The outfield position used to be flush with talent in fantasy baseball, where you could wait a while and still get a lot of power from the position. However, that is no longer the case. While position is strong at the top and there are a number of interesting guys towards the bottom, the drop-off from the elite tiers is massive, and there are a number of platoon bats to worry about as it gets deeper into the ranks.
The strategy with outfielders is very league dependent. The deeper the league, the more you want to prioritize the position. Once you get past the top 20-25 outfielders, the pool becomes a lot more risky. If you are in a three OF format, you can wait on the position, but those who play in five OF formats, you should make sure you prioritize outfielders, especially in deeper leagues.
Here are my outfield tiers for 2025.
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Fantasy Baseball Outfield Primer: Rankings & Tiers
Tier 1 & Notes
Aaron Judge (NYY)
Juan Soto (NYM)
Aaron Judge is arguably the #1 player in fantasy. He has hit at least 37 home runs in each of the last five seasons, and over the last two years, he has hit 53 while averaging over .331. As long as he is healthy, he is a stud.
Juan Soto is coming off a massive season where he hit .263/.369/.525 with 43 home runs and 38 stolen bases. Even if the stolen bases regress, he should still be a top-five player in fantasy and is easily worth a top draft pick this season.
Tier 2 & Notes
Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL)
Julio Rodriguez (SEA)
Kyle Tucker (LAD)
Corbin Carroll (ARI)
Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD)
Jackson Chourio (MIL)
The reason Ronald Acuna isn’t in the above tier is health risk. He has had two serious knee injuries already in his career, and while his talent is just as good as both Judge and Soto, the risk at such a high draft pick is a lot to take on. He could be the best player in fantasy or only play half the season.
Julio Rodriguez put up his second 30/30 season in three years and has become a plate appearance monster. While there are reasons not to include him in the above tier as he just doesn’t have the high ceiling of Judge, Soto, or even Acuna, his floor is about as safe as they come, and he is well worth a mid-first round price.
Kyle Tucker had a bit of a down season, struggling with the park in Chicago and then missing some time due to injury. However, he is healthy now, on the best team in baseball, and in a much better park. As long as he stays on the field, he should return first round production.
If Corbin Carroll hadn’t broken his hamate bone at the beginning of spring training, he would likely be in consideration for a top 5-7 pick this year. He is expected to be ready for the start of the season or shortly after, but there is a risk that the injury could sap some power from him early.
Jackson Chourio went 21/21 in 589 plate appearances last season after missing a little time with injury. He is a former top prospect, and his true ceiling hasn’t been reached yet. There may be some more growing pains, but at some point, he will be a 30/30 player, but it may not be this season.
Tier 3 & Notes
James Wood (WSH)
Wyatt Langford (TEX)
Brent Rooker (ATH)
Roman Anthony (BOS)
Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC)
Jarren Duran (BOS)
Jackson Merrill (SD)
James Wood had a massive breakout in 2025, hitting .256/.350/.475 with 31 home runs and 15 stolen bases. However, there is some risk of regression. He struck out at a 32 percent rate and was fairly passive in the zone. He does walk at a double-digit rate, and there is plenty of pop, so he should still deliver a strong OBP and power, but there is a risk that the average craters some.
Wyatt Langford built upon his rookie season in 2025, hitting .421/.344/.431 with 22 home runs and 22 stolen bases in 573 games. He has the talent to be a 30/30 player, and he has been on fire in spring training this year. There is some risk as he has missed time with injuries before, but there is a ton of upside and a pretty safe floor.
Roman Anthony is a former top prospect who debuted last season and looked good. He has a lot of power and speed in his profile, but the power hasn’t fully developed yet. The upside is amazing if the power does develop this year, but there is a risk he is more of a 15/15 guy this season, and if that is the case, he is being massively overdrafted.
Pete Crow-Armstrong had a tale of two halves last season. He hit 25 home runs and stole 27 bases with a .265 average in the first half, then hit just six home runs and stole eight bases with a .216 average in the second half. This is what happens with his type of profile. Crow-Armstrong swings so much out of the zone that he will be prone to prolonged slumps. The upside is amazing, but the floor is much lower than the ADP suggests.
Tier 4 & Notes
Cody Bellinger (NYY)
Tyler Soderstrom (ATH)
Riley Green (DET)
Randy Arozarena (SEA)
George Springer (TOR)
Seiya Suzuki (CHC)
Byron Buxton (MIN)
After years of dealing with nagging injuries, Cody Bellinger finally put together 600+ plate appearances in a season for the first time since 2019. He is the perfect fit for Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right, and if he is healthy, he can easily repeat last year’s great season.
Tyler Soderstrom was fantastic in 2025, hitting .276/.346/.474 with 25 home runs and eight stolen bases. The most impressive part was that he dropped his strikeout rate each of the last two seasons, going from a well below average hit tool to an above average one. Being in Sacramento helps a ton, as it’s one of the best hitting environments in baseball.
George Springer had a fantastic season in 2025, hitting .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs and 28 stolen bases. He is going to regress for sure, but it feels like the market believes he will regress much more than he actually should. He has great plate skills and a good hit tool, along with power and speed. He has struggled to stay healthy at times and is in his mid-thirties now, so he will likely miss some time at some point, but he is a good guy for most fantasy teams since the big season hasn’t overinflated his price.
Byron Buxton got to 542 plate appearances last season, hitting .264/.327/.551 with 35 home runs and stealing 24 bases. This was the best season of his career, but also only the second time in his career that he has gotten over 500 plate appearances. The upside is massive, but the downside is that he only plays in half a season, and that feels more likely than him repeating last season.
Tier 5 & Notes
Jo Adell (LAA)
Jakob Marsee (MIA)
Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS)
Teoscar Hernandez (LAD)
Andy Pages (LAD)
Oneil Cruz (PIT)
Michael Harris II (ATL)
Luis Robert Jr. (NYM)
Jose Altuve (HOU)
Jo Adell is a former top prospect who many thought was a bust until last season, when he hit .236/.293/.485 with 37 home runs and five stolen bases. He will never be an average asset, but what he has done is improve the hit tool every year. He has improved his zone contact every year to the point where it was league average last season. He has the ability to hit 40 homers and steal 15-20 bases, so last season wasn’t necessarily the ceiling. Even if he regresses, he should still be valuable.
Jakob Marsee had a fantastic rookie campaign, hitting .292/.363/.478 with five home runs and 14 stolen bases in 234 plate appearances. He made massive strides with his hit tool, which really gives him a lot of upside that projections aren’t catching right now. The counting stats may not be amazing because of the team around them, but he is a 15/50 threat leading off in Miami.
Ceddanne Rafaela is a difficult player to rank. The Red Sox love him, and he is amazing defensively, so you know he is going to play, but his underlying skills are troubling. He swings outside the zone the fifth most in baseball and is overly aggressive at the plate. This will lead to long slumps and hot streaks, which makes him difficult to roster at times, but he has power and speed, which means when he is hot, he is fun to have on your team.
Oneill Cruz has a ton of power and speed, but what he lacks is a hit tool. He has struck out at a 30+ percent rate in virtually every year of his career and he also has struggled against lefties to the point where he will likely platoon some this year. The upside is amazing, but there is a downside that can make him hard to roster.
Jose Altuve probably won’t be this low on most people’s lists, but I have some concerns. Last year we saw his average exit velocity at the lowest mark of his career and his hard hit percentage was under 31 percent. His stolen bases were the lowest we have seen in five years and if those dry up, he just isn’t super enticing anymore. I think we are at the beginning of the end for Altuve and I am jumping off before it’s too late.
Tier 6 & Notes
Taylor Ward (BAL)
Brenton Doyle (COL)
Steven Kwan (CLE)
Jac Caglianone (KC)
Brandon Nimmo (TEX)
Ian Happ (CHC)
Lawrence Butler (ATH)
Kyle Stowers (MIA)
Mike Trout (LAA)
Wilyer Abreu (BOS)
Daylen Lile (WAS)
Bryan Reynolds (PIT)
Adolis Garcia (TEX)
TJ Friedl (CIN)
Taylor Ward has struggled with injuries most of his career, but he has put up back-to-back 663 plate appearance seasons and hit for a ton of power. He was traded to Baltimore this offseason and should get a nice boost from a more productive lineup around him.
Brenton Doyle had a disappointing season last year after his 2024 breakout. However, much of that can be blamed on a family tragedy he faced off the field. He has had a good spring and looked more like himself at the end of last season. I think he is in for a big rebound.
Jac Caglianone is a former top prospect that made his debut in 2025, but was fairly disappointing with a .157/.237/295 triple slash. He did hit seven home runs in 232 plate appearances though and his underlying numbers were much better than the triple slash suggests. He has been great in spring and with the Royals moving in their fences, there is a lot of upside here.
Kyle Stowers has been a favorite of a lot of people in the fantasy industry this season. He hit 25 home runs and stole five bases in just 457 plate appearances last season. However, the underlying contact skills are terrible. His 77% z-contact is among the worst in baseball and he also had a terrible 16 percent swinging strike rate which likely means his average regresses a ton. There is a lot more risk than the ADP suggests.
Tier 7 & Notes
Colton Cowser (BAL)
Justin Crawford (PHI)
Trent Grisham (NYY)
Chandler Simpson (TB)
Addison Barger (TOR)
Daulton Varsho (TOR)
Jose Caballero (NYY)
Sal Frelick (MIL)
Heliot Ramos (SF)
Ramon Laureano (BAL)
Jordan Beck (COL)
Kerry Carpenter (DET)
Mickey Moniak (LAA)
Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)
Willi Castro (CHC)
Ryan O’Hearn (SD)
Evan Carter (TEX)
Cedric Mullins (NYM)
Matt Wallner (MIN)
Cam Smith (CHC)
Jung Hoo Lee (SF)
Carson Benge (NYM)
Victor Scott II (STL)
Dylan Beavers (BAL)
Jeff McNeil (NYM)
Tyler O’Neill (BAL)
Harrison Bader (MIN)
Jordan Walker (STL)
Dominic Canzone (SEA)
Zach McKinstry (DET)
Jonathan India (CIN)
Owen Caissie (CHC)
Austin Hays (CIN)
Brandon Marsh (PHI)
Jasson Dominguez (NYY)
Jake McCarthy (ARI)
Mike Yastrzemski (SF)
Nick Castellanos (PHI)
Justin Crawford is the son of former MLB all star Carl Crawford. He has a good hit tool and a ton of speed. The Phillies really love his defense in centerfield which should keep him playing and stealing bases even if he struggles at times.
Addison Barger is a StatCast superstar that crushes the ball and has a pretty good hit tool, but he is too aggressive at times and struggles with left-handed pitching. Even in a platoon, he could have a massive season and his dual-eligibility doesn’t hurt either.
Jose Caballero will play regularly for the Yankees until Anthony Volpe returns from offseason surgery. Caballero has the ability to steal 50+ bases if he gets enough playing time and he is eligible almost everywhere this season.
Willi Castro is going to be a full time player now that he is out of Minnesota and in Colorado. There is not much power, but he can hit for average and steal a bunch of bases. He is multi-positional eligible which is always valuable as well.
Jeff McNeil was traded to the A’s which is a massive park upgrade and his role is much more safe now. However, the park upgrade can only help so much as he is not super powerful and his days of winning batting titles is likely over. He will be a nice accumulator that should return more value than he has the last couple of seasons though.
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