MLB Top 10 Outfielders- 2017

The Outfield position is full of good or great players young and older, which makes it difficult to rank each one because there are so many Outfielders. It is difficult to pick players from each position in the Outfield due to many players playing at different positions like Left Field, Center Field, and Right Field. There are many Outfielders with good power numbers mostly at the corners with Center Fielders being better defensively. One qualification this list has is the players must have played full time in the Outfield in 2016.

(note: NL= National League, AL= American League, HR= home run, RBI= runs batted in, OBP= on base percentage, SLG= slugging percentage, SO= strike outs, BB= walks, SB= stolen bases, TC= total chances with putouts, assists, errors put together)

10. Adam Eaton- 28, WAS

Adam Eaton is a five-year veteran with three full seasons and over his short career he has proven to be a top Outfielder. He is more known for having great defensive numbers the past three seasons but he has had some very good offensive numbers. Offensively he is not a power hitter but has been good in other areas with a .284-plus batting average in three seasons, 26-plus Doubles in three seasons, and 175-plus hits the past two years. He has had a great defensive career so far with a .986-plus fielding percentage in three seasons, 8-plus Assists in three seasons, and 5 or less Errors every season.

Last year was his best overall year where he batted .284, with 176 hits, hit 14 HR, 29 Doubles, drove in 59 RBI, with a .362 OBP, a .428 SLG, 63 BB, and 115 SO. This also includes his defensive statistics with a .989 fielding percentage, 18 Assists, and 5 Errors in 440 TC. He is number 10 because he is a top Outfielder where he has become one of the best defensive Outfielders with some good offensive numbers over the past three seasons. What holds him back from being higher is his offensive numbers are not as good as other players higher up. It would be difficult for him to move higher up the list because he is great hitter but he could if his defensive numbers improve, which would be difficult due to him being great defensively already.

9. Giancarlo Stanton- 27, MIA

Giancarlo Stanton is a seven-year veteran who is a great Outfielder and has had great numbers when he is healthy, which has been a problem for him. He has some accomplishments with three NL All-Star selections and a NL Silver Slugger in 2014. He has faced many injuries having only played 145-plus games in two seasons. Although he has faced injuries he has still put up great numbers with 27-plus HR in five seasons and at least 22 HR every season. He has put up some good numbers with 86-plus RBI in three seasons and 20-plus Doubles in six seasons. He has had a very good defensive career in the time he has been able to play with a .980-plus fielding percentage in five seasons, 6 or less Errors in five seasons, and 7 or more Assists in five seasons.

He faced some injury problems in 2016 but had good numbers where he batted .240, hit 27 HR, 20 Doubles, drove in 74 RBI, with a .326 OBP, a .489 SLG, 50 BB, and 140 SO. He had a good defensive year in 2016 as well with a .982 fielding percentage, 5 Assists, and 4 Errors in 224 TC. He is number 9 because he has had a great career and has hit a lot of home runs when he has been healthy. The reason he is low on the list is he has not played many full seasons, which has caused him to have lower numbers than others higher up. If he has a healthy season he could move up possibly into the top 5 or even the number 2 Outfielder, which is possible with him being only 27-years-old.

8. Mookie Betts- 24, BOS

Mookie Betts is a young player who has played three seasons with two full season at the Outfield position. He had one very good season and one great season. Last year was his breakout seasons with an AL All-Star selection, a Silver Slugger award, and a Gold Glove award.

He had his first great offensive season in 2016 where he batted .318, with 214 hits, hit 31 HR, 42 Doubles, drove in 113 RBI, 26 SB, with a .363 OBP, a .534 SLG, 49 BB, and only 80 SO. He had a dominant defensive year as well with a .997 fielding percentage, 14 Assists, and only 1 Errors in 361 TC. He is number 8 because he has been productive in both of his full seasons with one very good and one great season. He is also young so he can improve more and he could be a top Outfielder for many years. He is lower because he has less experience as others on this list but he can go up with another very good season, which will show he is consistent.

7. Justin Upton- 29, DET

Justin Upton is a 10-year veteran who has been a productive Outfielder through his career with good numbers. He has had some accomplishments like three NL All-Star selections with the last being in 2015 and two NL Silver Sluggers with the last being in 2014. He has had some very good statistics with 25-plus HR in six seasons and 80-plus RBI in five seasons but less impressively he has had 150-plus SO in five seasons. He has had a decent defensive career with a .980-plus fielding percentage in five seasons, 5 or less Errors in six seasons, but only one season with 9 or more Assists.

In 2016 he batted .246, hit 31 HR, 28 Doubles, drove in 87 RBI, with a .310 OBP, a .465 SLG, 50 BB, and 179 SO. He had a good defensive year as well with a .985 fielding percentage, only 4 Errors, and only 4 Assists in 275 TC. He is number 7 because he has had a productive career having very good offensive numbers and some good defensive numbers. What holds him back from being higher is he has not been as consistent as other players with a higher amount of SO and a lower batting average. It is possible for him to move up being 29 with several more prime seasons left.

6. Carlos Gonzalez- 31, COL

Carlos Gonzalez is a nine-year veteran who has put up great numbers despite facing several injuries through his career. He has had two great seasons in a row because he was healthy playing at least 150 games both seasons. These two seasons have both been the only time in his career he has played 150 or more games in a year. He has put great offensive numbers with five seasons having 25-plus HR, 85-plus RBI in five seasons, 25-plus Doubles in five seasons, and a .284-plus batting average in six seasons with .300 or more in three of those seasons. He has been great defensively by having eight seasons with a .982-plus fielding percentage with .990-plus in four of those seasons, 7 or more Assists in six seasons, and less than 5 Errors in eight seasons.

He had a great offensive year in 2016 where he batted .298, with 174 hits, 25 HR, 42 Doubles, 100 RBI, a .350 OBP, a .505 SLG, 46 BB, and 129 SO. He had a great defensive year as well with a .989 fielding percentage, 8 Assists, and only 3 Errors in 262 TC. He is number 6 because he has put up great numbers even though he has faced injury problems and he has had two great healthy seasons in a row. What holds him back from being higher up the list is he has not been durable in his career with many injuries. He may have several more good seasons left by still being in his prime, which means he could remain a top Outfielder for several more seasons.

5. Jay Bruce- 29, NYM

Jay Bruce is a nine-year veteran who has had a very good career with one down year in 2014 with five very good to great seasons. He has had some accomplishments with three NL All-Star selections with the last being last season and he has won two NL Silver Sluggers from 2012-2013. He has had good offensive numbers in his career with 25-plus HR in six seasons, 85-plus RBI in five seasons, and 25-plus Doubles in five seasons. He has had a great defensive career with seven seasons having a .980-plus fielding percentage with .990-plus in four of those, 5 or less Errors in six seasons, and eight seasons with 8 or more Assists.

What puts him into the top 5 is he still has very good numbers in 2016 where he batted .250, with 33 HR, 27 Doubles, 99 RBI, .309 OBP, a .506 SLG, 44 BB, and 126 SO. He had a good defensive year in 2016 as well with a .979 fielding percentage, 10 Assists, and 6 Errors in 281 TC. He is number 5 because he has been consistent throughout his career with very good offensive and defensive numbers. What holds him back from higher is not having as good of numbers as the other players higher up. He is still young being 29 and he has several more prime season left so he could remain a top Outfielder for several more years.

4. Andrew McCutchen- 30, PIT

Andrew McCutchen is an eight-year veteran who has had a great career with many accomplishments and he has been consistent as well. His many accomplishments include five-straight NL All-Star selections from 2011-2015, an NL MVP in 2013, four-straight seasons winning the NL Silver Slugger from 2012-2015, and the 2012 NL Gold Glove. He has been durable in his career playing 153-plus games in six seasons. He has had a great offensive career with a .286-plus batting average in six seasons, 26-plus Doubles every season, 21-plus HR in six seasons, 79-plus RBI in six seasons, and 20-plus SB in five seasons. He has had a great defensive career having a .981 plus fielding percentage every season getting above .990 in four of those, 7-plus Assists in five seasons, and 5 or less Errors in five seasons.

Last year he had a very good offensive season where he batted .256, with 24 HR, 26 Doubles, 79 RBI, .336 OBP, a .430 SLG, 69 BB, and 143 SO. He had a great defensive year as well with a .991 fielding percentage, 6 Assists, and only 3 Errors in 326 TC. He is number 3 because he has been a great Outfielder throughout his career with consistency and durability. He is still young enough to remain a top player at his position for several more seasons being only 30, which is still his prime seasons. What holds him back is he does not have as good of numbers over the last five seasons as two others higher up. Another reason for him not being higher is 2016 was a bit of a down year compared to his previous five seasons.

3. Adam Jones- 31, BAL

Adam Jones is an 11-year veteran with 9 full seasons in which has had a very good career so far with very good statistics. He has had many accomplishments through his career with five AL All-Star selections, the 2013 AL Silver Slugger, and four AL Gold Gloves. He has been very good offensively with six seasons having a .277-plus batting average, 25-plus Doubles, 25-plus HR, and 80-plus RBI. He has had a great defensive career with a .980-plus fielding percentage in nine seasons with .990-plus in four of those, 9-plus Assists in five seasons, and 5 or less Errors in seven seasons.

He had a very good offensive season in 2016 where he batted .265, hit 29 HR, 19 Doubles, drove in 83 RBI, with a .310 OBP, a .436 SLG, 39 BB, and 115 SO. He had a great defensive year with a .994 fielding percentage, 4 Assists and only 2 Errors in 355 TC. He is number 4 because he has had a very good career with several great seasons and he is a still productive. What holds back from being higher is his last two seasons have not been not as good as the next two players.

2. Yoenis Céspedes- 31, NYM

Yoenis Céspedes is a five-year veteran who proven to be one of the best hitters at the Outfield position. He has had several accomplishments in his career with two All-Star selections in in 2014 and 2016, an NL Silver Slugger in 2016, and an AL Gold Glove in 2015. In his five seasons, he has 20-plus HR every season with 26-plus in three of those, 25-plus Doubles in four seasons, 80-plus RBI every season, and a .280-plus batting average in three seasons. He has also had a very good defensive career so far with a .980-plus fielding percentage in four seasons, 5 or less Errors in three seasons, and 9-plus Assists every season.

In 2016 he batted .280, hit 31 HR, 25 Doubles, drove in 86 RBI, with a .354 OBP, a .530 SLG, 51 BB, and 108 SO. He had a great defensive year as well with a .981 fielding percentage, 9 Assists, and only 5 Errors in 264 TC. He is number 2 because he has been consistent offensively and defensively through his five-year career. He has had a great offensive career and could remain a top Outfielder for several more seasons with being in his prime still. What holds him back from being the best Outfielder is he has not been as consistent as the next player.

1. Mike Trout- 25, LAA

Mike Trout is a six-year veteran with five full seasons who is still young and has already proven to be the best Outfielder in the MLB. He has accomplished a lot in a short time starting with winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 2012. He has won two AL MVP awards in 2014 and 2016, has been selected to five straight AL All-Star teams, and has won five straight AL Silver Slugger awards. He has been dominant offensively in his career by having five-straight seasons with 27-plus HR, 27-plus Doubles, 83-plus RBI, 172 plus hits, and a .287-plus batting average. He has had four straight seasons with 90-plus RBI and 83-plus BB. He has also had a great defensive career as well with five straight seasons having a .988-plus fielding percentage and less than five Errors each season.

In 2016 he had a great offensive season where he batted .315, hit 29 HR, 32 Doubles, drove in 100 RBI, 173 hits, with a .441 OBP, a .550 SLG, 116 BB, and 137 SO. He had a great defensive year as well with a .989 fielding percentage, 7 Assists, and only 4 Errors in 371 TC. He is number 1 because he has had five great seasons in his six-year career with multiple awards including MVP awards, All-Star selections, and Silver Slugger awards. He has proven to be a great Outfielder over several seasons with great numbers offensively and defensively. He is also still young with the ability to improve and can remain one of the best Outfielders for many more season.