Leandre: Top 30 left fielders entering 2024, 20-11
The middle third of the left field position starts to heat up and showcase the strong talent at this corner outfield spot entering 2024.
A few of the biggest contributors to last year’s World Series teams play left field.
Despite the position not being as stacked as the others, it’s still pretty loaded, especially as you get into the middle third of the top 30.
Among these 10 is a World Series champion and some legitimate Gold Glove contenders.
Before getting into who they are, let’s quickly recap those from Nos. 30 to 21.
Now, let’s get into the top 20.
20. Tommy Pham — Free Agent
I can’t believe Pham is still looking for a job with Opening Day this week.
Last year, the veteran outfielder returned to form as a great right-handed, middle-of-the-order bat between the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks. In 129 games, he slashed .256/.328/.446 with 16 homers, 22 stolen bases and 1.9 fWAR.
He also posted a .361 xwOBA, giving him his highest since 2018.
Plenty of bottom-feeder teams could use an adult in the room. As a result, he could make sense for a team like Oakland or the Chicago White Sox for half a year with a trade to a contender midseason.
19. Willi Castro — Minnesota Twins
Like Tommy Edman at shortstop, Castro likely ranks higher as a utilityman. However, I didn’t rank those this go-around.
Castro had a tremendous 2023 season with playing time at six positions defensively. As a left fielder, he posted two defensive runs saved and was a net-neutral in outs above average.
While his offense rendered him slightly above average, he was good enough for 2.5 fWAR in 124 games.
18. Austin Hays — Baltimore Orioles
The first-time All-Star had a great 2023 campaign.
In 144 games, he posted a 112 wRC+ with 16 homers and 2.2 fWAR. He also posted six defensive runs saved in left field en route to helping the Orioles win 100 games and the American League East crown.
He ranks 18th despite the success because I’m convinced the hitter he was last season is here to stay. After all, he had a .309 xwOBA and outpaced his expected batting average and slugging percentage.
He’s still a good, quality ballplayer, but No. 18 is where he belongs.
17. Daulton Varsho — Toronto Blue Jays
From a WAR standpoint, Varsho is probably a top-12 left fielder. However, I can’t justify the caliber of hitter he is ranking higher than 17th.
Despite clubbing 20 homers and posting 3.8 base runs in 2023, he regressed from his 2022 season with the Diamondbacks. He had an 85 wRC+, a .389 slugging percentage and a .285 on-base percentage.
His saving grace was the 11 defensive runs saved that ballooned his wins above replacement on Baseball Reference to 3.9.
16. Alex Verdugo — New York Yankees
The run of AL East left fielders continues with Verdugo, who left another AL East team to join the Yankees for the 2024 season.
Verdugo dominated off Jump Street last season before tapering off in the second half. Overall, despite elite defense in right field, he disappointed in 2023.
In 142 games, he posted a career-worst 98 wRC+ with 54 runs batted in for the Boston Red Sox. After a while, he got demoted to the bottom third of the lineup before an injury to Jarren Duran shot him back into the leadoff spot.
Verdugo is playing for his next contract in 2024, so I expect him to play with an added fire. That may be great for the Yankees, but there are no guarantees.
15. Tyler O’Neill — Boston Red Sox
Last one from the AL East in this ranking, I promise.
O’Neill gets the nod over Verdugo in the top 15 because he’s a likelier bounce-back candidate assuming he’s healthy.
While health is never guaranteed in baseball, the player O’Neill is when healthy is an MVP vote-getter. The only time the slugger has played more than 100 games, 2019, he slashed .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs and an eighth-place finish for National League MVP.
Fenway Park should aid him in his quest to return to the 30-homer plateau and, with that in mind, I like him as the first left fielder in the top 15.
14. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. — Arizona Diamondbacks
It felt like the writing was on the wall for Gurriel to leave Arizona after one successful season in the desert.
However, the two sides agreed to a nice multiyear contract for both parties.
Gurriel offers a (still) young D-backs team some much-needed experience; experience lost with the departure of Evan Longoria. He also offers some versatility — first base — and right-handed power to pair with third baseman Eugenio Suárez.
He also posted 14 defensive runs saved for them last year in 778 defensive innings, which is an insane pace.
13. Evan Carter — Texas Rangers
Carter was instrumental in the Rangers’ quest for glory in the 2023 postseason, slashing .300/.417/.500 in 17 games.
But it was more than a productive October for the AL Rookie of the Year candidate, as he posted 1.3 fWAR and a 180 wRC+ in 23 regular-season games.
While he may deserve a higher ranking, which reflects on a handful of other lists, I need to see it a little longer to start believing it.
While Carter hit well in the minors leading up to his big-league promotion last season, he also saw a spike in his strikeout rate to couple an astronomical BABIP. If he can show that he doesn’t need to carry a BABIP above .400 to be an elite-level hitter, he’s on the fast track to the top 10.
12. Taylor Ward — Los Angeles Angels
While the injury-riddled 2023 fed into regression for Ward, I think his limited exposure last year made some forget how good he was in 2022.
If the Angels want to contend for a playoff spot in 2024, which who knows at this point, they need Ward to be closer to who he was in 2022.
Regardless, the 30-year-old still hit 14 homers in those 97 games, all while playing solid defense in left field. He’s still a good player and fingers crossed 2024 will allow him to remind people.
11. Matt Wallner — Minnesota Twins
Wallner hits the daylights out of the ball and did so for 76 MLB games in 2023. Across that span, he posted a 144 wRC+, a .374 xwOBA, 14 home runs and 11 doubles.
The one Catch-22 for Wallner is his strikeout numbers, which plague the Twins big time.
His defense is a work in progress, but it’s hard to look at a dominant stretch like that offensively and not rank the guy highly.
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