2018 Outfield - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

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1. 2018 Fantasy Baseball Points League Rankings: Outfield (January)

I have the honor of tackling the ever-so-deep class of outfielders for you, the esteemed points-league owner. We realize that many sites tailor their analysis toward the standard rotisserie league, but we love everyone equally. That said, we have to recognize that standard 5x5 categories are also much easier to create white-label rankings that anyone else can use since the variation tends to be less than in points leagues.

There's never anything wrong with asking us for clarification on what we were thinking either, but I know (and directly address) that there are several corrections needed to be made, but that's why we call these early rankings and get to honing our product as we review the ranks. Of course, they're still a great tool and I'd stand by them in a heartbeat, so let's check in on RotoBaller’s 2018 fantasy baseball points league rankings for outfielders in the month of January.

This round comes to you courtesy of Bill Dubiel, Chris Zolli, Kyle Richardson and myself, Nick Mariano. You can also see more of our staff's 2018 fantasy baseball rankings and analysis columns for mixed leagues, dynasty leagues, AL/NL leagues, 2018 impact prospects and more.

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best MLB Series, NFL Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!

2018 Fantasy Baseball Points League Rankings: Outfield (January)

Ranking	Tier	Player Name	Pos	Nick	Bill	Chris	Kyle R.
1	1	Mike Trout	OF	1	1	1	1
2	1	Charlie Blackmon	OF	13	5	5	9
3	1	Kris Bryant	3B/OF	16	7	8	5
4	2	Mookie Betts	OF	11	8	12	6
5	2	Bryce Harper	OF	12	15	7	12
6	2	Giancarlo Stanton	OF	7	14	19	14
7	2	Aaron Judge	OF	15	18	11	17
8	2	J.D. Martinez	OF	23	21	21	20
9	2	George Springer	OF	30	26	25	24
10	2	Cody Bellinger	1B/OF	24	34	26	30
11	2	Marcell Ozuna	OF	49	29	29	32
12	3	Starling Marte	OF	52	32	32	38
13	3	Justin Upton	OF	44	37	44	35
14	3	Nelson Cruz	OF	46	39	40	37
15	3	Dee Gordon	2B/OF	34	56	47	43
16	3	A.J. Pollock	OF	59	54	43	53
17	3	Rhys Hoskins	1B/OF	85	33	35	58
18	3	Andrew Benintendi	OF	55	60	55	50
19	3	Khris Davis	OF	54	57	57	55
20	3	Andrew McCutchen	OF	60	61	64	60
21	3	Domingo Santana	OF	73	53	56	63
22	4	Christian Yelich	OF	106	58	59	70
23	4	Ryan Braun	OF	67	78	78	72
24	4	Yoenis Cespedes	OF	76	73	76	71
25	4	Tommy Pham	OF	93	65	66	74
26	4	Byron Buxton	OF	88	103	61	78
27	4	Gregory Polanco	OF	89	100	92	94
28	4	Billy Hamilton	OF	94	89	102	95
29	4	Michael Conforto	OF	146	80	75	84
30	5	Ender Inciarte	OF	107	91	101	102
31	5	Lorenzo Cain	OF	129	87	87	103
32	5	Adam Jones	OF	116	112	112	111
33	5	Matt Olson	OF/1B	140	107	96	115
34	5	Chris Taylor	2B/SS/OF	105	119	125	119
35	5	Adam Eaton	OF	165	97	94	120
36	5	Adam Duvall	OF	121	121	126	117
37	5	Whit Merrifield	2B/OF	125	131	133	129
38	5	Steven Souza	OF	158	136	135	138
39	5	Ian Desmond	OF/1B	184	125	122	139
40	5	Yasiel Puig	OF	143	140	153	141
41	5	Shohei Ohtani	SP/OF	211	120	107	142
42	5	Nomar Mazara	OF	136	156	163	133
43	6	Brett Gardner	OF	151	150	147	144
44	6	Ian Happ	2B/OF	179	141	143	145
45	6	Ronald Acuna	OF	169	166	140	146
46	6	Matt Kemp	OF	142	153	185	153
47	6	Corey Dickerson	OF	197	160	161	150
48	6	Manuel Margot	OF	207	164	151	163
49	6	Jay Bruce	OF/1B	221	151	156	158
50	6	Kevin Kiermaier	OF	166	180	179	164
51	6	Michael Brantley	OF	262	139	128	162
52	6	Scooter Gennett	2B/3B/OF	214	143	178	168
53	6	Aaron Altherr	OF	204	145	187	169
54	6	Odubel Herrera	OF	145	192	220	166
55	7	Eduardo Nunez	SS/3B/2B/OF	257	147	155	177
56	7	Mark Trumbo	OF	128	204	233	179
57	7	Kyle Schwarber	OF	170	202	199	176
58	7	Joey Gallo	3B/1B/OF	249	165	152	181
59	7	Eric Thames	1B/OF	185	198	196	180
60	7	Dexter Fowler	OF	167	206	202	185
61	7	Michael Taylor	OF	168	219	213	193
62	7	Jason Kipnis	2B/OF	155	226	222	199
63	7	Jackie Bradley	OF	225	193	193	197
64	7	Shin-Soo Choo	OF	235	183	186	208
65	7	Carlos Gonzalez	OF	188	203	236	198
66	7	Jose Bautista	OF	144	231	249	212
67	7	Marwin Gonzalez	1B/2B/3B/SS/OF	273	182	170	213
68	7	Mitch Haniger	OF	271	189	177	204
69	8	Eddie Rosario	OF	208	225	211	222
70	8	Josh Reddick	OF	256	201	201	219
71	8	Avisail Garcia	OF	181	238	237	227
72	8	David Peralta	OF	236	220	221	221
73	8	Bradley Zimmer	OF	265	211	204	224
74	8	Stephen Piscotty	OF	200	245	240	225
75	8	Trey Mancini	1B/OF	295	199	191	232
76	8	Max Kepler	OF	230	234	225	239
77	8	Howie Kendrick	2B/OF	#N/A	232	232	240
78	8	Nick Williams	OF	288	214	210	242
79	8	Carlos Gomez	OF	255	236	229	248
80	8	Chris Owings	2B/SS/OF	233	253	252	236
81	8	Aaron Hicks	OF	291	233	224	238
82	8	Keon Broxton	OF	199	295	286	259
83	8	Hunter Renfroe	OF	268	265	245	268
84	8	Brandon Belt	1B/OF	159	317	314	262
85	8	Kole Calhoun	OF	209	306	309	279
86	9	Melky Cabrera	OF	284	274	282	282
87	9	Randal Grichuk	OF	220	#N/A	354	274
88	9	Delino DeShields	OF	337	263	266	288
89	9	David Dahl	OF	274	311	304	273
90	9	Derek Fisher	OF	#N/A	299	288	291
91	9	Clint Frazier	OF	399	240	254	283
92	9	Jason Heyward	OF	279	#N/A	357	265
93	9	Scott Schebler	OF	348	277	279	301
94	9	Joc Pederson	OF	238	321	358	295
95	9	Jorge Soler	OF	366	271	277	312
96	9	Cameron Maybin	OF	368	272	284	305
97	9	Hunter Pence	OF	292	#N/A	361	269
98	9	Jarrod Dyson	OF	#N/A	312	315	314
99	9	Kevin Pillar	OF	296	329	335	320
100	9	Lewis Brinson	OF	379	302	290	326
101	9	Gerardo Parra	OF	377	293	301	327
102	9	Jose Martinez	OF/1B	309	344	369	345
103	9	Jacoby Ellsbury	OF	386	331	346	355
104	9	Ben Zobrist	2B/OF	341	#N/A	377	360
105	10	Mallex Smith	OF	350	352	383	363
106	10	Hernan Perez	2B/3B/OF	409	347	338	358
107	10	Travis Jankowski	OF	#N/A	353	384	368
108	10	Denard Span	OF	369	357	390	374
109	10	Teoscar Hernandez	OF	358	#N/A	387	376
110	10	Nick Markakis	OF	356	377	396	380
111	10	Matt Joyce	OF	365	#N/A	394	381
112	10	Michael Saunders	OF	#N/A	370	400	387
113	10	Lonnie Chisenhall	OF	376	374	409	388
114	10	Melvin Upton Jr.	OF	#N/A	378	413	399
115	10	Victor Robles	OF	381	#N/A	416	401
116	10	Alex Gordon	OF	#N/A	383	419	405
117	10	Abraham Almonte	OF	383	#N/A	420	406
118	11	Jake Marisnick	OF	384	#N/A	422	409
119	11	Matt Holliday	1B/OF	385	#N/A	424	411
120	11	Raimel Tapia	OF	400	382	433	412
121	11	Mikie Mahtook	OF	389	#N/A	430	407
122	11	Brandon Moss	OF	387	#N/A	426	414
123	11	Hyun-soo Kim	OF	#N/A	387	427	415
124	11	Jefry Marte	1B/OF	#N/A	388	428	417
125	11	Jorge Bonifacio	OF	396	#N/A	440	428
126	11	Jesse Winker	OF	408	#N/A	453	404
127	11	Robbie Grossman	OF	398	#N/A	443	430
128	11	Leonys Martin	OF	421	393	451	433
129	11	Yasmany Tomas	OF	406	#N/A	450	425
130	11	Blake Swihart	C/OF	401	#N/A	446	435
131	11	Danny Valencia	1B/3B/OF	#N/A	401	447	436
132	11	Brandon Drury	3B/OF	404	#N/A	449	438
133	11	Alex Dickerson	OF	407	#N/A	452	439
134	11	Jeremy Hazelbaker	OF	417	#N/A	458	445
135	11	Rajai Davis	OF	418	#N/A	459	446
136	11	Tyler Naquin	OF	422	#N/A	460	447

Tier One

This is still Mike Trout’s world. Despite missing around 40 games with a hand injury, the 26-year-old phenom still finished second in the Majors in offensive fWAR. I stipulate that because most of us don’t utilize defensive stats. In a world where everyone and their mother that stayed healthy throughout 2017 got to anchor us with stat lines that reflected the crazy home-run trend, Trout’s shortened season deflated what was likely going to be a 40/30 campaign, as he still had 33 dingers and 22 bags (only caught four times!) in just 507 plate appearances. He had at least 639 PAs in the previous five seasons - we can usually bank on durability here. Few need reasons to take Mike Trout No. 1, but this is to further illustrate his potential and talk down anyone who may be wavering.

I'm also not worried about Mookie Betts at all, as his age-24 "down season" still saw him essentially produce a 25/25 season while topping the century mark in runs and RBI. This man is only 25 years old and while Boston's lineup is not the juggernaut of years past, his five-tool skill set is a host unto itself and that .264 average is ripe for regression thanks to a low .268 BABIP. Prior to 2017, his career BABIP was a full 50 points higher. He drew 77 walks, not including nine intentional ones, compared to just 79 strikeouts. He's a points-league stud.

Tier Two

First of all, I should state that my OF rankings will look a bit lower because I was the only one to rank more than one pitcher in their top 10. I ranked four in there because of the points-league tilt, so just be aware. That said, I definitely didn’t notice that Marcell Ozuna was as low as 49 on my overall board, he’ll be in the low-to-mid 30s next time. Last season’s 37 HR/124 RBI is best treated as the ceiling, but I think topping 100 runs is possible with St. Louis.

I’m all-in on the Giancarlo Stanton train given his lineup and hitting environment. I know his ~24% strikeout rate is high and dings points-league owners, but I need to bake in the 150-RBI potential and this is where I’ve settled.

Tier Three

Not only was Starling Marte shut down from the Dominican Winter League with a left-hand injury, but his team is crumbling, ahem, rebuilding around him as he continues to re-establish himself after a suspension-marred 2017. When everyone else was slugging homers, Marte only mustered seven longballs in 339 PAs, tagging along an uninspiring .275 batting average. His saving grace was going 21-for-25 on the basepaths, but I don’t get why he’s viewed so much differently than A.J. Pollock, say. Don’t pay for the name.

Oh, and I can officially say that my Rhys Hoskins ranking suffered the same fate as the Ozuna slippage. I thought things looked good on my positional tabs, but they weren’t. This is our Spring Training month, but I can safely say that he should be in the 35-40 range. Everyone also loves Domingo Santana, he was on quite a few of my teams last year, but I’m worried about his 29.3 percent K rate. It’s great that he’s running now and that double-digit walk rate is helpful, but I expect a .340 BABIP rather than .363 and that 31 percent HR/FB rate to slip toward 25-27 percent. Nothing huge, but the sticker price in points leagues might leave little room for profit.

Tier Four

Originally, I had a big ol' paragraph here going off on how buying Christian Yelich within the top 100 was a poor move given the climate in Miami. Of course, all that changed when the Brewer Nation ~~attacked~~ traded for the 26-year-old. Yelich raised his fly-ball rate from 20 percent to 25.2 percent last season, which could translate to about 22-25 homers in '18 thanks to Miller Park (and being out of Miami). The Brewers also finished '17 with the second-most stolen bases as a team, whereas the Marlins stood at 10th despite having Dee Gordon. HRs and SBs should both rise, and the counting stats in this lineup compared to Miami's Quad-A squad could be nearly double. That's a bit hyperbolic, but not as much as I wish it was for the sake of parity. Yelich will move toward my top 50 next time around.

Also, Michael Conforto shouldn’t even be as high as I have him, let alone my fellow rankers. I know the Mets made some changes to their medical staff, but unless they hired Billy Crystal as the medic from The Princess Bride, I'm not buying it.

Tier Five

I was bearish on Lorenzo Cain until he signed somewhere, but now I have to put him around 90. I still worry about his durability and Milwaukee's current depth leading to more off-days than anyone would like, but 140 games wouldn't be awful here with the aforementioned aggressiveness on the basepaths in Milwaukee. I feel wrongfully bearish on Matt Olson here, as his 9.7 barrels per batted-ball event was seventh-best out of all MLBers with at least 120 batted-ball events. His 41.4 percent HR/FB rate will regress, but so will his horrid .238 BABIP, equating to a wash. I’m likely too bullish on Chris Taylor, whose .361 BABIP will probably step back like Santana’s, so I’ll move him toward 125-130 next time around.

Tier Six

Okay, I dislike Jay Bruce and how his swinging-strike rate has gone from 11.1 percent, to 12 percent, to 13 percent in the past couple of seasons, but the guy is still mashing and I shouldn’t have him that low. I also have trust issues with Michael Brantley’s health, but my PA projection had an error in it -- he’s more of a 150s player hitting in the middle of that offense. Another guy I’m trailing on is Manuel Margot, who I think is still a year away from putting it all together. I like the second-half power surge he had (.161 ISO, up from .129), but I think a 15/15 player on San Diego needs to chill.

Tier Seven

I’ve despised Jackie Bradley for a long while now, and I’m not going to stop now. He will be on zero of my teams until he can prove a consistent approach at that dish -- he hit .204 in the second half -- but at least his defense will keep him in the lineup. It’d be unfair to lay into Brantley’s health and not admit that Dexter Fowler’s biggest con is how he’s topped 125 games just once in the last five seasons, but leading off in front of Tommy Pham, Matt Carpenter and Ozuna is good eatin’.

Tier Eight

I love Brandon Belt in points leagues. I usually try to scoop him late thanks to his solid XBH contributions and a BB rate around 15 percent, but I think he holds even greater value in 2018. He still tied a career-high with 18 homers in ‘17 despite tallying just 451 PAs (thanks a lot, concussion) and he trimmed his swinging-strike rate for the third-straight season. The additions of Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria should increase the counting stats here, making the unheralded commodity a worthy get.

If I could count on at least 500 PAs out of Aaron Hicks then I’d be all aboard around the low-200s, but alas, that is one crowded picnic. It seems I like Kole Calhoun more than I should, I didn’t really reevaluate him after Ian Kinsler was added, but batting fifth for LAA should still be worthy of the 240-250 range.

Tier Nine

I was originally sad about how high Randal Grichuk ended up on my overall sheet, but I’m good with it now that he’s likely going to see everyday playing time for Toronto. Sorry, Teoscar Hernandez truthers, but hopefully he can squeeze out Curtis Granderson and Steve Pearce in left. I have a hard time getting excited about Delino DeShields anymore, and I think Willie Calhoun’s emergence will end up squeezing DD into irrelevance. Ryan Rua and even Jurickson Profar will steal ABs, and they’ll likely come at DeShields’ expense. At this point in the draft, I’m happily drafting talent upside rather than a stable job, which makes Jose Martinez a prime target.

Tier Ten

This is where delusion can start to set in, but here are the initial thoughts that hit me: I need to get Travis Jankowski ranked, he’s got too much speed potential not to be. Those requiring one last outfielder late should be happy to round out their squad with Nick Markakis, who has maintained a double-digit BB rate while chipping in at least 38 doubles in each of his last three seasons. Atlanta is on the up-and-up, meaning his ~50 XBHs, 80 runs, 80 RBI and 10 percent walk rate should leave you satisfied.

Tier Eleven

There’s one player in here that I believe warrants much more consideration, and that guy is Mikie Mahtook. Not only is his a fun name to say, but he should be Detroit’s everyday leadoff hitter with Kinsler in Cali. The 28-year-old got off to a cold start in ‘17, but delivered a .287/.349/.469 slash line with 24 XBH (10 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR) and 43 runs scored while going a perfect 5-for-5 on steal attempts from June 25 on. That date was when he started getting everyday starts, primarily in centerfield, and if the .181 ISO and sneaky speed can continue, then we’re looking at a possible 90-15-60-10-.290 year from Mr. Mahtook. I’ll Mah-Take that risk for a buck.

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2018 Outfield - Early Points League Rankings and Tiers

2018 Fantasy Baseball Points League Rankings: Outfield (January)

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