Leandre: Top 30 left fielders entering 2024, 10-1
Welcome to the top 10 left fielders entering the 2024 MLB season.
The top 10 left fielders are where this portion of the group gets stacked.
Among the group is an MVP along with multiple World Series participants. Moreover, like shortstop, ideally, you’re good on both sides of the ball, but it’s not a requirement in the top 10.
That said, all 10 posted positive defense in either/both defensive runs saved and outs above average.
But before we get into the top 10, here are the 10 that fell in the middle third.
Let’s look at the top 10 left fielders entering the 2024 regular season without further ado.
10. Steven Kwan — Cleveland Guardians
Kwan might be one of the game’s most underrated players. However, where he falls short of the top seven is his bat.
Since Kwan doesn’t hit for power, he relies on his batted-ball luck to put up quality offensive numbers.
In 2022, he had a .323 BABIP en route to a 126 wRC+ and 4.5 fWAR. In 2023, his BABIP fell nearly 30 points, as did everything in his triple-slash. He’s a good hitter, but his results depend too much on things he can’t control beyond making contact.
His strikeout rate only increased one percent and his walk rate stayed the same. His xwOBA was within five points of his 2022 season. The main difference was the BABIP which knocked everything else down.
His defense is stellar, however. He’s going to win several gold gloves in his career. For a team like the Guardians, constantly in the market for outfielders, it’s probably in their best interest to give the left fielder an extension.
9. Bryan Reynolds — Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates finally wised up and moved Reynolds to left field after posting -14 defensive runs saved in center in 2022.
Reynolds flourished in this new role, posting two defensive runs saved in 2023.
From an offensive standpoint, the switch-hitter posted his worst wRC+ in a full season but had his second-best xwOBA (.360). He’s essentially become a lock to hit 24-plus homers and if he can do that, with slightly more batted-ball luck and improved defense, he can return to a fourish-win player.
8. Ian Happ — Chicago Cubs
Happ and Reynolds are similar players, except the former is a more proven defensive positive in left field.
As a result, he eeks Reynolds out for No. 8 on my list.
Last year, Happ posted a 118 wRC+ with two defensive runs saved and 3.5 fWAR for the Cubs. The year before, he posted a 120 wRC+ with 13 defensive runs saved and 3.6 fWAR.
He’s become more proven as a corner outfielder, and more valuable, than Reynolds since 2022, therefore he ranks higher entering 2024.
7. Lars Nootbaar — St. Louis Cardinals
It was tough to pick a corner for Nootbaar but I settled on left field.
Regardless, he’s a great hitter and above-average defender, thus seventh is an appropriate ranking.
Last year, Nootbaar posted a 118 wRC+ with a career-high .367 OBP in 117 games. He also added 14 home runs, 23 doubles and 46 runs batted in.
Unfortunately, he’ll open 2024 on the injured list with a rib injury, but that doesn’t change the fact he’s one of the 10-best left fielders in the game.
6. Christian Yelich — Milwaukee Brewers
Welcome back, Mr. Yelich.
After two seasons with subpar power numbers, the 2018 NL MVP returned to a more respectable .169 ISO with 19 homers and 34 doubles.
He also flashed some of his five-tool ability by adding 28 stolen bases and four outs above average. All in all, it yielded 4.1 fWAR.
His 2023 was crucial in getting him back on a Hall of Fame path. Entering his age-32 season, Yelich has 40.9 fWAR and over 1,500 hits while closing in on 300 doubles and 200 home runs.
5. Brandon Marsh — Philadelphia Phillies
Marsh had a tremendous season in 2023, finally pairing his great defense with stellar offensive production.
Though he played only 29 games in left field a season ago, that promises to change with more playing time going to center fielder Johan Rojas in 2024.
In those 29 games, Marsh had three defensive runs saved and one out above average in 136 innings. He also posted a 125 wRC+ with a .372 on-base percentage in 133 games overall.
If Marsh continues this two-way success, he’ll be a staple in the top five left fielders for a long time.
4. Randy Arozarena — Tampa Bay Rays
Arozarena’s 2021 and 2022 each hinted at regression for the 2023 season. However, instead of that happening, he had a career year.
While his wRC+ landed lower than his 2021 mark, he posted a .351 xwOBA compared to his .304 back then.
He also remained a lock for 20 homers, 20 stolen bases and 80 runs batted in while also seeing a dramatic uptick in walks. As a result, he posted a career-best .364 on-base percentage.
Depending on which defensive metric you prefer, your opinion of Arozarena could change dramatically, but I’d wager to call him a fine defender with legitimate offensive upside.
3. Nolan Jones — Colorado Rockies
There’s not much more to say about Jones other than he rakes and has a howitzer for an arm.
Last year, he ranked in the 100th percentile for arm strength and arm value despite struggling in the outs above average department. However, he had nine defensive runs saved and was an elite hitter.
In 106 games, he posted a 135 wRC+ with 20 homers, 20 steals and 22 doubles. Given he’s fast, and Colorado has a huge outfield, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for him to be a 20-homer, 20-double, 20-steal, 20-triple guy, making him the first person since Jimmy Rollins in 2007 to meet all four benchmarks.
2. Brandon Nimmo — New York Mets
Nimmo has become one of the game’s steadiest players in the past two seasons, adding durability to his repertoire.
Over those two years, he’s accumulated 9.6 fWAR.
That said, he’s posted at least a 130 wRC+ every year except one since 2018.
The one question mark remaining is his defense in left field. As a center fielder, he only had one season with positive defensive runs saved and outs above average (2021). Meanwhile, he hasn’t posted triple-digit innings defensively in left field since 2019.
The jury is still out, but I’m sure it’ll translate.
1. Chas McCormick — Houston Astros
I’m one of the world’s biggest Chas McCormick truthers on Earth.
He’s done nothing but hit at the MLB level. His defense has impressed as well, though mostly in center field.
Now that Jake Meyers likely factors into the equation, with hopefully more designated hitting opportunities for Yordan Alvarez, McCormick would shift to a corner outfield spot.
Given that his pull side is to the Crawford Boxes, with a short porch to right, he should always be able to hit for more power than he perhaps possesses. His numbers are fantastic, however, resulting in him as my No. 1 left fielder.
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