initial post:
Please rank these players (listed alphabetically) both for 2010 and for the future:
- Jay Bruce
- Jacoby Ellsbury
- Dexter Fowler
- Carlos Gonzalez
- Jason Heyward
- Fernando Martinez
- Cameron Maybin
- Andrew McCutchen
- Colby Rasmus
- Travis Snider
- Mike Stanton
Disclosure: The reason I'm posting this is selfish - it's for fantasy purposes, specifically for my Dynasty League. I have Bruce, Snider, Maybin, Fowler and Martinez on my team and may need to drop one to make room, so I'm really looking for who to drop and/or who to take in his place. You can take this conversation any way you'd like, though.
Here are my rankings for 2010:
Jacoby Ellsbury
Jay Bruce
Andrew McCutchen
Carlos Gonzalez
Travis Snider
Colby Rasmus
Cameron Maybin
Dexter Fowler
Jason Heyward
Fernando Martinez
Mike Stanton
There is a chance Stanton gets some at bats in Florida come June/July, but he would have to reduce his strikeouts a bit, or continue to tear up the AA ball like he did A/A+ the last two years. Ellsbury gets the top ranking due to his solid average and huge SB numbers. I think Bruce puts together a solid 30-90 season in 2010. I like McCutchen alot, and he could give you a 20-20 season this year.
The next 5 guys-Gonzalez, Snider, Fowler, Rasmus and Maybin- will be given starting jobs in 2010, and could be ranked differently by the end of the season. I think Rasmus could make a name for himself in 2010, as could Snider and CarGo. I am not too high on Fowler.
The next 3-Heyward, Martinez and Stanton are very close to being major league ready, but need more seasoning in AA/AAA., although Heyward could win the Braves RF job out of spring training.
Here are my rankings for 2011 and beyond:
Jason Heyward
Jay Bruce
Andrew McCutchen
Jacoby Ellsbury
Colby Rasmus
Mike Stanton
Travis Snider
Cameron Maybin
Carlos Gonzalez
Dexter Fowler
Fernando Martinez
It is more difficult to rank these guys over the long term because we don’t know if all of them will produce at the major league level like they did in the minors, or if they will reach the potential that all the prospect experts have set for them.
Heyward seems destined for a very nice career, as is Ellsbury, McCutchen and Bruce. I rank Ellsbury behind McCutchen and Bruce as he is not the power hitter that these two are/will be. The remaining guys on this list all have question marks, some more than others. But it will be exciting watching each of them.
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