Smoothly transitioning from yesterday's top four tiers to today's best of the rest, let's start my overvalued/undervalued list with a player who recently snuck up from tier 5 to tier 4 and thus snuck his way into this column.
Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It's already loaded up with tons of great rankings articles and draft analysis. Aside from our tiered staff rankings for every position, we also go deep on MLB prospect rankings, impact rookies for 2016, and dynasty/keeper rankings as well. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.
2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis: Outfield (Lower Tiers)
Polanco was all the rage early in 2014. Scouts raved about him, and he was going to burst onto the fantasy scene. He started out hot, batting .288 with 2 homers and 4 steals in his first 19 games. But, in July, August, and Sept/Oct, he hit .214, .225, and .179 while striking out way too much. In 2015, he struggled a bit in the first half, batting .237 with 3 homers. In the second half, he batted .276 with 6 homers. While this may not look promising, Polanco will be 24 this year and stole 27 bases this year. He has shown signs of increasing power and an ability to increase his batting average, and at his age, power should increase. His 41 doubles + triples could easily turn into extra home runs. Plus, as his plate discipline improves, and he gets on base more, he should also steal more bases given the extra opportunities. He could project to a Yelich-esque line (lower average, possibly slightly more speed and power without the back issues), but he is ranked five spots lower by my peers. A .275/15/90/60/30 line is not unreasonable with room for power upside.
Myers should not be mentioned without addressing his wrist issues; they very well could be chronic and have kept him off the field for a large part of the last two years. Nevertheless, as I stated in other pieces, this is the portion of the draft where I am willing to gamble. The flipside of the wrist injuries is that his true performance may be much greater than he's shown if healthy. And playing first base full time may help him stay healthy. Myers is only 25, and San Diego, while still not great for righty power (23rd), is not the severe pitchers' park that many think it is because the fences were moved in. If he stays healthy, .260/25 with 15 steals is reasonable, with the ability to put up more average and power. After all, his 162 game averages are .256/19/88/81/11 and those stats were posted from ages 22-24 and include Tropicana Field in Tampa, which is even worse for righty power (26th); thus, one could easily see room for improvement on these averages.
I wrote about Trumbo in my first-base rankings piece, and since then it is looking even more like Trumbo may be the number 5 hitter for the Orioles. Fifth is a nice spot in a lineup that ranked 9th in the majors in runs last year and looks to be improved. Camden Yards ranked 10th for righty homers last year. Trumbo has played large majority of his games in Anaheim (22nd), but also played in Seattle (25th) and Arizona (18th). Thus, he should benefit from Camden Yard. He has career 162 game averages of .250/31/74/96 despite these previous parks. Even the past two years, coming off his three big years in Anaheim, his 162 game averages were .251/26/70/88. A .260/30/75/90 season is not out of the question with potential to do more. He is being drafted way too lowly.
Beltran will be 39 this year. I don't like that. What do I like? That aside from an injury-plagued 2014 and early 2015, which bookmarked elbow surgery, he has consistently been very good. Moreover, he rebounded in the second half last year showing signs that he is healthy again. And the Yankees scored the second most runs in baseball, which is good for his run production. Beltran is past his days of swiping 40 bags; in fact, you'll be lucky if he steals you a few. But he can be a solid four-category performer. In the second half, Beltran posted .292/12/37/36 in 67 games. While he likely won't play all 162, those numbers still project to .292/29/89/87 over a full season. I wouldn't expect that, but if he comes close, he is great value as he should come cheaply. Just as is the case with Werth, you can drop him if he isn't panning out because he won't cost as much as someone like Holliday, who shouldn't give any better performance.
First, the negatives: Werth will be 37 most of the year. Werth was injured last year and hit .227. Werth did not steal a single base last year. He has battled injuries throughout his time in Washington. Now, the positives. From 2012-2014, he posted 162 game averages of .303/21/96/89/13. And the worst of those years was 2012. It's possible that Werth doesn't bounce back, but then you can drop him and grab someone else. In this range, it's hard to find a true five-category threat, and Werth has the potential to be one. It's a bit confusing to me how he is rated so much lower than a Matt Holliday who is a similar age, and likewise is coming off a down, injury-riddled year.
Gattis will be 30 this year, is coming off sports' hernia surgery, has never stolen a base and has a .250 career average. Even though he will likely be a source of power, he will do little else. Players such as Osuna, Trumbo, Beltran, and Myers are all being ranked after him, but they could easily equal or surpass his power and have more upside in the other categories. Based on the recent surgery combined with the skillset, I'm expecting regression from Gattis as opposed to reasons for better years from the aforementioned players.
Outfield Tiered Fantasy Baseball Rankings (March)
Rank | Tier | Name | Brad | Max | Kyle | Nick | Harris | Jeff | Bill |
1 | 1 | Mike Trout | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
2 | 1 | Bryce Harper | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
3 | 2 | Giancarlo Stanton | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
4 | 2 | Andrew McCutchen | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
5 | 2 | Jose Bautista | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
6 | 2 | George Springer | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
7 | 2 | Mookie Betts | 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 10 |
8 | 2 | A.J. Pollock | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 6 |
9 | 2 | Starling Marte | 10 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
10 | 3 | J.D. Martinez | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 11 |
11 | 2 | Ryan Braun | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 9 |
12 | 3 | Justin Upton | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
13 | 3 | Charlie Blackmon | 11 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 19 | 15 | 14 |
14 | 3 | Lorenzo Cain | 17 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
15 | 3 | Nelson Cruz | 18 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 16 | 16 |
16 | 3 | Carlos Gonzalez | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
17 | 3 | Adam Jones | 15 | 20 | 21 | 14 | 23 | 19 | 15 |
18 | 3 | Jason Heyward | 14 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 22 | 21 |
19 | 3 | Carlos Gomez | 21 | 13 | 23 | 19 | 22 | 14 | 19 |
20 | 3 | Kyle Schwarber | 22 | 19 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 25 | 17 |
21 | 3 | Yoenis Cespedes | 20 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 20 |
22 | 4 | Yasiel Puig | 16 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 21 | 24 |
23 | 4 | Hunter Pence | 34 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 32 | 23 | 23 |
24 | 4 | Jacoby Ellsbury | 26 | 32 | 41 | 30 | 20 | 24 | 25 |
25 | 4 | Curtis Granderson | 29 | 33 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 26 |
26 | 4 | Alex Gordon | 23 | 31 | 29 | 35 | 26 | 35 | 29 |
27 | 4 | Kole Calhoun | 28 | 24 | 30 | 34 | 31 | 33 | 28 |
28 | 4 | David Peralta | 35 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 38 | 29 | 32 |
29 | 4 | Christian Yelich | 27 | 36 | 35 | 28 | 21 | 32 | 36 |
30 | 4 | Brett Gardner | 39 | 26 | 27 | 32 | 33 | 31 | 31 |
31 | 4 | Corey Dickerson | 25 | 28 | 32 | 26 | 37 | 54 | 22 |
32 | 4 | Adam Eaton | 37 | 37 | 26 | 24 | 34 | 28 | 39 |
33 | 4 | Michael Brantley | 56 | 27 | 37 | 40 | 27 | 17 | 27 |
34 | 4 | Joc Pederson | 41 | 41 | 25 | 37 | 24 | 34 | 35 |
35 | 4 | Matt Holliday | 43 | 30 | 31 | 29 | 43 | 45 | 30 |
36 | 4 | Gregory Polanco | 32 | 29 | 42 | 42 | 44 | 26 | 36 |
37 | 4 | Shin-Soo Choo | 42 | 35 | 38 | 31 | 30 | 39 | 40 |
38 | 4 | Billy Hamilton | 33 | 40 | 55 | 51 | 29 | 27 | 34 |
39 | 5 | Michael Conforto | 40 | 34 | 40 | 47 | 36 | 37 | 42 |
40 | 5 | Josh Reddick | 31 | 43 | 36 | 39 | 53 | 38 | 38 |
41 | 5 | Hanley Ramirez | 24 | 48 | 44 | 33 | 45 | 44 | 46 |
42 | 5 | Stephen Piscotty | 48 | 39 | 39 | 36 | 39 | 52 | 44 |
43 | 5 | Randal Grichuk | 49 | 44 | 34 | 38 | 54 | 43 | 45 |
44 | 5 | Matt Kemp | 36 | 45 | 45 | 41 | 52 | 36 | 41 |
45 | 5 | Jorge Soler | 63 | 38 | 46 | 49 | 40 | 46 | 33 |
46 | 5 | Dexter Fowler | 44 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 47 | 53 | 43 |
47 | 6 | Ben Zobrist | 30 | 52 | 33 | 56 | 55 | 64 | 50 |
48 | 6 | Delino Deshields | 50 | 49 | 49 | 46 | 41 | 60 | 53 |
49 | 6 | Ben Revere | 57 | 51 | 58 | 53 | 42 | 42 | 48 |
50 | 6 | Billy Burns | 38 | 54 | 48 | 59 | 50 | 55 | 55 |
51 | 6 | Kevin Pillar | 58 | 55 | 53 | 48 | 49 | 49 | 51 |
52 | 6 | Steven Souza | 52 | 56 | 47 | 45 | 46 | 56 | 61 |
53 | 6 | Gerardo Parra | 45 | 50 | 59 | 52 | 56 | 48 | 60 |
54 | 6 | Evan Gattis | 51 | 47 | 57 | 43 | 57 | 72 | 49 |
55 | 6 | Ender Inciarte | 68 | 46 | 56 | 54 | 61 | 51 | 47 |
56 | 6 | Wil Myers | 74 | 60 | 66 | 57 | 35 | 40 | 58 |
57 | 6 | Marcell Ozuna | 47 | 57 | 51 | 60 | 65 | 58 | 57 |
58 | 6 | Jayson Werth | 60 | 59 | 50 | 70 | 67 | 50 | 52 |
59 | 6 | Khris Davis | 46 | 62 | 54 | 55 | 58 | 62 | 62 |
60 | 6 | Melky Cabrera | 53 | 53 | 60 | 65 | 69 | 63 | 54 |
61 | 7 | Mark Trumbo | 54 | 78 | 73 | 58 | 59 | 42 | 74 |
62 | 7 | Aaron Altherr | 65 | 69 | 87 | 69 | 88 | 65 | |
63 | 7 | Colby Rasmus | 62 | 75 | 67 | 63 | 51 | 61 | 72 |
64 | 7 | Jay Bruce | 67 | 70 | 69 | 50 | 64 | 66 | 69 |
65 | 7 | Carlos Beltran | 70 | 67 | 64 | 62 | 70 | 47 | 66 |
66 | 7 | Odubel Herrera | 64 | 63 | 61 | 61 | 86 | 67 | 56 |
67 | 7 | Byron Buxton | 72 | 76 | 70 | 73 | 48 | 59 | 70 |
68 | 7 | Brad Miller | 59 | 66 | 52 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 76 |
69 | 7 | Cameron Maybin | 79 | 64 | 63 | 64 | 72 | 70 | 59 |
70 | 7 | Eddie Rosario | 69 | 61 | 68 | 78 | 68 | 68 | 67 |
71 | 7 | Aaron Hicks | 66 | 68 | 72 | 66 | 78 | 69 | 63 |
72 | 7 | Rusney Castillo | 75 | 58 | 65 | 72 | 89 | 57 | 68 |
73 | 8 | Danny Valencia | 61 | 65 | 71 | 68 | 80 | 81 | 73 |
74 | 8 | Denard Span | 73 | 73 | 88 | 76 | 60 | 65 | 71 |
75 | 8 | Domingo Santana | 71 | 71 | 62 | 74 | 66 | 76 | 87 |
76 | 8 | Brandon Moss | 76 | 77 | 77 | 67 | 74 | 74 | 64 |
77 | 8 | Nori Aoki | 77 | 72 | 82 | 80 | 62 | 75 | 88 |
78 | 8 | Kevin Kiermaier | 78 | 84 | 80 | 82 | 73 | 73 | 80 |
79 | 8 | Hyun-soo Kim | 55 | 92 | 75 | 77 | - | 85 | 92 |
80 | 8 | Marlon Byrd | 80 | 79 | 76 | 85 | 84 | 80 | 75 |
81 | 9 | Yasmany Tomas | 97 | 74 | 83 | 75 | 81 | 78 | 82 |
82 | 9 | Brock Holt | 79 | 83 | 78 | 86 | 94 | 91 | 79 |
83 | 9 | Derek Dietrich | 80 | 96 | 74 | 87 | - | 88 | 81 |
84 | 8 | Chris Colabello | 93 | 82 | 86 | 79 | 75 | 90 | 86 |
85 | 9 | Eduardo Escobar | - | 88 | 79 | 89 | - | 84 | 89 |
86 | 9 | Austin Jackson | 72 | 95 | 95 | 83 | 76 | 87 | 95 |
87 | 9 | Jackie Bradley Jr. | 96 | 97 | 85 | 88 | 77 | 77 | 90 |
88 | 9 | Nick Markakis | 87 | 91 | 94 | 91 | 79 | 93 | |
89 | 9 | Franklin Gutierrez | 95 | 100 | 91 | 81 | - | 79 | 91 |
90 | 9 | Leonys Martin | 94 | 93 | 96 | 94 | 63 | 93 | 94 |
91 | 9 | Mark Cahna | 98 | 89 | 84 | 109 | 83 | 86 | 78 |
92 | 9 | Andre Ethier | 85 | 87 | 89 | 90 | 99 | 83 | 96 |
93 | 9 | Dalton Pompey | 86 | 80 | 81 | 102 | 87 | 97 | 98 |
94 | 9 | Jarrod Dyson | 106 | 81 | 93 | 84 | 85 | 94 | - |
95 | 9 | Alex Rios | 88 | 90 | 102 | 98 | 96 | - | 84 |
96 | 9 | Avisail Garcia | - | 85 | 100 | 103 | 82 | - | 97 |
97 | 9 | Rajai Davis | 100 | - | 97 | 92 | - | 89 | - |
98 | 9 | Desmond Jennings | 99 | 86 | 103 | 100 | 90 | 92 | - |
99 | 9 | Josh Hamilton | 91 | 94 | - | 99 | 91 | 100 | |
100 | 9 | Anthony Gose | - | 102 | 98 | 105 | 93 | 96 | 77 |
101 | 9 | Preston Tucker | 107 | 99 | 90 | 97 | - | 83 | |
102 | 9 | Oswaldo Arcia | - | 105 | - | 107 | 100 | 82 | 85 |
103 | 9 | Chris Coghlan | 84 | 103 | 99 | 93 | - | 101 | |
104 | 9 | Michael Taylor | 89 | 102 | 92 | 108 | 95 | 98 | 99 |
105 | 9 | Adam Duvall | 90 | 104 | 106 | 101 | 92 | 99 | - |
106 | 9 | Coco Crisp | 92 | 106 | 107 | 106 | 98 | 95 | - |
107 | 9 | Rymer Liriano | 105 | 101 | 101 | 104 | - | 100 | - |
108 | 9 | Will Venable | - | 108 | 109 | 95 | 97 | - | |
109 | 9 | Nomar Mazara | 103 | - | 108 | 96 | - | - | - |
110 | 9 | Angel Pagan | 102 | 99 | 105 | 110 | - | - | - |
111 | 9 | Abraham Almonte | 104 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
112 | 9 | Seth Smith | 101 | 107 | 104 | 111 | - | - | - |
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