The 2016 top 50 outfielders present a nice mix of young upside and veteran reliability. Let’s get right to it:
2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Catcher/First Base/Second Base/Shortstop/Third Base/Outfield(Top 25)/(Top 75)/Starters(Top 25)/(Top 50)/(Top 75)/(Top 100)/Closer/Top 250 Overall
26) Jacoby Ellsbury NYY – Betting on his health is a roll of the dice, but when healthy, he is a fantasy stud. 2016 Projection: 89/11/55/.273/31
27) Kyle Schwarber CHI-NL – Wrote about Schwarber in my 2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Catchers post. 2016 Projection: 71/27/89/.254/4
28) Christian Yelich MIA – Another youngster with a safe floor and high ceiling. Will most likely hit in front of Giancarlo Stanton and behind Dee Gordon. 2016 Projection: 82/12/63/.288/19
29) Brett Gardner NYY – Fell apart in the 2nd half after wrist injury. There is some sneaky upside here. 2016 Projection: 85/15/65/.263/23
30) Brandon Belt SFG – Wrote about Belt in my 2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 First Basemen post. 2016 Projection: 78/20/80/.278/8
31) Michael Brantley CLE, OF – Rehab is ahead of schedule after off season shoulder surgery, but will still need a DL stint to start the season. There is concern the injury might sap some of his power. 2016 Projection: 68/14/74/.294/12
32) Shin-soo Choo CLE – Bounced back to normal self last season except for the stolen bases. 2016 Projection: 86/19/72/.273/5
33) Hanley Ramirez BOS – Owning Ramirez is like a roller coaster ride, but his 5-category upside is worth it at this point in the rankings. 2016 Projection: 70/20/76/.270/10
34) Curtis Granderson NYM – Solid 4-category production with a low AVG. 2016 Projection: 84/22/69/.252/9
35) Ben Revere WASH – Traditional leadoff hitter. 2016 Projection: 79/2/47/.297/33
36) Billy Hamilton CIN – Nothing but steals. Lots and lots of steals. 2016 Projection: 66/7/38/.251/51
37) Joc Pederson LAD – Dismal 2nd half last season, but he has too much upside to let fall beyond this point. 2016 Projection: 76/23/69/.246/12
38) Byron Buxton MIN – The #2 ranked prospect in my 2016 Top 100 Fantasy Prospects post. Starling Marte if everything goes right, back to the minors if it goes wrong. 2016 Projection: 79/13/60/.264/23
39) Dexter Fowler CHI-NL – Moderate power/speed combo hitting atop Chicago’s stacked lineup. 2016 Projection: 87/14/46/.258/16
40) Adam Eaton CHI-AL – Breakout season in 2015, but I’m not betting on a full repeat. 2016 Projection: 88/10/52/.286/14
41) Kole Calhoun LAA – Low risk power bat. 2016 Projection: 77/21/74/.266/3
42) David Peralta ARI – Safe across the board production. 2016 Projection: 74/15/68/.288/9
43) Gerardo Parra COL – The move to Coors should give his AVG and power a slight bump. 2016 Projection: 73/13/64/.289/12
44) Alex Gordon KC – If you couldn’t tell, we are smack dab in the middle of the safe and boring part of the rankings. 2016 Projection: 69/17/74/.269/6
45) Ben Zobrist CHI-NL – Wrote about Zobrist in my 2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Second Basemen post. 2016 Projection: 83/16/65/.273/8
46) Matt Holliday STL – I’m not quite ready to write off the 36-year-old Holliday after a down 2015, as he still managed to put up an .804 OPS. 2016 Projection: 70/16/80/.280/3
47) Jay Bruce CIN – Likely to be traded at some point this season. 4-category production with a very low AVG. 2016 Projection: 68/24/80/.240/7
48) Corey Dickerson TB – Trade to Tampa Bay tanks his value. 2016 Projection: 68/18/64/.282/2
49) Khris Davis OAK – Trade to Oakland dings his value. His power is big enough that it shouldn’t make that much of a difference. 2016 Projection: 63/24/74/.253/5
50) Wil Myers SD – Post hype sleeper. Might not have fantasy stud upside anymore, but can still be a reliable starter. 2016 Projection: 70/18/72/.255/9
By Michael Halpern
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@ImaginaryBrickW)