While not having the proven depth of many other positions, there are still a number of dangerous bats that lineup in left field. All but one player that checks in on this top 10 list hit at least 20 home runs, and five connected for 30. That is a potent collection of power, especially considering that this is far from a one-trick pony position. It is also an area that is home to many of the biggest upside players in the game today, with three players that are only on the brink of their third full seasons.
However, with an ‘aging core’ of players spread around the upper tiers here, there is room for a lot of growth from lower-tier members of this list, and possibly room for those that don’t yet rank to move up. The game’s top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Andrew Benintendi, calls the position home. Likewise, a handful of veterans that have defined the position in years past such as Alex Gordon and Michael Brantley are among those that are looking to reaffirm their places among the outfield elite, as they come out of a pair of substandard years. And there is also one of the game’s most impressive young bats in Kyle Schwarber, who will look to pick up on the momentum he established while making an impressive return from an injury that kept him out of action from April until Game 1 of the World Series.
But while each of those talents looks to reaffirm their place in the game, there are those have far more conventional questions to answer. Lets have a look at the top 10 left fielders in baseball, headed into Opening Day 2017.
10. Randal Grichuk, St. Louis Cardinals
This may be an ambitious place to start this countdown, but take a look at where Grichuk finished in 2016 after as bad of a start to the year as could be imagine. After struggling to stick in the starting lineup and hitting .114 in June, he was sent back to the minors, a stunning move for a player that had hit 17 home runs in 103 games as a 23-year-old the year before. However, he awoke in the second half to produce an .826 OPS, including an August tear that included seven home runs and a 1.025 OPS. All in all, out of his 52% of his 107 hits went for extra bases.
9. Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians
One of the most underrated aspects of the Indians' World Series run last year is that they did it without a player that had performed at an All-Star level over the previous two years. Brantley will enter 2017 still hampered by a shoulder injury he suffered in late 2015 and that limited him to only 43 plate appearances a year ago. However the upside remains elite if Brantley can get healthy this year; from 2013-2015, he averaged a .308 average, a .366 on-base % with 85 RBI and 39 doubles.
8. Khris Davis, Oakland Athletics
Davis may be a one trick pony, but it is a trick he took to a new level last year. Davis cashed in on the power potential he showed as a Brewer in 2015, posting the second-highest home run rate among all MLB outfielders last year. He connected for 42 home runs, the third highest total in the American League. He connected for seven or more long balls in four out six months on the year, including a league-high 11 in the AL.
Perhaps the lesser known member of this list, but potentially the possessor of the strongest bat out of all of the much hallowed Pirates outfielders. In his second full season, Polanco began to realize his power potential, increasing his home runs from nine to 22 and his slugging % by 80+ points as well. He was on pace to have an even greater final output, but injuries and fatigue saw him post a .220 average after the All-Star Game. However, if Polanco can post two halves close to the level that he did during the first half, he could stand to be among the most productive outfielders in the game this year.
6. Adam Duvall, Cincinnati Reds
Duvall took his shot in Cincinnati and made most of it, launching himself into the ranks of the All-Star Game in his first full season. He finished in the NL top 10 in both home runs (33) and RBI (106), and is slated to move into the cleanup role this year, so he should have plenty of chances to equal his RBI total, as he’ll be stationed behind the game’s premier on-base presence in Joey Votto.
His debut as a Tiger got off to a slow start, as Upton hit only three home runs and carried a .217/.264/.326 split through the first two months of the season. But by midseason, the proven slugger had found his standard form, as he hit 22 second half long balls, including 12 in September. At only 29 years old, he’s in his tenth season and moved past 200 homers last year. His post All-Star Game OPS was over 200 points higher than in the first half, and he played a vital role in the Tigers playing over .600 baseball across June and July.
4. Matt Kemp, Atlanta Braves
Kemp has been knocked for being an injury-prone player in previous years, but now has strung together three straight years of 150 games and has successfully reinvented himself as a corner outfielder. He moved from right to left field after being traded to the Braves mid-summer, but his offensive output did not waiver. He finished third in the NL with 108 RBI, and hit 35 home runs and added on 39 doubles as well, which was good for his most total bases since 2011.
3. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
While he will never shake off the steroid suspension and the image damage he took as being a part of it all, Braun has been remarkably consistent over the past two seasons. 2016 was actually his strongest year since he was MVP runner-up in 2012, as he hit .305/.368/.538/.903 split line, which finished in the top 10 in the National League. He also reached 30 home runs for the first time since ‘12 as well. While not at the league-wide elite levels he was five years ago, Braun remains a very productive mid-lineup presence.
2. Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins
While he has long been a solid contributor at the top of the Marlins’ lineup and one of the elite outfielder defenders in the game, Yelich added a major uptick in power and run production last year. His 21 home runs, 98 RBI, 38 doubles, .376 on-base% and .859 OPS. He more than doubled his previous season-high in homers and added a Silver Slugger to his trophy case in the process. As a result, he led all NL outfielders with a 5.3 WAR.
1. Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets
Injuries limited Cespedes to 132 games last year, but he still posted impressive totals on the year, which approached some of the numbers that he met during his much hallowed debut as a Met. Cespedes embraced the role as the franchise player in Queens (a role that he re-upped in short order this winter, inking a new $110 million deal, which should afford him as many Lamborghinis and Ferraris as his heart desires), and quickly became the axis of New York offense as well. Cespedes set new personal highs in OPS (.884) and on-base % (.354), while approaching his 2015 home run total again in 130 less plate appearances.
Cespedes remains a unique athlete in the game of baseball, who makes routine plays in the field and feats at the plate look much simpler than they actually are. 2016 worked to plan for him precisely, as he kept his stock high, opted out of his previous contract and cashed in on his value as the far-and-away top positional player on the open market. And with the experiment of making him a full-time center fielder a thing of the past, if Cespedes can stay healthy, he is in position to remain constantly above 100 RBI and in the range of high 30s home run totals, which is an elite top notch return on investment for the Mets.
Just a bit outside: Jayson Werth, Nomar Mazara, Alex Gordon
Up & Comer - Kyle Schwarber, Cubs: When he returned in the World Series, it did not look as if Schwarber had not seen game action since April when he tore his ACL in a fielding accident after only four at-bats on the year. But the Cubs prolonged life in the postseason allowed for him to make a return six months later, where he showed the same dangerous life in his bat that had allowed him to hit for a .842 OPS as a rookie the previous year. He is set up now to add even more devastation to the loaded defending champs’ lineup, and is set up to be arguably the biggest ‘addition’ to any lineup in the game this year.
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