Draft Guide: The Best Center Fielders

By Michael Petersen - Guest Writer
08/09/2007

Overall Card Value for Current Season (2006 Card):

1. Carlos Beltran – The top CF in this year’s set.  Kills right handed pitching with both OB and HR ratings.  Very few singles on the card, but who cares?  We’ll take the extra bases

2. Grady Sizemore – Another card that will crush RHP in your draft league.  Doesn’t have the power of the Beltran card, but his OB and TB ratings are right up there

3. Ichiro Suzuki – Well balanced card, with plenty of singles from both sides.  Don’t expect a lot of extra bases, but use that speed and you’ll have him in scoring position anyways

4. Vernon Wells – Another nicely balanced card. More power against RHP but plenty of OB chances against LHP

5. Andruw Jones – If you prefer power over speed, his card might me ranked higher.  Won’t hit for average like the guys above, but his OB and HR numbers are hard to ignore

6. Carl Crawford -  Plenty of singles from both sides of the card, but not quite in the top 5 in terms of overall value.  OB lags a bit compared to the elite cards ahead of him in this year’s set

7. Gary Matthews, Jr. – Better card against LHP, both in terms of OB and HR rankings.  But, overall it’s well balanced card.  Don’t expect a lot of extra base hits against RHP though

8. Mike Cameron – Definitely a top 10 card this season for Cameron.  His OB rankings are better than some ahead of him in the rankings, but a lot of his power is on ballpark HR chances

9. Rocco Baldelli – Limited at bats drops his value, but otherwise his card is a good one.  Don’t like to see 0 walks on a card, but the HRs against RHP make him a nice platoon option

10. Jay Payton – Balanced with a little power.  Don’t expect him to be a prime hitter in the 1-2 lineup spots as his OB numbers aren’t quite strong enough from either side

11. Johnny Damon – Not a bad leadoff card to have in your lineup.  Expect some strong OB/Singles against LHP.  A more “average” card against RHP, but still not much to complain about

12. Torii Hunter – Similar to Damon, stronger against LHP but the extra power against RHP makes his card valuable

13. Juan Pierre – Plenty of singles, but unfortunately not a lot of OB chances other than that.  His speed makes him value.  Would be higher in the rankings if he drew some walks

14. Dave Roberts – Combine this card with Baldelli’s and you have the perfect platoon.  Card is strong against RHP, but keep him away from LHP

15. Shane Victorino – No power, no speed, limited OBP.  Not a horrible card to have for your CF, but realize you won’t get too much offense from him against LHP

16. Milton Bradley – Limited usage hurts his ranking.  You want this card in your lineup against LHP, and while against RHP the power ratings aren’t there, you should like the OB number

17. Kenny Lofton – Tough to have a “4” in CF, but if you face a lot of RHP in your draft league this card will have value to you.  OB numbers are “top 5” against RHP but dismal against LHP

18. Cory Patterson – Hopefully you can platoon him.  His OB numbers are okay against RHP and his speed is always valuable.  I just hope you have a better option against LHP

19. Willy Tavares – Lots of singles and nice OB rating against RHP could make his card even more valuable than 19th depending on your draft league setup

20. Mark Kotsay – Balanced card but isn’t spectacular in any area.  Fills the position, but by no means does he belong near the top of your lineup with this card

21. Chone Figgins – Super utility card, but definitely should have consideration as a starting CF on your team.  His OB chances against RHP are not bad at all, and of course the blazing speed will turn some of those walks/singles into a man in scoring position

22. Aaron Rowand – Some good power against LHP, but not much else on that side of the card.  Expect mostly singles/walks on the other side.  Defense helps his value, but just not enough to put him ahead in terms of overall value

23. Curtis Granderson – A ton of strikeouts impacts his placing in this list.  Not a good card against lefties.  OB is nice against righties

Future Value:

1. Grady Sizemore – Hasn’t even entered his “prime” and is already on the cusp of being a 30/30 player.  He’s a multi-talented threat for years to come

2. Carlos Beltran – An All Star season in 06 raised his value, but health is a concern.  Can he stay healthy and repeat the 2006 performance.  Let’s hope so

3. Ichiro Suzuki – New long term contract keeps him Seattle where he’s had a .300+ every season since coming to the States.  Can’t be much more consistent lead-off guy out there

4. Vernon Wells – Was his .300/32 HR season last year his career year or can we expect more of that from him?  Question is still out

5. Andruw Jones – Sure he strikes out a lot, but his production is hard to ignore.  A tough season thus far in 2007, but he still has 20 HR coming into August

6. Curtis Granderson – In 2007 he’s done better to cut back on his strikeouts.  He’s showing he is a patient hitter.  Expect a lot of 20+ HR seasons with some speed.  Not bad for your CF position

7. Chris Young – Only 23 years old, but it’s easy to see why he’s already the starter for the D-Backs.  A nice combo of speed and power

8. Torii Hunter – He’s never had a strong OBP year, so if you’re a Bill James nut he probably isn’t as high on your list.  But, he’s proven season to season that he can produce

9. BJ Upton – He gets his chance in CF this season due to Baldelli and Dukes being out of the D-Rays lineup.  Will he stick in CF long-term?  If so, he could be rising fast on the CF rankings.  Finally appears to be showing some of the skills that made him a #1 pick

10. Aaron Rowand – Hard to believe I have him in my top 10!  But, it’s hard to argue with the numbers.  Has improved this season which looks to be even better than his 04 season.  .900+ OPS so far in 07.  But still, will he keep his CF job in Philly next season (see: Michael Bourn below)

11. Coco Crisp – Last year he battled injuries which dropped his stock value.  Has rebounded nicely since a slow start this season and keep in mind he’s still only 28.  Expect his range rating to improve too

12. Johnny Damon – A workhorse every season who just battles through injuries.  You have to expect him to move to LF or even DH (if he remains a Yankee) eventually.  Still a nice lead-off option

13. Bill Hall – 35 HRs last year hasn’t continued this year, but there is hope he can repeat that kind of performance.  Hard to gauge what his Strat ratings will be in CF with the move from SS

14. Gary Matthews, Jr. – His .313/19 HR season last year sure was a surprise.  Seems to be back to his career norms this year.  Isn’t a great OBP guy, nor a power guy, nor a speedster

15. Juan Pierre – Could be so much higher in the rankings if he could just get on base more.  His speed is of value, but he continues to decline in BA/OBP the past few seasons

16. Willy Tavares – His move to Colorado has seemed to help his career.  Showing better view of the strikezone this season which has helped his production.  Has nice speed which helps his value

17. Mike Cameron – A nice pop in his bat (20+ HRs) but has never had a real breakout season.  A career .250 hitter with good speed and a bit of power

18. Rocco Baldeli – Wow, has his stock dropped.  He just continues to see injury problems impact his growth.  He is still young, so let’s not give up hope just yet

19. Melky Cabrera – Has followed up his rookie season with some nice numbers thus far in 2007.  Is really a 4th OF, but sees plenty of time in CF to be ranked here

20. Michael Bourn – A lot of talk about him taking over in CF in 2008 for the Phillies.  In limited AB’s this season he as shown why there is reason to keep an eye on him.  18 SB in 19 attempts.  Doesn’t have much power, but projects to be a nice OBP guy in the leadoff spot

21. David DeJesus – Will he be able to be a full time player?  Has been tough for him to get consistent playing time each season.  Don’t expect much power or speed, but he does hit for average and is patient at the plate.  Would be much higher in the rankings if he was sure to be a starter for seasons to come

22. Kenny Lofton – This 40 year old continues to hit!  The biggest thing (other than age) that keeps him from the top 20 ranking is defense.  I just don’t see Strat giving him anything higher than a 4 from this point on

23. Ryan Freel – A valuable and versatile player on your roster, but just hasn’t defined himself as a full-time starter.  Blazing speed and nice OBP still makes him valuable though

24. Josh Hamilton – A tough ranking with him.  He could easily jump ahead of a lot of guys in this list, but his past troubles makes it difficult to project his future.  Nice to see him get a chance though

25. Corey Patterson – Not enough patience to be a lead-off guy, which is too bad considering his speed is his best asset

26. Jerry Owens – One of the most talked about prospects in recent years, but it’s hard to see if he will live up to the talk.  I see Corey Patterson numbers all over again… Nice speed, little power, and not much OBP

27. Dave Roberts – A career year in 2006.  But he has a history of leg problems.  Hard to believe he will play in 120+ games in any season.  His speed and OBP are of value if he does get more playing time

28. Chris Duffy – A .250 hitter with just a ton of speed.  It sure will be hard to keep his starting job as a .250 hitter

29. So Taguchi – A pure singles hitter that has never been a full-time player.  A little speed, but really is not a long-term option for CF

30. Elijah Dukes – Debatable whether or not to even include him in rankings.  He has plenty of talent, but his biggest obstacle appears to be himself.  Questionable as to where or when he will return to the majors

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