Initial 2009 rankings: Outfielders

In preparation for our early mock draft, we go position-by-position with some preliminary rankings for Draft Day 2009. Our rankings are based on position eligibility for next season, which requires 20 games at a position to be eligible. If a player has not played 20 games, his primary position will be defined as what position he has played the most games at -- unless it is a current AL player that will be classified as DH-only.

Initial outfield rankings for 2009
RK	Player	TM	The thinking is as follows ...
1	Matt Holliday	COL	A DL stint hurt his numbers, but he will be motivated for a huge contract next year.
2	Grady Sizemore	CLE	You would be justified picking him atop this position as a sleeper to go 40-40.
3	Josh Hamilton	TEX	He, too, has a pretty good case for the No. 1 spot. We could see .300-40-120-100-10.
4	Ryan J. Braun	MIL	Losing 3B eligibility hurts but he put together a solid first full season at any position.
5	Carlos Quentin	CHW	Season-ending injury hurts, but the potential to go .300-40-120-100 annually is there.
6	Manny Ramirez	LAD	Great numbers with the Dodgers might have been contract driven, so be cautious here.
7	Carlos Beltran	NYM	Another solid year makes him a safe pick among the top 10, but no longer an elite one.
8	Jason Bay	BOS	It should be real tantalizing to project a huge first full season in Fenway Park.
9	Carlos N. Lee	HOU	Steady, underrated slugger remains top 10, because of supporting cast and home park.
10	Vladimir Guerrero	LAA	Numbers no longer look elite as he ages, but he could rebound if they ever protect him.
11	Alfonso Soriano	CHC	Another disappointing year but he could go off any given year with a long hot streak.
12	Nick Markakis	BAL	Aubrey Huff stole his thunder this year, but there are few outfielders with more upside.
13	Magglio Ordonez	DET	Tigers lineup was supposed to have even a bigger year than it did, so watch for Maggs.
14	Nate McLouth	PIT	This year's top sleeper scored like a top five, but how much better can he be?
15	Curtis Granderson	DET	Season-opening injury set him back and he never really performed like he is capable.
16	Ichiro Suzuki	SEA	Steals were up in first half, but he slowed and Mariners struggles weight him down.
17	Adam Dunn	ARI	Free agent has 40-homer, 180-strikeout potential annually. If he could just hit .260 ...
18	Ryan Ludwick	STL	Breakthrough was even more surprising than that of McLouth's, but can't ignore the pop.
19	B.J. Upton	TB	It was an awful year for him, but the speed-and-power potential keeps him interesting.
20	Carl Crawford	TB	Huge 27-year-old disappointment had his first injury-plagued year; he is a sleeper here.
21	Alex Rios	TOR	Another 27-year-old Fantasy bust, what the ...? Rios is a lot more powerful than this.
22	Jacoby Ellsbury	BOS	Likely comes up short in ROY race, but he clearly is a nice Damon redux long term.
23	Matt Kemp	LAD	Steals were real surprising, especially when power was supposed to be his strong suit.
24	Vernon Wells	TOR	Second-half health and improvement gives hope he could be an elite outfielder again.
25	Bobby Abreu	NYY	Streaking down the stretch to earn a decent contract, but his elite days are over now.
26	Jermaine Dye	CHW	His age makes him a risk, but if he comes back to White Sox, 30 homers is reachable.
27	Johnny Damon	NYY	Veteran is steady, but dealing with his injury risk on week-to-week basis will frustrate.
28	Shane Victorino	PHI	Flyin' Hawaiian has a great supporting cast and home ballpark to keep him productive.
29	Hunter Pence	HOU	Sophomore season was unspectacular, but he showed improvement in the second half.
30	Corey C. Hart	MIL	Steady 20-20 candidate who had a bad second half, but he will be 27 next season.
31	Pat Burrell	PHI	Free-agent would have to be downgraded if he does return to Philly. Too streaky at times.
32	Jay Bruce	CIN	Streaky rookie is a bit overrated here, but hype will have him selected too high.
33	Torii Hunter	LAA	His name exceeds his production, but he is a steady option after the potentially elite ones.
34	Brad Hawpe	COL	He has hit better against left-handers which could mean a big season for him next year.
35	Raul Ibanez	SEA	He has proven to be a second-half player the last few years, so watch that again in '09.
36	Rick Ankiel	STL	Not a bad almost-full season as an outfielder, but he needs to prove healthy, consistent.
37	Andre Ethier	LAD	Check out his splits once he started hitting in front of Manny. Wow! He's breaking through.
38	Chris B. Young	ARI	Free-swinger had bad second year, lending credence to critics of poor contract prospects.
39	Conor Jackson	ARI	Power looked like it was coming around, but perhaps he goes .300-25-100-100 at age 27.
40	Mark DeRosa	CHC	Pop and versatility make him real intriguing in Fantasy, more than his numbers even.
41	Milton Bradley	TEX	If you don't think the Rangers will be in the race, don't bother with Mr. Operation Shutdown.
42	J.D. Drew	BOS	Injuries are back again, which is too bad, because in stretches he was great this season.
43	Delmon Young	MIN	He is still very young, but we either overrated his power or he is seriously due.
44	Xavier Nady	NYY	Free agent had a nice contract year, but we aren't sure if you should trust him post-deal.
45	Hideki Matsui	NYY	Injury woes drop his stock considerably, especially if he cannot play outfield full time.
46	Jayson Werth	PHI	Part-time slugger has earned full-time status and could be due for a huge first full season.
47	Willy Taveras	COL	Burner is only useful in Rotisserie leagues, really, his bat is really not any good.
48	Lastings Milledge	WAS	Once an elite prospect, he finally showed his potential in the second half. He'll get better.
49	Juan Pierre	LAD	He needs a full-time job to be useful again, but Dodgers figure to find him a new home.
50	Eric Byrnes	ARI	He was McLouth a few years ago, so if his hammys are healthy in spring, look out above.
51	Nick Swisher	CHW	Potential is a nice thing to have, but Fantasy players need to see more consistent results.
52	Ty Wigginton	HOU	Versatility and pop in a great home hitter's park and a suitably productive supporting cast.
53	Josh Willingham	FLA	Back issues have claimed career, so hopefully this power bat can respond next year.
54	Jason Kubel	MIN	He made nice strides and now enters his age-27 season on verge of becoming great.
55	Shin-Soo Choo	CLE	In a down season for the Indians, they might have found themselves another starting OF.
56	Brian Giles	SD	If he can get out of purgatory in San Diego, he might have a chance to regain lost homers.
57	Justin Upton	ARI	Young talent has a tremendous ceiling, but you cannot figure he comes close to it yet.
58	Mike Cameron	MIL	Despite missing first month to suspension he posted some decent totals on the cheap.
59	Cameron Maybin	FLA	He didn't rise as quickly as we expected, but he definitely made a great late impression.
60	Jeff Francoeur	ATL	What a disastrous falloff from his previous lofty status. The good news is he is still young.
61	Michael Cuddyer	MIN	Injury-plagued year puts dent in his career, but he still could go .280-20-90-90 next year.
62	Randy Winn	SF	Veteran is not a great player, but you have to like the ones that don't suffer letdowns.
63	Jose Guillen	KC	Mercurial outfielder could be shopped out of town. That is a tough hitter's park for him.
64	Aaron Rowand	SF	Home park has crushed his numbers and his Fantasy value, but at least he was healthy.
65	Jeremy Hermida	FLA	Perennial berakout candidate is an annual disappointment, but don't give up hope yet.
66	Ken Griffey	CHW	Hall of Famer has some legendary homer goals to reach, so he will find a home to do it in.
67	Carlos Gomez	MIN	First full season started great and is finishing well, but it was real ugly in between.
68	Denard Span	MIN	He wound up stealing at-bats and spotlight from the more talented Gomez, but Span is solid.
69	Luke Scott	BAL	Serves better as a platoon outfielder, but if you are going to be a part-timer, be a lefty.
70	Elijah Dukes	WAS	The power potential came through in September. If he could only sustain his hot streaks ...
71	Ryan Church	NYM	He was a potential MVP before his second concussion. He ended the year as a dud.
72	Adam Lind	TOR	He finally proved to be better than the Quadruple-A player had shown early in the year.
73	Cody Ross	FLA	His power is nice, but the question remains whether he will play every day. He should.
74	Jack Cust	OAK	Billy Beane doesn't mind his strikeouts, so you should put up with them, too, we suppose.
75	Michael Bourn	HOU	His first year as a starter fizzled, but his steals potential could really rise if he ever hit.
76	Fred Lewis	SF	He has developed into a solid regular outfielder and a nice sleeper in deeper mixed leagues.
77	Coco Crisp	BOS	If he is traded to start elsewhere this winter, we will have to move him up at little.
78	Garret Anderson	LAA	Veteran can still drive in runs, but there will be a year he just complete tails off.
79	Mark Teahen	KC	Line-drive stroke provides erractic homer totals and he has never quite developed well enough.
80	Marcus Thames	DET	Streaky slugger is great in spurts and completely worthless in others throughout the year.
81	David Murphy	TEX	This was a quality rookie season and should have earned him a starting job for next spring.
82	Eric Hinske	TB	Former Rookie of the Year proved he is not finished, but we are not sure he starts either.
83	Fernando Tatis	NYM	Renaissance year ended in injury, but the Mets will likely bring him back as a reserve at least.
84	Ben Francisco	CLE	Like Choo, he has earned regular at-bats, but Indians might have to slot a star ahead of him.
85	Chase Headley	SD	We liked him a lot better as a prospect when he was a third baseman, but he can hit enough.
86	Travis Snider	TOR	He is awfully young and raw, but his long-term potential is outstanding and he could surprise.
87	Nelson R. Cruz	TEX	Speaking of potential. If he could ever translate his minor league numbers to the majors ...
88	David DeJesus	KC	The consistency is nice in deeper leagues, but you really need a higher ceiling in the outfield.
89	Matt Joyce	DET	Rookie showed nice pop in limited at-bats, so watch him as a sleeper if he winds up starting.
90	Kosuke Fukudome	CHC	Import started great and finished OK, but he was lost most of the summer months.
91	Adam Jones	BAL	Talent looked great at times, but it will take another year or so before he truly arrives as a star.
92	Chris Duncan	STL	Back surgery could be career threatening, but he was a potentially great player after 2007.
93	Chris Dickerson	CIN	Under the radar, Dickerson took over after the Adam Dunn trade and hit the ground running.
94	Skip Schumaker	STL	He might have done enough to shake his reserve outfielder label to you, but not in our eyes.
95	Marlon Byrd	TEX	Byrd is another great reserve who hits like a low-end starter, but he can put streaks together.
96	Juan L. Rivera	LAA	Before breaking his leg a few winters ago he was looking capable of being a 30-homer OF.
97	Scott Hairston	SD	He has already has some pop in his bat and might even prove to be a solid regular again.
98	Fernando Perez	TB	Speedster was clutch down the stretch and can be a sleeper in deeper Rotisserie leagues.
99	Ben Zobrist	TB	Former opening day shortstop found a power stroke and looks like a sleeper for deeper formats.
100	Daniel Murphy	NYM	Rooke was clutch with the Mets and likely has earned a significant look in left or at second base.

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