The NFL and NBA had a long run of unquestionably having the best athletes in sports, but I would put this group of top 25 outfielders up against anybody. Little guys, big guys, speed, power, average … there is a smorgasbord of tools to choose from here.

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Catcher/First Base/Second Base/Shortstop/Third Base/Outfield(Top 50)/(Top 75)/Starters(Top 25)/(Top 50)/(Top 75)/(Top 100)/Closer/Top 250 Overall

1) Mike Trout LAA – More like Mike Shark, amiright? 2016 Projection: 107/37/101/.294/13

2) Bryce Harper WASH – New Kid on the Block, both at the top of these rankings, and his hair style. 2016 Projection: 112/39/96/.311/8

3) Andrew McCutchen PIT – Holding on for dear life to the #3 spot, as there is large shadow looming, literally and figuratively, right behind him at #4. 2016 Projection: 93/22/90/.300/14

4) Giancarlo Stanton MIA – If you were betting on the player most likely to break Barry Bonds home run record, Stanton would be your guy. 2016 Projection: 87/41/104/.269/7

5) Jose Bautista TOR – Playing the role of the grumpy old man in the media recently, but he keeps puttting up young man numbers. 2016 Projection: 100/38/102/.260/5

6) Kris Bryant CHI-NL – Wrote about Bryant in my 2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Third Basemen post. 2016 Projection: 90/32/108/.273/11

7) Chris Davis BAL – Wrote about Davis in my 2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 First Basemen post. 2016 Projection: 97/42/118/.258/2

8) Mookie Betts BOS – Strong 5-category production with upside for even more. 2016 Projection: 96/16/74/.295/23

9) Starling Marte PIT – Look up one inch. 2016 Projection: 86/17/79/.283/30

10) Charlie Blackmon COL – Look up two inches. 2016 Projection: 91/16/63/.289/31

11) J.D. Martinez DET – Joined the power elite after jacking 38 homers in 2015. 2016 Projection: 88/33/100/.280/4

12) Nelson Cruz SEA – About that power decline we all expected to happen after his move to Seattle, yeah, it never happened. Crushed 84 bombs in his last two seasons combined. 2016 Projection: 86/36/97/.278/4

13) George Springer HOU – Some injury and strikeout concerns, but has easy 20/20 potential. 2016 Projection: 90/27/78/.264/21

14) Ryan Braun MIL – Bounce back season in 2015. Rebuilding Brewers will have him on the trade block all season. 2016 Projection: 81/26/80/.283/16

15) Adam Jones BAL – Down-ish year in 2015 has dropped his stock a bit. It probably shouldn’t have. 2016 Projection: 87/28/94/.279/6

16) Carlos Gonzalez COL – Won the Russian roulette game of which Colorado outfielders would not get traded (sorry Corey Dickerson, you are dead to me). 2016 Projection: 85/29/90/.281/5

17) Justin Upton DET – His 2011 “breakout” season is looking more and more like a career year. Still a productive fantasy player. 2016 Projection: 88/26/83/.268/12

18) Carlos Gomez HOU – Should bounce back after injury riddled 2015. 2016 Projection: 81/19/75/.265/26

19) Lorenzo Cain KC – A.J. Pollock lite. And maybe not even all that lite. 2016 Projection: 84/14/67/.296/26

20) Jason Heyward CHI-NL – Justin Upton’s career doppelganger, except with less power and more speed. People are still waiting for that 2012 “breakout” to stand up. 2016 Projection: 81/15/72/.282/22

21) Yoenis Cespedes NYM – Not completely buying into the Cespedes who absolutely mashed for the Mets in 2015. 2016 Projection: 78/26/88/.274/7

22) Matt Kemp SD – I feel like I want to rank him lower, but the power numbers are still strong. There is something about being a San Diego Padres hitter that makes me want to forget about you. Maybe it’s just me. 2016 Projection: 74/24/87/.277/10

23) Hunter Pence SFG – Underrated after playing in only 52 games last season. Across the board production. 2016 Projection: 76/23/81/.276/11

24) Yasiel Puig LAD – High risk, high reward. Talent to legitimately finish top 5 on this list. 2016 Projection: 83/22/74/.280/8

25) Gregory Polanco PIT – Relatively high floor with a huge ceiling. I’m buying. 2016 Projection: 86/14/59/.275/25

By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)