I would like to begin our coverage of right fielders by thanking everyone that has been loyal to our site over the past year. As we wind down 2016, it becomes important to thank those that make all this possible. Eyeballs are what moves the needle and we would like to thank you for your attention across all the sports we cover. If you’ve been following the position rankings then you are old hat at this already. If you are just joining us for the first time I’d like to welcome you to the party.

Position rankings are based almost exclusively on what players have done over the past three and five years respectively. We ranked players in five and six category formats and then came up with a composite ranking. The composite rankings do include some human correction, but it is does not explicitly include projections. We will cover that after the new year when player movement has slowed to a crawl.

Jose Bautista—Free Agent (.254, 30.4 HR, 84.6 Runs, 84.8 RBI, 5.6 SB, 85.8 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 5

3 Year 6 Category- 3

5 Year 5 Category- 5

5 Year 6 Category- 3

Bautista turned 36 right after the season. That is obviously conspiring with his injury riddled 2016 campaign to suppress his market. Rumor is that he is now considering a one year deal somewhere. Obviously, that somewhere will ultimately determine the ceiling (or floor) of his value. A bounce back campaign is a good possibility on a one year deal. Rank: 4^th

Carlos Beltran—Houston Astros (.268, 21.0 HR, 58.7 Runs, 69.7 RBI, 1.3 SB, 39.0 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 18

3 Year 6 Category- 17

5 Year 5 Category- 9

5 Year 6 Category- 10

Baseball Reference’s JAWS has Beltran ranked as a top ten center fielder of all-time. Beltran hasn’t played center field in several years and hasn’t played extensively in the field in a couple of seasons. If healthy, he should hit somewhere around .270 with 20 to 25 home runs. That’s not what he used to be, but Father Time is undefeated. Budget accordingly. Rank: 15^th

Mookie Betts—Boston Red Sox (.300, 18.0 HR, 82.7 Runs, 69.3 RBI, 18.0 SB, 38.7 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 3

3 Year 6 Category- 5

5 Year 5 Category- 1

5 Year 6 Category- 4

This is the first player where we significantly deviate from the rankings. Simply put, Betts blossomed into a superstar last year and the three year average above really doesn’t fully reflect that. He is a player where the projections will likely be a more reasonable estimation of what he might do next season. Rank: 1^st

Jay Bruce—New York Mets (.231, 25.7 HR, 72.3 Runs, 84.0 RBI, 8.3 SB, 48.7 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 6

3 Year 6 Category- 7

5 Year 5 Category- 6

5 Year 6 Category- 6

Andre Agassi famously dogged his first wife (Brooke Shields) to be more like Steffi Graf. He finally turned in that model for the real Graf. Likewise, people have expected Bruce to evolve into a star for nine years now. It’s not going to happen. Most of us would settle for Shields and if you are smart you might settle for Bruce too. Just don’t expect him to turn into Graf. Rank: 6^th

Kole Calhoun—Los Angeles Angels (.266, 20.3 HR, 86.3 Runs, 72.0 RBI, 3.7 SB, 50.0 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 8

3 Year 6 Category- 8

5 Year 5 Category- 15

5 Year 6 Category- 15

The three year numbers are obviously pointing up. If the Angels are going to get back into competition in the AL West they will need Calhoun to take the next step. I’m not sure that next step is coming, but even if it doesn’t, he is still a really good player. Mind you, he’s not a dominant player, but he is a starting quality fantasy outfielder. Rank: 10^th

Lonnie Chisenhall—Cleveland Indians (.271, 9.3 HR, 47.7 Runs, 53.3 RBI, 4.3 SB, 28.3 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 23

3 Year 6 Category- 23

5 Year 5 Category- 23

5 Year 6 Category- 23

Chisenhall has actually been up for five seasons and the Indians keep waiting for him to establish himself. His best season came in 2014 when he hit .280 and hit 13 home runs. He seems to vacillate between the bench and extended periods of competence. He’s not necessarily a guy to draft, but we mention him because he may get it at some point. Rank: 23^rd

Shin Soo Choo—Texas Rangers (.253, 14.0 HR, 59.7 Runs, 46.3 RBI, 4.3 SB, 53.0 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 22

3 Year 6 Category- 20

5 Year 5 Category- 11

5 Year 6 Category- 9

Choo is one of my personal favorites. I’m always a sucker for a guy that will draw walks. Choo’s 2015 campaign represents his likely ceiling at this point. He hit more than 20 home runs, scored 94 runs, and drove in 82 runs. He’s not a stolen base threat anymore, but if healthy he should get on base a ton and score a surprising number of runs. Rank: 19th

Nelson Cruz—Seattle Mariners (.277, 35.6 HR, 81.6 Runs, 94.4 RBI, 4.4 SB, 51.8 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 1

3 Year 6 Category- 2

5 Year 5 Category- 2

5 Year 6 Category- 2

Let’s say you flip a coin five times and hit heads five times in a row. What are the odds that it will be heads again on the sixth flip? We all know it is 50/50 like the other five times. Cruz has hit 40+ home runs for three consecutive seasons. He is 36 years old at press time. What are the odds that he will do it again? In reality it probably is similar to that coin flip, but like some I would bet heavily on tails. Rank: 3^rd

Carlos Gonzalez—Colorado Rockies (.269, 25.3 HR, 69.7 Runs, 78.3 RBI, 2.3 SB, 37.0 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 9

3 Year 6 Category- 12

5 Year 5 Category- 4

5 Year 6 Category- 5

Cargo has been healthy in recent seasons and has been fairly productive. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he is in the last year of his contract and likely will not be in Colorado beyond this season. He might not even last the season there. If he goes just about anywhere else he likely turns into Clark Kent. Rank: 8^th

Bryce Harper—Washington Nationals (.282, 26.3 HR, 81.0 Runs, 72.3 RBI, 9.7 SB, 90.0 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 2

3 Year 6 Category- 1

5 Year 5 Category- 3

5 Year 6 Category- 1

2015 was a ridiculous campaign looking back and it had Harper as the number one overall pick in some leagues. That represents his ceiling and something he is definitely capable of doing again. The floor is likely what he did last year. He is still a fantasy regular even if he slugs through another disappointing campaign. As usual, the answer is likely to fall somewhere in between. Rank: 2^nd

Jason Heyward—Chicago Cubs (.265, 10.3 HR, 71.3 Runs, 55.7 RBI, 18.0 SB, 59.0 BB)

3 Year 5 Category- 15

3 Year 6 Category- 10

5 Year 5 Category- 12

5 Year 6 Category- 11

Heyward is a consistent Gold Glove level performer in right field. In that world his offense can often be an afterthought. Over the years he has been tantalizing at times. He always seems on the verge of becoming an absolute superstar. Then, seasons like last year happen. A bounce back season is likely, but bounce back to what is the question. Rank: 14th

Max Kepler—Minnesota Twins (.235, 17.0 HR, 52.0 Runs, 63.0 RBI, 6.0 SB, 42.0 BB) 

3 Year 5 Category- 20

3 Year 6 Category- 19

5 Year 5 Category- 21

5 Year 6 Category- 21

Kepler came out of nowhere next year to grab a hold of right field. It ended up greasing the tracks for Trevor Plouffe because no one expected him to be able to hold down the position so soon. What you saw last year is likely the ceiling for him. Just don’t make the mistake of using the ol’ multiplier to see what he would do over 600 plate appearances. Adjustments likely will be made. Rank: 21st