2020 Outfield Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

We've been breaking down rankings for points leagues over the last couple of weeks in order to prepare fantasy owners for draft day. To check out previous analysis articles by position, click the following links: first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher, starting pitcher, relief pitcher.

Outfield is obviously the deepest of all positions on offense, but you will see clearly delineated tiers throughout our rankings. You'll need to strike early to obtain some of the most valuable assets in the game, although points league drafts typically see starting pitchers enter the discussion among the top-five. Do you go with Gerrit Cole over Mookie Betts? Max Scherzer or Juan Soto? Landing a stud outfielder can set your lineup on a good path but sacrifice your choices at infield positions that lack the same depth. For that reason, we're breaking down each tier for every position in points leagues.

All preseason long, RotoBaller has you covered with the latest rankings for all fantasy baseball league types. Here we present our points league rankings for outfielders, put together by analysts Nicklaus Gaut, Riley Mrack, and Pierre Camus.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and weekly lineup resources:

• Nick Mariano's fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups (Premium)
• Start/Sit recommendations - All Pitcher Matchups for Week Ahead
• Fantasy baseball waiver wire rankings (top 80 players)
• FAAB fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• Starting pitcher fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• Outfield fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• 1B/3B fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• 2B/SS fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• Hitter streamers - fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• Two-start pitcher streamers - fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups
• Cut List - Players To Consider Dropping for Week 5

 

Outfield H2H Points League Rankings

In case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was named the #1 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season!

Rank	Tier	Player Name	Position	Nicklaus Gaut	Pierre Camus	Riley Mrack
1	1	Mike Trout	OF	1	1	1
2	1	Christian Yelich	OF	4	2	2
3	1	Mookie Betts	OF	3	5	3
4	1	Cody Bellinger	1B/OF	2	8	6
5	1	Ronald Acuna	OF	8	17	4
6	1	Juan Soto	OF	5	13	16
7	2	J.D. Martinez	OF	15	18	14
8	2	Bryce Harper	OF	18	19	22
9	2	Yordan Alvarez	OF	19	30	27
10	2	Aaron Judge	OF	34	26	24
11	2	George Springer	OF	24	40	32
12	2	Charlie Blackmon	OF	38	47	28
13	3	Kris Bryant	3B/OF	44	67	36
14	3	Ketel Marte	2B/SS/OF	35	77	42
15	3	Giancarlo Stanton	OF	64	48	45
16	3	Austin Meadows	OF	49	64	54
17	3	Eddie Rosario	OF	56	73	51
18	3	Starling Marte	OF	54	79	58
19	3	Michael Conforto	OF	55	72	64
20	4	Marcell Ozuna	OF	61	78	60
21	4	Michael Brantley	OF	75	52	80
22	4	Nick Castellanos	OF	67	71	73
23	4	Tommy Pham	OF	66	80	89
24	4	Jorge Soler	OF	78	82	76
25	4	Eloy Jimenez	OF	63	76	98
26	4	Andrew Benintendi	OF	76	63	109
27	4	Whit Merrifield	2B/OF	77	85	87
28	4	Jeff McNeil	2B/3B/OF	85	75	107
29	5	Joey Gallo	OF	96	89	83
30	5	Trey Mancini	1B/OF	83	96	91
31	5	Max Kepler	OF	87	102	90
32	5	Kyle Schwarber	OF	102	101	112
33	5	Victor Robles	OF	104	103	124
34	5	Yasiel Puig	OF	107	109	126
35	5	Ramon Laureano	OF	121	124	116
36	5	Willie Calhoun	OF	118	118	131
37	5	Franmil Reyes	OF	123	117	134
38	5	Bryan Reynolds	OF	110	107	166
39	5	Khris Davis	OF	116	108	162
40	5	Oscar Mercado	OF	130	130	144
41	6	Lourdes Gurriel	2B/OF	135	139	136
42	6	Luis Robert	OF	140	156	130
43	6	Andrew McCutchen	OF	134	133	168
44	6	David Peralta	OF	137	128	179
45	6	Brian Anderson	3B/OF	126	138	184
46	6	Lorenzo Cain	OF	131	148	191
47	6	Shin-Soo Choo	OF	151	151	169
48	6	Justin Upton	OF	159	163	154
49	6	David Dahl	OF	163	172	141
50	6	Joc Pederson	1B/OF	166	162	155
51	6	Hunter Renfroe	OF	155	158	171
52	7	Adam Eaton	OF	128	137	222
53	7	Tommy Edman	2B/3B/OF	144	206	161
54	7	Aristides Aquino	OF	234	144	142
55	7	Ryan Braun	OF	176	166	192
56	7	Scott Kingery	SS/3B/OF	178	186	196
57	7	Nomar Mazara	OF	181	165	216
58	7	Hunter Dozier	1B/3B/OF	191	189	199
59	7	Randal Grichuk	OF	146	177	261
60	8	Danny Santana	1B/2B/3B/SS/OF	182	195	212
61	8	Anthony Santander	OF	190	209	214
62	8	Jason Heyward	OF	194	208	219
63	8	Kyle Tucker	OF	230	229	163
64	8	Nick Senzel	OF	262	190	173
65	8	Avisail Garcia	OF	215	199	217
66	8	Alex Verdugo	OF	202	196	233
67	8	Jurickson Profar	2B/OF	162	182	291
68	8	J.D. Davis	3B/OF	227	235	176
69	8	Mike Yastrzemski	OF	188	187	277
70	9	Byron Buxton	OF	241	247	165
71	9	Brett Gardner	OF	209	215	264
72	9	Brandon Belt	1B/OF	207	223	263
73	9	Mallex Smith	OF	213	286	201
74	9	Corey Dickerson	OF	220	256	241
75	9	Kevin Kiermaier	OF	246	245	245
76	9	Kevin Pillar	OF	273	198	270
77	9	Garrett Hampson	2B/SS/OF	306	294	190
78	9	Niko Goodrum	1B/2B/SS/OF	239	224	284
79	9	Jo Adell	OF	#N/A	#N/A	252
80	10	Jesse Winker	OF	268	192	321
81	10	Nick Markakis	OF	286	236	#N/A
82	10	Austin Hays	OF	250	249	313
83	10	Brandon Nimmo	OF	258	258	307
84	10	Kole Calhoun	OF	164	387	275
85	10	Domingo Santana	OF	217	309	344
86	10	A.J. Pollock	OF	301	276	268
87	10	Austin Riley	OF	323	285	242
88	10	Jose Martinez	OF	345	331	178
89	10	Stephen Piscotty	OF	255	281	325
90	10	Teoscar Hernandez	OF	272	271	331
91	10	Kyle Lewis	OF	#N/A	#N/A	293
92	11	Trent Grisham	OF	305	308	266
93	11	Mitch Haniger	OF	288	341	267
94	11	Eric Thames	1B/OF	333	322	244
95	11	Jackie Bradley Jr.	OF	237	251	412
96	11	Jon Berti	2B/3B/SS/OF	#N/A	375	226
97	11	Gregory Polanco	OF	277	299	341
98	11	Dexter Fowler	OF	318	284	332
99	11	Ian Desmond	OF	#N/A	385	243
100	11	JaCoby Jones	OF	322	336	#N/A
101	11	Harrison Bader	OF	320	340	#N/A
102	11	Josh Reddick	OF	321	347	#N/A
103	11	Hunter Pence	OF	#N/A	#N/A	342
104	11	Dylan Carlson	OF	#N/A	#N/A	346
105	11	Marwin Gonzalez	1B/3B/OF	357	339	#N/A
106	12	Ian Happ	2B/3B/OF	354	357	336
107	12	Wil Myers	1B/OF	#N/A	307	400
108	12	Victor Reyes	OF	331	324	408
109	12	Leury Garcia	SS/OF	#N/A	389	320
110	12	Jarrod Dyson	OF	#N/A	#N/A	355
111	12	Ender Inciarte	OF	348	325	398
112	12	Dwight Smith	OF	#N/A	359	#N/A
113	12	Yoshitomo Tsutsugo	OF	#N/A	#N/A	359
114	12	Aaron Hicks	OF	#N/A	361	369
115	12	Sam Hilliard	OF	#N/A	#N/A	365
116	12	Shogo Akiyama	OF	#N/A	#N/A	366
117	12	Alex Gordon	OF	338	329	439
118	12	Yoenis Cespedes	OF	#N/A	369	#N/A
119	12	Brian Goodwin	OF	#N/A	371	#N/A
120	12	Clint Frazier	OF	#N/A	392	351
121	12	Jake Bauers	1B/OF	#N/A	373	#N/A
122	12	Christin Stewart	OF	#N/A	#N/A	374
123	12	Manuel Margot	OF	352	377	395
124	12	Alex Dickerson	OF	#N/A	365	392
125	12	Seth Brown	1B/OF	#N/A	380	#N/A
126	12	Raimel Tapia	OF	#N/A	381	#N/A
127	12	Delino DeShields	OF	#N/A	388	#N/A
128	12	Josh Rojas	2B/3B/OF	#N/A	#N/A	390
129	12	Tyler O'Neill	OF	#N/A	395	#N/A
130	12	Mike Tauchman	OF	#N/A	407	406
131	12	Josh VanMeter	1B/2B/OF	#N/A	396	428
132	12	Josh Naylor	OF	#N/A	418	#N/A
133	12	Greg Allen	OF	#N/A	420	#N/A
134	12	Adam Duvall	OF	#N/A	#N/A	434

 

Tier One

There's usually not much need to explain the first tier of players, as they are dominant in all categories and remain at the top of draft lists regardless of format. This time, there's one elephant in the rankings that requires some 'splainin'. I have Ronald Acuna at 17th overall, which makes him the fifth outfielder in my points-league rankings. Lemme 'splain.

I firmly believe Acuna should be the #1 pick in roto leagues and I've said as much on air (Youtube). This is a different format, though. Acuna's potential for 40 steals and 40 homers makes him a no-brainer in 5x5 leagues, but his .404 BB/K is far off from that of Yelich (.678 BB/K) and Trout (.917 BB/K). Both players would have outpaced Acuna far more in R+RBI if not for the 100+ AB deficit for each due to injury. The same argument holds water for Betts (.960 BB/K) and Bellinger (.880 BB/K), who now play in the same lineup and could boost each other's counting stats even more. Ultimately, his ranking is not a knock on Acuna in any way, it's just a matter of staying true to the axiom, "Know your league's settings."

 

Tier Two

My ranking of Aaron Judge is predicated on the idea that he'll see something close to 600 plate appearances, which he hasn't done the past two seasons. The Yankees are treating him with kid gloves this spring, which is a good thing. Projection systems aren't too concerned, as ATC has him slated for 39 HR, 93 RBI, and 103 R. Steamer is slightly more optimistic and projects him to be the 23rd-best player in points leagues. You would think his career 31.6% K% is a detriment in this format, but it's mostly offset by his 16.1% BB% and mammoth power. The main concern is health, which has to be considered.

Charles Cobb Blackmon is not an exciting early-round pick now that his speed has disappeared, but he's still an effective one. He was a top-50 player in points leagues last year and is projected to finish right around the same range, as high as 33 in CBS leagues. His .294 xBA ranked in the top 10% of the league last year and he even cut his strikeout rate by three points. If you're too skittish for Judge, wait a round and see if Blackmon is still around.

 

Tier Three

If you read Ariel Cohen's piece on "Finding Combo-Player Values" then you'd know that Austin Meadows is in an elite group that projects to have a Z-Score of 0.50 or more in all five offensive categories for roto leagues. That's great, but this is supposed to be points league analysis... Well, it stands to reason that if he is contributed well above league average in all areas that matter, he's going to be accumulating a lot of points too. His plate discipline isn't elite, but his 9.1% walk rate is one point above MLB average and his 22.2% strikeout rate is right in line with the rest of the league. He's only 24 and could take another step forward in 2020.

If there's one knock against Eddie Rosario, it's his pitiful 3.7% walk rate. Fortunately, he's dropped his strikeout rate accordingly for three straight years, down to 14.6% last year. His team context ensures that his production should maintain a high floor once more. If it looks like I'm down on him compared to Nick or Riley, it's nothing personal. You may notice many of the outfielders in this tier are a bit lower for me because of their relation to pitchers who I may have above them.

 

Tier Four

One outfielder I feel confident ranking around the 50th overall range is Michael Brantley. Steamer projections have him falling almost 20 spots this year, but there's no good reason to assume so. His HR/FB rate did jump by three points compared to the previous year but his barrel rate also increased by two points and it's not as if he saw a huge surge in homers, hitting five more in 2019 than 2018. Renowned for his plate discipline, he is one of the safest OF2 picks around.

Andrew Benintendi is a player I'm probably too high on, especially now that the Red Sox lineup has taken a hit with the loss of Betts. That does leave open the possibility that Benintendi bats leadoff, though. That circumstance could boost his run total and provide hope that he runs more, returning to the 20-steal mark. The talent is certainly there for him to surpass his career-best numbers from 2018. If he comes at a discount past the 80th pick in your draft, don't hesitate to pull the trigger.

 

Tier Five

Ah Joey Gallo, what do we do with you? If you're on a platform like ESPN that penalizes a full point for strikeouts, you leave him alone and let someone else take on that 38.4% K%. If you are in a Yahoo! league, which now doles out an extra half-point for homers and an extra point for R+RBI, you grab him much higher than his ADP and hope he stays healthy.

If you aren't a believer in Bryan Reynolds yet, watch MLB Network's Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now and see just how highly they think of him. Spoiler: he's third on the list, ahead of Austin Meadows, Giancarlo Stanton, and Tommy Pham. That's a debatable point but not one relevant to the fantasy world necessarily. Reynolds is a fantasy asset on the strength of his hit tool that produced a .314 average with a .296 xBA in his rookie season. He doesn't have a track record of big power and is rated at a 50 raw power, so there may not be more gains to come. The fact that the Pirates may be worse on offense after the trade of Starling Marte and no key free-agent additions on offense, unless you really want to count Jarrod Dyson, could be a concern. This is likely the reason Riley has him down 50 spots lower than Nick and me. A breakout doesn't seem imminent, but when you realize that he finished as the 135th-highest scoring player in composite points league rankings last year and is projected by ATC to produce comparable numbers with a slight uptick in counting stats to adjust for everyday playing time, a ranking around 110 seems pretty fair.

 

Tier Six and Lower

Adam Eaton isn't an exciting pick in roto, but he can be a sneaky source of points. Last year, he was among the league leaders in triples (seven) and HBP (13), along with 15 steals. A solid .279 average and .613 BB/K round out a solid profile.

Aristides Aquino could be the next Giancarlo Stanton or he could spend most of this year in the minors. There wasn't much middle ground with him between his August line of .320/14/33/22/2 and his September production of .196/5/14/9/7. A slugger with questionable playing time and a poor finish to last season would seem to be poison in points leagues. He very well could be, but there comes a point where he will be worth the risk as someone you can stream on a given week.

It would be easy enough for Kyle Tucker to get lost among the bevy of fantasy options in Houston. Nowadays, wondering whether budding young prospects are going to flourish is the last thing on the Astros' minds... If he can win a starting job over Josh Reddick, there is reason to think Tucker could be a steal in the latter half of fantasy drafts.

Although I'm a fan of baby Yaz, let's not forget former Giant Kevin Pillar. He signed with the Red Sox to fill a sizeable hole in the outfield and could be starting in center field while Alex Verdugo recovers from back issues. The initial reaction is to avoid Pillar in points formats based on his, wait is that possible, 2.8% walk rate??? He's never been one to be patient at the plate, but it's basically non-existent now as he chased 46.9% of balls outside the zone and swung at nearly 60% of all pitches he saw. That didn't prevent him from being the 90th point producer last season despite playing for a losing Giants club in a pitcher-friendly park.

More 2020 Fantasy Baseball Advice