Cost-Considered Ranks: Outfield
Examining the top 300 in ADP and ranking outfielders based on how much I like their 2025 cost
Welcome back! I’m in the early stages of going back through each position and giving you my price-considered ranks. This will tell you all of the guys I’m targeting and fading. This also translates well to auction drafts. The guys at the top would be the ones I’d aggressively bid, and vice-versa. Remember, this is a look at the top 300 in ADP. There are players outside of the top 300 that I might like more than some of the guys inside, but they are excluded here.
For full thoughts and analysis on all players, you can check out the position preview series and/or the team preview series.
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Tier One
Outfield is the place to shoot for upside. That is especially true in the type of league I’m focusing this series on - the 12-team three-outfielder league. If you’re in that kind of situation where somewhere around 50 outfielders are started daily, the replacement level is quite high and you can afford to take some risks.
My top eight leans heavily on studs and potential breakout studs.
Wyatt Langford (42)
Lawrence Butler (70)
Aaron Judge (3)
Seiya Suzuki (87)
Dylan Crews (130)
Mike Trout (119)
Jackson Chourio (17)
Michael Harris II (43)
This was tough for me. I have a reputation to uphold for being an anti-prospect bro. And yet, I have Langford, Crews, and Chourio right at the top.
The difference is that all of these guys have Major League experience. In the cases of Langford and Chourio, they were both on their respective MLB rosters on Opening Day last year. So I guess I’m safe there. Crews also got a couple months worth of playing time in the second half. That makes me feel better; I’m not truly going prospect crazy here.
What we have here are guys I think could end up way more expensive next year than they are right now (plus Aaron Judge). I like the skill-based floors they offer, and I think all of them have very high ceilings.
I included Judge here because he’s such a different player than the other studs at the position. In my view, there are only two players in the league who are true threats for 50+ homers. Judge and Ohtani really separate themselves from the pack in HR + RBI; they can make an impact on your fantasy team that few others can.
I’m surprised I’m so high on Dylan Crews in his technical rookie season. What I see from him, though, is a really solid floor of steals. It’s hard for me to imagine him not stealing 25+ bags this year. That alone gets him most of the way to justifying that 10th or 11th-round pick. Once you add on to that the potential batting average (.275?) and power (25 homers?) upside he has, you have a guy I want to get on my team.
As for my flag plant on Mike Trout, it’s all about the cost. He is so cheap this year. And remember, I’m focusing mostly on leagues where it’s easy to replace him if/when he hits the IL.