Tiered Outfielder Ranks for the National League

Let’s do one last round of ranks for the rest of the season. Cause I know you guys are still in it and winning your leagues because we’re helping so much, right? Right??

In any case, the trade deadline is coming up and this might help you decide on a trade or two. And to help you even further, this time I’m putting in the rest-of-season projections from Steamer. One stop shopping.

And because I can, I’m using pale ales to name the tiers. Read and drink responsibly.

Russian River’s Pliny the Younger

Name	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP
Andrew McCutchen	205	53	7	28	28	7	0.298	0.381
Carlos Gonzalez	201	54	10	31	32	7	0.300	0.367

You could make an argument that Gonzalez’s finger injury should make this one-man tier, but if he’s healthy, he’s right there with the Buc’s center fielder. And while the team may have reasons to shut him down, he’s having a great year and could have his own motivation to stay on the field. Both of these players are deserving of a pilgrimage to watch.

Stone’s Enjoy By

Name	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP
Bryce Harper	189	44	8	24	25	5	0.265	0.343
Giancarlo Stanton	179	41	11	25	28	1	0.266	0.357
Justin Upton	174	42	7	25	22	3	0.277	0.363
Shin-Soo Choo	199	46	6	29	18	5	0.272	0.375
Adrian Gonzalez	215	57	8	24	31		0.296	0.368
Carlos Gomez	185	43	6	19	22	11	0.256	0.309
Yasiel Puig	184	49	7	23	25	7	0.293	0.353

A couple stalwarts are missing, but these guys were supposed to be here. The injury concerns for the first two? We’ll ignore them for now, since they are both so young. But the year hasn’t been without concern. Justin Upton seems like he’s percolating, and boy does Choo like his new digs. Adrian Gonzalez lost the max power, and his home park won’t help matters much, but he works as an elite outfielder even without it. In the first version of these ranks, I had Yasiel Puig and Carlos Gomez in the next tier. I don’t believe either of their current batting averages. But with their counting stats, they can hang in this tier. If a player like Bryce Harper isn’t guaranteed to hit better than the mid .260s, then Gomez and Puig can manage the same, and they look like they are, at the very least, stealing more bases.

Drake’s Aroma Coma Double IPA

Name	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP
Matt Holliday	174	44	6	24	24	2	0.292	0.375
Jay Bruce	187	43	9	24	28	2	0.258	0.331
Jason Heyward	177	40	6	25	18	4	0.263	0.354
Hunter Pence	210	53	7	25	28	3	0.276	0.334
Starling Marte	179	46	4	24	16	10	0.277	0.325
Matt Kemp	128	31	5	17	17	3	0.276	0.345
Allen Craig	189	52	7	23	28	1	0.302	0.354
Carlos Beltran	161	40	6	21	23	2	0.280	0.348
Michael Cuddyer	198	51	8	26	29	3	0.286	0.351
Jayson Werth	168	40	6	23	18	2	0.272	0.360
Norichika Aoki	196	51	3	25	15	7	0.290	0.352
Dexter Fowler	195	45	4	30	17	6	0.274	0.370
Carl Crawford	122	30	3	16	11	5	0.271	0.322
Domonic Brown	154	37	6	17	20	3	0.268	0.330

This might be my favorite IPA right now, so it’s no surprise that this is my favorite tier. If I was to go shopping for an outfielder, this is absolutely where I’d be shopping. There are plenty of buy-lows with high upside (Matt Kemp, Matt Holliday, Jason Heyward, and Carl Crawford in particular) and even the guys that are going well (Starling Marte, Hunter Pence and Jayson Werth) aren’t the type of players that inspire unconditional trust. You’re more likely to convince an owner in this tier to part with their outfielder than the two above, and these are all starters in mixed leagues, and decent OF1s in NL-only leagues.

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Name	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP
Matt Carpenter	207	51	3	24	20	1	0.284	0.364
Martin Prado	222	58	4	29	22	3	0.291	0.346
Ryan Ludwick	64	15	3	7	9		0.255	0.327
B.J. Upton	158	32	5	17	18	6	0.232	0.309
Gerardo Parra	166	41	3	22	14	4	0.278	0.342
Jon Jay	200	50	3	26	16	3	0.279	0.344
Carlos Quentin	179	39	7	22	23		0.249	0.341
Garrett Jones	181	43	7	21	25	1	0.259	0.319
Todd Frazier	176	38	6	19	21	2	0.244	0.316
Logan Morrison	147	33	5	16	18		0.255	0.343
Andre Ethier	146	35	4	17	18	1	0.272	0.350
Jason Kubel	152	33	6	18	20		0.249	0.325
Eric Young	187	42	2	16	15	11	0.251	0.322
Jose Tabata	197	47	2	24	16	5	0.270	0.339
Adam Eaton	106	27	1	14	9	5	0.289	0.363

Since we went with double IPAs throughout, let’s keep it there. Hoptimum is the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale of double IPAs: solid, above-average, useful. These players are all solid, above-average, and useful — but now we’re talking about third outfielders in mixed leagues at best. Obviously, Matt Carpenter’s inclusion here will upset an owner or two. But just look at those rest-of-season projections. Even if you bump them up a bit, they do not fit in the tier above. He’s a good second baseman, but as an outfielder, he’s better used as an OF3/4 that gets slotted in and out of the lineup. He’s Martin Prado without the speed. Most of these guys need a caddy, anyway. In some cases, it’s a platoon caddy (Andre Ethier, Garrett Jones, Jason Kubel), but in some cases, a power/speed platoon in H2H might make sense. Adam Eaton is hanging on by the fingertips of his upside. He should maybe be in the next tier, but if he really got going, he would fit in at the top of this tier, easily.

Knee Deep’s Hop Shortage

Name	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP
Cameron Maybin	10	2		1	1		0.251	0.319
Evan Gattis	135	32	6	16	18	1	0.256	0.310
Junior Lake	185	44	4	18	19	8	0.254	0.297
Gregor Blanco	193	41	2	17	16	7	0.243	0.323
Denard Span	191	46	2	23	13	5	0.267	0.328
Nate Schierholtz	152	36	5	17	19	2	0.265	0.326
David DeJesus	167	39	3	21	13	2	0.265	0.341
Will Venable	172	38	5	21	17	7	0.247	0.312
Cody Ross	142	34	4	15	17	1	0.268	0.332
Jeff Francoeur	141	32	3	14	15	2	0.249	0.298
Delmon Young	107	27	3	11	13		0.272	0.309
Logan Schafer	156	37	2	15	14	4	0.259	0.310
Marlon Byrd	155	35	4	15	17	1	0.250	0.303
Darin Ruf	137	31	4	14	15	1	0.255	0.321

Hop Shortage is like a hop fist to the mouf. It’s too much. Maybe, after a day of double IPAs, it could punch through your wrecked palate. These players all could be useful in the right situation. In NL-only leagues, they are all still starters, for example. Despite their many, disparate flaws.

Hangar 24’s Double IPA

Name	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP
Lucas Duda	86	18	3	10	10		0.243	0.334
Christian Yelich	130	30	2	12	12	3	0.252	0.309
Jake Marisnick	106	23	2	10	10	4	0.239	0.287
Caleb Gindl	70	16	2	7	7	1	0.260	0.320
Kyle Blanks	59	13	2	6	7		0.246	0.319
John Mayberry	172	39	5	17	19	2	0.252	0.309
Juan Lagares	134	33	2	12	12	3	0.261	0.297
Travis Snider	111	26	3	14	11	2	0.259	0.326
Jordan Schafer	79	17	1	9	6	4	0.236	0.313
Chris Heisey	156	35	5	19	16	2	0.247	0.302
Chris Denorfia	146	35	3	16	13	3	0.266	0.324
Justin Ruggiano	110	24	3	11	12	4	0.247	0.314
A.J. Pollock	107	26	1	10	11	3	0.268	0.316
Tyler Colvin	63	14	2	8	8	1	0.249	0.301
Juan Pierre	49	12		5	3	3	0.267	0.318
Alexi Amarista	146	34	2	12	14	2	0.251	0.293

If the Hoptologist makes you screw up your face, this one is just unremarkable. In fact, it’s basically a replacement-level double IPA. Blah. And these players are blah. They’re a grab bag of blah. The three at the top have the upside to join the next tier, but they also have plenty of flaws (including their team’s situation) that keep them down for now. Coincidentally, the three all strike out too much. It’s an easy way to tank your batting average. I’d also watch Kyle Blanks when the inevitable Carlos Quentin injury comes, and Caleb Gindl doesn’t have a great swing, and he’s too small and yeah he has tons of flaws, but he’s playing every day for now. That’s more than the rest of these guys can say. In fact, can anyone else in this tier say that? Alexi Amarista might take over at short for the Padres, but if you want one of the worst shortstop in the business playing the outfield for your team, you’re in trouble.