Last week I was in Nashville for the NFL Draft so I wasn’t able to get to a set of updated rankings which means this week we’ll move along to outfielders. Think of it this way: If drafts were today, this is the order I would select the players, and as you might imagine, it has changed considerably since the start of the season. Next week I’ll get to pitchers then we’ll hit up overall, dynasty and prospects before circling back around. We’ll get to the outfielder rankings in a moment, but first I’ll tell you about four players I am especially bullish on the rest of the season compared to their consensus rankings.
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Victor Robles (WAS – OF #19)
You may not be as encouraged about Robles thus far as I am because of his lackluster .254 batting average but have you not noticed he is leading the league in steals and has 5 homers? He may not keep up this pace, but at the moment, he is on track for 27 homers, 38 steals and 113 runs. I’d accept that along with a .190 batting average if I had to. The Nationals have recently moved him up into the top of their order and I’m expecting it to stick for the long run. If drafts were today, I’d take him in the top 80 picks without hesitation.
Franmil Reyes (SDP – OF #33)
As of now, Reyes’ numbers don’t look all that great on paper. He sits 120th among hitters in wOBA and is just 28% owned as a result. Even so, I’d draft him in the top 100 picks overall today if I had to. Granted, he would likely go around pick 250 but this beast is smashing baseballs. Baseball Savant shows that outside of Jose Ramirez, Reyes has been the most unlucky hitter with at least 100 trips to the plate. His expected wOBA, based on quality of contact, has him 15th in baseball, ahead of Marcell Ozuna, Javier Baez and Pete Alonso. Eventually, this luck has to turn around, and when it does, we may have another Khris Davis.
Brian Goodwin (LAA – OF #44)
With Bryce Harper in place, the new Adam Eaton contract and the inevitability of Victor Robles and Juan Soto coming, the writing was on the wall that Goodwin, a quality prospect in his own right, was never going to get his chance in Washington. When he did for a short stretch, he posted an .811 OPS with 13 homers and 6 steals over half a season. That is who Goodwin was always supposed to be, and now that he is getting his chance in the middle of the Angels’ lineup, he is producing. The .341 batting average won’t stick around, but he should settle in around .280 with 20 homers and 10 steals over the course of the full season. Sign me up for that type of production, please.
Eric Thames (MIL – OF #47)
Thames isn’t playing enough to be too exciting, but like Ryan Braun, Wil Myers and Michael Brantley in years prior, when Thames plays, he is a lock for your lineup. Even with last year’s injury-riddled disaster 2018 left in the equation, we are talking about a guy who carries an .848 OPS with 52 homers, 116 RBIs and 137 runs in just 779 at-bats since returning to America. That is #good, folks. He might not reach 30 homers as a result of sharing playing time, but per game, he can be expected to mash balls at a 35-homer per 550 at-bats clip.
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