JD's Top 10 Centerfielders- PIITB By JD

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JD’s Top 10 Centerfielders- PIITB by JD

 

Welcome back to JD’s top 10 rankings position by position. Coming up next is Center field.

We are in a great era of athletic and talented players. Some of the game’s top players

are centerfielders and I am happy to give you my rankings of them. Let’s get started.

 

1.     Mike Trout- How could it be anyone else? The best player of this generation and already one of the best all time at just age 31. Mike Trout is truly unbelievable. He’s a Hall of Famer already. He has become quite injury prone in the last few seasons. He played just 119 games last season and yet posted a 6fwar with 40 homers and a 176 wrc+.

2.     Byron Buxton- This guy has all the talent in the world, but he cannot stay on the field either. In just 92 games last season he posted 28 homers with a 136 wrc+ all while amassing 4 fwar. If he manages to stay on the field, he is as dangerous as anyone. 

3.     Julio Rodriguez- One of the games great young stars. At just 22 years old he took the league by storm last year taking home the ROY award. He didn’t even play a full season! In 132 games he hit 28 homers with a 146 wrc+ and 5.3fwar. We’ll see how he does in his 2nd season. This guy can be one of the best players we’ve ever seen, let’s see if he does it.

4.     Brandon Nimmo- The now lifetime Met Brandon Nimmo checks in at number 4. Nimmo is coming off his best season where he played a healthy 151 games. He had a 134 wrc+ and a 5.4fwar. He played an excellent CF albeit with a poor arm. Nimmo still walked a ton and had .800 ops. Let’s see what he does in his first season in his new contract. 

5.     Michael Harris II- Another great young player. At just 21 years old he came up and played at an insanely high level. He finished with a 136 wrc+ and a 4.8fwar across 114 games. He is very good and will continue to improve. He’ll be in Atlanta for years to come.

6.     Bryan Reynolds- Reynolds has been in the league for some time now. In his 4th major league season, he posted 27 homers, a 125 wrc+. And had 2.9fwar. His 2021 season yielded an insane 6.1fwar. He may end up moving to a corner, but for now he is the CF for the Pirates. He wants out, but the Pirates are not too willing to part for a reasonable price. 

7.     Cedric Mullins- This guy is fun. He’s 27 years old, but we have not seen the best of Cedric Mullins yet. His 2021 season was incredible. He hit 30 homers, had a 136 wrc+ and a 6fwar. His 2022 season was more modest. He only hit 16 homers, had a 106 wrc+ and a 3.4fwar. Not a bad season by any stretch but nowhere near his 2021 season. I think he will improve on last season, but repeating 2021 I find unlikely for 2023

8.     Harrison Bader- This one might turn some heads. Bader was injured half of last year and was not spectacular when he was healthy. He had just an 86 wrc+ and a 1.5fwar. He was not very good. However, he plays a good CF and his power started waking up with the Yankees. I expect a big season from him. He fits with the Yankees, and they seem to like him. 

9.     Luis Robert- Robert is super talented but cannot stay on the field. He Played in just over a full season combined between 2021 and 2022. His 2022 numbers were solid. He hit 12 homers, had a 111 wrc+ and 2.1fwar in just 98 games. If Robert stays healthy, he can move up these ranks. 

10.   Mike Yastrzemski- Yaz is not anything super special in my opinion. He is, however, consistent and has some upside. His 2021 season was very solid. He had 25 home runs and 75 rbis while posting a 105wrc+ and a 2.3 fwar. In 2022 he had just 17 homers and 73 RBIs. He posted a 99 wrc+ and a 2.2 fwar. Yaz has never had below a 2 fwar in his first 4 Major league seasons and that is impressive. 

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