Updated Outfield Rankings - H2H Points Leagues

As we enter the final stretch for drafting it is time to take a look at the latest iteration of points leagues rankings from our amazing hard working rankings staff. Starting with the outfield is always fun because there is so much depth at the position, especially if you only require three of them, as many points leagues do. However, even if your league has switched to five outfielders there is still a lot of value, both within the top-60 at the position and below.

Points leagues are always tough to assess because there are so many different variations that can be used. Many leagues use fairly similar settings, with slight variations when it comes to stolen bases or walks. However, some leagues really like to put a twist on certain elements. Therefore, it is crucial to know your league and then to use these rankings as a base to adjust off to optimize them for your draft.

Keep an eye out for all other positions to follow and without any more delay, let's take a look at the 2019 outfield points league rankings for March.

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Outfield Tiered Ranks - H2H Points Leagues (March)

In case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was recently named the #1 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season. You can see his secret sauce below! Additionally, industry legend Scott Engel recently joined the RotoBaller team and provides his insights as well. Scott is an FSWA Hall Of Famer and award winner.

Rank	Tier	Player Name	Position	Nick	JB	Bill
1	1	Mike Trout	OF	1	1	1
2	1	Mookie Betts	OF	2	3	2
3	1	J.D. Martinez	OF	11	7	5
4	1	Christian Yelich	OF	12	13	15
5	1	Bryce Harper	OF	9	14	20
6	1	Ronald Acuna	OF	16	16	17
7	2	Aaron Judge	OF	27	29	12
8	2	Charlie Blackmon	OF	30	34	29
9	2	Andrew Benintendi	OF	34	36	31
10	2	Giancarlo Stanton	OF	29	38	36
11	2	Kris Bryant	3B/OF	32	39	32
12	2	Juan Soto	OF	36	30	40
13	3	Rhys Hoskins	1B/OF	39	43	39
14	3	George Springer	OF	48	46	34
15	3	Starling Marte	OF	37	53	51
16	3	Cody Bellinger	1B/OF	47	48	47
17	3	Khris Davis	OF	31	58	54
18	3	Whit Merrifield	2B/OF	49	44	52
19	3	Lorenzo Cain	OF	71	65	64
20	4	Eddie Rosario	OF	61	75	78
21	4	Michael Brantley	OF	87	66	71
22	4	Mitch Haniger	OF	62	78	91
23	4	Tommy Pham	OF	80	73	96
24	4	Aaron Hicks	OF	76	86	87
25	4	Nicholas Castellanos	OF	85	81	89
26	4	Justin Upton	OF	67	97	94
27	4	Yasiel Puig	OF	56	87	119
28	4	A.J. Pollock	OF	96	101	76
29	5	Marcell Ozuna	OF	83	93	108
30	5	David Peralta	OF	110	119	84
31	5	Andrew McCutchen	OF	115	104	107
32	5	David Dahl	OF	111	106	123
33	5	Michael Conforto	OF	106	117	130
34	5	Wil Myers	3B/OF	108	116	142
35	5	Joey Gallo	3B/1B/OF	90	122	158
36	5	Ender Inciarte	OF	146	123	106
37	5	Brandon Nimmo	OF	172	152	79
38	5	Dee Gordon	2B/OF	126	126	154
39	5	Victor Robles	OF	128	136	156
40	5	Jesse Winker	OF	160	155	113
41	6	Eloy Jimenez	OF	137	146	151
42	6	Ryan Braun	1B/OF	141	165	131
43	6	Ian Desmond	OF/1B	152	149	143
44	6	Mallex Smith	OF	144	142	168
45	6	Kyle Schwarber	OF	185	166	137
46	6	Harrison Bader	OF	183	179	127
47	6	Stephen Piscotty	OF	173	164	161
48	6	Nick Markakis	OF	153	238	112
49	6	Nomar Mazara	OF	175	183	210
50	6	Adam Eaton	OF	159	167	260
51	6	Shin-Soo Choo	OF	168	258	162
52	7	Jose Martinez	OF/1B	271	192	140
53	7	Corey Dickerson	OF	192	206	207
54	7	Austin Meadows	OF	186	195	234
55	7	Chris Taylor	2B/SS/OF	249	187	208
56	7	Odubel Herrera	OF	243	220	182
57	7	Joey Wendle	2B/3B/SS/OF	244	212	201
58	7	Trey Mancini	1B/OF	198	230	230
59	7	Gregory Polanco	OF	267	280	120
60	8	Domingo Santana	OF	199	227	244
61	8	Hunter Renfroe	OF	238	218	219
62	8	Max Kepler	OF	206	217	255
63	8	Franmil Reyes	OF	222	213	249
64	8	Ramon Laureano	OF	217	224	246
65	8	Jackie Bradley Jr.	OF	228	200	265
66	8	Nick Senzel	2B/3B/OF	253	216	#N/A
67	8	Byron Buxton	OF	227	168	310
68	8	Billy Hamilton	OF	290	193	241
69	8	Ian Happ	3B/OF	269	244	224
70	9	Manuel Margot	OF	247	246	271
71	9	Randal Grichuk	OF	256	273	237
72	9	Brandon Belt	1B/OF	236	322	218
73	9	Jake Bauers	1B/OF	261	255	279
74	9	Steven Souza Jr.	OF	266	278	253
75	9	Brett Gardner	OF	283	310	204
76	9	Matt Kemp	OF	284	287	232
77	9	Marwin Gonzalez	1B/2B/SS/OF	245	256	316
78	9	Brian Anderson	3B/OF	273	277	272
79	9	Teoscar Hernandez	OF	306	301	216
80	10	Kevin Kiermaier	OF	246	290	298
81	10	Cedric Mullins	OF	278	284	292
82	10	Kevin Pillar	OF	258	298	309
83	10	Adam Jones	OF	376	291	225
84	10	Kyle Tucker	OF	422	235	257
85	10	Kole Calhoun	OF	310	375	262
86	10	Daniel Palka	OF	338	324	294
87	10	Tyler O'Neill	OF	326	314	#N/A
88	10	Christin Stewart	OF	260	389	#N/A
89	10	Jason Kipnis	2B/OF	380	323	286
90	10	Jay Bruce	OF/1B	415	282	#N/A
91	10	Josh Reddick	OF	365	384	301
92	11	Franchy Cordero	OF	349	356	#N/A
93	11	Avisail Garcia	OF	354	309	401
94	11	Scott Schebler	OF	433	349	288
95	11	Willie Calhoun	OF	397	364	322
96	11	Mark Trumbo	OF	325	403	#N/A
97	11	Niko Goodrum	1B/2B/3B/SS/OF	370	380	346
98	11	Leonys Martin	OF	344	394	#N/A
99	11	Jorge Soler	OF	371	388	373
100	11	Joc Pederson	OF	428	338	369
101	11	Scott Kingery	SS/3B/OF	394	392	359
102	11	Greg Allen	OF	416	361	#N/A
103	11	Kike Hernandez	2B/SS/OF	435	343	#N/A
104	11	Lewis Brinson	OF	389	425	365
105	11	Delino DeShields	OF	438	348	#N/A
106	12	Adam Duvall	1B/OF	473	#N/A	317
107	12	Eric Thames	1B/OF	436	409	372
108	12	Albert Almora Jr.	OF	437	#N/A	375
109	12	Carlos Gonzalez	OF	464	450	307
110	12	Jason Heyward	OF	385	470	376
111	12	Ben Zobrist	2B/OF	471	370	#N/A
112	12	Jake Cave	OF	417	539	315
113	12	Raimel Tapia	OF	395	520	360
114	12	Steven Duggar	OF	410	443	#N/A
115	12	Pablo Reyes	OF	427	#N/A	#N/A
116	12	Alex Verdugo	OF	525	386	384
117	12	Bradley Zimmer	OF	425	553	336
118	12	Steve Pearce	1B/2B/OF	455	523	350
119	12	Mac Williamson	OF	443	#N/A	#N/A
120	12	Yoenis Cespedes	OF	458	544	333
121	12	Peter O'Brien	OF	454	507	387
122	12	Mikie Mahtook	OF	520	#N/A	379
123	12	Alex Gordon	OF	418	491	#N/A
124	12	Jorge Bonifacio	OF	463	#N/A	#N/A
125	12	Hernan Perez	2B/3B/OF/SS	551	393	#N/A
126	12	Roman Quinn	OF	479	466	#N/A
127	12	Hunter Dozier	OF	484	463	#N/A
128	12	Michael Taylor	OF	508	440	#N/A
129	12	Aaron Altherr	OF	574	#N/A	377
130	12	DJ Stewart	OF	434	550	#N/A
131	13	Brock Holt	2B/3B/OF	548	534	399
132	13	Blake Swihart	C/OF	#N/A	498	#N/A
133	13	Dexter Fowler	OF	495	512	#N/A
134	13	Yairo Munoz	2B/3B/SS/OF	545	467	#N/A
135	13	Billy McKinney	OF	474	540	#N/A
136	13	Nick Williams	OF	461	556	#N/A
137	13	Derek Fisher	OF	509	#N/A	#N/A
138	13	Dustin Fowler	OF	529	493	#N/A
139	13	Austin Hays	OF	532	497	#N/A
140	13	Lonnie Chisenhall	OF	492	546	#N/A
141	13	Chad Pinder	SS/2B/OF	600	452	#N/A
142	13	Keon Broxton	OF	552	511	#N/A
143	13	Tony Kemp	OF	480	583	#N/A
144	13	Nick Martini	OF	498	567	#N/A
145	13	Brandon Drury	3B/OF	547	#N/A	#N/A
146	13	Travis Jankowski	OF	616	484	#N/A
147	13	Austin Dean	OF	555	#N/A	#N/A
148	13	Phillip Ervin	OF	542	571	#N/A
149	13	Clint Frazier	OF	611	518	#N/A
150	13	Jarrod Dyson	OF	#N/A	573	#N/A
151	13	Howie Kendrick	2B/OF	#N/A	578	#N/A
152	13	Jo Adell	OF	#N/A	584	#N/A
153	13	Victor Victor Mesa	OF	#N/A	589	#N/A
154	13	Gerardo Parra	OF	#N/A	590	#N/A
155	13	Curtis Granderson	OF	#N/A	591	#N/A
156	13	Magneuris Sierra	OF	592	#N/A	#N/A
157	13	Adam Engel	OF	601	#N/A	#N/A
158	13	Brett Phillips	OF	648	563	#N/A
159	13	Jon Jay	OF	623	595	#N/A
160	13	Robbie Grossman	OF	619	#N/A	#N/A
161	13	Charlie Tilson	OF	643	#N/A	#N/A
162	13	Melky Cabrera	OF	645	#N/A	#N/A

 

Outfield Points League Rankings: Upper Tiers

Tier One

There has been no change to this tier from January, and frankly for these six I could not phrase it any better than Nick did back then.

Even Harper's signing in Philadelphia did not move the needle in this format, because we already expected so much from him, given his high walk rate.

Tier Two

Again this is the same group as January, but with a slightly different order. Most people are scared off Judge in points leagues because of a 30% strikeout rate. However, his walk rate is high enough, and his upside great enough that he leads this tier.

The drop from eight to 12 for Soto is correct in my view. I love Soto, and his numbers last year were awesome, but at just 19 there are likely a couple of tough stretches ahead in 2019. He absolutely has the upside to be a Tier One hitter this time next year, but equally I think he has the most chance of falling a tier as well.

Benintendi's all around profile and discussions about being more of a contact hitter in 2019 make him a really interesting pick. Any worries you have about a loss of RBI leading off should be negated by the gain he will see in runs hitting in front of Betts and Martinez. It is the same story for Blackmon who is going to hit above a combination of Nolan Arenado, Daniel Murphy and Trevor Story. He just needs to offer average returns for his career at the other numbers and his run total will drag him close to the top-10.

Stanton and Bryant both had slightly off seasons in 2018, but both had legitimate cases. Stanton was making the switch to the AL and that can often bring some teething problems. If he gets it right in that park then 50 home runs could be more than possible, to package with 200 or more R+RBI. It doesn't matter how much you strikeout in a points league if you are returning those numbers on the other side. As for Bryant, he was hampered with a shoulder injury, but we know enough about what he can do healthy to trust him to finish somewhere close to the top-10.

Tier Three

This is a weird group for me. Hopefully, the move back to first base will focus Hoskins' mind and we can see him get his BB% back over 15%. In a stacked Phillies lineup all he has to do is consistently get on base and the R+RBI will sort themselves out, and the combination of that with a bump in OBP will make him a valuable points league contributor. The drop in power for Springer last season gives me some concerns, but at this stage, we know what floor he has and it is good enough to be right around the top-20 at the very least. However, if things do click then he has top-10 potential and that is why he deserves a ranking inside the top-15.

Marte's 6% walk rate does somewhat cap his ceiling when it comes to the points league format, where steals are valuable but not as valuable as in roto. However, he got back to hitting 20 home runs and is still capable of stealing over 25 bases, while having an average in the .280 region. When you add all of those things up then his value is good enough, but the lack of walks stops him having the upside of Springer and Hoskins. If you want upside then Bellinger is your man. A solid walk rate, combined with the ability to hit .260 and a potential 40 home run hitter is a lot of fun to own.

Merrifield is generally slightly overvalued in roto leagues but in points leagues, the sheer weight of what he can bring across the board is enough to put him in the top-20 discussion. I question if there is much upside above this ranking but in Kansas City where he should run plenty the floor is also safe enough. The increase in Cain's BB% last season helps his value, but I do worry we may see it regress back below 10%. If it does then the relative lack of RBI, and home runs, means that despite a good average and stolen bases the bottom of this tier might be the best return you can hope for from Cain.

 

Outfield Points League Rankings: Middle Tiers

Tier Four

This tier has an interesting combination of names. My absolute favourites in the tier are Puig and Brantley. For Puig, it all comes down to the change in scenery. Nearly every park factor in Dodgers Stadium is below one, while in Cincinnati there is a sharp rise in the park factor for home runs and doubles. If Puig can combine that with getting his walk rate back close to 10% then we could be looking at a top-15 outfielder. I have some concern about the change in park for Brantley, but the depth of lineup surrounding him has increased so much that I can see him getting enough R+RBI to counteract any negative hitting effects. Of course, the concern is always injury with Brantley, but with a full 2018 season there is a reason to be optimistic.

Among the concerns in this tier are the aging Justin Upton, who has had injury concerns this spring, and Tommy Pham. Pham holds more value in roto leagues where he can contribute in most categories, but in points league his strikeout rate is somewhat of a concern. However, there was an interesting increase in exit velocity last season, which if he can maintain this season could make him a top-20 candidate. However, there is enough concern as the 23rd outfielder that I would look to stay away.

Tier Five

The values in this tier are Marcell Ozuna and David Peralta. Both offer similar strikeout to walk ratios as some of the players in the tier above and both should be able to contribute enough R+RBI to be values. Gallo is also interesting because despite the strikeouts the power and walks are superior to most you will find at this level. When you look at the overall picture, those almost cancel out and you are looking at a player who could contribute 200 R+RBI in a surprisingly versatile Rangers offense.

Dee Gordon is my big loser here. The steals options are only useful in this format f they can offer some power and Gordon cannot. Additionally, when Mallex Smith is healthy he could find himself stuck down in the ninth spot in the lineup.

Tiers 6 & 7

I really like Nomar Mazara here. We know his floor, as he has hit at least .250 with 20 home runs in each of the last three seasons. However, we also seen flashes, both in monthly performances and his exit velocity that there is a higher ceiling. His K:BB ratio is not great but at this stage of the draft it does not need to be.

Corey Dickerson is only a name you are really looking at if you need five outfielders in your points league. Much like Mazara, the K:BB ratio leaves something to be desired, but there are some promising trends, especially in his batting average. Hopefully, he can reverse the loss of power last season, and age 29 he should still be capable of getting to the 25 home run mark.

 

 

Outfield Points League Rankings: Lower Tiers

Tiers 8 and below

Max Kepler is a fun name, simply because if he can put it together in terms of connecting with the ball then his K:BB is nice at this stage of the draft. Three years of consistent home run production around the 20 mark is a solid floor and there is some talk he could hit at the top of the Twins order this season.

Jake Bauers is another name to consider. I went into depth on power in this recent article, but the keys for points league is that despite a rough season his BB% was high and he was a consistent solid OBP hitter in the minor leagues. In the late round of drafts, Bauers could prevent some solid upside.

 

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