In Fantasy Baseball, the outfielders position is unlike any of the others, despite having the looks of the other hitting positions. Our 2016 Fantasy outfielders rankings exhibit the differences you should understand.
With other Fantasy Baseball positions, you’re usually dealing with mostly power hitters (corner infielders) or run producers with speed (middle infielders) or players you’re just hoping don’t sink you (catchers).
It’s quite rare to find multiple players at the infield positions that fill several different categories, and it’s rare to find depth among each of the hitting categories (HR, RBI, Runs, Steals, BA).
But in the outfield, you have a little of everything – including players that often are eligible to play at other positions.
Of course, you’re also forced to draft five outfielders, as opposed to one infielder at each position (and then corners/middlers). So that dip deep into outfield depth is what evens out much of the differences. But then again, there seem to be more sleepers to come from the Fantasy outfield position than any other hitting positions.
Outfield Sells Sleeper Cells
For instance, look at last year’s end-of-season rankings over at FanGraphs.com – I love these, btw.
Players like A.J. Pollock, Curtis Granderson and Lorenzo Cain were all available in the later rounds of most Fantasy Baseball mixed-league drafts. Now, they’re getting picked much earlier – especially in the case of Pollock, a first-round pick in a recent experts mock draft.
RotoWire’s Derek Van Riper explains his choice of Pollock at 1.09:
”I am expecting 14-16 HR rather than another 20 (see the GB%, slight increase in HR/FB), but the lineup around him should continue to fuel R + RBI numbers similar to his full breakout a year ago. The scarcity of steals is leading me to be a little more aggressive with speed threats in the early rounds to avoid leaning too heavily on volatile one and two-category players later on. I had to adjust my rankings slightly upon making this pick, as I previously thought I would prefer Nolan Arenado in this spot. That is not the case, however, in an actual draft scenario.” – Van Riper
So as you look deeper into this set of 2016 Fantasy Baseball outfielders rankings, know that you can get more players that can help you in more categories than in other positions. But it’s also good to know that you can pick up some very good outfielders off the waiver wire, once the season begins.
Using a sixth outfielder on your team as your designated hitter/utility spot is a very good idea, as well.
2016 Fantasy Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Top 250 | Rookies
2016 Fantasy Outfielders Rankings
These 2016 Fantasy Outfielders Rankings are for 5×5 Rotisserie Mixed leagues, and we’ll work to update these frequently. You can also check out the SCFE staff rankings on 2016 Fantasy Outfielders here.
2016 Fantasy Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP | Top 250 | Rookies
Our 2016 Fantasy Outfielders rankings are sure to help you stock helpers in all five hitting categories, but make sure you keep a close eye on those that don’t get drafted, also. Those will likely be your top candidates for an early waiver pickup once the season starts.
A.J. Pollock Photo Credit: Not That Bob James
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