2023 Positional Power Rankings: Right Field

Judge had arguably the best walk year ever, hitting an ungodly .311/.425/.686 with 62 homers and 131 RBI, missing winning the traditional and slash-stat Triple Crowns by about five points of batting average, and taking home a record-setting nine-year, $360 million deal and the AL MVP award. Those 62 dingers set a new AL standard, and both his 207 wRC+ and his 11.4 WAR were the majors’ highest since Barry Bonds in 2004. As ever, he annihilated the baseball on contact, with the majors’ highest average exit velocity (95.9 mph), barrel rate (26.5%) and hard-hit rate (61.8%) — his second Statcast Triple Crown, if you will. Defensively, he more than held his own while making 74 starts in center field and 54 more in right.

If Harrison Bader is healthy, the Yankees plan to occasionally bump Judge over to left field and have Stanton play right, the easier corner in Yankee Stadium. In 2022, a right calf strain and left Achilles tendinitis limited Stanton to 110 games; he hasn’t played 140 or more since 2018, but for as fragile as he is, the 33-year-old slugger prefers fielding to DHing, and there’s no reason not to try in hopes he rebounds from last year’s career-worst .211/.297/.462 (115 wRC+) line and 30% strikeout rate. The versatile Cabrera hit .247/.312/.429 (111 wRC+) in 171 PA as a rookie, learning the outfield on the fly and racking up six assists and 9 DRS in just 278 innings in right.

It took a little longer than expected but Tucker has gone from top 10 prospect to bona fide star, though a midseason slump and some trouble with southpaws left his 129 wRC+ (he posted a .257/.330/.478 line) short of his 145 mark from 2021. He combined power and speed; of all players with at least 30 homers he had the most steals (25), and of all players with at least 20 steals he had the most homers. His strikeout and walk rates improved slightly relative to 2021, but he didn’t hit the ball as hard; his barrel rate dropped from 11.6% to 10.1%, his hard-hit rate from 47% to 41.9%, and his xSLG from .576 to .482. His wRC+ against lefties fell from 142 to 107, and he particularly struggled against four-seamers from them (.226 AVG/.343 SLG). Still, with strong defense and baserunning, he improved a hair to 4.7 WAR, and forecasts to top that in his age-26 season. An ankle sprain kept him out of the final two games of the World Baseball Classic, but it’s considered minor and shouldn’t threaten his Opening Day availability.

McCormick hit .245/.332/.407 (114 wRC+) en route to 2.0 WAR in just 119 games last year, with 60 appearance in center and 17 in right. He walks a lot and hits the ball reasonably hard, but a bit too often on the ground. His career 153 wRC+ in 205 PA against southpaws makes him a good alternative when Tucker needs a break.

Betts bounced back from an injury-plagued but productive 2021 (130 wRC+, 3.8 WAR) to hit .269/.340/.533 with a career-high 35 homers — no small feat under 2022 conditions — while placing sixth in the NL in both wRC+ (144) and WAR (6.6). While his 26% chase rate set a career high, his zone contact rate of 93.9% was the majors’ third-highest among qualifiers, his 6.7% swinging strike rate the fourth-lowest. He hit the ball harder than usual, as both his 9.7% barrel rate and 44.7% hard-hit rate were his highest since 2018. Defensively, he rebounded from an off year to place second in both DRS (15) and UZR (12.5), and tie for third in RAA (4).

With Taylor in the mix for shortstop following the loss of Gavin Lux, the Dodgers say Betts will play around 20 games at second base to give Miguel Vargas some breathers. How well that works given several question marks in the outfield remains to be seen, but the team has been intrigued by the 33-year-old Heyward, who hit just .211/.280/.326 (67 wRC+) in 504 PA in 2021–22 but showed renewed promise in early spring action with a rebuilt swing. It’s hard to believe it will work, but they’ve had incredible success turning other teams’ castoffs into useful players. Taylor, who’s coming off a rough, injury-plagued season, or Outman, a 40 FV prospect who made the Opening Day roster and could hit his way into a significant role, could see time here as well.

Acuña wasn’t quite himself in returning from a July 2021 right ACL tear. He did swipe 29 bases, his most since 2019, but his batting performance (.266/.351/.413, 114 wRC+ with 15 homers) was the worst of his career, with bad months following good ones; his career-high chase and swing rates (28.5% and 47.9%, respectively) suggested he was pressing, particularly as his September numbers rose higher amid deeper struggles. The good news is that he pounded the ball, with his average exit velocity, barrel and hard-hit rates, xSLG and xwOBA all placing in the 88th to 95th percentiles, and his 116.6 mph max EV in the 98th; the power is still there, but his 73-point shortfall in xSLG was the majors’ second-largest. Following a normal offseason rather than a rehab-focused one, he’ll play the outfield with greater regularity, and the hope is that he’ll regain elite form.

In the wake of his 2021 postseason heroics, Rosario battled vision problems, missing two and a half months following laser eye surgery to correct blurred vision; he hit just .212/.259/.328 (61 wRC+) in 270 PA. Early indications are that he’s seeing the ball well again, which is great to hear, but he’s still a corner outfielder with a career 102 wRC+ and a net of 1.4 WAR over the past four seasons. Hilliard and Luplow have both shown flashes of quality play, but in their late 20s have yet to put it all together.

Tatis lost his whole age-23 season to foolishness. He fractured his left wrist in an offseason motorcycle accident, and following surgery to repair his scaphoid bone once the lockout ended, tested positive for Clostebol as he neared a return, earning an 80-game suspension. In his absence, he lost the shortstop job, first to Ha-Seong Kim and then Xander Bogaerts, so now he’s a right fielder who still has 20 games of his suspension to serve. Upon returning, he’ll have his work cut out trying to live up to the legend of the 22-year-old who hit 42 homers, slashed .282/.364/.611 (157 wRC+) and stole 25 bases in 2021. No pressure, kid.

In Tatis’ absence, the Padres could tap Soto, who played right field after being acquired last year but is slated to be the regular left fielder. Engel hit well in limited duty for the White Sox in 2020–21, but owns a career 72 wRC+ and managed just a 63 wRC+ (.224/.269/.310) with a 4.9% walk rate and 29.2% strikeout rate in 2022. Carpenter hasn’t played right field since 2014 and has just 202.1 innings at the outfield corners for his career, but after last year’s remarkable comeback with the Yankees (.305/.412/.727 for a 217 wRC+ with 15 homers in 154 PA), he’s worth squeezing into the lineup. Azocar, a speedster with 30-grade raw power, hit just .257/.298/.332 as a rookie, but has adjusted to barrel the ball with notable frequently this spring.

Limited to just 78 games in 2021 due to injuries, Springer played in 133 last year amid numerous owies: a sprained ankle, a bruised knee, ongoing right elbow discomfort due to a bone spur that was surgically removed in October, and a collision-induced concussion and shoulder strain that ended his season during the Wild Card Series. Somehow, he hit a very respectable .267/.342/.472 (132 wRC+) with 25 homers and 14 steals, the latter his highest total since 2015; he did all that even with his barrel rate dropping from a career-best 15.3% to 8.3%, which probably owed to the elbow. With the additions of Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier, the Jays are moving Springer from center field to right full-time; he made just two starts there last year but has more in right than center for his career.

Merrifield set across-the-board career worsts with his .250/.298/.375 (88 wRC+) line last year, even though he fared much better upon being traded to the Blue Jays (119 wRC+) than before (79 wRC+). It was his second straight season of below-average offense, but where he stole 40 bases and played good defense at second base in 2021, he sank to 16 steals, struggled at the keystone, and spent far more time in the outfield in ’22. Either he or Biggio, who also scuffled at the plate for the second straight season, will step in when Springer needs to DH or take a day off.

Suzuki had an uneven first season stateside. He was at his hottest in April and September, but struggled mightily in May and then missed all of June with a left ring finger sprain. In all, he played in 111 games and hit .262/.336/.433 (116 wRC+). He did barrel the ball 11% of the time (78th percentile) and showed impressive plate discipline and speed as well, but he was a bit subpar afield (-4 DRS, -4 RAA). For all of that, ZiPS suggests that the 28-year-old Suzuki has breakout potential based on his longer track record; as Dan Szymborski noted, it’s a mistake “if you just assume that one of Japan’s best hitters in 2021 can’t be a star here.”

With Suzuki likely to miss the first couple weeks of the season due to an oblique strain, Mancini could see more time in right in addition to his duties DHing and platooning at first. He hit .268/.347/.404 (116 wRC+) with 10 homers for the Orioles before being traded to the Astros and falling into a seemingly bottomless slump that carried through the postseason; at one point he went 32 days without a hit. His batted ball stats weren’t spectacular but they suggest he deserved better. Wisdom, the regular third baseman, provides some positional flexibility with his ability to play first and both outfield corners; he hit the ball hard, but doesn’t make enough contact.

The Dodgers often remind each other that “barrels are overrated” but the Mets right field options underscore the point very well, as Marte, Canha, and McNeil each produced a 128 wRC+ or better last year despite barrel rates that placed in the 41st percentile or below. Though his season wasn’t up to the level of his stellar 2021 (134 wRC+, 47 steals, 5.5 WAR), Marte’s first campaign as a Met was a good one. He actually posted a career-best 136 wRC+ (.292/.347/.468) even while shedding 36 points of OBP relative to 2021 and walking less (just 5.2%), but his 16 homers was his highest total since ’19. Unfortunately, he missed the final four weeks of the regular season with a nondisplaced fracture of his right middle finger. He slipped to 3.0 WAR due to a 12.5-run fall-off in baserunning (he was 18-for-27 in steals after getting caught just five times in 2021) and subpar defense in right compared to above-average work in center the year before.

Canha played only six games in right in 2022, down from 27 the year before. In his first year in Queens, he quickly became a fan favorite while hitting .266/.367/.403 (128 wRC+). McNeil, the team’s primary second baseman, played 13 games in right plus another 34 in left while hitting .326/.382/.454 (136 wRC+) en route to the NL batting title.

Mechanical adjustments at Driveline turned Nootbar from a forgotten fringe prospect lacking in power — he was a 35+ FV on the team’s 2018 list, and didn’t reach double digits in home runs until ’21 — to a regular on a playoff team and an international sensation with Japan’s World Baseball Classic squad. Though he spent most of the first quarter of the season at Triple-A Memphis, Bader’s plantar fasciitis opened up playing time given Carlson’s shift to center, and Nootbar took advantage. Batting average aside, his .228/.340/.448 (125 wRC+) showing was impressive for his combination of plate discipline and loud contact; his chase rate was under 25%, his walk rate nearly 15%, and his exit velocity, barrel and hard-hit rates all placed in the 80th-to-90th percentile range.

Nootbar’s emergence was all the more important given the ho-hum seasons of the far more heralded Carlson and Tyler O’Neill. The former hit just .236/.316/.380 (100 wRC+) with a meager 4.4% barrel rate and 27.2% hard-hit rate. The silver lining of his season was above-average work in center (6 DRS, 1.8 UZR, 2 RAA), though the 530-inning sample size bears noting. Walker, 12th on our Top 100 Prospects list, is converting from third base to outfield; he has yet to play above Double-A and has contact concerns, but also 70-grade power and a strong arm.

Renfroe bashed 29 homers and set career bests in both wRC+ (124, via a .255/.315/.492 line) and WAR (2.5). His barrel rate dropped 3.5 percentage points to 10.9%, and his xSLG from .506 to .438, but he got a bit lucky, exceeding his Statcast-expected home run total by three. Now on his fifth team in as many seasons after San Diego, Tampa Bay, Boston, and last year Milwaukee, he is what he is, a power-hitting, pull-happy, low-OBP slugger who does a solid job in right field. If he can replicate that 2022 showing for the Angels — who got 2.8 WAR out of their right fielders but just 0.2 out of left, where they’ve moved Ward — they’ll come out ahead.

Ward enjoyed quite the breakout, hitting .281/.360/.473 with 23 homers; his 137 wRC+ was the highest of any Angels outfielder besides Mike Trout since the future Hall of Famer’s 2012 rookie season. With him starting in left unless Adell hits his way back to the majors, Phillips is the backup here; one can’t help but admire his spirt while hoping he can do better than last year’s cringeworthy .144/.217/.249 (38 wRC+) line and that rough projection above.

Strong defense (10 DRS, 11 RAA) propped up Kepler’s WAR to 2.0 despite yet another subpar season at the plate. For the second year in a row and fifth out of seven, he finished with a wRC+ in the mid-90s, that via a meager .227/.318/.348 line and a full-season low nine homers. To be fair, while his barrel rate dropped from 10.8% to 7.1% and his other contact stats dipped as well, his results fall far short of both his .266 xBA and .412 xSLG; on the other hand, his 45.7% groundball rate represented his highest mark since 2016, which helps to solve the mystery of why his ISO was 61 points lower than in any previous season. This ranking suggests he projects to be better, but color this scribe skeptical.

Larnach, once a 55 FV prospect due to his plus power and patience, hit .231/.306/.406 (102 wRC+) last year with strong defense in both corners, which seems particularly promising in this crowd. Gallo spent a year and two months almost completely lost at the plate, the result of mechanical flaws that sent his strikeout rate soaring. Still, he’s just a year removed from a 38-homer, 122 wRC+, 4.2-WAR showing, has reunited with some folks from his Rangers days, and remains an excellent defender, so a bounce back is possible.

Imagine trading Mookie Betts and having the only bona fide major leaguer you received deliver just 1.2 WAR and a 103 wRC+ in full-time duty after playing his way out of center field in his mid-20s. That’s the reality for the Red Sox, as Verdugo has now produced three years of diminishing returns. Even while hitting the ball in the air with greater frequency than at any other point in his major league career, he produced middling contact stats en route to a .280/.328/.405 line and had his worst overall year defensively (-5 DRS, -0.6 UZR, -4 RAA) while making 98 starts in left and 51 in right. With Masataka Yoshida in left and Duvall and Enrique Hernández in center, Verdugo will try to rebound in right.

Playing for his sixth team in six seasons, and benefitting from a trip to Driveline to improve his bat speed, Refsnyder had his best showing yet last year, batting .307/.384/.497 (147 wRC+) with a 10.9% barrel rate. Yes, it was only 177 PA, but it set him up with a chance to stay in one place and shed the Quad-A tag that he’s carried into his 30s. Tapia hit the ball harder than ever in 2022… and it still wasn’t enough for him to escape the gravitational pull of replacement level. Duvall didn’t play after July 23 due to a left wrist sprain. His big power and strong defense help to offset his high-K/low-OBP combo.

Such has been the turnover on the A’s roster that Laureano is one of just a few players remaining from their last playoff team in 2020. Between serving the last 27 games of an 80-game PED suspension and battling multiple injuries (right hand, left oblique, and right hip, the last of which required a PRP injection), he played in just 94 games and developed bad habits at the plate trying to compensate. Not surprisingly, he produced career worsts with a .211/.287/.376 (96 wRC+) line, more or less torpedoing his trade value while the A’s continued to clean house. He was helpless against breaking balls and offspeed pitches (.140 AVG/.211 SLG for the former, .135/.324 for the latter, with respective whiff rates of 40.4% and 36.7%). He was also in the red defensively in his short time in center field but fared better in right field.

Brown’s primary job is as the lefty-swinging half of a first base platoon. With 25 homers and 11 steals, he counts as the A’s biggest power-speed threat, not to mention their top returning hitter given his 117 wRC+ (.230/.305/.444). For as hard as he hits the ball, his contact issues limit his impact. Bleday, the fourth pick of the 2019 draft by Miami, hit a woeful .167/.277/.309 in 238 PA as a rookie. Acquired for A.J. Puk in February, he’ll start the year in Triple-A.

In case you were worried that Haniger’s 157-game, 39-homer comeback in 2021 was too much of a good thing, a bout of COVID-19, a high ankle sprain, and lower back tightness limited him to just to 57 games in ’22. He was still reasonably productive when he did play (.246/.308/.429, 11 HR, 113 wRC+), but he popped up a ton and his xSLG fell by 47 points relative to 2021 even while his barrel rate barely budged. News that he’s likely to start the year on the IL with an oblique strain has a real déjà vu feel to it.

Speaking of injuries, Conforto missed all of 2022 after undergoing right (throwing) shoulder surgery last April to repair damage sustained during offseason training. He had reached free agency following a pretty disappointing 2021 campaign (.232/.344/.384, 104 wRC+, 1.4 WAR) and the rejection of an $18.4 million qualifying offer. Eased into activity this spring, he’s homered four times in his first 11 games, but that’s hardly definitive. Plans for him to play more left field are on hold with Haniger’s injury. Pederson set career highs in wRC+ (144, via a .274/.353/.521 line), barrel rate (15.1%), and xSLG (.502) in his first season as a Giant; he’ll serve as the team’s primary DH, be in the mix at both outfield corners, and perhaps dabble at first base. Yastrzemski, whose production has receded since his 2021 breakout, has taken some pressure off his bat by showing the ability to man center field regularly.

Santander enjoyed a nice breakout in his age-27 season, spending the full campaign in the majors for the first time, bashing 33 homers, and hitting .240/.318/.455 (120 wRC+) with 2.5 WAR. He showed better plate discipline, and dramatically improved his performance against curves, sliders and changeups, cutting his strikeout rate from 23.1% to 18.9% while improving his walk rate from 5.3% to 8.5% and his barrel rate from 8.4% to 11.6%. He’s not exactly a high-OBP guy, but the projections suggest he can maintain this level.

Hays, who’s slated to be the Orioles’ regular left fielder, split his time at the two corners last year, hitting a modest .250/.306/.413; his AVG, OBP and 105 wRC+ barely budged from 2021 even while his SLG dropped 48 points. Coswer, the fifth pick of the 2021 draft, is a lefty-swinging center fielder who split last year between High-, Double-, and Triple-A, hitting .278/.406/.469 but striking out nearly 28% of the time. His contact issues and defensive ability may push him into a corner platoon role.

Acquired from Toronto in November, Hernández backslid a bit after strong 2020–21 work, losing about 30 points of AVG/OBP/SLG, though his .267/.316/.491 line still yielded a 129 wRC+. As his 6.4% walk rate and 28.4% strikeout rate attest, he’s not the most disciplined hitter, but he puts a charge in the ball; his average exit velo, barrel and hard-hit rates, and xSLG all placed in the 94th percentile or above. He vaporizes four-seamers; his .733 SLG and 20 runs above average both trailed only Judge and Yordan Alvarez. On the other hand, Hernández dropped from 14 runs above average to eight below against sliders, and his defense was a few runs below average via the major metrics, too.

Even with Haniger, Lewis, and Jesse Winker gone, the Mariners’ crowded outfield could shake out in a few ways. Kelenic, still just 23, has hit just .168/.251/.338 (55 wRC+) in 558 big league PA while striking out almost 30% of the time. He’ll primarily platoon in left with Pollock (a righty) and/or Haggerty (a switch-hitter). Pollock, who cratered (.245/.292/.389, 92 wRC+) in Chicago after a strong finish in Los Angeles, will get a shot at both corners and DH. Haggerty, who can play all three outfield spots as well as the infield, hit .256/.335/.403 (114 wRC+) in 201 PA last year. All of that probably keeps Trammell in Triple-A; he’s recovering from surgery to repair a broken hamate and has struggled in the majors.

One of the majors’ fastest players, McCarthy bounced between Triple-A and the Diamondbacks last year, coming up for good just before the All-Star break and taking over left field after David Peralta was traded. He outdid expectations, hitting .283/.342/.427 with 23 steals (in 26 attempts) in just 99 games. McCarthy doesn’t hit the ball very hard (4.8% barrel rate, 33.3% hard-hit rate), but he keeps it on the ground and lets his 98th-percentile sprint speed do the work; his .291 BABIP on groundballs ranked 34th out of 287 players with at least 60 grounders last season. Maintaining that could be a challenge, but if he does, he’ll be a lot of fun to watch.

Between recovering from his third surgery on his right knee and sustaining a concussion, Lewis went just 5-for-56 in 18 games for the Mariners last year, bringing his two-year total to 54 games amid a litany of injuries. He’s barely played a full season’s worth of major league ball and even with last year’s slump, has hit .244/.329/.432 (113 wRC+) with 25 homers and 2.6 WAR in 526 PA. At 27, he’s still young enough to build upon that… if he can ever stay healthy.

Lowe, a 2016 first-round pick with plus power and speed, made the Rays out of spring training last season but struggled in two stints with the team, hitting .221/.284/.343 (83 wRC+) with a 33.3% strikeout rate and just a 5.2% barrel rate in 52 games. He’s impressed the Rays this spring, however, and they see him a lefty-swinging complement to a righty-heavy group of outfielders.

Margot, who will see time at the other two outfield spots as well, will likely be Lowe’s primary platoon partner. Though limited to 89 games last year by right hamstring and knee sprains, his .274/.325/.375 (106 wRC+) line set career highs in all but SLG. He doesn’t hit the ball very hard, but his speed — which ranked in the 87th percentile or above from 2016-21 — has been an asset both on offense and defense; we’ll see if it returns.

Arozarena, fresh off a star turn for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, will primarily play left field. Contrary to what his prime time exploits might have you believe, pitchers do get him out, though his 125 wRC+ (.263/.327/.445) and 20-homer, 32-steal combination marks him as a threat. Ramírez enjoyed a nice breakout (.300/.343/.404, 119 wRC+) in his fourth season and will be the primary DH, picking up time at both corners and first base as well.

A relentless series of illnesses and injuries — vertigo, COVID-19, bilateral Achilles tendon strains, and mental health struggles — limited Austin Meadows to just 36 major league games last year before the Tigers shut him down in September. Though he’s never come close to his 144-wRC+, 4.5-WAR performance with the Rays in 2019, he’s a career .259/.334/.475 (120 wRC+) hitter who has patience and power. Still just 27 years old (28 on May 3), he hopefully has a lot of good baseball ahead of him.

Given his career 91 wRC+ against lefties, Meadows will need a platoon partner, but the Tigers are extremely lefty-heavy in the outfield, with Greene (the starting center fielder), Carpenter, Parker Meadows (Austin’s younger brother) and left fielder Akil Bodoo all lefties as well. Vierling is a righty; he scuffled in his rookie season with the Phillies (.246/.297/.351, 81 wRC+) but has a 109 wRC+ in 178 PA against lefties. Carpenter, a 25-year-old former 19th-round pick, revamped his swing and rocketed through Double- and Triple-A to hit .252/.310/.485 in 113 PA for the Tigers; he has plus raw power but, as his 28.3% strikeout rate suggests, contact issues. The younger Meadows, who’s 23, is a toolsy center field prospect whose stock rose considerably after a breakthrough at Double-A Erie.

After making the AL All-Star team as a rookie in 2021, García started slowly and hit .237/.282/.439 (101 wRC+) through an uneven first half, but a stronger second half lifted him to a .250/.300/.456 (112 wRC+) final line, accompanied by 27 homers and 25 steals. As in 2021, he chased about 40% of pitches outside the zone, though he did cut his strikeout rate a couple of points to 27.9%, and pummeled the ball, with his exit velocity, barrel and hard-hit rates ranging from the 88th to 92nd percentiles. He played good enough defense — with 427.1 innings in center and 750 in right — to finish at 3.8 WAR. His playing time is expected to tilt more towards right this year.

Grossman’s a switch-hitter who’s far more productive against lefties than righties (122 wRC+ vs. 96 for his career); the split was much wider last year, but the distribution was so heavily weighted towards righties that he hit just .209/.310/.311 (82 wRC+), which, yikes. Miller’s production fell off the table as well (.212/.270/.320, 69 wRC+) after three years of above-average work. Frazier has been through a couple of lost seasons since his 2020 breakout, with post-concussion woes a major factor; a reunion with hitting coach Tim Hyers drew him to the Rangers organization and has helped his bid to make the team.

In the finale of his eight-year run in San Diego, Myers played in just 77 games, losing two months to a bothersome right knee. He hit a modest .261/.315/.398 (104 wRC+) and was more prone to chasing than before; he posted his lowest walk rate (7.3%), second-highest strikeout rate (30.1%), and worst xwOBA (.288) of his career. His defense has been all over the map lately but is generally passable; in 1,673.1 innings in right since 2020, he’s totaled -4 DRS, 4 RAA, and -2.7 UZR.

Myers could see time at first base in the early going as Joey Votto works his way back from shoulder surgery, opening playing time for Fraley, a lefty who hit .259/.344/.468 with 12 homers in 247 PA, doing so despite a 5-for-43 April and nearly three months lost due to right knee inflammation. Fraley has good on-base skills but doesn’t hit the ball hard, as his 85.7 mph average exit velo and 27.4% hard-hit rate attest.

Benson is a former Guardians first-round pick whose contact issues have made him a 35+ FV prospect with 70-grade raw power from the left side, though he can play center field. Fairchild was DFA’d by the Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Giants last year before returning to the Reds, who chose him in the second round in 2017. He hit .279/.374/.523 with five homers in 110 PA; he’s been optioned this spring but if he continues to show power, he’ll be back.

The emergence of speedy center fielder Garrett Mitchell and the trade of Renfroe have opened up right field for Taylor, a very good defender who slipped to a .233/.286/.442 (102 wRC+) line after a stronger 2021. While his barrel rate improved from 7.6% to 9.9%, his strikeout and walk rates both moved in the wrong direction, with the former increasing from 21.8% to 25.2% and the latter dropping from 7.4% to 5.4%. He received a PRP injection for a right elbow sprain earlier this month and is expected to miss the first month of the season.

Anderson spent a good chunk of the past six seasons playing third base for the Marlins, sometimes dabbling in the outfield corners as well. He’s coming off a career-worst offensive performance (.222/.311/.346, 90 wRC+) but hoping to benefit from a change of scenery while spending time at multiple positions. Winker was a shadow of his former self in his lone season with the Mariners, hitting just .219/.344/.344 (108 wRC+) but walking a career-high 15.4% of the time. A pair of offseason surgeries to repair the torn meniscus of his left knee and replace a cervical disk helps to explain his struggles. He’ll mostly DH early in the year and hope to build up to outfield work.

As a 24-year-old rookie, Gonzalez became a postseason hero last fall thanks to a pair of game-winning hits on top of a

.296/.327/.461 (126 wRC+) regular season performance in 382 PA. However, he chased 48.3% of pitches out of the zone, 0.4 points off major league leader Javier Báez’s clip, and his 3.9% walk rate was hardly an aberration, a reminder that his swing-happy approach offsets his plus power and other tools, and raises questions about whether he can maintain that productivity.

Brennan, a contact-oriented 25-year-old rookie, had a scalding cup of coffee last fall (.357/.400/.500 in 45 PA). He has a compact left-handed swing and a good enough glove and arm for center field, but his 30-grade game power probably limits him to backup outfielder status. Valera has pull-side power and plate discipline but also contact issues. He’s got just 42 games at Triple-A under his belt, so it could be awhile before he has a real chance to make an impact.

With Harper’s Tommy John surgery keeping him out for at least the season’s first quarter if not the entire first half, Castellanos is back in the field following a dreadful beginning to his five-year, $100 million deal. He matched his career-worst 94 wRC+ via a .263/.305/.389 line, set career lows with a 5.2% walk rate and 6.6% barrel rate, and homered just 13 times. He was even worse afield (-8 DRS, -10 RAA, -7.6 UZR) and sank to -0.7 WAR. Adjustments to move closer to the plate and resist chasing low-and-away breaking balls (against which he hit and slugged .100 and had a 71% whiff rate in 52 PA) should help at least somewhat, but the sooner that Harper — who hit .286/.364/.514 (138 wRC+) while playing through a small UCL tear in his right (throwing) elbow — can get back out there, the better.

The lefty-swinging Cave has not aged well since his introductory success with the Twins in 2018-19. In the three years since, he’s hit .206/.262/.351 (70 wRC+) in 478 PA, but he’s been hitting the ball hard this spring and could see some of the playing time created by the ripple effects of Rhys Hoskins’ injury. Guthrie is a 27-year-old who didn’t reach Triple-A until 2021 but who made the Phillies’ postseason roster after a .302/.363/.476 showing at Lehigh Valley and a hot 28-PA stretch in the bigs; prior to 2022, he’d never even posted a 100 wRC+ in anything close to a full minor league season.

A lower back strain and plantar fasciitis limited Bryant to just 42 games in the first year of his seven-year, $182 million contract. Despite meager Statcast numbers (85 mph exit velo, 6.7% barrel rate, 27.9% hard-hit rate) and a career-high 40% groundball rate, he still hit a respectable .306/.376/.475 (125 wRC+). Interestingly enough, he struck out just 14.9% of the time, about eight points below his 2021 mark and less than half his 2015 rookie mark. All of this may simply be small-sample weirdness; here’s hoping we get a much longer look at a healthy Bryant in 2023.

Blackmon edged even closer to replacement level than in his previous two subpar seasons, hitting .264/.314/.419 for an 89 wRC+ with 0.1 WAR. He’s a franchise icon with a guaranteed contract (he’s in the final year of his six-year, $118 million deal) but at 36 years old and with three straight years of sagging production behind him, he in no way merits 500-plus PA unless his performance improves. Grichuk isn’t necessarily a better option based on his recent work, however, and he’s likely to miss half of April recovering from offseason hernia surgery.

Since 2016, García hasn’t strung together back-to-back seasons of above- or below-average play. In each of the past four even-numbered years, he’s finished with a wRC+ of 92 or lower and a WAR of less than 1.0 (last year he had a 66 wRC+ and -0.6 WAR), while in the three odd-numbered years he’s hit for a 113 wRC+ or better with a WAR of 2.1 or higher. In truth such patterns often owe to a player’s inability to stay healthy, and indeed, García’s years have all been abbreviated ones; he played just 98 games last year due to a recurrent left hamstring strain. He’s going on 32 but just a year removed from a career-high 29 homers, a 116 wRC+, and a solid 2.8 WAR; it wouldn’t be that odd if he bounces back.

De La Cruz and Sánchez, who together figure to cover most of the work in left field, are the most likely candidates to take the playing time in right that Garciá doesn’t. Both are young, free swingers who haven’t put it all together yet; of the two, De La Cruz (.252/.294/.432, 104 wRC+) made the better contact last year but fell 66 points short of his xSLG while Sanchez (.214/.280/.403, 83 wRC+) was 20 points ahead of his xSLG. For the moment, the pair may be battling for the same roster spot, but Sánchez is out of options, while De La Cruz has one remaining.

Viewed as a fourth outfielder type amid St. Louis’ glut of homegrown flychasers, Thomas got a full season in Washington to show what he could do… and illustrated that everyday play might be a stretch. He wasn’t hopeless, putting together some good months and a 114 wRC+ second half, and playing respectable defense at all three outfield spots, but overall he hit .241/.301/.404 (96 wRC+). His 94 wRC+ and 0.9 WAR as an outfielder were respectively the eighth- and fifth-lowest among the 31 players who made at least 500 PA as outfielders. He didn’t hit the ball very hard; his average exit velo placed in the 10th percentile, his hard-hit rate in the 18th, and his .357 xSLG in the 23rd. For a rebuilding club, he’s a decent placeholder and at 27 years old not without a bit more growth potential, but there’s a reason the Nationals rank this low here.

Call is another fourth outfielder type with enough tools to stick around but a limited ceiling. He made the most of his 131 PA debut with the Guardians and Nationals, hitting .237/.336/.412 (113 wRC+), but like Thomas he was well ahead of his Statcast numbers, which included just one (1) barrel and a .290 xSLG. Meneses was a sensation, a 30-year-old rookie who hit .324/.367/.563 with 13 homers, a 156 wRC+ and 1.5 WAR in 240 PA after being called up to replace the traded Josh Bell. Just about the only downside to his performance was his shaky work in right field; 183 innings is a very small sample but his -6 DRS, -3.2 UZR and -2 RAA send a clear message.

McCutchen is back in black and gold, but at 36 years old, he’s no longer anything close to the star he was during his 2009-18 run with the Pirates. Last year he hit .237/.316/.384 (98 wRC+), setting career lows in all but batting average, and netting 0.3 WAR. His overall contact, while middling, was a bit better than that slash line suggests (.252 xBA/.406 xSLG), but not exactly promising. He played 453 total innings in the outfield including 153 in right (his first time there since 2018), and while his metrics were decent, he’s generally been in the red for years. We can hope he turns back the clock, but nobody should expect miracles here.

Smith-Njigba is a barrel-chested 23-year-old lefty with an overly patient approach and big raw power that he’s rarely reached in games. He homered once in 218 PA at Triple-A last year while hitting .277/.387/.408 with a 15.1% walk rate, but a fractured right wrist ended his season in mid-June after just three games with the Pirates. Loud contact this spring may help him stick. Mitchell hit .226/.286/.349 (79 wRC+) in 232 PA with the Pirates, pulling the ball frequently but too often on the ground. He’s got an aggressive approach and average power but needs to improve upon his 22.4% strikeout rate and .358 xSLG if/when he’s promoted after being optioned. Suwinski hit .202/.298/.411 (107 wRC+) with 19 homers and a 30.1% strikeout rate as a rookie while splitting time at all three outfield positions; he’s slated for an expanded role in center.

Suffice it to say that the Royals’ outfield picture is particularly murky at this writing. Eaton is a 26-year-old righty who has been shifted from third base, and who blazed through Double-A and Triple-A before hitting .264/.331/.387 (101 wRC+) with 11 steals in 122 PA in the majors. He has a great arm, good speed, and average raw power but rarely hit the ball hard last year; a utility role could be in his future. Olivares, a 27-year-old righty, spent the full season on the major league roster last year but was limited to 53 games (pus another 26 on rehab assignments) due to strains in both quads; he did hit .286/.333/.410 (110 wRC+) when available, and his .433 xSLG offers hope for even more production.

Melendez, a 24-year-old lefty swinger, placed 24th on our Top 100 Prospects list last year as a catcher with plus raw power. He hit .217/.313/.393 (99 wRC+) as a rookie while making 65 starts behind the plate and 37 at the two outfield corners; his defensive metrics were uniformly negative (the catcher ones very much so), but he’s got enough power and patience to try squeezing his bat in somewhere. Isbel is a speed-and-defense lefty who hit just .211/.264/.340 (67 wRC+) with a 27% strikeout rate as a rookie. He has the tools for center, where he played 30 games last year, and could get a longer look with Drew Waters sidelined by an oblique strain.

Colas is a 24-year-old Cuban emigré who hit .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers while rocketing through three minor league levels last year after spending his ages 18-20 seasons splitting time between the Japanese minors and Cuba’s Series Nacional, then landing a $2.7 million bonus from the White Sox in January 2022. Strikeout-prone but with plus raw power, Colas doesn’t project particularly well given his slim body of stateside work. Scouting grades on him range from a 45 FV player to a 55, but he could wind up better than advertised here.

Sheets hit .250/.324/.506 in a promising 54-game introduction to the majors in 2021, but slipped to .241/.295/.411 in a much more substantial slice of playing time last year, and even that was better than he may have deserved given his 6.5% barrel rate and .359 xSLG — which isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a 6-foot-5, 230-pound lefty masher. Jiménez, primarily a DH now, was limited to 84 games by a right hamstring strain after playing just 55 the year before. He utterly demolished the ball when he played, batting .295/.358/.500 (144 wRC+) with top-tier contact stats. He’s not very good in the field and has’t played in right since the minors in 2018, but he’s lost weight and is working at the position in the wake of being bumped out of left by Andrew Benintendi’s arrival.