The 27-year-old already has career-highs in OPS+ (109), hits (126), doubles (29), home runs (25) and RBI (75). The MLB Tonight panel breaks down the components of a good outfield arm. The 31-year-old remains one of baseballs most imposing sluggers, but he has appeared in just 41 regular season games over the past two years. J.T. After a terrific finish to the 2019 season with the Chicago Cubs, Nick Castellanos signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds in free agency. Having to play the field regularly could hinder his production, but the fact that he led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs while hitting .338/.431/.636 last season cant be ignored. Frelick also climbed three levels in his first full season, and the 2021 first . Of the 60 games Ozuna played last season, only 21 were in the outfield, so if you wanted to make the argument that he should be ranked among designated hitters, well, you'd have a good case. The 21-year-old had 23 homers and 20 steals in the Minors in 2019, but thats the only full Minor League season hes played, and the left adductor muscle strain he suffered in his fourth Cactus League game spoiled any chance he had of cracking the Mariners Opening Day roster. MLB Power Rankings: The 25 Best Outfield Arms in MLB History | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report MLB Final NYY 7 LAA 4 Soccer Today 6:30PM ARS AVFC Today. However, he was worth a staggering 4.5 WAR when he was on the field. He also played a solid defensive center field in a 5.7 WAR season. Steven Duggar-OF-San Francisco Giants-Bats Left-Age 27 It might be tough to pry Duggar from the winning Giants, but he is a very good defensive center fielder with speed. For a boost in the batting-average category, target McNeil, Verdugo or Brantley. Colavito's arm was so strong that both the Indians and Yankees let him pitch at one point. But Verdugo ingratiated himself with teammates and staff with his passion and play, and he seemed to earn the early respect of socially distant Red Sox fans. His strong defensive play definitely helped make up for the fact that he had a low OPS. Martinez, Charlie Blackmon, Teoscar Hernndez, Austin Meadows, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Throughout the history of baseball, there have been some outfielders that have had cannons for arms. Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers/New York Yankees. Tabbed as the 58th-best outfield prospect nationally (D1Baseball). Yelich and Bellinger, the National League MVP Award winners in 2018 and '19, respectively, turned in disappointing campaigns a season ago, but were expecting big things from both in '21. It's possible Ozuna will sign with an NL team and play left field most of the time. Fingers crossed that the 2021 MLB season will begin on time -- and that we get to see some live baseball at the ballpark this year. Great teams are composed of . Judges 12.5 AB/HR rate ranks fourth among players with 50-plus homers since the beginning of 2017. In an empty Fenway Park on Aug. 7, Verdugo had a big day -- two home runs, both over the Green Monster, for the left-handed-hitting Verdugo, and then he took a home run away from Travis Shaw in the ninth inning. "There's a nuance to disciplined hitting that needs to become a habit. The MLB Tonight panel breaks . Harper hit .338/.476/.713 with 20 home runs after the All-Star break, doing his part to help a Phillies team that tried in vain to chase down a postseason berth. When he's locked in and at his best, they reported, he's consistently pulling the ball, driving it, and this is not what Betts was doing. During nine full MLB seasons, Mike Trout has won three MVP awards, made nine All-Star teams and posted 75 WAR, per FanGraphs (Betts is the next-closest during that span with 40.2). Seven of the first 15 players in MLB.com's player rankings are outfielders, including four of the top five. Myles Straw, Houston Astros/Cleveland Guardians. In the short 2020 season, he had more walks (49) than strikeouts (43). Throughout the year, we released monthly updates to our position-by-position power rankings, selecting the top 10 players at each spot. Tier 4: Jeff McNeil, Byron Buxton, Wil Myers, Alex Verdugo, Joey Gallo, Jorge Soler, Tommy Pham, Kyle Lewis, Ramn Laureano, Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Brantley, Ian Happ, Dylan Moore, Eddie Rosario, Ryan Mountcastle, Dylan Carlson. The Giants acquired him at the trade deadline, and he is poised to cash in as a free agent this offseason. Buster Olney's top 10s for 2021: Ranking MLB's . In a Houston Astros lineup loaded with star power, Kyle Tucker was arguably the team's most productive hitter in 2021. Those being Eric Cross, Chris Clegg, Mick Ciallela, Justin Johnson, Jorge Montanez, David Mendelson . Didi Gregorius (free agent): 94.7 mph 7. The man known as El Mago (The Magician) is blessed with many gifts and would have been a fine pick for the fielding tool, but lets focus on his rocket for a right arm. Teel is an excellent athlete with a strong arm, and has a good swing with excellent hand acceleration, but he had some bad BABIP luck last year and hit just .276/.402/.439, a drop from his strong . It's not all about arm strength, of course. Catch up on the 2021 MLB Player Rankings series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen,. The 28-year-old hit .305/.394/.556 for a 140 OPS+ with 32 doubles, 24 home runs and 71 RBI in 485 plate appearances, earning his first All-Star selection. But Ozuna is valued for his bat, for his advanced understanding of how pitchers will try to work against him. Buxton, Myers, Pham, Laureano, Moore and Carlson could be double-digit homer and steal guys. Mantle's pure strength can be seen was demonstrated by the fact that he hit some of the longest home runs in baseball history. With free agency looming after the 2022 season, another performance like that would set him up for a huge payday next winter. He also slugged 38 home runs while winning his second straight Gold Glove. If there is a player in this system who can make a Bryan Ramos-like jump in 2023, my money is on Mieses. The 29-year-old opted out of the final two years of his contract shortly after the World Series concluded. To qualify for inclusion, a player had to have at least 200 plate appearances. Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide, The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. Before he retired in the middle the 2010 season, Junior was the active leader in outfield assists with 154. Martinez started cold and never recovered last season, and Meadows was never right after dealing with COVID-19 in July. The late-bloomer is controllable for two more seasons, and the Blue Jays could explore a long-term extension to make sure he sticks around as part of the offensive core that also includes Guerrero, Bo Bichette and George Springer. Managers who dont grab an outfielder in the first two rounds will still have an ample supply of impact players to choose from after that. Few players have joined an organization under more challenging circumstances than Verdugo faced when he went to the Red Sox. While one of Ramirez's most memorable moments in the field occurred when he walked into the Green Monster mid-game, it should also been noted that Ramirez has also showcased his arm in front of that very same wall. He had nine assists in 2022. . 10. He's already ranked pitchers and infielders, and he will follow these with the top 10 teams on Friday. The lefty bat can play both first base and outfield, and has even filled in a third base. ESPN's Buster Olney leads the discussion of the latest news and notes around baseball with the game's top analysts. That leaves the Cincinnati Reds as the pick. The so-called five-tool player is a special breed, as those who truly rate above average in each category are extremely rare. Even in his time in the minors, his swing-and-miss rate jumped up a few percentage points. The fourth tier features OF3 candidates of every type. 15 throws) with an average arm strength of 88.4 mph on max-effort throws -- a.k.a. Over the past two seasons, he has a .393 on-base percentage, and an OPS+ of 140. Let's meet the 40 players who had the best outfield arms in the history of the game. Baseball Savant. There are many questions surrounding Barry Bonds' arms, but none of them are about his ability to throw a baseball. The left-handed outfielder had a rock solid 2022 season, holding a .281 batting average with 12 home runs while leading the South Atlantic League with 34 doubles joining Project Birmingham. 22). The Yankees re-signed Brett Gardner, but they may finally give Frazier a chance to play every day. Speaker is the MLB record holder for most career outfield assists with 449. He has taken to the outfield and his plus-plus arm shuts down running games. Need more power? "He's a hitting outlier," Votto responded. He's clearly taken pride in his plate discipline from an early age and been rewarded with performance and -- I would also guess -- supportive coaching. All of what you need to know about Meusel's arm was said by Bob Quinn, former president of both the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. It's not like swinging hard and hitting a ball 115 mph. He entered spring training far from assured of a spot on the Baltimore Orioles' Opening Day roster, but he won the starting center field job and went on to have the biggest breakout season of 2021. Whether it's unleashing the ball from deep in the outfield, across the infield or behind the plate, it can make the seemingly impossible happen. The quick reaction and retreat and leap before taking extra bases away from Brandon Lowe in Game 4 of the World Series. Some of Mookie Betts' former teammates watched him go through the postseason last year and believed he really was out of sorts at the plate. Adj ER Saved - Our metric for catcher value in staff handling (similar to Catcher ERA but with important adjustments) He hit the walk-off home run in the NL Wild Card Game and had a three-homer game in Game 5 of the NLCS. One evaluator said that Bellinger's swing is so unusual that he'll probably always struggle for consistency, for finding the feel he needs to be successful, and because of that, he'll probably have a lot of ups and downs. Dylan Carlson, Cardinals (TOP 250 Rank: 11) Key Fantasy Skill (s): Power, OBP Roadblock: Tyler O'Neill, Lane Thomas (Threat Level: MEDIUM) ETA: 2021 Need to Know: Carlson had a rough MLB. The 27-year-old posted a 171 OPS+ with 42 extra-base hits in 254 plate appearances, and he had 10 DRS in 509.2 innings in center field. 2. The 24-year-old hit .251 with 10 homers, 10 steals and 42 runs in 59 games for the Padres last year. In addition to a standard strength-training regimen for upper body and arm strength, outfielders can perform daily throwing drills, such as one-knee throwing and long tosses, to build their. Since the start of 2019, all of Duran's time in the outfield has been played exclusively at center, a position probably best suited for his elite speed and average to below-average arm. Rob Neyer ranked him as our best right fielder in his Big Book of Baseball Lineups (pre-Bautista). 6 player in the Razzball Player Rater, despite playing just 130 games; give him Vladimir Guerrero's 161 games and he would've topped him for the No. 7. Whitaker was ranked the #37 prospect by MLB. These guys. If you don't have coaching that can support that, then the player needs to be very stubborn with his thinking, which, in my opinion, requires a strong independence. Hernandez was signed as a super-utility . The Gators routinely welcome recruiting classes that rank among the top in the country, and the class of 2023 will be no exception. But despite all of that offensive imperfection, the lasting impression Betts left behind is that of the closest thing you can have to a perfect player in a sport filled with moments of failure. Mike Yastrzemski, San Francisco Giants. Bellinger could be a great pick for any tool -- hit, power, speed, glove or arm. He ultimately found his way back to Tampa Bay on a new one-year, $3 million deal that includes a 2022 club option. Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, PadresKey stat: 91.8 mph average max-effort arm strength in 2019. Ichiro has won a Gold Glove all 10 years that he has been in the major leagues. Managers who don't grab an outfielder in the first two rounds will still have an ample supply of impact players Speaker also holds the unique record for most unassisted double plays by an outfielder with six. The Tampa Bay Rays began the offseason by declining their$4.5 million club option on catcher Mike Zunino, who logged a 50 OPS+ and minus-0.2 WAR in 118 games with the team in 2019 and 2020. He tallied a career-high 42 doubles along with 35 home runs, 84 RBI and 101 runs scored in a 5.9 WAR season. The 31-year-old is hitting .337/.413/.543 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI in 74 games since the beginning of June, and his 3.5 WAR on the year ranks fifth among all first basemen. The well-rounded Betts is our second-ranked outfielder and No. This year, he barely edges out Pittsburgh's Neil Walker, who checks in at minus-12-2, for the . Red Sox. Hitting with discipline is something you elect to do. He hit .328/.376/.624 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 32 homers, 92 RBI, 108 runs and 36 steals across three . Mejia, 25, is hitting .263/.323/.429 with 20 extra-base hits, and he has thrown out 32 percent of base stealers on the year. He's hit .300 or better in five of the last seven seasons, and in the two he didn't, he batted .299 (in 2017) and was injury-ravaged in the other (2016). Robert may have the higher ceiling of the two, but he also has the lower floor. best outfield arms in mlb 2021 This is the best team in baseball. Julio Rodriguez was the team's best player while former top prospect arms Logan Gilbert and George Kirby shined in Seattle's rotation. Cobb had 271 errors as an outfielder in his career. On the other hand, the league still hasn't had a chance to develop a counterattack against the right-handed-hitting masher. Braves manager Brian Snitker mentioned during the playoffs that he liked to hear Ozuna predicting to teammates in the dugout the pitch sequencing he was about to see -- and a lot of the time, Snitker said, Ozuna would be exactly right. Tom Glavine 1987-2002, 2008 (63.6 WAR) Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. My guess, after talking with folks who know him: Yelich was among the players affected by how dramatically the COVID-19 protocol changed processes. As a matter of fact, the consensus top two outfielders Mike Trout and Mookie Betts also are considered the two best overall players in MLB. Similarly, Grisham has played fewer than 120 games in the Majors. Near the top of Florida's next crop of freshmen are two of South Florida's finest arms, right-hander Christian Rodriguez . He's played at that level, and sometime this season, he'll surpass 1,000 runs for his career, and move beyond 1,500 hits. 1. Guerrero currently ranks fifth on the active list for outfield assists. . Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers; Eddie Rosario, free agent; Andrew Benintendi, Boston Red Sox; Robbie Grossman, Detroit Tigers; Clint Frazier, New York Yankees. Tier 1: Ronald Acua Jr., Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper. After years of teasing his immense raw power potential in the minors and sporadically in the big leagues, Tyler O'Neill finally put together his long-awaited breakout season. O'Neill won a Gold Glove last season, but he hit only .173 with a 70 OPS+ and 0.9 WAR in 50 games, tallying just 12 extra-base hits in 157 plate appearances. As we wait, Buster Olney continues his annual ranking of the 10 best players at each position heading into the coming season, based on input from industry evaluators. Shortstop Dansby Swanson is hitting .322/.372/.594 with 10 home runs in 36 games since the All-Star break. The 24-year-old has a 131 OPS+ with 23 doubles, 27 home runs and 76 RBI, and he has also made significant strides defensively at the hot corner. Joey Votto travels with Ted Williams' book "The Science of Hitting" and has built a Hall of Fame rsum based on a lot of the principles that Williams espoused -- like not doing the pitcher a favor by chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Follow @RickWeinerBR Just Missed the Cut 1 of 42 Barry Bonds Shin-Soo Choo Mike Hershberger Andruw Jones. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Soto has created a mountain of crazy numbers already, but here's one of my favorites: When he led off an inning in 2020 -- when pitchers might've been most likely to challenge him -- Soto went 13-for-25, with four doubles, four homers, eight walks, one hit by pitch and one strikeout. With the Astros first pick the 2021 draft, they took a prospect who fell right in their laps. 1 guy is pretty obvious, through the compilation of thought from folks around the industry. The 29-year-old hit .309/.429/.615 to lead the majors in OPS+ (179). Like with many of the other top outfielders on this list, runners knew not to try for extra bases when the ball was anywhere near Barfield's hands. Along with a .199 average and 213 strikeouts, he led the AL with 111 walks and had a solid .351 on-base percentage. Ranking MLB's top 10 at each infield spot for 2021. . For Springer, that box is checked indelibly. Past production and future expectations played no part in deciding the order. Top Outfield Defense in the Minor Leagues: Kevin Kiermaier ( Tampa Bay Rays) Though Kiermaier wasn't the unanimous winner in this category, his defense earned universal praise across the scouting community. those in the top 10 percent of a players sample. The eight-time Gold Glove winner is one of the best defensive center fielders in major league history. There are currently 13 relief pitchers on the injured list for the Rays, including standout closer Nick Anderson and hard-throwing setup man Pete Fairbanks. Below you'll find the consensus rankings that eight of our MLB writers were involved in. The 23-year-old had more walks (145) than strikeouts (93) on his way to an MLB-best .465 on-base percentage. He is widely seen as defensively challenged and although he is just 30, his future is clearly going to be at DH. "There are so many factors that go into it, and I don't want to speak for Soto, but there are certainly some habits you have to develop and reinforce when you are young. Now the #20 prospect in the Yankees' organization, Hardman posted a 109 wRC+ across High-A and Double-A last season with 22 HRs in 111 games, but his over 30% K% is alarming for his projectability long-term. 6 spot. Part I: Hit toolPart II: Power toolPart III: Run toolPart IV: Fielding tool. Ken Griffey Jr. may have been the greatest player in baseball history had injuries not plagued him during his career. MLB By Chris Novak on March 3, 2023. You can make a case for a number of players to go first overall in 2021 drafts, but were giving Acua a slight edge over Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. Heres the 23-year-olds per-162-game averages over the past two seasons: 45 homers, 37 steals, 105 RBIs and 139 runs with a .274/.374/.531 slash line.

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