2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Outfielders

This is the sixth report in the series of our 201029) Denard Span
fantasy baseball rankings looking at the top 2030) Jay Bruce
outfielders. I will tell you that Ichiro Suzuki is not in31) Alex Rios
top20 in my list, so no, I did not miss him. I see a32) Raul Ibanez
lot of people are drafting him high as he has a33) Carlos Quentin
current fantasy baseball ADP (average draft34) Johnny Damon
position) of 42 and is the 10th outfielder being35) Jason Kubel
selected. To me, he is one of those people that36) Adam Jones
are drafted based on his name and not37) Carlos Gonzalez
necessarily his value. I offer you my projections38) Nolan Reimold
for two players and you decide how much39) Brad Hawpe
difference there really is.40) Carlos Beltran
- Player A 95 runs 8 home runs 65 RBI 24Just to give you some insight into my rankings, I
steals.295 avg.rank all players against the other players in their
- Player B 90 runs 7 home runs 46 RBI 29position. You can also rank the players as a whole
steals.318 avg.group and then split them out by position, which is
Player A is Denard Span who has an ADP of 123how I do it to draft the first six to eight rounds.
and is currently going 81 picks after Ichiro, who isAfter that time, it becomes a matter of filling out
Player B. With that said, let's take a look at theyour roster by position and that's where the
rankings to see how each player stacks up.rankings I have listed here come into play.
1) Ryan Braun41) Garrett Jones
2) Matt Kemp42) Michael Cuddyer
3) Matt Holliday43) Ryan Ludwick
4) Jacoby Ellsbury44) Juan Pierre
5) Carl Crawford45) Chris Coghlan
6) Jason Bay46) Vernon Wells
7) Justin Upton47) Jermaine Dye
8) Grady Sizemore48) Corey Hart
9) Jayson Werth49) Colby Rasmus
10) Nick Markakis50) Nick Swisher
11) Adam Lind51) Cody Ross
12) Nelson Cruz52) Michael Bourn - In a mixed league draft, it
13) Curtis Grandersonbecomes hard to own a player like Bourn for
14) Andre Ethierthree reasons.a. You should always shoot for five
15) Manny Ramirezcategory players as much as possible. This is
16) Adam Dunneven more critical in the first three rounds of
17) B.J. Uptonyour fantasy baseball draft. Concentrate on
18) Carlos Leegetting 40-50% of your stolen base goal in the
19) Shin-Soo Choofirst 3-4 rounds depending how many teams are
20) Bobby Abreuin your league.b. Carrying a player like Bourn puts
I have a few people ranked lower than theiryou at a distinct disadvantage in home runs and
current ADP in Josh Hamilton (obvious possibleRBI, putting you two categories behind other
downside there) and Ichiro Suzuki as mentionedowners that are drafting a more balanced team.
above. One player in this group to keep an eyeIt also means you are stuck relying on him for
on is Carlos Beltran at number 40 for the Newthat one category and if he turns an ankle or
York Mets.injures a hamstring, you lose the value of his
Beltran is out at least the first month of thesteals. A hitter than owns power and speed skills,
season after undergoing microfracture surgery oneven if he stops running, at least you have the
his knee and there is a possibility he ends up beingvalue of his power.c. Drafting Bourn weakens you
out for a longer stretch. Currently I have himat another position. If you take a player like Bourn
forecasted for 475 at bats. We should have ain the 5th or 6th round which is what his present
better prognosis as we get closer to the start offantasy baseball ADP is, that means you are
the season how his health is. If you are draftingstuck drafting a weak hitter at another position
before spring training, I think this is the upside ofwhere there is less depth. In a 23 round draft, the
his value.last few hitters you will most likely take are a
21) Alfonso Sorianocorner player, an outfielder or two, utility hitter
22) Shane Victorinoand possibly a catcher. Let's say you planned on
23) Josh Hamiltontaking an outfielder in round 20 and say a third
24) Torii Hunterbasemen in round 6, you might have ended up
25) Hunter Pencewith Aramis Ramirez and Brett Gardner who
26) Ichiro Suzukicould get you 40 steals. By taking Bourn that high,
27) Andrew McCutchenyou end up with Bourn at OF and Edwin
28) Nate McLouthEncarnacion at 3B.