American League Outfield Tiered Rankings: June 2015

My fondness of baseball should be quite well known at this point, and if it isn’t, what are you doing here on FanGraphs, but I also enjoy other nerd endeavors, namely video games and esports. In that vein and in honor of Fallout 4 being announced, today’s rankings will be reflective of my favorite games currently in my Steam Library. Take note these aren’t my favorite games of all time, but the ones readily available to play. As always, these rankings reflect what I believe the players will accomplish rest-of-season, not what they’e done to date in a standard 5×5 format.

Counter-Strike 1.6
Mike Trout

No game will ever come close to my memories in CS 1.5 and 1.6. I can still remember sitting in Ventrilo, talking with my team going over demos and preparing for out next CAL-M or CEVO-M match, or just messing around in our IRC channel. And if you understood that last sentence, you’re awesome and we can be friends. Switching back to baseball, my first tier from last month looks silly. I came under justified criticism after expanding the top slot to two players, and Jose Bautista failed to live up to my hopes. A shoulder strain forced him out of the lineup on several occasions and he just didn’t have the production to justify remaining with Trout. I’m still a believer in Joey Bats finishing as the second best AL outfielder, but I thought the gap would be narrower than it now appears to be.

Team Fortress 2
Jose Bautista
Adam Jones
Michael Brantley
Hanley Ramirez
Nelson Cruz

A bit of a shake up here as TF2 has by far the most hours played of any game for me (CS is the real leader but Steam doesn’t count hours played before they switched from WON IDs to Steam). TF2 has essentially replaced CS as my current favorite game to play, though CS: Global Offensive is the best to watch. I have concerns for TF2’s announced matchmaking just like I have concerns over Hanley’s disappearing walk rate. A .241 BABIP isn’t doing his triple slash any favors, though at least one good sign is the power is still intact for him.

Knights of  the Old Republic
Yoenis Cespedes
Kole Calhoun
Stephen Vogt
George Springer
Jacoby Ellsbury
J.D. Martinez
Alex Gordon
Brett Gardner

KotOR had one of the greatest endings to any video game I’ve ever played. Ellsbury will need a great end of the season to justify him only falling one tier despite likely missing most or perhaps all of June. Gordon climbs up to the third tier because I’ve probably been undervaluing steady production in the name of upside. Gardner sees his name move up a notch as well because the two are nearly a toss up for me. Gordon has the nod above Gardner due to the likely RBI difference. Most noteworthy is Vogt’s rapid and drastic move up. I’m still not entirely sure what to do with a outfielder in the midst of a breakout season at age-30, but I placed him where I wouldn’t trade for anyone listed below him. As a reminder, this ranking doesn’t reflect his catcher eligibility.

Portal
Steven Souza
Mookie Betts
Brandon Moss
Evan Gattis
Lorenzo Cain
Melky Cabrera
Ben Zobrist

Portal remains one of the most unique games to ever grace my monitor(s). As Craig Edwards noted earlier this week, Souza is an equally unique player. He is moved above Betts because I’m a believer in Souza’s counting stats offsetting his *ahem* modest batting average. An even bigger jump is Cain climbing a tier due to him exclusively hitting third in the lineup thus far. The prime batting spot may hurt his chances at running, but given his high average, I expect Cain to post a solid RBI count going forward. If only the Royals stopped using Alcides “.299 OBP” Escobar at leadoff.

Half-Life 2
Rusney Castillo
Anthony Gose
Alex Rios
Chris Carter
Josh Reddick
Adam Eaton
Avisail Garcia
Oswaldo Arcia

It seems bonkers to place Half-Life 2 so low, but there it is. Similarly, it’s crazy how the Red Sox kept Castillo in the minors for so long. He didn’t exactly torch minor league pitching, but is still hit at a clip 27 percent above average. He has double-digit home run and steal potential while hitting .270+. Reddick climbs up quite a bit as I like his power to return, but more because I’m buying into his improved strikeout rate. He’s lowered his overall swinging strike rate and is chasing pitches out o the zone less frequently. A mix of Arcia’s injury and probably me being too eager to believe in the continued power development of the 24-year-old sees his ranking come back down to earth.

Out of the Park 16
Shin-Soo Choo
Josh Hamilton
Steve Pearce
Seth Smith
Rajai Davis
Billy Burns
Danny Santana
Leonys Martin

The only baseball game on the list! This tier is a lot of injured or old players and Santana. Like Vogt’s and Gattis’ available flexibilty, Santana’s shortstop eligibility isn’t considered here. I’m moving Choo up a tier, but it’s slow going. I still don’t like the increased strikeouts and decreased walks and steals, but I can’t deny the power.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Desmond Jennings
Colby Rasmus
Carlos Beltran
Jarrod Dyson
Torii Hunter
Travis Snider
Kevin Kiermaier
Jake Marisnick

Things get pretty messy here in a hurry, just like the hitbox detection in CS:GO *rimshot*! In all seriousness, CS:GO has a chance for the CS family of games to be the number one esport in the world, but there are glaring flaws with it right now. At this point and the next two tiers, names are fairly interchangeable. I still like Rasmus’ power profile, but he may lose playing time as the Astros call up more young players. Marisnick has already felt the plate appearance pinch, as he has sat several games in recent days.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Joey Gallo
Matt Joyce
Chris Young
Dustin Ackley
Kevin Pillar
Michael Bourn
Austin Jackson
Preston Tucker
Brock Holt

As much (rightful) criticism the CoD franchise receives, this game was a genuinely fun multiplayer experience. It wasn’t the best balanced gameplay — the One Many Army perk and noob tubes comes to mind — but the maps were well designed and allowed for all types of action. I’ve placed Gallo atop this this list despite his current call up likely being a temporary one. His upside is more than player listed in this or the surrounding two tiers.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Garrett Jones
Shane Victorino
Michael Saunders
Alejandro de Aza
Dalton Pompey
Coco Crisp
Jordan Schafer
Emilio Bonifacio
Craig Gentry

Vice City remains my single favorite GTA game of all time. The soundtrack was absolutely perfect and the story line was nearly perfect. That’s about all I can say about this tier.





You can catch David spouting off about baseball, soccer, esports and other things by following him on twitter, @davidwiers.

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Brandon Warnemember
8 years ago

You are such a nerd.

Stuck in a slump
8 years ago
Reply to  David Wiers

How can you ignore Pinky Pie’s Party Parade?! What kind of bronie are you?!

Stuck in a slump
8 years ago
Reply to  David Wiers

You sir, made me lol in front of my coworkers. If I ever meet you I’ll owe you one cookie.

Stuck in a slump
8 years ago
Reply to  David Wiers

Do you guys ever do anything in or around Columbus Ohio?

Jason B
8 years ago
Reply to  David Wiers

The most fun thing to do in Columbus is pack up and leave.

Stuck in a slump
8 years ago
Reply to  David Wiers

Already did that 13 years ago, but Columbus is the only place in the midwest I go with regularity.