WaiverSharks 2009 Preseason

Fantasy Baseball Rankings:

Outfield #26 - #50

This Fantasy Outfield rankings list consists of players who are all solid selections, but who don’t share the same guarantees as our Cream of the Crop suggestions. Any of these guys would make for decent additions to your Fantasy team, but some of them lack a bit of power, some are not quite proven, and some are perhaps past the prime of their once illustrious careers.

#26 to #50 - Outfield's Next Level

26) Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim Angels – “Vlady” may be digressing somewhat – and steals are no longer a part of his repertoire – but he still is a solid outfield choice, albeit no longer a TOP 10 in our opinion.

27) Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals – What can this guy possibly do for an encore? We shall see. Many are expecting a bit of a step back – but Sir Albert Pujols should continue to lend a hand in padding Ludwicks production regardless.

28) Corey Hart, Milwaukee Brewers – Corey Hart certainly didn’t have the year the Brewers hoped for in 2008 – but he still managed to join the 20/20 club once again.

29) Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins – Delmon Young was suppose to be the NEXT big thing according to the expert elite a few years back – unfortunately his initial results have been somewhat dissatisfying due to his apparent lack of power. But a closer look at his 2008 stats shows his power outage until June contributed mainly to his poor homerun season. Perhaps, being traded to a new team caused the talented right-hander to initially press a bit too much? So, in our eyes Dmitri’s kid brother remains a high upside outfielder who would make his owners look like geniuses if he can learn to turn the high number of doubles he’s hit the past two season into homeruns. Reminder: Delmon is still only 23 years old!

30) Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies – Although not noted for his power, the “Flyin’ Hawaiin” manages to club the occasional dinger over Citizens Banks short porch, and to go along with 30-40 steals he’ll net you, he makes for an ideal second or third outfielder.

31) Pat Burrell, Tampa Bay Rays – He won’t steal you a single base and his average will lean towards the .250 mark - but Burrell has managed to hit around 30 homeruns the past three seasons. Yep, Pat the Bat is one of those not so sexy fantasy draft pick-ups, everyone struggles to make. So, let’s spice up his ranking with an uninhibited, gratuitous pic of one of our favorite actresses – Megan Fox!

Selecting Pat Burrell or Raul Ibanez in a Fantasy Draft is the opposite of this Megan Fox photo.

32) Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies – Hawpe doesn’t get much hype. But his regular gig in Colorado ’s Coors Field has brought forth solid results the past few seasons.

33) Chris B. Young, Arizona Diamondbacks – Hits for power – and he steals a fair amount of bases. Often compared to a young Mike Cameron, Chris B. Young (Not to be confused with the giant redwood who pitches for the Padres) needs to bump up his average to take his game to the next level.

34) Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays – Wells is a puzzling fantasy player whose inconsistency can sometimes be very frustrating. His 2008 season was mired by a 2 month wrist injury – but he’s a Top 25 OF if he can remain healthy.

35) Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds – They still call me BRUCE should continue his growth spurt in 2009 – taking his bat to new heights while employing that sweet stroke in the sandbox size dimensions of Great American Ballpark in Cincy.

36) Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox – Dye is getting up there in age – but provided he remains with the White Sox he should still produce in the friendly confines of U.S. Cellular.

37) Conor Jackson, Arizona Diamondbacks – Action Jackson broke out in 2008, and yet the go about his business player he is doesn’t generally command a lot of hype and fanfare – making him a likely good middle round outfield grab.

38) Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers – Will the Dodgers bring back Manram? Ethier’s stock rose last season once Manny Ramirez arrived in LA – but even without Manny Andre Ethier is a capable bat who makes for a solid third or fourth fantasy outfielder.

39) Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies – Should be pretty interesting how the seldom appreciated fantasy services of Raul Ibanez pans out in Philly.

40) Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds – Toronto native Joey Votto may see most of his playing time at First Base, rather than the outfield – but we don’t care if he grabs a mask and takes a few Volquez fastballs to the catcher’s mitt! (won’t happen)

The fact remains Joey Votto is primed for a breakout season, and not even Dusty Bakers debatable line-up card or Mr. Redlegs giant baseball head should be standing in his way of getting every day at bats. We agree - this is a bold statement, but WaiverSharks.com originated in Canada - so we get pretty excited over our homegrown heroes!

41) Xavier Nady, New York Yankees – We wonder if Nady’s father was a Xaviera Hollander fan? Either way, he’ll bat in a potent one to nine line-up in New York . The righty shouldn’t have to fight for everyday at bats - although at this time the Yankees appear to have around 300 outfielders! Sparta!

42) Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox – By now, unless you’re in a league of rookies and buffoons (Let’s bring back that word!) the White Sox rising star with the body of J.J. “Dynomite!” Walker should be off the board to plug in for someone’s middle infield – but he will likely qualify as an outfielder in many leagues.

43) Rick Ankiel, St. Louis Cardinals – Pitcher turned outfielder Rick Ankiel has been involved in some offseason trade rumors. Keep a close look on if he’s dealt anywhere before spring.

44) Fred Lewis, San Francisco Giants – The Giants team doesn’t garner a ton of attention outside of a guy named Lincecum – YET. The teams core nucleus is very young – but they could churn out a few more fantasy surprises the next couple years. Fast Freddy Lewis, like the Twins Denard Span of the American League is a player you may want to target if your league factors in triples towards your statistics.

45) Nick Swisher, New York Yankees – We had loftier hopes for “Nick the Stick” when he became a Chicago White Sox player last year. After a rather dismal one year stint in Chi-town he packs up his beard color and heads to the Big Apple – where he’ll potentially end up in a platoon if he struggles the way he did last season. *Sigh* We miss the innocent days when Swish was just a super cool unshaven hippy with the A’s.

46) Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks – “Potential” is a component no Fantasy manager should ever forget and Justin Upton clearly has BIG potential!

47) Milton Bradley, Chicago Cubs – Despite a very productive season in ’08, and recently being signed with the Cubbies - playing the “Where should I draft Milton Bradley” game kind of sucks. We will likely avoid him, and let another manager endure the unpredictable goings on of the volatile and oft-injured Mister Bradley.

48) Mark DeRosa, Cleveland Indians – Although he is slated to be the Tribes new third basemen you can slot him into practically any position on your Fantasy roster – he has a hot wife - and he’ll even wash your car! Okay the last statement isn’t true – but maybe his wife would?

Wash on… Wash off Miss Miyagi!

49) Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals – Jose enjoyed a fairly fruitful fantasy 2008 season – and even managed to rustle the feathers of a few Royals teammates last year! Way to go Jose!

50) Lastings Milledge, Washington Nationals - The colorful Lastings Milledge appeared to show some maturity in 2008 – if he can continue to focus his mind on baseball he could enjoy a 20/20 campaign, and possibly even more with the mildly improved Nats offence.

“Splashes of Sleepers” is on deck – so stay tuned!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 5:42 pm and is filed under Outfield, Rankings, Sleepers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.