The outfield position is a magical position when it comes to fantasy baseball. You can get all your fantasy needs here for a variety of prices. It’s your one-stop shopping center for power bats, speed demons, and don’t forget, plenty of top prospects.
That’s where we turn out focus to today. Honestly, there are so many good outfield prospects, I could’ve gone on for days.
But since I doubt you want to read that long, I’ll limit this to a six pack of potential impact outfield prospects for the 2018 season. Leading the way is a five-tool phenom and arguably the top overall prospect in baseball.
Reminder, this is for 2018 only.
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1. Ronald Acuna (ATL)
There are a lot of very talented players on this list. Players that are going to make major impacts for their team in 2018 and beyond. As talented as they all are, none can match the insanely high ceiling of Ronald Acuna.
It doesn’t matter what type of prospect list you’re making either. It can be for 2018, long-term dynasty, roto, H2H, points, it doesn’t matter. Acuna is the best outfield prospect and top overall prospect in baseball.
After moderate success in year’s past, Acuna decided to destroy minor league pitching in 2017. Across three levels and ending in Triple-A, Acuna had 21 HR, 82 RBIs, 88 runs, 44 steals, and a .325/.374/.522/.896 slash line in 557 at-bats. What’s even more impressive is the fact that his Ops rose at each level from .814 in high Class-A to .895 in Double-A and finishing with a .940 mark in Triple-A.
I could sit here all day and tell you why Acuna is the greatest thing since sliced bread or the best fantasy prospect since Carlos Correa, but he does have some minor concerns heading into 2018. At every stop in his minor league career, except for rookie ball in 2015, Acuna has had a BABIP of .359 or higher. Granted, great hitters usually have high BABIP marks, but it’s reasonable to expect that to drop during his rookie season.
The other wart on his 2018 value is the dreaded service time conundrum. The Braves have no reason to rush their prized prospect and would greatly benefit from gaining another year of control when Acuna is in his mid-20s. It sucks for us fantasy baseball managers, but it’s a business move that is made more often than not.
That means that we likely won’t see Acuna until May. Nonetheless, Acuna still offers massive upside, and that’s not just long-term either.
Expect an average in the high-200s with 15-20 home runs and 25-30 steals. He’s worth the gamble in the middle rounds.
2. Austin Hays (BAL)
A player like Austin Hays sticks out like a sore thumb on this list. He’s never been a buzz-worthy prospect like the other guys on this list, but his offensive ceiling is very high heading into 2018. All Hays has done since Baltimore took him in the third round of the 2016 Amateur Draft is rake.
He began his pro career in low Class-A where he hit .336 with a .900 OPS in 140 at-bats. He followed that up with 32 home runs and a .329/.365/.593/.958 slash line over 523 combined at-bats in high Class-A and Double-A.
That production was all Baltimore needed to see to have him skip Triple-A and jump right to the Major Leagues. There’s a chance he could open the 2018 season at Triple-A for some further seasoning, but right field is wide open for him in Baltimore. It’s so wide open you can drive a dump truck through it.
The Orioles could start some schmuck there who should probably be sitting on the bench, or they can give the spot to a high-upside youngster with a plus hit tool and plus power. The decision seems pretty simple to me. Hays is worth a selection in the later rounds for his immediate .280 average and 30 home run upside.
3. Anthony Alford (TOR)
One of the most annoying things an MLB team can do is sign a bunch of middling talent and make playing time much murkier for their top prospects. Over the last couple weeks, the Blue Jays have added Curtis Granderson and Randall Grichuk to their outfield mix that already included Kevin Pillar, Teoscar Hernandez, and Steve Pearce.
So where does that leave Anthony Alford? Great question.
Due to his stellar defense, center field is Pillar’s territory, and that’s not going to change unless there’s an injury or he begins hitting so bad that he makes Billy Hamilton look like Ty Cobb. That leaves the other four men to duke it out for two spots.
If Alford wants to secure one of those corner outfield positions, he’s going to have to have a strong Spring Training. That all starts with his legs and his defense. He hasn’t racked up any high stolen base numbers yet, but don’t worry, there’s plenty of steals waiting to happen in those 70-grade wheels of his.
In 1,322 career plate appearances, Alford has swiped 75 bases with an 84.2% conversion rate. Once he gets more comfortable and matures as a baserunner, we’re looking at a 40+ stolen base threat.
Another strength of Alford’s that will help him secure a spot is his plus range and defense. His arm is below average anyway, so a corner spot is perfect for him. I know we don’t care about defense in fantasy, but if it helps Alford get regular playing time, his fantasy owners won’t complain.
Even if he locks up a starting gig, we’ll still have to wait and see how his hit tool and power fare at the Major League level. Alford hit tool has been graded as average or plus, depending who you ask, and has been very fluctuant in the minors.
4. Victor Robles (WAS)
Many were surprised when the Nationals gave Robles a cup of coffee this past season. Not because he hadn’t performed well in the minors, but because most didn’t think he was quite ready for the show yet. Robles did hit .300 with 10 home runs, 27 steals, and a .875 OPS but has only 158 plate appearance above Class-A. He received 24 at-bats with the Nationals, hitting .250, but did record a double and two triples
Throughout his minor league career, Robles has been known for his plus hit tool and 70-grade speed. At the very least, he projected to be a speedy leadoff hitter with a high average. However, over the last couple seasons, he has shown a budding power stroke and is displaying it more and more consistently in games.
Is he ever going to be a 30+ home run slugger? Not likely. But Robles is showing that he can turn into a 15-20 home run hitter once he develops and matures more as a hitter.
Unfortunately for Robles, he isn’t guaranteed a starting spot in the Nationals outfield to start the 2018 season. Two spots are locked down by Bryce Harper and Adam Eaton, leaving Robles to battle it out with Michael Taylor and the recently acquired Howie Kendrick for the third starting spot.
The likely outcome is that Robles heads back to Triple-A for some additional minor league seasoning and makes his 2018 debut around mid-season. That makes it hard to draft him this spring unless you have deep benches in your league.
Whenever Robles does find his way back to our nation’s capital, expect solid speed at the very least and likely a solid average and a bit of pop to go with it. There’s a boatload of talent here, and Robles would’ve been No. 2 on this list if he had a starting spot locked up.
5. Lewis Brinson (MIL)
There haven’t been many better power/speed combinations in the minors over the past few seasons then Lewis Brinson. In 2,134 career minor league at-bats, he’s racked up 89 home runs and 96 stolen bases to go along with a .287 average and .855 OPS.
However, in his brief time in the Major Leagues, Brinson has struggled. That’s putting it nicely too.
He’s only recorded five hits in 47 at-bats and has struck out 31% of the time. Yeah, it hasn’t gone well so far.
Even with the struggles, Brinson’s power/speed combination cannot be ignored. IT’s not just the power and speed either than stands out here. Brinson also possesses a plus hit tool and should hit close to .300 once he finds his stride in Milwaukee.
To start the 2018 season, Brinson doesn’t have a starting spot. However, it won’t take much for him to crack the starting lineup.
All it will take is a hot spring training, an inevitable Keon Broxton cold stretch, or inevitable Ryan Braun injury. The upside here is high enough to warrant a late-round flier in drafts this spring.
6. Austin Meadows (PIT)
After showing plenty of promise and progression each year in his minor league career, Meadows took a gargantuan step back in 2017. All he could muster in 318 at-bats was five home runs and 11 steals. On top of that, his entire slash line of .261/.323/.384/.707 was a career low. There were multiple disabled list stints, numerous prolonged slumps, and not very many hot streaks.
All it takes sometimes is one bad season for a lot of people to forget that Meadows was a near-universal top-10 prospect heading into 2017 with a high fantasy ceiling and bright future ahead of him. Another red flag for some is that Meadows lacks a genuinely elite tool.
He’s pretty damn good across the board most of the time, but will never knock your socks off in any one statistical fantasy category. That will likely limit his ceiling and keep him out of the elite tiers, but there’s a decent chance he settles in as a Christian Yelich type of fantasy asset.
I get it though. Most will look at that .707 OPS and immediately look the other way. But try to remember that just one season prior, Meadows had 25 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, 17 steals, and a .869 OPS in just 308 at-bats.
The talent is still there. He just needs to stay on the field long enough to get into a groove and fully utilize his plus skillset. Health has always been his downfall thus far.
With the recent trade of Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco, there’s a gaping hole in the Pirates outfield next to Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco. Due to his struggles in 2017, Meadows isn’t likely to take that spot out of the gate, but a hot start at Triple-A could force Pittsburgh to make the move before the All-Star break.
Others to Watch: Eloy Jimenez (CHW), Harrison Bader (STL), Kyle Tucker (HOU), Alex Verdugo (LAD), Dustin Fowler (OAK), Jake Bauers (TB), Jesse Winker (CIN).
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Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @EricCross04.
