Updated Outfielder Rankings - 5x5 Roto (Mixed Leagues)

We continue our fantasy baseball tiered rankings analysis with a look at the star-studded outfield position

With the 2019 season beginning in a matter of days, RotoBaller writers Nick Mariano, JB Branson, Bill Dubiel, Pierre Camus, and Scott Engel have given their preseason rankings a final update. Check out our fantasy baseball rankings dashboard for a current list any time.

As always, the outfield position seems to be super deep in fantasy baseball, as evidenced by the 15 tiers we have laid out in our RotoBaller Staff Rankings. In leagues where you must start five OF, however, it won’t be too long before you are filling those final two starting spots with less than ideal players, so the position’s depth cannot be judged by sheer totals alone. The best of the best go off draft boards quickly, though. According to National Fantasy Baseball Championship ADPs, five of the first eight players being selected are outfielders.

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 Tiered Ranks - 5x5 Mixed 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	Position	Nick	Pierre	Bill	JB	Scott
1	1	Mike Trout	OF	1	1	1	1	1
2	1	Mookie Betts	OF	2	2	2	2	2
3	1	J.D. Martinez	OF	5	11	5	4	5
4	2	Ronald Acuna	OF	8	8	11	6	7
5	2	Christian Yelich	OF	7	10	17	10	6
6	2	Aaron Judge	OF	18	15	9	15	16
7	2	Bryce Harper	OF	11	13	15	17	18
8	2	Giancarlo Stanton	OF	24	20	25	24	13
9	2	Andrew Benintendi	OF	29	19	32	32	26
10	2	Charlie Blackmon	OF	25	43	29	26	22
11	2	Kris Bryant	3B/OF	27	25	31	36	30
12	2	Juan Soto	OF	31	38	26	38	27
13	2	Khris Davis	OF	26	34	30	41	37
14	2	Starling Marte	OF	32	32	36	35	35
15	3	Rhys Hoskins	1B/OF	41	26	56	42	39
16	3	George Springer	OF	45	37	33	45	44
17	3	Whit Merrifield	2B/OF	39	46	49	28	42
18	3	Cody Bellinger	1B/OF	43	44	43	37	51
19	3	Lorenzo Cain	OF	66	48	46	54	46
20	3	Justin Upton	OF	56	45	47	66	61
21	4	Eddie Rosario	OF	58	80	61	70	67
22	4	Tommy Pham	OF	63	83	93	56	62
23	4	Mitch Haniger	OF	59	105	59	63	72
24	4	Nicholas Castellanos	OF	79	79	68	68	84
25	4	Marcell Ozuna	OF	69	67	96	74	92
26	4	A.J. Pollock	OF	96	58	80	92	99
27	4	Yasiel Puig	OF	55	126	106	83	66
28	5	Michael Brantley	OF	83	87	100	101	81
29	5	Wil Myers	3B/OF	105	56	69	95	138
30	5	David Dahl	OF	111	106	115	87	82
31	5	Aaron Hicks	OF	80	94	103	105	119
32	5	Michael Conforto	OF	102	135	113	108	63
33	5	Joey Gallo	3B/1B/OF	84	102	102	120	165
34	5	Andrew McCutchen	OF	124	98	116	113	135
35	5	Mallex Smith	OF	133	93	129	122	109
36	5	David Peralta	OF	112	136	141	115	106
37	5	Victor Robles	OF	118	128	138	133	101
38	5	Dee Gordon	2B/OF	115	148	107	106	164
39	5	Ender Inciarte	OF	137	144	111	126	153
40	5	Eloy Jimenez	OF	125	151	122	130	161
41	6	Nomar Mazara	OF	168	70	178	167	108
42	6	Ian Desmond	OF/1B	141	186	140	128	127
43	6	Brandon Nimmo	OF	163	167	137	136	120
44	6	Harrison Bader	OF	174	131	139	138	199
45	6	Ryan Braun	1B/OF	139	170	148	165	171
46	6	Stephen Piscotty	OF	164	152	189	163	139
47	6	Adam Eaton	OF	146	182	150	157	179
48	6	Jesse Winker	OF	169	140	165	155	232
49	7	Byron Buxton	OF	216	143	218	145	140
50	7	Kyle Schwarber	OF	175	179	187	185	229
51	7	Odubel Herrera	OF	228	184	177	199	176
52	7	Billy Hamilton	OF	207	188	190	174	212
53	7	Corey Dickerson	OF	186	195	204	207	180
54	7	Austin Meadows	OF	178	215	202	198	186
55	7	Joey Wendle	2B/3B/SS/OF	229	230	176	188	182
56	7	Gregory Polanco	OF	254	155	147	255	195
57	7	Ramon Laureano	OF	202	202	203	202	217
58	8	Jackie Bradley Jr.	OF	219	235	253	181	143
59	8	Nick Markakis	OF	142	176	175	287	252
60	8	Shin-Soo Choo	OF	187	183	196	258	223
61	8	Domingo Santana	OF	194	250	206	225	188
62	8	Franmil Reyes	OF	209	239	230	190	202
63	8	Trey Mancini	1B/OF	188	213	214	227	244
64	8	Manuel Margot	OF	232	207	226	221	213
65	8	Nick Senzel	2B/3B/OF	240	174	270	231	190
66	8	Jake Bauers	1B/OF	246	227	233	247	157
67	8	Jose Martinez	OF/1B	260	233	152	193	277
68	8	Chris Taylor	2B/SS/OF	236	249	215	183	248
69	8	Hunter Renfroe	OF	225	161	297	217	280
70	8	Kevin Kiermaier	OF	230	205	232	268	258
71	8	Ian Happ	3B/OF	256	246	222	236	255
72	8	Steven Souza Jr.	OF	253	206	234	260	275
73	8	Brian Anderson	3B/OF	263	209	329	279	175
74	9	Max Kepler	OF	197	236	308	237	279
75	9	Teoscar Hernandez	OF	278	219	278	283	209
76	9	Avisail Garcia	OF	314	165	242	299	288
77	9	Marwin Gonzalez	1B/2B/SS/OF	231	234	367	238	257
78	9	Matt Kemp	OF	270	228	268	293	283
79	9	Brett Gardner	OF	269	262	236	310	#N/A
80	9	Randal Grichuk	OF	241	305	280	277	254
81	9	Kyle Tucker	OF	390	223	294	209	282
82	9	Daniel Palka	OF	295	212	310	311	#N/A
83	9	Adam Jones	OF	334	260	247	289	#N/A
84	9	Brandon Belt	1B/OF	258	286	287	307	#N/A
85	9	Tyler O'Neill	OF	287	281	285	301	295
86	9	Jay Bruce	OF/1B	374	247	267	264	298
87	10	Kole Calhoun	OF	282	261	277	359	#N/A
88	10	Franchy Cordero	OF	306	315	246	336	#N/A
89	10	Kevin Pillar	OF	242	359	336	274	#N/A
90	10	Joc Pederson	OF	397	232	303	317	274
91	10	Jason Kipnis	2B/OF	335	337	291	308	#N/A
92	10	Jorge Soler	OF	330	201	370	375	#N/A
93	10	Mark Trumbo	OF	281	332	276	393	#N/A
94	10	Willie Calhoun	OF	351	253	335	344	#N/A
95	10	Scott Schebler	OF	403	309	244	327	#N/A
96	10	Niko Goodrum	1B/2B/3B/SS/OF	328	221	393	366	297
97	11	Cedric Mullins	OF	267	447	377	330	189
98	11	Scott Kingery	SS/3B/OF	348	292	323	378	#N/A
99	11	Josh Reddick	OF	323	302	351	369	#N/A
100	11	Delino DeShields	OF	389	265	369	326	#N/A
101	11	Leonys Martin	OF	300	279	436	381	300
102	11	Lewis Brinson	OF	342	268	343	413	#N/A
103	11	Jake Cave	OF	379	216	295	521	#N/A
104	11	Christin Stewart	OF	259	437	#N/A	376	#N/A
105	11	Bradley Zimmer	OF	394	224	274	539	#N/A
106	12	Derek Fisher	OF	504	288	320	#N/A	#N/A
107	12	Eric Thames	1B/OF	407	303	378	400	#N/A
108	12	Yoenis Cespedes	OF	439	193	353	529	#N/A
109	12	Raimel Tapia	OF	350	354	332	502	#N/A
110	12	Jason Heyward	OF	339	374	395	455	#N/A
111	12	Kike Hernandez	2B/SS/OF	406	381	464	321	#N/A
112	12	Ben Zobrist	2B/OF	460	378	404	349	#N/A
113	12	Steven Duggar	OF	370	399	417	430	#N/A
114	12	Adam Duvall	1B/OF	463	287	258	609	#N/A
115	12	Michael Taylor	OF	503	319	414	427	#N/A
116	12	Steve Pearce	1B/2B/OF	434	382	357	505	#N/A
117	12	Alex Verdugo	OF	520	291	507	371	#N/A
118	12	Peter O'Brien	OF	432	393	421	486	#N/A
119	13	Jose Osuna	1B/OF	#N/A	396	471	#N/A	#N/A
120	13	Nick Williams	OF	442	376	382	543	#N/A
121	13	Greg Allen	OF	377	477	539	361	#N/A
122	13	Dexter Fowler	OF	493	294	489	494	#N/A
123	13	Carlos Gonzalez	OF	444	498	398	438	#N/A
124	13	Alex Gordon	OF	381	420	513	468	#N/A
125	13	Albert Almora Jr.	OF	409	369	401	607	#N/A
126	13	Hunter Dozier	OF	477	296	556	465	#N/A
127	13	Keon Broxton	OF	549	222	549	493	#N/A
128	13	Aaron Altherr	OF	571	392	410	#N/A	#N/A
129	13	Roman Quinn	OF	471	#N/A	#N/A	449	#N/A
130	13	Hernan Perez	2B/3B/OF/SS	547	355	563	380	#N/A
131	13	Austin Hays	OF	528	403	459	479	#N/A
132	13	Carlos Gomez	OF	#N/A	395	548	#N/A	#N/A
133	14	Pablo Reyes	OF	395	548	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A
134	14	Mac Williamson	OF	417	408	461	601	#N/A
135	14	Dustin Fowler	OF	523	404	491	472	#N/A
136	14	Magneuris Sierra	OF	590	358	474	#N/A	#N/A
137	14	Jorge Bonifacio	OF	443	398	423	639	#N/A
138	14	D.J. Stewart	OF	404	#N/A	#N/A	552	#N/A
139	14	Chris Owings	2B/3B/OF	#N/A	426	433	624	#N/A
140	14	Blake Swihart	C/OF	#N/A	#N/A	511	483	#N/A
141	14	Billy McKinney	OF	464	405	601	522	#N/A
142	14	Chad Pinder	SS/2B/OF	599	388	571	439	#N/A
143	14	Myles Straw	OF	#N/A	503	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A
144	14	Clint Frazier	OF	610	312	591	501	#N/A
145	14	Robbie Grossman	OF	618	351	544	#N/A	#N/A
146	14	Mikie Mahtook	OF	515	389	451	691	#N/A
147	14	Cameron Maybin	OF	#N/A	423	603	#N/A	#N/A
148	14	Juan Lagares	OF	#N/A	432	600	#N/A	#N/A
149	14	Brandon Drury	3B/OF	543	421	495	620	#N/A
150	14	Tony Kemp	OF	472	#N/A	#N/A	569	#N/A
151	14	Phillip Ervin	OF	538	#N/A	468	560	#N/A
152	14	Lonnie Chisenhall	OF	488	556	#N/A	533	#N/A
153	14	Nick Delmonico	OF	#N/A	431	622	#N/A	#N/A
154	14	Nick Martini	OF	496	#N/A	#N/A	558	#N/A
155	14	Travis Jankowski	OF	615	633	424	464	#N/A
156	14	Brett Phillips	OF	647	364	581	554	#N/A
157	14	Curtis Granderson	OF	#N/A	425	605	580	#N/A
158	15	Yairo Munoz	2B/3B/SS/OF	541	618	#N/A	451	#N/A
159	15	Jose Pirela	OF/2B	#N/A	430	580	618	#N/A
160	15	Adam Engel	OF	600	433	518	622	#N/A
161	15	Leury Garcia	OF	#N/A	424	614	593	#N/A
162	15	Tyler Naquin	OF	#N/A	436	619	592	#N/A
163	15	Brock Holt	2B/3B/OF	544	639	500	516	#N/A
164	15	Jo Adell	OF	#N/A	577	#N/A	570	#N/A
165	15	Victor Mesa	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	575	#N/A
166	15	Jarrod Dyson	OF	#N/A	#N/A	596	562	#N/A
167	15	Gerardo Parra	OF	#N/A	615	#N/A	579	#N/A
168	15	Ben Gamel	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	597	#N/A
169	15	Jon Jay	OF	622	586	613	585	#N/A
170	15	Jordan Luplow	OF	#N/A	575	#N/A	636	#N/A
171	15	Paulo Orlando	OF	#N/A	#N/A	608	#N/A	#N/A
172	15	Howie Kendrick	2B/OF	#N/A	658	#N/A	565	#N/A
173	15	Austin Dean	OF	552	645	#N/A	642	#N/A
174	15	Alex Kirilloff	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	625	#N/A
175	15	Charlie Tilson	OF	642	650	589	#N/A	#N/A
176	15	Yusniel Diaz	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	630	#N/A
177	15	Daz Cameron	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	635	#N/A
178	15	Austin Slater	1B/OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	638	#N/A
179	15	Brian Goodwin	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	644	#N/A
180	15	Melky Cabrera	OF	644	614	#N/A	684	#N/A
181	15	Oscar Mercado	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	648	#N/A
182	15	Andrew Toles	OF	#N/A	#N/A	617	687	#N/A
183	15	Denard Span	OF	#N/A	#N/A	#N/A	688	#N/A

 

Rankings Analysis – Top Tiers

Tier One

Our panel of experts unanimously puts Mike Trout first and Mookie Betts second. But it wouldn’t be crazy to take Betts over Trout if you decided to go that route. Betts is less of a durability concern and could drive in more runs this year as he hits second in the lineup behind Andrew Benintendi. J.D. Martinez is the last player in this small tier, but does he really belong there? Certainly not, according to Pierre, who has him ranked 11^th overall. He obviously expects some slippage this year, especially after Martinez showcased a .375 BABIP last season. He’s very good, but is he Tier One good? That is very debatable.

Tier Two

Much is expected of Ronald Acuna Jr. over a full season this year, so he naturally leads the second tier. Many experts point to Christian Yelich’s 35 percent HR/FB rate as a significant concern, and Bill appears to be in that camp. But I believe that Yelich is one of the best pure all-around hitters in the game just entering his prime, and Nick seems to agree. Bill appears to be very high on a healthy Aaron Judge, putting him inside his overall Top 10. I aggressively won him at 46 dollars in the Tout Wars Mixed Auction, because his value rises even more in an OBP format. Maybe I admittedly overbid a bit, but I didn’t want to hold back for the OBP/power combination. I have Giancarlo Stanton ranked higher than the rest of the group because I expect a better season now that he has a year of experience playing in New York. We may have not seen the very best of Andrew Benitendi yet, and Pierre has him inside his Top 20, so he could be looking for a 25 HR/30 SB season. He is much lower on Charlie Blackmon than the rest of us, though, as he is not even inside Camus’ Top 40. JB does not have Khris Davis inside his Top 40, but is any player more dependable for a .247 average and 40-plus home runs?

Tier Three

Pierre is highest on Rhys Hoskins, who should bring his BA above .260 this year, but Bill does not have him inside his Top 50. It will be interesting to see if we see something of a stolen base revival from George Springer, who has looked more aggressive on the basepaths this spring. JB obviously loves Whit Merrifield, even though some fantasy analysts believe he had a career year in 2018. Nick may be looking for a decline to begin with Lorenzo Cain at age 33. Justin Upton does not seem like a sexy pick to most anymore, but you can pretty much bank on 30 homers and 85 to 90 RBIs every year.

 

Rankings Analysis – Middle Tiers

Tier Four

Bill is lower than the rest of the group on Tommy Pham. Recently, a Cardinals insider informed me that one of the reasons they traded him was because of the belief that his degenerative eye condition will never improve. Pierre is significantly down on Mitch Haniger. He has been a consistent .280 hitter over the past two seasons, with 42 home runs. Pierre has him at 105 overall, but all of our other analysts have him inside their Top 75 and two put him inside the Top 60. Pierre still seems to have a lot of faith in A.J. Pollock, but most of the rest of the panel just does not want to put up the regular injury issues. Our experts are all over the board on Yasiel Puig. I am more in favor of him than some others. A change of scenery may only boost his outlook, and Puig is playing on a one-year deal.

Tier Five

Michael Brantley leads off the tier, as he was able to avoid any major injuries last year and returned to providing a stable floor in the power and speed departments. I like Michael Conforto significantly more than the rest of the panel. I believe we have not seen the best of him yet and there is an easy .280, 30-homer season in him. Keep me away from Joey Gallo so my batting average does not get drained, though. The group is also very varied on Dee Gordon. The steals upside is now more limited, though, and he does not do much of anything else. Bill seems to have a lot of confidence that this will be a rebound season for Ender Inciarte. But he will not be hitting leadoff and more than half of his steals came from the No.1 lineup spot last season. Maybe Bill was in the mix when Eloy Jimenez signed his new deal, because he certainly prefers him the most. The raw power is so tempting, as he has the ability to hit for 35 home runs over a full season.

Tier Six

I thought I was going to be the high man on Nomar Mazara, yet Pierre has him 38 spots ahead of me. Mazara is still very young and he is healthy. The best may be yet to come, and in 2019, in terms of power and average. Brandon Nimmo is an obvious favorite of Bill’s, and Nimmo’s appeal only increases in OBP leagues. Nimmo tamed his strikeout issues in August and September last year. Nick and Bill still believe you can get quality production out of Ryan Braun at age 35, but Pierre and I expect more of a falloff. Most of our experts seem to be ready for the arrival of Jesse Winker as an impact fantasy player in 2019. Winker has struggled this spring but still draws a lot of optimism for his power promise, and he will also be hitting leadoff for Cincinnati.

 

Rankings Analysis – Lower Tiers

Tier Seven

The guys vary on the polarizing Byron Buxton, as he ranges anywhere from 140^th to 216^th overall. If he stays healthy, though, Buxton can get back on track to where he was two years ago and the potential for exciting all-around production is still there. The speed has been declining for Odubel Herrera, but he now hits for power. This could be a true breakthrough season for Austin Meadows, and he has shown enough this spring to earn a lot of playing time in the Tampa Bay outfield. His teammate, Joey Wendle, is a good later source of speed with some pop.

Tier Eight

I am sticking out with my lofty estimation for Jackie Bradley Jr., although JB seems to like him, too. Bradley started working with J,D. Martinez’s hit guru last year and won the ALCS MVP, and could be on the verge of his best season yet in terms of all-around production. Domingo Santana was phased out in Milwaukee, but looked good in the opening series in Tokyo and is a nice source of rebound power by this point. Franmil Reyes has very intriguing power promise despite playing in a notorious pitcher’s park. Jake Bauers has 20/20 potential, but he has to hit lefties. JB likes the pure hitting ability of Jose Martinez, but quality playing time may be hard to come by. Pierre is higher on Hunter Renfroe than anyone else, but the Padres slugger needs to drive in more runs to get everyone else excited about him. Brian Anderson is one of my favorite bargains, as he will supply a good average with double-figure pop.

Tiers Nine and 10

Pierre still believes Avisail Garcia still has something to offer, but Nick does not even have him in his Top 300. JB is looking for Kyle Tucker to make an impact this season, but Nick realizes how crowded the Houston outfield is and has Tucker nearly 100 spots lower than anyone else. Daniel Palka is certainly unlikely to replicate last year’s HR/FB rate of 27 percent, but still offers good pop at this point. Tyler O’Neill has displayed good power this spring, but has to scratch and claw for playing time. The BA average will be mediocre, but you will get a decent power/speed combo with Kevin Pillar by the time you get to these tiers. If Jorge Soler can stay healthy, he might make Pierre look good for staying ahead of the pack on him. He is playing well in the spring and has some sleeper appeal.

 

Rankings Analysis – The Bottom Tiers

Tiers 11 and 12

I am obviously a Cedric Mullins backer, as he had 21 steals at Triple-A last year. Pierre is the highest on the cheap speed of Delino DeShields Jr. Lewis Brinson’s spring has impressed Pierre more than the others. He is also willing to wait on the return of Yoenis Cespedes while most others appear ready to move on. Alex Verdugo will be one to watch, as he has pressed for playing time this spring and could be a real consideration to hit leadoff.

Tiers 13 through 15

Dexter Fowler is still trying to hang onto a starting spot in St. Louis. He had a terrible 2018 season and there is a not a lot of optimism for a significant rebound at age 33. Keon Broxton has some very deep sleeper promise if he can start to make more consistent contact. Austin Hays had a strong spring but will begin the season in the minors. He will be back soon, though, to provide a decent average and some power. A healthy Mac Williamson has very deep sleeper promise. Billy McKinney could hit leadoff for Toronto and has some power, but is a BA risk. If injuries strike in Houston, Tony Kemp could sprinkle in some speed. There is no room for Leury Garcia in the White Sox outfield as the season beckons, but if he gets pushed into playing time, he should be added for some cheap power and speed. A hamstring injury has likely put Jo Adell off the radar for this season.

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