There are plenty of young, eye-popping talents who are superstars in the making playing outfield in MLB right now. Most people have accepted with Derek Jeter's retirement comes Mike Trout being the new face of America's pastime. That said, there should be no surprises when you reach No. 1 on this list. Here are the preseason rankings for the top 25 outfielders to have on your fantasy roster.
25. Melky Cabrera - Chicago White Sox
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25. Melky Cabrera - Chicago White Sox
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Cabrera has done what Braun has failed to do in terms of bouncing back from a PED scarred career that set him back in 2012 with the Giants. Getting through 2014 healthy, he slashed .301/.351/.458 and came only two home runs shy of tying his personal best mark. With the White Sox, he'll have Jose Abreu, Adam LaRoche, Adam Eaton and Alexei Ramirez to support him in 2015. It would be nice to see him swipe 20 bases again like he did in 2011 with KC.
24. Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals
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24. Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals
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For a No. 2 overall pick, Gordon has not been great. But when you compare his game to another No. 2 overall pick like Dustin Ackley of the Mariners, Gordon is miles ahead of him. With back-to-back All-Star campaigns in 2013 and 2014, if Gordon can combine his 2011-12 contact (.303 and .294 averages) with his present day power, he would be a bona fide top 25 outfielder.
23. Billy Hamilton - Cincinnati Reds
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23. Billy Hamilton - Cincinnati Reds
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After stealing 13 bases in as many games in 2013, Hamilton disappointed owners with his 56 swiped bags output in a full 2014 season. Part of the reason he never approached 100 is because Hamilton did a terrible job getting on base for a leadoff hitter. His second half OBP dropped from .319 to .254 and he stole only 18 bases from mid-July onward. He was never a great contact hitter in the minors, so it remains to be seen how his bat will play.
22. Carl Crawford - Los Angeles Dodgers
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22. Carl Crawford - Los Angeles Dodgers
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While Crawford probably relishes his production from his Rays days, he just needs to stay healthy. Matt Kemp leaving town should give him ample opportunity to become an All-Star caliber outfielder again in terms of playing time. He still hit .300 last year (.333 in the second half) and stole 23 bases despite playing in only 105 ball games. Assuming his health stays intact, a .300-90-15-75-35 line is entirely approachable for C.C. in 2015.
21. Ben Revere - Philadelphia Phillies
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21. Ben Revere - Philadelphia Phillies
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Revere has been a bit of a diamond in the rough through his career. The rough, of course, being the Phillies' organization. Most managers will select Billy Hamilton (2015 ADP: 48) ahead of Revere in their drafts (2015 ADP: 124), though it's a wonder why. Even if you're drafting only for the stolen bases category, Revere has averaged 36 over his last four season and is a career .291 MLB hitter. Hamilton is a career .276 minor league hitter.
20. Jason Heyward - St. Louis Cardinals
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20. Jason Heyward - St. Louis Cardinals
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At 25 with five full seasons under his belt, Heyward is teetering on being a bust. The No. 14 overall pick from the 2007 draft has only a career .262/.351/.429 line and only once has clubbed more than 20 HRs -- hard to believe for the 6-foot-5, 245-pounder. Figure in he will move from Turner Field where he's a career .259 hitter to Busch Stadium where he's a lifetime .234.
19. Starling Marte - Pittsburgh Pirates
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19. Starling Marte - Pittsburgh Pirates
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Marte hit .348 in baseball's second half last year, the highest average for any player league wide with at least 150 ABs. He's still growing into his power, but 25 home runs and 71 stolen bases over his last two campaigns is great productivity. Marte is about as good as it gets for a No. 2 outfielder on a roster, real life or fantasy wise.
18. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
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18. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
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Is Braun a different player now because he is no longer using PEDs, or is it because of his thumb injury? It's tough to believe he's fallen off as much as he has, but consider this: His average line pre-suspension is .313-102-34-107-21, but afterwards it's only .279-49-14-60-8. Fans and fantasy owners may use 2015 to decide whether Braun will ever regain his old form by the time 2016 arrives.
17. Jacoby Ellsbury - New York Yankees
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17. Jacoby Ellsbury - New York Yankees
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Ellsbury did just about everything owners drafted him to accomplish in 2014. He hit over 15 HRs, knocked in 70 base runners and stole 39 bases. He could have scored a few more runs (only 71), but his teammates can take the blame for some of that lost production. He should be better in 2015 now that he's warmed up to his title of "traitor" and playing home games at Yankee Stadium.
16. Yoenis Cespedes - Detroit Tigers
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16. Yoenis Cespedes - Detroit Tigers
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Look at what J.D. Martinez did in 2014 hitting behind Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera. Cespedes had his best RBI and total bases season as a pro last year. The sky should be the limit for him if he and the three aforementioned players can all stay healthy.
15. Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals
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15. Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals
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"Ok Bryce, any day now... here we go." That's a Bryce Harper owner waiting for the most hyped hitting prospect of the 21st century to break out. Then said owner gets discouraged when they look at where Trout was by the time he was entering is age 22 season. Harper fooled all of his 2013 owners when he went yard twice on Opening Day. He missed all of June and finished with 20 HRs and only 58 RBIs.
14. Justin Upton - San Diego Padres
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14. Justin Upton - San Diego Padres
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Man, it's got to be an exciting time to be a Padres fan in or around the San Diego area. It's seems like Upton has been around for a long time. And he has, because he came into the league at 19 with the D-backs. He's still only entering his age 27 season, so his prime years are right around the corner as a hitter. The Friars have surrounded him with above average talent in their projected lineup.
13. Matt Kemp - San Diego Padres
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13. Matt Kemp - San Diego Padres
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Change of scenery. Check. Still playing ball in Southern California. Check. A torrid end to the 2014 season. Check. Kemp appears to finally have regained his form since an injury-plagued 2013 and 2014. He went .309-39-17-54-3 in the second half last year, and he actually hit for a higher average on the road. The Bison is a career .322 hitter at Petco Park in 214 ABs.
12. Christian Yelich - Miami Marlins
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12. Christian Yelich - Miami Marlins
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Yelich puts the bat on the ball. The only 2014 player in a 22-or-younger season with more hits or runs scored than him was Trout. He's one of two rather underrated players in Miami's outfield after Giancarlo Stanton -- the other being Marcell Ozuna. Yelich is a future batting champ contender in the making.
11. Hanley Ramirez - Boston Red Sox
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11. Hanley Ramirez - Boston Red Sox
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A move from SS to the cramped quarters of LF at Fenway should be interesting. Another case of fragile talent, Ramirez was the NL batting champ in 2009. Since then he's topped 80 RBIs only once. He needs to avoid crashing into the Green Monster routinely so he can stay healthy for his Red Sox and fantasy owners alike.
10. Hunter Pence - San Francisco Giants
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10. Hunter Pence - San Francisco Giants
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If Madison Bumgarner was not the Giants' MVP during 2014's postseason, it would have been Pence. Gritty, vivacious and a man who bleeds baseball is he, and Pence will be 32 years of for the 2015 season. His hack is a metaphor for "should not work" after the eye test, but it does. Unorthodox, it's given him a lifetime .284 batting average and seven straight seasons with 20-plus HRs 70-plus RBIs.
9. Carlos Gonzalez - Colorado Rockies
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9. Carlos Gonzalez - Colorado Rockies
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Gonzalez would probably be in the top five annually if he could ever stay healthy. But alas, if you draft him high, you take a leap of faith every season. Breaking into the Show in 2008, CarGo has reached 500 ABs twice. He's 29 now and has a surgically repaired knee. With no DH opportunities available for the Rockies, the wear and tear on that knee will continue to mount. He's capable of 20-20 compilations even in injury marred seasons, though.
8. Carlos Gomez - Milwaukee Brewers
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8. Carlos Gomez - Milwaukee Brewers
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Gomez might be a bit of a hot head, but the man can play baseball. The Twins must regret trading him in 2009 for J.J. Hardy. Through 2010-14, Hardy commanded $ 31.95 million in salary and contributed a total WAR of 16 to his clubs. Go-Go, meanwhile, has made $ 15.8 million in career earnings since the trade and has a WAR of 18.8. Moves like this one have trapped Minnesota in the AL Central cellar since 2011. Shameful.
7. Michael Brantley - Cleveland Indians
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7. Michael Brantley - Cleveland Indians
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A true breakout performance last year came in the form of the Indians' Brantley. He doubled his home run total from 10 to 20 and added six SBs from his 2013 total for his first ever 20-20 season. At 27, he's blossomed a bit later than McCutchen did, but he's very much the McCutchen of the American League given that he's capable of playing LF or CF very well. Oh, and he tacked on 44 points from his previous year's AVG to hit .327.
6. Yasiel Puig - Los Angeles Dodgers
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6. Yasiel Puig - Los Angeles Dodgers
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Extreme flashes of raw talent in one of baseball's biggest markets have led to a lot of hype over the 24-year-old Cuban. He has not disappointed, but he's also probably nowhere near his ceiling. In a sophomore season when the scouting report had long been in on Puig, he battled his way to a very respectable .296/.382/.480 slash line. A breakout season is in the works for the muscle-bound right fielder who has drawn comparisons to Bo Jackson.
5. Jose Bautista - Toronto Blue Jays
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5. Jose Bautista - Toronto Blue Jays
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Joey Bats is the one player in the top five who was never supposed to be here. A journeyman whose best season before landing in Toronto saw him lace together a .254-75-15-63-6 line with the Pirates in 2007, Bautista has since become the Blue Jays' modern day Joe Carter -- and then some. He led MLB in home runs with 54 in 2010 and has not been left off the All-Star ballot ever since. He's playing for a $ 14 million club option in 2016.
4. Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles
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4. Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles
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Jones' four-year average from 2011-14 looks like this: .283-90-30-92-12. He is the definition of consistency and reliability. Jones is also very durable as well, sitting out only 16 games of a possible 648 regular season contests over the least four years.
3. Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
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3. Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
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McCutchen missed his fourth consecutive 20-20 season last year by only two stolen bases. But in that same span of time, he has slashed .304/.394/.515, been named an All-Star four times, won an MVP and has been the second runner-up another two times for the prestigious award. Cutch is the pride and joy of Bucs baseball in the Steel City and is worthy of a first-round pick in any fantasy league draft.
2. Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins
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2. Giancarlo Stanton - Miami Marlins
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Stanton raked last year, despite missing the final few weeks of the season due to injury. His power was prolific as a prospect. He should have a 50 home run season somewhere in his future. If there's one red flag with Bigfoot, it's that he just got guaranteed a lot of money in the offseason. Sometimes that decreases a player's thirst for success and they become complacent.
1. Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels
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1. Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels
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Undisputed. Unrivaled. Undeniably the best player in all of baseball today, so of course he is at the top of this list. If you're a fan of fantasy baseball and you actually are looking for reasons as to why Trout is ranked No. 1, maybe fantasy golf is more your cup of tea. At 23, he's already put together three superb campaigns in MLB. In his worst statistical one that came in 2014, he snagged his first MVP award.
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