When preparing for your fantasy baseball drafts it’s crucial to have your fantasy baseball player rankings and projections at the ready because the plan you may have crafted during all those fantasy baseball mock drafts may end up in the trash once the draft gets going and the players you wanted at their ADP’s may end up being drafted by others in your league. To help with your draft strategy it’s always great to be prepared to pivot and that’s why it’s great to understand the depth available at each position and players you can target in your drafts at different tiers.  The outfield offers up the largest player pool of any positional player seeing as there are three times as many outfielders as there are in other individual positions. Add in the fact that there are numerous players with multi-position eligibility and you have yourself a wide variety of players that all offer different skill sets depending on your team's needs. So, let’s check out some of the mid-tier ADP outfielders that should be on your radar this upcoming fantasy baseball season.

Middle Round Outfield ADP Targets

Cedric Mullins, Baltimore Orioles

The power numbers from 2021 did not repeat and some bad batted ball luck hurt his average but overall fantasy managers couldn’t have been too disappointed by what they got from Mullins last season as the Orioles outfielder finished with 89 runs, 16 home runs, 64 RBI and 34 stolen bases over 156 games. The elite stolen base numbers will continue to drive his fantasy value, especially in a season where we are expecting to see increased stolen base production across the league. If there is a little bounce-back in his HR/FB rate in 2023 then we are looking at someone who could hit 20-to-25 home runs and steal 40+ bases.

George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays

I guess we just have to accept that at some point during the season Springer is going to end up on the injured list. Last season he played just 133 games but the production for those 133 games was very good as he scored 89 runs with 25 home runs, 76 RBI and 14 stolen bases. He had an OPS over .800 with a .342 OBP. He is the leadoff hitter for one of the best offenses in baseball and the Blue Jays are making some ballpark changes this year which should be favorable for their hitters.

Jake McCarthy, Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2018 first-rounder made quite the impression in his second major league stint, hitting .283 with eight home runs and 23 stolen bases over 99 games last season. His stolen base upside along with the double-digit homer potential makes McCarthy an interesting prospect once you get outside the top 24 outfielders. He should be a staple in the Diamondbacks lineup when facing right-handed pitching and while the rest of the fantasy baseball community looks to draft his teammate Corbin Carroll a few rounds sooner, you could grab yourself an outfielder that hits 15 home runs and swipes 30 bases in the middle rounds of your fantasy baseball draft. 

Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates

The only thing we don’t like about Bryan Reynolds is the fact that he plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates but there is a strong sentiment that Reynolds will be traded at some point this season which means for your fantasy baseball playoff run you could see Reynolds going to a team with a loaded lineup that will be a boost for his fantasy production. Last season with the Pirates we saw Reynolds hit .262 with 74 runs, 27 home runs, 62 RBI, and seven stolen bases. We did see an increase in strikeout rate and a slight decrease in walk rate for Reynolds last season but nothing that is overly concerning. He is a pretty safe play in the middle rounds with nice potential in the second half of the year. 

Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies

Nobody was more disappointed about the 2023 performance of Nick Castellanos than he himself as he talked about the pressure he felt last season after signing his contract. Things did get better for Nick in the second half of the season as he hit .288 with an OPS of .738 over the final 45 games of the season which included a very strong month of August where he hit .300 with five of his 13 home runs and an OPS of .833. 

If Castellanos is over his year-one jitters in Philadelphia he will once again find himself in a great spot to be a run producer in the middle of a Phillies lineup that added Trea Turner this offseason. I’m more than willing to give him a pass for the 2022 season and look for a player who should hit .280 with 25-to-30 home runs and 90+ RBI.

Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians 

Kwan was a hit in 2022, finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .298 with 89 runs, six home runs, 52 RBI, and 19 stolen bases over 147 games. Kwan had an elite strikeout rate of just 9.4% which is rare for a rookie but that plate discipline carried over from the minor-league level and a strong on-base percentage which will play well in leagues that use OBP over average. When it comes to his counting stats, there isn’t too much room for growth, as fantasy managers should be looking to target Kwan for his on-base abilities and possible 10+ homer and double-digit stolen base potential. If the Guardians offense gets going there is a shot he approaches 100 runs scored. 

 

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