Fantasy Baseball Draftable Outfielders: Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and More
A look at the outfielders ranked in the top 150 by ESPN's points rankings: the draftable players.
We are less than three weeks from the first regular season games, when the Cubs and Dodgers play in Japan on March 18 and 19. The season won't start for everyone else for another week after that, but real baseball is within reach.
That means fantasy baseball is just as close, and it's time to ramp up your preparations if you haven't started to yet. As part of that process, I have been going through each position and looking at the tiers of “draftable” players who are seen as daily starters.
Let's finish up the position players by looking at the draftable outfielders heading into the 2025 fantasy baseball season. The rankings listed with each player are ESPN's points rankings, and that's how tiers are based, not my own rankings.
Check out the draftable players at catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and starting pitchers at the respective links.
Top Tier
- Juan Soto, New York Mets, ranked 2nd overall
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, 3rd
- Mookie Betts (SS), Los Angeles Dodgers, 6th
- Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs, 7th
- Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros, 9th
- Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks, 11th
This is the best of the best in fantasy baseball. According to these rankings, half of the top 10 fantasy players are outfielders and six of the top 11. I can't argue against anyone here; it's a group of All-Stars.
The two guys at the top are the best non-Ohtani players (Ohtani will be the top fantasy guy every year until further notice). I like Betts as much as anyone else because of his positional flexibility at shortstop.
Alvarez is a straight masher, while Tucker and Carroll add base-stealing prowess along with at least 25/25 double/home run power (and a little more from Tucker). Getting your first-round pick from this group is a good strategy no matter who it is.
Second Tier
- Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres, 19th
- Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians, 26th
- Anthony Santander, Toronto Blue Jays, 27th
- Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves, 33rd
- Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers, 45th
- Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres, 47th
Tatis could be in the top tier. I had him there originally, but it seemed right to cut it off at No. 11 and push Tatis down a notch. Injuries and suspension have been Tatis' biggest roadblocks, including missing all of 2022 and 60 games last season; that's enough to put him in the second tier.
Kwan feels a little too high here. He doesn't hit for power and hasn't hit .300 in a season (though he was over .290 twice). Kwan walks as much as he strikes out, a rare skill in 2025, but I'd rather go with one of the better power hitters in this tier and the next.
Santander had a career power year right as he was heading into free agency (44 homers last year), but he didn't get the major contract he may have been hoping for, instead getting a more modest deal with the Blue Jays. He will hit the ball out of the park, but I'm not up on Santander; I feel this is too high for him also.
Acuna is coming off his second major injury in four years. He hasn't played 120 games in three of the past four seasons. Acuna will also miss the beginning of 2025, though he is expected back after not too long. This is a high risk, high reward pick.
Chourio and Merrill are very much the same: They will both be 21 on Opening Day and have one season and under 600 at-bats under their belts. Merrill was a little better in most categories, but it was very close; they are neck-and-neck, as the ratings suggest. I might like these two in the fifth round more than anyone else in this tier at their spot.
Third Tier
- Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox, 60th
- Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners, 61st
- Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers, 73rd
- Brendan Donovan (2B), St. Louis Cardinals, 77th
- Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs, 79th
- Spencer Steer (1B), Cincinnati Reds, 89th
- Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves, 95th
- Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates, 96th
- Brandon Nimmo, New York Mets, 97th
- Cody Bellinger (1B), New York Yankees, 101st
- Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs, 102nd
- Jurickson Profar, Atlanta Braves, 104th
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. (3B), New York Yankees, 106th
- Jung Hoo Lee, San Francisco, 108th
The other positions saw the last few draftable players in this tier, the guys you would draft if you missed on the most appealing options. Outfield is different, though. With three fantasy spots to fill, these players are the meat of the middle, with a lot of very similar players available.
Duran and Rodriguez could make a case for the previous tier. Rodriguez, in particular, has superstar upside that had him drafted in the top 20 last year. Duran played his first full season in 2024 and put up some eye-opening numbers: 191 hits, 48 doubles (!), 14 triples (!!), 21 home runs, and 34 stolen bases. I keep going back and forth on which guy I like more.
The multi-position guys are players I've been targeting in mock drafts. Bellinger and Chisholm both have left-handed swings that fit well in New York's home park, and Chisholm already showed out last year after joining the Yankees at the trade deadline.
There's a little of everything here: Profar had his best power season last year. Harris will bring stolen bases. Langford is a young guy with big-time potential who might be ready to break out at any time. This glut of players is more about preference than anyone you have to target.
Still Draftable
- Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers, 120th
- Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers, 127th
- Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers, 129th
- James Wood, Washington Nationals, 136th
- Randy Arozarena, Seattle Mariners, 139th
- George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays, 140th
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks, 142nd
- Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals, 143rd
We could go on for a while, but the top 150 seems like a good place to cut it off, which leaves us with 34 outfielders given the “draftable” tag. Here, we have a mix of big names and young prospects who might be ready for a jump.
Injuries are the story for Yelich. He played only 73 games last season, and while his per-game and slash numbers were good, you have to expect him to miss time. He's a worthy flier if you're feeling some risk.
Hernandez had his best season last year, something I thought might happen given that he was hitting in the middle of the LA lineup. Well, he's back in the same situation, and while some regression should be expected, he will probably be a solid fantasy player.
Wood (22), Greene (24), and Burleson (26) represent the youth movement. None has shown superstardom yet, but they are young guys who could take a jump. The other veterans are guys who are worthy of a spot in your lineup on the right days but might end up more as streaming players as the season progresses.
I'll mention one more guy: Mike Trout. Injuries are a HUGE bugaboo with the former MVP, but he is ranked 184th overall and 44th among outfielders; you're not giving up a lot to draft him. He also starts the season with four games against the White Sox, probably the worst team in the league again. He might get hurt early, but Trout could also get four juicy matchups before that happens.
